Robson fires back in Wawa war

FREE from the cannibal-infested jungles of Papua and the Indonesian authorities who hampered her attempt to save a small orphaned boy named Wawa from the village stockpot, Today Tonight's Naomi Robson must now battle to restore what credibility she ever had.

FREE from the cannibal-infested jungles of Papua and the Indonesian authorities who hampered her attempt to save a small orphaned boy named Wawa from the village stockpot, Today Tonight's Naomi Robson must now battle to restore what credibility she ever had.

She is, she insists, not simply an entertainer.

"I consider myself a journalist," the Seven Network star told The Weekend Australian last night from Singapore, where she and her crew were resting after their theatrically tabloid week.

And the state of her credibility?

"I don't know, I think other people will decide that," Robson said.

Tribal wars in the highlands of Papua are serious enough, but a tribal media war between Seven and its arch rival the Nine Network is something else altogether, and Robson's credibility has been a target for Nine ever since Today Tonight overtook A Current Affair in the ratings.

Earlier this year, Robson admitted to dating a prominent underworld figure. And when the media descended on the Tasmanian town of Beaconsfield where two miners were trapped underground, Robson's precious antics made her the subject of much derision among colleagues.

Now, a week after appearing with a lizard on her shoulder at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, her clumsy bragging about the Indonesian trip to fellow journalists and the naive manner in which host and crew presented themselves in a politically charged environment has embarrassed Seven.

But as for hungry cannibals circling young Wawa, Robson is sticking to her guns about Today Tonight's intentions.

"I have to say the whole idea was to get in and find out," she said in response to questions over whether she seriously believed Wawa was on the verge of being eaten.

"Clearly, as a journalist, I wanted to get there, meet (the guide) Cornelius Sempiring, then actually speak to Wawa's uncle and family. The uncle was going to be with us at all times; he was the one saying, 'Please help me, Wawa's life is in danger'. They know a number of Kakua - boy witches - who have been killed."

History will show how Robson and her crew were detained by authorities before they could get to the maneaters because they did not have work visas. They blame a dobber at Nine - possibly reporter Ben Fordham - for their detainment and deportation.

Seven's plan was to repatriate Wawa with Mr Sempiring for six months while a suitable foster family could be found. Seven would then pay his upkeep and education expenses for 10 years.

But Robson was defensive when The Weekend Australian asked why she and Today Tonight's producers had never considered a similar proposal closer to home.

Why go to the jungles of Papua when it has been shown that some children in Aboriginal communities suffer horrendous sexual abuse and might also appreciate a Seven-sponsored 10-year repatriation plan?

"Paul Raffaele (the fixer who helped both Nine and Seven with the story) came to us and said, 'This is the situation, this boy needs our help', and we felt we could help," she said.

Robson believes Wawa was considered a Kakua because his fellow villagers could not explain the death of his parents last year. Children are eaten quite commonly, she claims.

Mr Sempiring, however, said last night he didn't think the child's life was in danger "for the moment".