Papua New Guinea is threatening to slash the aid it receives from Australia in retaliation for the Howard government's ban on ministerial contact over the Moti affair. PNG has reportedly sent an aide-memoire to the deputy secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, David Ritchie, Fairfax newspapers reported.
The note demands an explanation for the bans Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced after fugitive lawyer Julian Moti fled Port Moresby to the Solomons on a PNG defence force plane to avoid extradition to Australia where he is wanted on child sex charges.
The aide-memoire gives Australia a week to respond, and if the response is unsatisfactory, Fairfax said PNG would retaliate. The response would include instituting a range of measure to cause problems for Australia's $300 million annual aid program to PNG, suspending official visits by Australia entirely, and recalling PNG's High Commissioner to Australia. Fairfax says senior PNG officials believe Australia is using aid to try to influence politics in the Pacific. |
