Moses Havini

Moses Havini, a great Bougainville hero and a wonderful man, died on Saturday 2 May. Moses was a Hako chief whose life was devoted to the people of Bougainville. During the civil war in the 1990s, when a blockade imposed by the PNG Government cut off the whole of Bougainville from any contact or interaction with the rest of the world, Moses, with his wife Marilyn and their children, became the voice of the Bougainville people, advocating for them in Australia and internationally, documenting and publishing the reported human rights abuses, and keeping the crisis in the public eye. Moses played an important role in negotiating the eventual resolution of the crisis, followed by the establishment of the Autonomous Bougainville Government.

Following the Peace Agreement, Moses and Marilyn returned to live with their clan in Buka to take part in the reconstruction, an enormous project after almost a decade of civil war and deprivation.  From the outset Moses was a strong supporter of the Hako Women's Collective and its projects, and their house was established as a "Meri Sef Ples" for women escaping domestic violence. 

Moses became seriously ill in 2013 and was flown to Sydney for treatment. Over the next 18 months he endured extensive chemotherapy and stem cell treatment with his customary stoicism and grace. Despite his illness he continued working for the ABG and on various projects and achieved an extraordinary amount: every extra hour he gained from medical treatment was well spent. Moses and Marilyn worked enormously hard on the Sydney end of the shipping container project, and were thrilled to see the ultimate success of the project. 

Moses was a beautiful man with a keen mind and an open heart. He was a beacon of wisdom and honesty and a born leader. He never stopped thinking about how to make the world a better place and especially how to make Bougainville a better place for its children to inherit. Rest in peace.
See also the Obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Inquiry into Australian aid to PNG

The Senate is conducting an Inquiry into The delivery and effectiveness of Australia’s bilateral aid program in Papua New Guinea. 

Submissions close today, Friday 24 April. The Inquiry is due to report on 26 November 2015. 

The Terms of Reference are:

The delivery and effectiveness of Australia‘s bilateral aid program in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with particular reference to:

a)      the political, economic and social objectives of Australia‘s aid;

b)      the role of multilateral and regional organisations, non-government organisations, Australian civil society and other donors;

c)       scope for increasing private sector involvement in sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty;

d)      scope for expanding private sector partnerships in leveraging private sector investment and domestic finance;

e)      improving PNG‘s progress towards internationally-recognised development goals;

f)       supporting inclusive development by investing in good governance, health and education, law and justice and women‘s empowerment;

g)      establishing realistic performance benchmarks to assess aid outcomes against set targets and to improve accountability; and

h)      the extent to which development outcomes in PNG can be improved by learning from successful aid programs in other countries.

Strategic Action Plan for 2015-2017

HWC has approved a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the next 3 years at its second 2015 General Meeting on 10 March 2015. Click here to view the SAP.