My name is Richard Ian Kurek, date of birth 10 April 1982, Australian Passport number PA1014705.
I would like to raise a number of serious issues and also make a complaint about PNGCIR – (NID Haus), Wewak and Port Moresby offices.
My wife Serah Akut and I have been trying to get our son’s Birth Certificate for 4 and a half years.
I am an Australian citizen, and I currently live in Wewak, East Sepik province. I live here with my defacto partner Serah Akut, who is a PNG-born citizen. I am here on a Special Exemption Visa (Dependent of citizen, non-working) and we have signed an undertaking that Serah’s family will support me financially while I am in PNG.
PNG Immigration (ICA) have put a condition on my entry permit visa which forbids me from seeking employment while I am in PNG, and therefore I am not legally allowed to have a work permit in PNG.
Before I first came to PNG in July 2015, I had only planned to stay here strictly for a maximum of 14 months, which was to allow adequate time for Serah to get her passport renewed and get an Australian visa, and then Serah was going to come back to Australia to live with me. That was our plan.
However, shortly after I came here Serah and I had a son. His name is James Alexander Kurek, he was born here in Wewak at Boram general hospital on 9th March 2016.
We live at Serah's parents' house, and we have no refrigerator, no ablution block, no pipe water, and we have a very low income, so we live in severe poverty and neglect. This house and yard is unhygienic and unsafe, and also we live in an area with a high crime rate which includes weekly murders and sexual abuse in community, and sometimes there are violent clan wars involving hundreds of people which occurs in the street directly at the front of our house, so clearly this place is unfit to raise a child. I do not have sufficient energy or time to list all of the unfit and inhumane conditions we live in.
When we first found out that Serah was pregnant, we both agreed that it will be in and our best interest for health, safety, education, and wellbeing reasons if we leave PNG as soon as possible, so we made plans to move to Australia. We had everything in place, my parents agreed to accommodate us and support us financially when we got to Australia, and my brother arranged employment for me.
We wanted James to be born in Australia and we tried our best to make that happen, but they were too slow with processing Serah’s Passport renewal application before James was born, so he was born here against our wishes.
During this time the PNGCIR website was malfunctioning and we could not access the required information, and also because of the lack of government services and information available to the general public in Wewak, it took us a very long time just to find out basic information about how to obtain James's birth certificate and Passport.
Over a period of 10 months we sent more than 14 emails to PNGCIR from their website to ask for this information, but we never got any reply, and during these 10 months we also tried to call PNGCIR Port Moresby more than 500 times on the phone number shown on their website, but none of our calls were answered.
Eventually a friend told us that a new NID office opened in Wewak, so we filled out James’ birth certificate application form the best we could, and we gathered some required documents, but when we went to Wewak NID office to lodge the application the office was already closed and it remained closed every day for over 1 year.
Towards the end of this 1-year period while the Wewak NID office was closed, I called PNGCIR Port Moresby and they actually answered the phone. I spoke with Nancy Dilu and explained our situation in detail, but she told me PNGCIR Port Moresby will not help us because of our location, and she told us we must go to our closest NID office in our province.
I told Nancy that the Wewak NID office has been closed for more than 1 year, and she lied to me and pretended she wasn’t aware of it, and she said sorry PNGCIR Port Moresby cannot assist us to get our sons birth certificate.

We had no other choice so we had to just wait, and then a few months later the Wewak NID office suddenly re-opened. We went there many times and waited all day in the hot sun but we did not get our enquiry attended to because there were hundreds of people coming from their villages every day to apply for their NID.
After a few months of trying again many times, Serah managed to get seen by a female staff member and the lady went through the application form with Serah to make sure it was filled in correctly, and she informed Serah which documents are required to be lodged with the application, and told her to come back another time with the rest of the required documents.
The next time Serah went there she brought the requested documents, but she was told she also needs to provide some more documents too. 
Serah went back to Wewak NID Haus a 3rd time with these extra documents as requested, and they told her that she has now provided all the required documents, and they accepted the application form on 19th November 2018.
While Serah was at Wewak NID office on this occasion, she explained our situation in detail. She explained to them about my Australian citizenship and my Visa type and my work restriction, and she was verbally assured that all the required documents are in order.
When Wewak NID Haus accepted the application, Serah was informed that PNGCIR Port Moresby will send her an email within 2 weeks to confirm receiving the application, and they will also give her James' application number.
We waited 5 weeks but no email came from PNGCIR Port Moresby, so Serah went back to Wewak NID office and they checked their system and wrote James's birth certificate application number on an old piece of paper and gave it to her.

