Barred from press conferences

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A veteran journalist says she was told she could not attend press conferences during last week’s visit to Papua New Guinea by Australia’s prime minister.

PNG journalists were excluded from attending an event when Malcolm Turnbull visited a World War memorial at Bomana, and then later that day they were also stopped from attending a joint press conference with his PNG counterpart Peter O’Neill.

Told the opportunities were strictly for Australian media, Gorothy Kenneth was surprised to be asked to leave the first conference, and then barred from the later one.

Kenneth said the directive to exclude local journalists came from the Australian High Commission in PNG.

“It did really affect me. The ABC guy stationed here in Port Moresby, Eric Tlozek, was actually really upset that it had happened to us because he told me in the end it was very offensive.”

“He’s the one who actually went and spoke to the Australian High Commission officials to advise them that this was not good and they should come and apologise.”

Kenneth said High Commission officials later came and apologised for what they described as a misunderstanding, but said it was not clear what the “misunderstanding” was.

- RNZI