O'neill says phone hacking and Spying activities by Australia illegal

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'neill. Getty 

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill says phone hacking and spying activities by Australia are illegal.

He has instructed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato to summon Australian High Commissioner Deborah Stokes to explain the accusations made against Australia.  

O’Neill said phone tapping was illegal and Australia must respect the leaders of any sovereign nation.

“Friends do not do that,” he said.

“If they want to participate in any discussion then ask and join in the discussion rather than spying and illegally listening to conversations,” he said.

“I have now instructed the Minister for Foreign Affairs to summon the High Commissioner of Australia to PNG to verify the issue of spying on PNG national leaders.”

O’Neill was responding to a question in Parliament by Manus MP Ronny Knight on what the Government was doing on the spying allegations and phone hacking by Australia.

He said the phone hacking and spying issues would be discussed during the PNG-Australia ministerial meeting in Australia next month.

O’Neill said the Manus asylum centre issue raised by Bogia MP John Hickey about Papua New Guineans missing out on benefits and the visa requirement concerns would be discussed during the ministerial meeting.

“We want the ministerial meeting to be a meaningful one,” O’Neill said.

 “Not just one of such events where you hold talks and nothing happens year in and year out.” 

O’Neill said former police commissioner Gari Baki had been appointed the director general of the National Intelligence Organisation..

PNG Today/The National