We waited 9 months and nobody from PNGCIR contacted us to give us a status update. During this 9 months period we tried to call PNGCIR Port Moresby many times but they did not answer the phone, so then Serah called Wewak NID office to check the application status and they said PNGCIR Port Moresby did not contact them yet. 
Serah asked a staff member there to call Port Moresby office to get a status update because she could not get in contact with them, and she was told they will do that and call her back soon. We waited 6 weeks but nobody from Wewak NID office called Serah, so she called them again and they said they were also unable to get in contact with the Port Moresby office.
The next day Serah called PNGCIR Port Moresby and spoke with Nancy Dilu. She told Serah they don’t know why the application is taking so long to process. Serah insisted she find out what is causing the delay, so then Nancy put Serah on hold for a few minutes and when she came back to the phone she told Serah there was a delay because someone accidentally mixed up some documents but she has sorted out those mixed-up documents already and the application has been forwarded to the other department for data entry and final processing, and she told Serah to call back in 2 weeks to check again and it’s expected to be finished by then.
During this phone call Serah specifically asked Nancy 2 more times to check if all the required documents are in order and Nancy said yes, she has spoken with the compliance department and everything's fine now, it will definitely be approved soon, and she will ask the other department to speed it up because we had already been kept waiting for such a long time. 
After 2 weeks passed, Serah called PNGCIR Port Moresby again, and Nancy said there had been some further delay but she does not know why, and she told Serah “don’t worry somebody will call you back soon when it’s finished”.
We waited a few more months and still no contact from PNGCIR, and then suddenly we had this whole coronavirus situation happening so we allowed some extra time for expected delays, but still nobody called her back, so Serah contacted Wewak NID office again to find out what’s the reason for the delay.
The person who answered the phone told Serah to go Wewak NID Haus WhatsApp Group to check. When Serah asked them in the WhatsApp group, she was told the application has been cancelled, and official reason given is that James application has been "cancelled due to foreign case", but they did not reply to her when she asked them what that actually means. 
Serah called PNGCIR Port Moresby again and spoke with Nancy Dilu. Nancy told Serah that "cancelled due to foreign case" actually means that some required documents were not attached with the application. She told Serah that there’s nothing they can do about it, and we will just have to lodge a new application because the other one has already been cancelled.
I was not satisfied with Serah’s explanation of what Nancy told her because it did not sound right to me, so I called PNGCIR Port Moresby on Friday 4th September 2020 and I spoke to Nancy Dilu. I asked Nancy to confirm for me the specific reason why James' birth certificate application was cancelled, and she told me the same thing that she had told Serah. When I asked Nancy to tell me specifically which documents were missing from the application, she said she doesn’t know.
I started to get cross and I told her we have a right to know this information, so then she put me on hold to go and ask another staff member, then she and came back on the phone and told me that we failed to include 1). James' Clinic book and 2). My work permit, as they are both on their list of requirements.
I asked Nancy where can I get an official list of required documents and she said she doesn’t know.
Nancy was also not able to explain to me how they are certain what the requirements are if they don’t even have an official written list.
I informed Nancy that I am here on a Special Exemption Visa (Dependent of citizen, non-working) and that I am not actually allowed to have a work permit, but she said sorry it’s still a requirement for me to provide one.
I told Nancy that we had been waiting 2 years for the application to be processed, and that during all this time and so much communication with them, nobody had checked or informed us that 2 documents were missing.
By this time, I was feeling very angry so I continued to ask Nancy many more questions.
During this conversation, Nancy Dilu revealed to me some further information.
She agrees that Wewak NID office is responsible for telling us false information regarding the document requirements.
Furthermore, she told me that she is already aware that the staff members at Wewak NID office have not been given proper training or instructions regarding what the required documents are, and she said that they have not been provided with a requirements checklist.
She also agrees that PNGCIR Port Moresby are responsible for mishandling the application and for failing to inform us about the missing documents during the many times we called them,  and she was not able to explain to me why they failed contact us to inform us of anything during the last 2 years, but she said PNGCIR will not take responsibility for any of their actions or fix their mistakes.
She revealed to me that she knew about the Wewak NID Haus being closed for over a year, which contradicts what she told me previously.
She also informed me that she and most other staff members at PNGCIR Port Moresby are fully aware of these document requirements issues, and that they have existed for a very long time.
She told me that most birth certificate applications lodged in Wewak get cancelled for the same reason ours did, and this happened many times before to other people, dating back to several years before we lodged our application.
I asked Nancy why they were fully aware of the situation for so long yet they did absolutely nothing to address it during all this time, and she said “I don’t know”.
At first Nancy told me that it is the responsibility of the PNGCIR Port Moresby’s compliance office to ensure that all provincial offices have the correct information and training, but when I asked her how I can contact them, she said “I don’t know”.

