Why are some rugby league writers going to such great lengths to defend the Albanian government’s decision to donate $600m of taxpayers’ money to help establish a commercial sporting enterprise in Papua New Guinea?
They echoed claims by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape that security concerns in his home country are not an issue, and dismissed anyone raising the issue as peddling dirt.
And that’s despite the fact that Port Moresby, where the new company’s home games will be played, is ranked the fourth most dangerous city in the world and official government travel warnings tell Australians to be wary of everything from kidnappings to murder and sexual assault.
It was not long before the violence in Papua New Guinea – effectively a failed state on our doorstep – reared its ugly head again.
Today we learned that 26 people were killed in a massacre in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. Mothers who were breastfeeding their babies were beheaded.
Yet another example of how turbulent, violent and unstable Papua New Guinea is, even though they support the creation of a rugby team based in Papua New Guinea.
It is true that the province where the massacre occurred is very far from Port Moresby.
Violent attacks on three remote villages in Angoram district in East Sepik, northern Papua New Guinea (PNG), have likely killed 26 people, including 16 children, while several people were forced to flee after attackers set fire to their homes, the United Nations said.
Anthony Albanese with James Marape, the Prime Ministers of Australia and Papua New Guinea respectively. A deal has been struck to invest $600 million in a rugby venture in Papua New Guinea
But as noted, Port Moresby is already one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Travel warnings tell Australians to be wary of machete-wielding gangs roaming the streets, and not just after dark.
To simplistically dismiss such realities in Papua New Guinea when attempting to find good reasons to support huge government spending to help establish an NRL team in Papua New Guinea is denialism in the extreme.
It is not journalism either. The role of the fourth estate is to ask questions and challenge the assumptions made by the powerful.
In this case, a deal struck between the Australian and Papua New Guinean governments to spend $600 million on a rugby league project is, we are told, set to be a commercial and ratings success.
If so, why is it necessary to spend so much taxpayers’ money? Why is the spending not a loan rather than a grant?
I saw a rugby writer devote a sentence to the need to pump money into Papua New Guinea to protect it from Chinese influence. Even if that were true, why isn’t the money being directed towards more worthwhile activities, such as tackling the infant mortality rate in Papua New Guinea or helping to establish schools to improve the failing states’ poor educational outcomes?
But even if one wants to overlook poor spending priorities, one cannot ignore discussions about how security concerns will be addressed, as highlighted by today’s horrific news.
Part of Hanuabada village in Port Moresby
But I guess these kinds of discoveries don’t come easily in hype articles.
It is the job of journalists, whether covering sport or politics, to put pressure on politicians to respond to these kinds of concerns, for the sake of rugby league fans, for the sake of the players and their families.
Sadly, all I’ve seen written in the sports pages of the mainstream media so far are glowing tributes to the $600 million worth of taxpayers’ money going out the door.
Because it’s exciting to think of a Papua New Guinea NRL team. Yes, it is, but it’s the job of those who cover the planned spending to prove it.
Not doing that is not journalism, it is public relations.
I always thought the NRL had a big enough media team to spread such fantastic stories on its own, without the help of journalists.