PM keen to get Mendi issue sorted

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says he has demonstrated the importance of meeting a challenge head-on when he visited Mendi, Southern Highlands, yesterday.
After last week’s unrest in Mendi town, followed by high tension and O’Neill working with parties to restore calm, it was important that he spoke directly with the people, he said.
He called on the people to show respect for the law.
“There is no excuse for a few individuals acting in a way that is a national disgrace. We cannot change what happened, but we can all take charge of the future,” O’Neill said in Mendi.
O’Neill said people raised concerns with him and they would be properly followed up.
“I have listened to the concerns relating to the Electoral Commissioner in regards to the conduct of the election for the Southern Highlands regional seat,” he said.
“Leaders have given me their views and I will see to it that these claims are properly heard.”
A huge crowd was calm and relatively relaxed considering the past week’s tension, and all the leaders who spoke welcomed the presence of the prime minister who was to travel to China later.
O’Neill said the engagement with China would further open up trade and investment opportunities for PNG.
China is playing an important role globally, it was the second largest economy in the world and PNG could not sit back and isolate its economy, he said.
Moresby North-West MP Sir Mekere Morauta described the trip as “begging and selling” the country.
O’Neill said he observed the unfortunate behaviour of the Opposition in calling for his resignation every time there was an incident around the country, like the unrest in Mendi last week.
On the China visit, he said the rest the world, including Australia and the US, were doing business with China.
“Increased global trade creates jobs in our country for our people, and creates opportunities for our small businesses,” he said.
“We have to remember that China is still a developing country, and the only country in the history of humanity who has been able to move around 500 million people out of poverty to start entering the middle classes.
“We have a lot to learn from China’s experience, this is experience that we can apply in our own country as we develop our nation.”
O’Neill said the contingent would be a significant public and private sector delegation, with the authority to deal with high levels of government.
“We will be taking an Air Niugini charter aircraft, and this will be the first time a commercial aircraft of our national carrier will be taking a direct flight to China.”
He said Air Niugini would start booking for the first commercial flight to China in September, so this trial run would test logistical arrangements.