Operation PAPUA NEW GUINEA ASSIST : Image Galleries
29 November 2007
VIPs visit Oro Province
A group of very important people visited Oro Province to view damage and see the progress made in relief efforts after floods devastated villages when Cyclone Guba hit the northern region of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Mr Chris Moraitas (Australian High Commissioner to PNG) was joined by Group Captain Tim Innes (Commander of Joint Task Force 636), Colonel Francis Agwi (Chief Intelligence with the Papua New Guinean Defence Forces), Dame Carol Kidu (Minister for Community Development) and Ms Margaret Thomas (Coordinator of AusAID in PNG), surveyed the damage to the region before landing at the operations centre at Girua Airfield.
The dignitaries then moved to the village of Popondetta, where disaster coordination was taking place and discussed the operation before meeting some of the locals, displaced by the flooding.
Operation PNG Assist is the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) mission to provide substantial disaster relief assistance to Papua New Guinea, as they help villages destroyed by flooding in the wake of Cyclone Guba.
Working with AusAID and other agencies, the ADF has established the most effective response and has sent over a small support and command element. Joint Task Force (JTF) 636, under the command of Group Captain Tim Innes, will coordinate ADF support in close consultation with Papua New Guinea’s Government.
| 20071127adf8262658_148 (L-R) Lieutenant Colonel Grant Johansen (Papua New Guinea Defence Force), Miss Margaret Thomas (AusAID Coordinator to Papua New Guinea), Group Captain Tim Innes (Commander of Joint Task Force 636), Mr Chris Moraitas (Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea) and Mr Bill Costello (team leader of the AusAID contingent) discuss movements and raise issues during Operation PNG Assist. (Date taken: 27 November 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071127adf8262658_181 Mr Chris Moraitas, Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea and Dame Carol Kidu, Minister for Community Development in Papua New Guinea, speak to a member of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force about the problems facing the villages of Popondetta in Oro Province in Papua New Guinea during Operation PNG Assist. (Date taken: 27 November 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071127adf8262658_482 Ms Gay Moore of AusAID and Ms Liduvina Gonzalez of the World Health Organisation (WHO), look at a map of areas affected by flooding in Oro province in Papua New Guinea during Operation PNG Assist. (Date taken: 27 November 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20071127adf8262658_486 Mr Chris Moraitas, Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, shakes hands with Popondetta locals who thank him for the work being done to help during Operation PNG Assist. (Date taken: 27 November 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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