Media Freedom

PNG Media Council and the United Nations Office invited the MDI as a partner in harnessing the work of media in the country.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation International Development (ABCID) Team Leader, Hare Haro spoke about MDI and the progress over the years in PNG.

“MDI has a work plan that has been reviewed annually, our current work plan runs up until June 2023, we will be going into a process of reviewing that, reaching out to Media to see what else needs to be included going forward.

"In sickening statements, draconian laws, conflicts of interest, and even the use of physical violence, democratic governments are trampling on a freedom that should, in principle, be one of their leading performance indicators," said the group, also known by its French acronym, RSF (Reporters Sans Frontières).

In the editorial entitled "Intimidation", he says journalism in Vanuatu has always been a "rough and tumble affair".

The Vanuatu Daily Post has a long history of campaigning for media freedom in Vanuatu.

McGarry's newspaper editorial about the apparent sabotage says:

A few weeks ago, I took my car in for unscheduled service. When I came to pick it up, the mechanic informed me that the wheel nuts had been loosened so much that he was able to remove them with his fingers.

If I had not taken the car in for service, I might have lost a wheel while driving.

Mr. Kaye also urged the authorities to revoke other measures that restrain access to internet and social media and curtail the freedom of the press.

“These new laws could be used to muzzle dissenting opinions and deter human rights defenders, academics, journalists, students, politicians and civil society members”, the expert warned.