She told me that we cannot appeal the cancellation of James’ birth certificate application, and they will not give us an opportunity to provide the missing documents. This is a misrepresentation of our rights, as it clearly and specifically states in PNG law that we have a right to appeal any decision they make, pand considering the fact that we can prove that they made the decision in error, plus they have admitted it several times already.
I started to get cross at her about that, so she said that if I want to make a complaint I have to contact The Registrar General, but when I asked her how I can contact the Registrar general she said “I don’t know”.
When I demanded that I have a right to know this information, she told me its available on the PNGCIR website. So, I ended the phone call and I went to the PNGCIR website, but there was no such information about how to contact The Registrar general.
I immediately called Nancy Dilu again to inform her that the Registrar General’s contact information is not on the website like she told me before, and I asked her to please find out how I can contact the Registrar General, but she said she is very busy and has to go now and she hung up the phone.
I was not satisfied with the information she gave me, so I called back again and asked the receptionist to please give me the contact information for the Registrar General but she sai “I don’t know”, so I asked her how I can contact the Compliance office which Nancy Dilu had mentioned earlier. The receptionist told me the compliance office does not have any phone lines in their office yet, so she gave me their email address instead and told me to email  a compliance officer named Benjamin Kepino at compliance@pngcir.gov.pg, and he might be able to answer more of my questions.
I sent a detailed email to compliance@pngcir.gov.pg which includes all the information I have written above, but they have not replied or acknowledged receiving my email. I have confirmation from Gmail system that my email was successfully delivered, so I don’t know why the have not replied, and I have not been given any other way to contact them.
This is a summary of all the contact and dealings Serah and I have had with PNGCIR during the past 2 years. 

This simple birth certificate application process has turned into a long and complicated saga, with countless acts of prolonged and repeated incompetence, confusion and disorganisation on PNGCIR’s part.
PNGCIR have demonstrated an inexplicably poor understanding of each staff member’s role, poor and bordering on non-existent communication between staff members in the same office and between different sections, and there has been no oversight, nor any sense of responsibility or professionalism amongst them.
Whilst the actions of PNGCIR immediately bring into question the professional integrity and conduct of the individual staff members and PNGCIR as a whole, on further inspection its actually far more serious than that.
In their actions, PNGCIR have actually committed multiple breaches of the constitution, plus they have also committed multiple violations against our civil rights and human rights.
This is shameful, disgraceful, and absolutely unacceptable behaviour by a government department.
Their conduct has been both highly unethical and illegal. They have demonstrated that their actions are not merely a small handful of common errors or administrative mistakes, but a rather a protracted and wilful disregard to our rights and dignity, and their own code of conduct too.

