Kokoda
Is it just me or does everyone think it’s easy for Australians to be arrogant when dealing with poorer neighbours?
Yesterday, at a village around the highest point of the Kokoda Trail, locals felled two trees to block the track and declared trekkers unwelcome.
6000 Australian trekkers were expected to make the journey this year, but village spokesman Barney Jack says that’s not going to happen.
Mr Jack says 65 years after the close of the WWII, his countrymen are still poor, children do not attend school and locals are working incredibly hard – earning just 20 dollars a day carrying the packs lazy Australian trekkers, including the pack of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
The unrest is largely motivated by mining, led by an Australian mining company.
Mr Jack says locals want Frontier Resources to be allowed dig up 600 metres of the trail to mine a 7 billion dollar copper and gold deposit.
The villagers have been offered a 5 per cent stake in the mine, about $US100 million over the proposed 10-year life of the mine. It’s a lot of money (not as much as the Australian mining company is going to make…obviously) and you can understand why it’s an attractive offer.
Digger’s groups and the Australian government are totally opposed to the mine, but I say that means we have to step up.
Schools, hospitals, no exploitation for the locals by tour groups - c’mon Kev, that’d be a good start I reckon
Yesterday, at a village around the highest point of the Kokoda Trail, locals felled two trees to block the track and declared trekkers unwelcome.
6000 Australian trekkers were expected to make the journey this year, but village spokesman Barney Jack says that’s not going to happen.
Mr Jack says 65 years after the close of the WWII, his countrymen are still poor, children do not attend school and locals are working incredibly hard – earning just 20 dollars a day carrying the packs lazy Australian trekkers, including the pack of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
The unrest is largely motivated by mining, led by an Australian mining company.
Mr Jack says locals want Frontier Resources to be allowed dig up 600 metres of the trail to mine a 7 billion dollar copper and gold deposit.
The villagers have been offered a 5 per cent stake in the mine, about $US100 million over the proposed 10-year life of the mine. It’s a lot of money (not as much as the Australian mining company is going to make…obviously) and you can understand why it’s an attractive offer.
Digger’s groups and the Australian government are totally opposed to the mine, but I say that means we have to step up.
Schools, hospitals, no exploitation for the locals by tour groups - c’mon Kev, that’d be a good start I reckon
posted by Caroline Hutchinson at 10:03 AM
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