Kokoda Track blocked to trekkers over permits rift

Australian trekkers have been barred from making the historic pilgrimage along the Kokoda Track in PNG after local workers blockaded the trail to protest ­losing their jobs.

Local tour guides and porters have blockaded the Kokoda Track.

Australian trekkers have been barred from making the historic pilgrimage along the Kokoda Track in PNG after local workers blockaded the trail to protest ­at losing their jobs after the Australian tour company they worked for was stripped of its permits.

Between 350 and 400 tour guides and porters working for Australian company Adventure Kokoda, the largest tour operator leading trekkers along the trail that marks the site of the World War II battle, have formed human barricades at the villages of Sogeri and Kovelo to protest being out of work.

The Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) – which is funded by the Australian government’s Kokoda Initiative – stripped Adventure Kokoda, owned by former NSW MP Charlie Lynn, of its licence after he was accused of “attempting to evade paying trekking ­permit fees”.

Adventure Kokoda made headlines in April after Adelaide father Paul Miller died from a suspected heart attack while trekking in a tour group organised by the company.

Protester Tau Maguli, who has been leading a group brandishing a machete and a sign saying “Kokoda Track closed” and blocking the trail at Sogeri in Central Province since Saturday, said hundreds of guides and porters were now unemployed because of the decision. PNG locals working as head guides usually earn 100 Kina ($42) a day and porters earn 70 Kina ($30) a day.

“We demand the Kokoda Track Authority and the minister responsible to restore Adventure Kokoda’s trekking licence so we can operate normally on the Kokoda Trail,” Mr Maguli said.

A letter of demand announcing the strike obtained by The Australian says the group is calling for the KTA to reinstall the company’s licence, action to address welfare concerns for people living along the trail and compensation for the workers who have missed out on work.

PNG Environment and Conservation Minister Simon Kilepa wrote to KTA chief executive Julius Wargirai to instruct him to cancel Adventure Kokoda’s operating licence after the group ­“deliberately attempted to evade payment of trekking permit fees to the KTA as required under PNG law”, a letter circulated ­online shows.

Mr Lynn said he had contacted the KTA raising concerns about the condition of the trail but when he did not receive a reply or evidence his office was operational he decided to pay a portion of the fees to campsite owners.

“Once (Mr Wargirai) ­realised this, he contacted our PNG manager and all trek payments were paid within 24 hours of my departure,” he said.

Mr Lynn said he had nothing to do with the protests. The KTA was contacted for comment.