The Kokoda Track is closed indefinitely after being blockaded by angry locals, forcing Australian travellers to be airlifted out of the remote Papua New Guinean jungle and frustrating out-of-pocket tour operators.
Local authorities are scrambling to find a solution to reopen the historic trail, which would usually be in the midst of one of its busiest periods of the year, as villagers escalate a long-running dispute with the PNG government over compensation payments.
Anthony Albanese walked a section of the Kokoda track with PNG Prime Minister James Marape earlier this year.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
The Australian military’s Kokoda campaign, which lasted from July to November 1942, played a crucial role in preventing Japanese forces from isolating Australia from its allies during World War II. An estimated 625 Australians were killed and more than 1600 wounded along the track, which was part of Australian territory at the time.
More than 3000 trekkers – most of them Australian – walk the gruelling 96-kilometre track each year to pay tribute to fallen Australian troops and their PNG comrades.
Residents of the Nauro village, located along the trail, have used logs to construct a barrier, saying they are owed about $15 million in unpaid compensation under a 2010 deal struck to prevent the opening of a gold mine in the area. The track has been repeatedly closed during financial disputes in the past.
Anthony Albanese this year became the first Australian prime minister to walk a part of the trail. He was joined on the expedition by PNG Prime Minister James Marape.
PNG defence personnel escorting the prime ministers’ entourage on the Kokoda Track in April.Credit: Matthew Knott
The federal government is currently warning Australians to exercise a high degree of caution in PNG, with the Smartraveller website saying: “The Kokoda Track is closed while local authorities negotiate with landowners to remove blockades.”
Charlie Lynn, founder of trekking company Adventure Kokoda, said the closure of the trail reflected the “incredible mismanagement” of the track over the past two decades.
“We’ve blown it, we’ve stuffed it,” he said.
“The track is closed and there is little likelihood of it being opened in the near future. Everyone is shifting the blame and no one is taking action.”
Lynn said his company had cancelled six treks and was preparing to cancel another two this week after being forced to pay to airlift stranded trekkers out of the jungle.
“We are seriously out of pocket because of this,” he said, adding that this time of year would usually be busy because of good weather and school holidays.
Lynn said the trail had been managed “as an environmental bureaucracy, not as a tourism enterprise” over many years, depriving locals of the chance to make a living from Australian tourists.
Mick O’Malley, owner and operator of Australian Kokoda Tours, said: “The local landowners, rightfully so, have been asking where their money is, and it’s been falling on deaf ears.
He said the blockade had “gone right to the top of the PNG and Australian governments”.
While many Australian customers had been understanding, he said others had been “a bit short” because their treks were cancelled after they had been in training for 12 months and paid for flights and accommodation.
Community leaders told Papua New Guinea’s Post-Courier newspaper they were furious that they had been paid only about $4 million of the $18 million they were promised in 2010 as compensation for missing out on the revenue that would have been gained from the opening of a gold mine.
Blocking the track was the only way they felt they could gain the government’s attention and secure the money they are owed, the community leaders said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was not aware of any remaining tour groups on the Kokoda Track.
“The reopening of the track is a matter for the PNG government,” the spokeswoman said.
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