New era opens with Media Centre

PAPUA New Guinea politics is entering a new era with the opening of a K600,000 Media Centre in Port Moresby, Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen said yesterday.
He said that since independence, the country had conducted six general elections without such a facility to assist in the dissemination of information.
“Today marks another chapter in the conducting of elections in Papua New Guinea,” he said, when opening the European Union-funded office.
Mr Trawen said journalists reported what they saw and heard but they had great difficulty getting the official responses on election-related incidents and queries.
“There was no avenue created for journalists to easily obtain official responses or information relating to elections,” he said.
He said elections were a major event and the media played an important role in disseminating news and information to the public.
“What journalists report on must and should always be nothing but the truth. Media freedom is the cornerstone of a true and vibrant democracy and it is therefore important that the conduct of elections is absolutely transparent.”
Mr Trawen said the Media Centre would help the Electoral Commission to properly coordinate information from provinces to headquarters.
“This is not an attempt to control information from the media but rather a coordinated approach, where information required by journalists and broadcasters could easily be accessed,” he said.
He said it was costly to set up such a facility and the commission did not have the resources under its 2007 election budget.
“We had to approach donor agencies and the European Union responded. I sincerely thank EU for the K600,000.”
The centre has 12 workstations all hooked up to internet and a number of telephones and fax machines.

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