australia papua new guinea business council one hundred and fifty ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

proposals. The Executive Director attended, and spoke at, a monthly meeting of the CairnsPNG Tradelinked Group in Cairns on Tuesday 30 October 2012. This group meets on the last Tuesday of each month for a networking function. Members who wish to attend are welcomed. F. 28th AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA BUSINESS FORUM, BRISBANE, 13 TO 15 MAY 2012. A provisional final account for the Forum is attached for review and comment by committee members. In summary, there will be a distribution of slightly in excess of $60,000 to each of the three partners in the Forum i.e. the Business Council of Papua New Guinea, this Council, and the APNGBC PNG. It is proposed that the transfer of the distribution be held over until the accounts for the 2011 Forum are finalised by them and agreed by the Treasurer. Attached: 28 th Australia Papua New Guinea Business Forum Provisional Final Account. G. PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM: PRIVATE SECTOR DIALOGUE, RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS, 27 TO 29 AUGUST 2012. Held in conjunction with the Pacific Islands Forum each year, the Private Sector Dialogue brings together private sector representatives from the 16 Forum countries to identify and discuss issues of concern to business and to put these issues to Forum Heads of Government at their concurrent meeting. Two representatives attend from each country. The process is managed by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIF). The topic for this year’s Dialogue is “Clean and Green Industries: Promoting Sustainable Businesses in the Pacific”. The President and Executive Director attended. The meeting was lacklustre, and there was considerable dissatisfaction amongst Pacific islands business representatives that Leaders appeared completely disinterested in engaging with business. For example at a Business Breakfast for Business Delegates with Leaders arranged by the hardworking Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce and the Cook Islands Government only the Prime Ministers of Cook Islands, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea turned up. The Australian Prime Minister arrived in Cook Islands as the Business Council representatives were leaving, literally. Documents from the Private Sector Dialogue and the Forum Communiqué are attached. Attachments: Private Sector Dialogue Agenda. Private Sector Dialogue Chair Statement to Leaders. Private Sector Dialogue Outcomes Document. 43rd Pacific Islands Forum Communiqué. H. MEETINGS WITH DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP SENIOR OFFICIALS, SYDNEY, FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2012, AND PORT MORESBY, MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2012. Following the call by the President and Executive Director on Wednesday 27 June on the Minister for Immigration, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, Minister of Immigration and Citizenship, a meeting took place with very senior officials of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in Sydney on 31 August 2012 and in Port Moresby on 5 November 2012. The Sydney meeting was chaired by the President and included executive committee members Scott Roberts, Peter Maletz and Caleb Jarvis and the Executive Director. The DIAC representatives were led by Peter Vardos, Deputy Secretary for Client Services. The Port Moresby meeting was attended by the President, Vice-President Richard Flynn and the Executive Director, from the Business Council of Papua New Guinea executive committee members Kim Lee and Tamzin Wardley and Executive Officer Douveri Henau, and from the APNGBC PNG President Philip Franklin and executive committee member Peter Deizman and Corporate Services Manager Helena Wilson. The DIAC representatives were again led by Peter Vardos with Todd Frew, First Assistant Secretary, Visas and Offshore Services, and Adrian Kelson, Director, PNG Travel Facilitation. Both meetings led to a very useful exchange of information from both sides, and improved the understanding of business about the context and issues faced by the Department in managing
its visa issuing responsibilities including the high modified non-return rate of PNG passport holders entering Australia. Much more can be achieved if Papua New Guinea improves the use of technology including biometrics in managing the integrity of its passport database and issuing arrangements. Also improving the processing of APEC Business Travel Cards for PNG citizens will assist with entry to Australia. There are just 65 APEC Cards on issue from the PNG Government, and PNG business representatives reported it takes as long as 2 years to have an application processed. The DIAC data shows that 800 PNG citizens made four or more business entries to Australia in a recent twelve month period, highlighting the scope for use of APEC Cards. We propose to continue the dialogue with DIAC senior officials to deal with various specific visas issues such as review progress on streamlining processing of business visas for PNG citizens, explore better co-ordination of the various components (medical, trade testing and language testing) for PNG applicants for Class 457 visas, examine better timeliness in the management of applications for medical visas for PNG citizens, discuss issues around visas for education and training in Australia. On 7 November 2012 the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the PNG Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration announced jointly in Canberra and Port Moresby that agreement had been reached to the introduction of electronic visas for PNG passport holders. They also announced the establishment of a joint traveller facilitation taskforce comprising officials from the Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority. Attached: 7 November 2012 Media Statement by Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. I. FUNCTION IN PERTH, TUESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2012. The Council held a function in Perth on Tuesday 4 September hosted by member Allens Arthur Robinson (Gerard Woods). The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, and the High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea, HE Mr Charles Lepani, attended. Peter Botten gave an address on the work of Oil Search in PNG including the LNG Project. Thanks to those members of the committee who attended (President, Mr Maletz, Executive Director) and to those who have provided a list of suggested invitees. J. AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA MINISTERIAL FORUM The 21st Australia Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum will now be held in Papua New Guinea on Thursday 6 December 2012. We have expressed to the Australian High Commissioner and to the Papua New Guinea Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, who Vice-President Richard Flynn and the Executive Director called on in Port Moresby on Tuesday 6 November, the hope that the structure of the engagement with business at this year’s Forum will be similar to last year’s Forum in Canberra where business had a separate meeting with Ministers prior to the Forum itself. This is likely to be more difficult in Port Moresby than at Parliament House in Canberra because Australian Ministers will likely be all over the place! We will keep pushing. Preliminary advice is that the Australian Minister for Trade, the Hon Craig Emerson MP, will be attending as well as the Foreign Minister, Senator the Hon Bob Carr. WORK PROGRAM 2013 A. MARKETI PLES PASIFIKA, 20 FEBRUARY 2013 TO 11 MARCH 2103. Mr Jarvis will speak about this event being arranged by Pacific Islands Trade and Invest. Members of the executive committee will be invited to attend the opening of the event on Wednesday 20 February 2013. B. AUSTRALIA WEEK, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, WEDNESDAY 10 TO TUESDAY 16 APRIL 2012. Australia Week has been scheduled by the Australian High Commission so the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Forum becomes the culminating business event of Australia Week. There will probably be some sort of business event in Lae during the early part of the week. Possible speaker is Tim Costello. The Council will again be a sponsor of Australia Week.
Page 1 and 2: AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA BUSINESS
Page 3 and 4: WORK PROGRAM 2011. A. 27th AUSTRALI
Page 5 and 6: have indicated they will attend (Pr
Page 7 and 8: AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA BUSINESS
Page 9: AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA BUSINESS
Page 13: AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA BUSINESS

australia papua new guinea business council one hundred and fifty ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?