We want to know why it took them 2 years (approximately 522 working days) to do the initial basic document check. This is supposed to be a routine first-step with all applications before processing begins. 
We want to know why nobody from PNGCIR contacted us to inform us about anything or request the missing documents at any time during these 2 years.
They did not even inform us after they cancelled our application, we had to contact them to find out. 
For every single instance of communication we’ve had with PNGCIR we had to call them and pay for the phone calls from our own pocket, and they never once gave us a straight answer any of the times we called.
The documents we provided were exactly as instructed by Wewak NID office, which they checked and verified more than 3 times in-person before lodging the application, and therefore Wewak NID Haus is to blame for us failing to comply with their requirements, because they gave us false information.
We want a formal written explanation from PNGCIR regarding these matters, including documented evidence to prove the reason/s for their actions.
My son has a constitutional right to have his identity papers, in fact it’s mandatory, yet he cant even prove of citizenship for his own country of birth.
According to some PNG legislation I read, this technically defines my son a refugee in PNG law, and “stateless’ according to the United Nations, which is illegal.
Considering the fact that it’s a legal requirement for my son to have a birth certificate, and PNGCIR are hindering him from complying with the law without any valid reason to do so, I would therefore like to point out that it’s an offence to cause another person to be in violation of the law.
PNGCIR have violated our constitutional right to freedom of information on multiple occasions.
They have repeatedly and continuously violated both our constitutional and human rights to freedom of movement for a period of more than 4 years.
They are preventing me from leaving this country and returning to my own country, so essentially, I’m a prisoner here being held against my will. Some people might disagree with this, but if you consider the primary fact that they are the only entity/factor preventing me from leaving PNG, therefore they are in violation of my human rights.
We require this situation to be resolved promptly, and for James to be issued with a birth certificate, as required by law. This will likely require PNGCIR or The Registrar General to grant me an exemption from providing them with my working permit, as I am legally not allowed to haveone, therefore I am not able to comply with their request to provide one.
I would like to point out that their requirement for work permit seems to be in violation of the constitution. 
What happens if I die, move far away and cannot be contacted, or if I am incapacitated? What happens if I had a work permit but it expired and I am unable to renew it due to circumstances beyond my control? 
There are many common legitimate and provable circumstances in which any person in my type of situation would not be able to provide a work permit, therefore how can they unconditionally continue to demand my work permit in order to issue my son with a document that he has a legal right and obligation to hold?
PNGCIR need to recognise and obey physical and legal reality.
PNGCIR have to contact PNG Immigration themselves to confirm my visa restrictions and resolve that complication between themselves.


The way they have treated us has been very offensive and dehumanising, and as a result we are suffering from high levels of stress, frustration, depression and anxiety, which is amplified by the fact that their restriction on our freedom of movement has forced us to live in severe poverty, in a dirty, unsafe and inhumane environment, whilst they all continue to be paid their normal salary and comparatively live in luxury, without any penalty or consequences for their actions. This is such a high level of injustice it makes me feel sick.

We require to be compensated for the multiple violations of our rights.
I require to be financially compensated for 3 years loss of income from my job in Australia.
We require financial compensation for all our expenses incurred during the lodgement the application form, which they sabotaged, and which therefore was provably destined to be rejected from the beginning.
We require PNGCIR to pay all costs associated with us lodging a new application.
We require financial compensation for all the unnecessary expenses we unduly and unfairly  incurred, solely and directly due to PNGCIR’s actions.
We require financial compensation for all our wasted time and effort, including all the time and effort we have been forced to spend in the pursuit of justice and defending our rights.
My son is almost at school age now, and we have no income to pay his school fees, clothing and many other basic needs. He has never had an opportunity to meet my family in Australia and he has missed out on so much family bonding time and enjoyment, and that is something which PNGCIR can never make up for. They are spoiling my son’s life, and I will not drop this matter until justice is served and we have been fully compensated for all our aggrievances.
All of my family are so angry, disappointed and appalled at the actions PNGCIR.
We have exhausted every available avenue to resolve this issue with PNGCIR directly. They have admitted full responsibility on multiple occasions, yet they continue wilfully avoid any resolution to this matter. They continue to keep messing us around and waste our time and effort, and they still won’t give is a straight answer on most of the questions I have asked, which we have a legal right to know.
In addition to compensation, we want PNGCIR to be reported for their unlawful activity and be referred to any and all relevant government departments, to investigate all their misconduct and to be held accountable for their actions, as well as for any relevant penalties or disciplinary measures to be applied and enforced.
I have already engaged with several experienced lawyers and solicitors in preparation to sue, however, it is our sincere hope that any costly and unnecessary legal action can be avoided, in the best interests of all involved.
I would also strongly suggest that it would be a sensible idea for the relevant government body/ies to audit/review any/all of the laws and practices that gave rise to this ridiculous and nonsensical kind of situation occurring to begin with.

