O'neill: Australia's VISA restrictions irritating

The VISA issue continues to text the relationship between PNG and Australia and  Prime Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday described the contentious Australian visas for Papua New Guineans issue as an "irritant" that continues to test Australia-Papua New Guinea bilateral relations.

Giving the keynote address at the 30th PNG-Australia Business Forum yesterday in the north Queensland city of Cairns yesterday, the PM said he has tried unsuccessfully to get the Gillard, Rudd and Abbott governments to sign off on the bid by his Government to agree for Papua New Guinean travellers to Australia to be issued with visas on arrival.

"There is, however, one continuing irritant in the relationship and it is an irritant I know both business councils and the private sector generally share my concern about," Mr O’Neill told conference participants at the Cairns Convention Centre.

"I have been singularly unsuccessful in my efforts to try and persuade the Gillard, Rudd and Abbott governments to simplify visa entry process to Australia for our citizens, including citizens who were formally Australian citizens.

"It is a sad reality that a Papua New Guinean businessman or businesswoman wanting to visit Australia on business has more difficulty than ever in getting a visa and if they seek a residential visa the processes are significantly more difficult than before. In a mature relationship this simply should not be the case."

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who spoke after the PM, said the solution to the issue was technical and not political and Australia was doing all it can to address the PNG Government’s concerns.

"Prime Minister, we do hear your concerns about visas. We are engaged in finding a technical solution to the necessary background checks that need to be made as we have done with New Zealand. It is a technical solution, it is not a political one and we do want to add to the fact that we have an online application for PNG – not other countries," she said.

Mr O’Neill, before zooming in on the visa issue, said PNG-Australia relations had never been better and this was epitomised in the last 12 months when three different Australian PMs in Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and Mr Abbott made official visits to the country.

"That is without precedent and I doubt if it will ever be equalled, let alone exceeded. There have been periods when we have been lucky to have one visit in three years – let alone three in one! This alone reflects not just the maturity of our relationship but its elevated importance both in Canberra and Port Moresby," he said.

The conference attracted over 300 delegates and also included a trade exhibition by over 40 Australian and PNG companies. The two-day conference will end today.

PNG Today/ Post Courier