Since the Australian Government assumed responsibility for the management of the Kokoda Trail under a Joint agreement with PNG in 2008 trekker numbers have fallen by 46 percent which has resulted in a cumulative loss of some $20 million in foregone wages, campsite fees and local purchases for villages communities. And these are the people we have spent millions trying to help!
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PNG National Court Judgement re Adventure Kokoda Tour Operator’s License
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The primary influencer for the subtle change in priority from pilgrimage tourism to socio-environmental issues appears to be Mr. Mark Nizette MBE, Strategic Management Advisor to the DFAT ‘Kokoda Initiative’ and Secretary to the influential ‘Kokoda Initiative Committee’ within the PNG Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA).
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The Kokoda Tour Operators Forum scheduled to take place in a 5-star Brisbane hotel on 23-24 November 2023 should be cancelled and either conducted via Zoom or switched to Port Moresby.
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In 1992 Prime Minister Paul Keating opened a $2 million Kokoda Memorial Hospital along with a Backpacker’s Hostel to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign.
It was also planned to open a new terminal at the Kokoda airfield but the locals burnt it down shortly before his visit. It turned out to be an omen of things to come with a well-intentioned aid policy inadvertently reinforcing a ‘cargo-cult’ mentality.
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‘Olgeta,
‘We met 31 years ago when you welcomed me into your villages on my first trek with Alex Rama in 1991. At the time you told me that few people trekked across the Trail – less than 100 each year – and you only made a few kina selling your vegetables at markets. . . .
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by Rashmii Amoah Bell ‘ I am the author of ‘My Walk to Equality’ and Butterflies on...
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If ever there was a time for PNG to reclaim ownership of their Kokoda Trail from Australian aid-funded officials, it is now!
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Trekker numbers have declined by 46% under their watch. This translates into a cumulative loss of K46 million for the subsistence villages across the Trail in foregone wages, campsite fees and local purchases – and these are the people we have spent more than K150 million trying to help!
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The National – 27 February 2019 Papua New Guinea’s pristine, rugged, and remote...
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Official data, based on the number of Trek Permits issued by the Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority (KTA), reveals that villagers across the Kokoda Trail have suffered a cumulative loss of K49.7 million in foregone income opportunities since the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative assumed responsibility for its management in 2009. A Kokoda Livelihoods Study by Pacific Islands Projects revealed the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative allocates just 1% of their budget to ‘income generating projects’ for villagers across the Trail.
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For reasons known only to Australian Aid-funded officials Owers Corner doesn’t rate, and the local community doesn’t matter!
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