The New Zealand Foreign Minister has gone into bat for New Zealand companies contracting to the Papua New Guinea Government but who are not being paid.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
At least one New Zealand company, Evaluation Consult, has an unpaid debt dating back to 2014.
The debt has since been verified by the PNG courts and while the company has been given a cheque this cannot be cleared for lack of government funds.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he accepted there were significant budget and foreign exchange issues for the PNG Government but pointed out to ministers that failing to pay debts was not a good look for a country trying to foster foreign investment.
"I made the point to the Minister of Finance and others that at a time when they are trying to build economic partnerships and at a time when they are looking towards hosting APEC in 2018 and harvesting the economic opportunities that come from that, having the word get around that you might not get paid is a pretty unhelpful thing to have happen," Murray McCully said.