Aussies not welcome on Kokoda Trail

[Tina Greco - Melbourne]

Aussies not welcome on Kokoda Trail

February 07, 2008 12:59am
Article from: AAP

VILLAGERS felled a tree across Papua New Guinea's historic Kokoda Trail, where Australian soldiers fought Japanese troops in 1942, declaring trekking tourists unwelcome.

Village spokesman Barney Jack said about 1000 villagers are demanding the PNG government allow the Australian company Frontier Resources to dig up 600m of the track to mine a $6.7 billion copper and gold deposit.

The villagers have been offered five per cent in the mine, which could deliver them more than $110 billion over the proposed 10-year life of the project.

But the Australian government is pressuring the PNG government not to allow the track to be disturbed, Fairfax reports.

PNG officials expect that up to 6000 trekkers, most of them Australians, will want to travel to PNG after the 2008 trekking season opens early next month.

The blockage has been set up near Naoro village - a cluster of 40 hilltop huts about 55km north-east of the PNG capital Port Moresby.

[Boeregeneraal]

to mine a $6.7 billion copper and gold deposit.

The villagers have been offered five per cent in the mine, which could deliver them more than $110 billion over the proposed 10-year life of the project.

6.7 Trillion, or Billion? It doesn't make sense?

I reckon open the damn mine! Australians will still be flocking to the site. Rather have an aus company work in the region, knopwing the historical value of the site...because otherwise some chinese company will...and they don't care about anything