Australia soldiers to clear unexploded ammunition from Papua New Guinea

More than 150 personnel from the Australian Defence Force, New Zealand Defence Force and Papua New Guinea Defence Force will start removing unexploded World War Two ammunition in Papua New Guinea (PNG) this week, Defence Parliamentary Secretary David Feeney announed on Tuesday. The Australia Defense Force's enduring peace-time mission, Operation RENDER SAFE 2011, will be conducted over the period Oct. 18- Nov. 4 in Rabaul on the island of New Britain in PNG, and will involve the identification, assessment and rendering safe of unexploded ordnance. Senator Feeney said the operation was vital to providing a safe environment in Rabaul, which relies heavily on international tourism. "Unexploded ordnance such as torpedoes, grenades, bombs and projectiles are regularly discovered in very public locations such as domestic yards, the local police station and along the shoreline," He said in a statement on Tuesday. Rabaul, north of the mainland, was a major strategic location during WWII and allied forces launched a major bombing campaign to wrest it back from Japan. The operation will also involve a tasking to clear unexploded ordnance from the Kokoda Track.