Papua New Guinea has voluntarily and eagerly ratified a number of key international human rights treaties and enshrined their provisions into law, even going against the sound advice of the United Nations Council in some cases, which include:

The International Bill of Human Rights, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and several other human rights treaties.

All employees of PNGCIR are public servants, and as such, the sole purpose of their employment is to serve the needs of the public, in strict accordance with specific instructions and guidelines set out in legislation and other organic laws.

Upon accepting their job, they enter into a legally binding agreement with the state to perform duties in exchange for pay, on the condition they also uphold the laws and ideals set out in the constitution.

When employees willingly take their wage/salary from the government but then choose not to perform their duties as agreed, this technically constitutes as obtaining property by deception, a dishonest and fraudulent act which is legally and ethically akin to theft. It’s conceptually and practically the same thing.

The property in this case is their wage the government pays using public funds, and the deception is them taking the money and wilfully neglecting to perform the duties that they previously agreed to do before accepting said money.

Compare this with any commercial transaction – the exchange of goods or services for money. If a company takes money without providing the agree upon goods or services, or if a company provides goods or services but the customer does not pay, that’s either theft or sometimes fraud. And consider that a commercial transaction is only an unwritten and unspoken agreement, it is not even expressed, it’s only implied. 

Comparably, in the case of employment, the terms of employment are actually a specifically expressed and written agreement for an employee to provide services in exchange for money, and therefore more legally binding than a merely implied commercial agreement. 

Public servants get paid to perform their duties and serve the needs of the people, they should NOT be getting paid to be lazy and incompetent assholes, nor violate people’s Civil rights.
In our single case alone, PNGCIR have committed the following acts:

Abuse of authority, violation of Civil rights, violation of human rights, repeated and prolonged failure or outright refusal to perform their mandated duties, misconduct, denial of legal right of appeal, denial of access to information, directly and wilfully telling lies, avoiding contact, evading responsibility, misrepresentation of our legal rights. 

And the list goes on....and that’s not even including all the other hundreds or more other people’s cases. 
We never did anything wrong to them, and PNGCIR need to be held accountable for all the damage they have caused to our lives. The laws need to be superlatively enforced with appropriate penalties applied, at the very least to serve as a reminder that they are not allowed to operate above or outside the law and that such actions will not be tolerated.

The time is long overdue for them to start respecting not only our rights, but also the constitution which gives rise to their very existence. Case-in-point: they have no legitimate reason to justify their actions that could be used as a valid defence in court.

We have not been asking for any kind of special treatment or anything out of the ordinary, we simply need our son’s birth certificate. It’s a legal requirement to have one, and also as a requirement to get his passport. 

I want to take my son and leave PNG and go back to my home, they don’t have a right to keep holding me here against my will and I did nothing wrong to deserve this illegal captivity.

This is not a series of events that occurred only in the past, PNGCIR still continue to be in violation of our rights up to this very moment. 

I strongly believe all staff members involved should be terminated from their employment forthwith for their long-term repeated acts of misconduct. 

We want PNGCIR to be forced to obey the law and we want justice to be served, but most importantly we want remediation.



A brief breakdown of our required compensation is as follows:

4 years loss of income and other earnings – K380,000. (approx. $150,000 AUD). 

4 years repeated and continuous violation of multiple civil and human rights – K300,000.

4 years emotional and psychological pain and suffering – K180,000.00. 

3 years projected psychiatric expenses – K217,000. (approx. $86,000 AUD).

Total K1,077,000.