Peter Barkie

Everyday People PNG: Peter Barkie

I served the Defence Force for about 21 years.

Within 21 years, I made it up to the rank of lieutenant colonel before I decided to disengage. 

There was a program with the Defence Force for voluntary retrenchment; for people who want to leave the force with extra benefits at that time.

Criminals better equipped: Commander

Provincial police commander, Peter Barkie, said this is the sad reality on ground.

Once synonymous with tourism, the beautiful island province of Milne Bay has been rocked with shootouts, arson, petty crimes and piracy; a nightmare for the majority of the laidback local populace.

With the new provincial police commander, Barkie, taking over the reins, his vision to restore the public’s trust in the force is hampered with a lack of logistics.

New Milne Bay PPC works on rebuilding image

The new Milne Bay Provincial Police Commander is pushing for a new-look, well-disciplined force if they are to tackle the tremendous challenge of law and order.

Peter Barkie took up the post in July and is working to restore command and control in a force that, in the past few years, has done more damage than the criminals in Alotau.

When speaking to this newsroom, PPC Barkie described the island province’s law and order situation as “out of control”.

Joint forces ready for third APEC meeting

Barkie said: “This is a friendly call to inform general public, especially in National Capital District (NCD) and Central Province, that the joint security forces are gearing up for the APEC Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) operation.

“I want to advise the general public that some of the roads will be restricted for APEC officials and delegates’ use only. Therefore, we anticipate a lot of traffic congestion within city limits because of the moving officials and delegates. Also, some of the areas will be restricted for public use during the meetings.