{"id":717383,"date":"2022-06-24T19:13:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T19:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=75559"},"modified":"2022-06-24T19:13:51","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T19:13:51","slug":"png-statesman-sir-peter-barter-a-strong-supporter-of-the-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/06\/24\/png-statesman-sir-peter-barter-a-strong-supporter-of-the-free-press\/","title":{"rendered":"PNG statesman Sir Peter Barter a strong supporter of the free press"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id\" dir=\"auto\"><strong>OBITUARY:<\/strong>\u00a0 <em>A personal reflection by Scott Waide in Lae<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Australian-born former PNG cabinet minister and Madang businessman <strong>Sir Sir Peter Leslie Charles Barter,<\/strong> 82 &#8212; 1940-2022<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Papua New Guinean political giant Sir Peter Barter, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/international\/pacific-news\/469602\/pacific-news-in-brief\">died in Cairns<\/a> on Wednesday, was a strong supporter of the free press and media development. He personally supported generations of students from Divine Word University.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id\" dir=\"auto\">Watson Gabana and I and many others who came later were beneficiaries of that support.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>On one occasion, we travelled with Sir Peter to Long Island and Karkar to visit health centres and aid posts. He gave me his camcorder to use.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radio-australia\/programs\/pacificbeat\/tributes-flow-for-beloved-png-statesman-sir-peter-barter\/13942032\"><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> Tributes flow for beloved PNG statesman Sir Peter Barter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.com.pg\/gg-sir-peter-was-a-patriot\/\">Sir Peter Barter was a patriot<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/postcourier.com.pg\/late-sir-peter-a-pillar-of-strength\/\">Sir Peter crafted the name &#8216;beautiful Madang&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/international\/pacific-news\/469602\/pacific-news-in-brief\">PNG political giant Sir Peter Barter dies<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mylandmycountry.org\/feature\/scott-waide-time-is-precious-dont-waste-it\/\">Time is precious, don&#8217;t waste it<\/a> &#8211; <em>Scott Waide<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id\" dir=\"auto\">At the time, MiniDVs were the latest on the market and rare. No TV station was using them yet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As a 19-year-old, I was over the moon! I didn&#8217;t shoot enough footage.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id\" dir=\"auto\">Or at least Sir Peter didn&#8217;t think I did. He scolded me in the chopper then gave me advice. It stuck. Don&#8217;t waste time. Don&#8217;t waste money. Don&#8217;t waste opportunities. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id\" dir=\"auto\">Sure enough, I never got a chance to go back to Long Island. But the experience made an indelible mark.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>My first insights<\/strong><br \/>\nIt gave me my first insights into the workings of PNG politics, its flaws and the failures of service delivery mechanism.<\/p>\n<p>On Long Island, Sir Peter was furious. He, as Madang Governor, was angered by the fact that the people were neglected and the health system just didn&#8217;t work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s out of sight, out of mind,&#8221; he fumed. &#8220;As long as nobody complains, none of this will be resolved.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He stormed off towards the beach with the village councillor led in tow.<\/p>\n<p>It was a statement that has remained true for service delivery in PNG &#8212; &#8220;Out of sight, out of mind.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id\" dir=\"auto\">As much as it seems improper and out of line, the politician gives much needed visibility to issues of importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sir Peter was an avid photographer. He used his photography to document the Bougainville peace process and the collection and destruction of small arms in Tambul-Nebiliyer and the Southern Highlands.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Sir Peter Barter, great figure in PNG, dies at 82 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BhPngFsGml\">https:\/\/t.co\/BhPngFsGml<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ples Singsing (@PlesSingsing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PlesSingsing\/status\/1540149334070611968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 24, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Plight of the Manam people<\/strong><br \/>\nHe filmed the Manam volcano eruptions and gave unique insights into the plight of the Manam people while at the same time conducting rescue operations for men, women and children.<\/p>\n<p>His sometimes dry sarcastic sense of humour was legendary.<\/p>\n<p>Two decades later, I found myself at the Madang Resort restaraunt, arguing with the chef about the pizza that didn&#8217;t have the ingredients that were promised on the brochure.<\/p>\n<p>Sir Peter walked up behind me and asked what the problem was. I promptly directed my complaint to him (the owner of the pizza joint). He quickly responded: &#8220;Please give the whinging journalist what he paid for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>We went away happy and began another discussion with him about the drop in tourism numbers in Madang and PNG.<\/p>\n<p>Long live the Knight!<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mylandmycountry.org\/\">Scott Waide<\/a> is an independent Papua New Guinean journalist who contributes to Asia Pacific Report.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0bMfyrvjBCc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em>Sir Peter Barter passes on.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Video: EMTV<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/2022\/06\/25\/png-statesman-sir-peter-barter-a-strong-supporter-of-the-free-press\/\">Asia Pacific Report<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OBITUARY:\u00a0 A personal reflection by Scott Waide in Lae Australian-born former PNG cabinet minister and Madang businessman Sir Sir Peter Leslie Charles Barter, 82 \u2014 1940-2022 Papua New Guinean political giant Sir Peter Barter, who died in Cairns on Wednesday, was a strong supporter of the free press and media development. He personally supported generations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,652,122,358,12,431,366,49014,50409,1872,14,653,1155,1085,9412,50421,13019],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":717391,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717383\/revisions\/717391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}