Unease in landowners’ paradise
Now that the country has simmered down from its initial shock over the refugee resettlement deal, it’s time for the people to face the harsh reality of this controversial arrangement concocted by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd. The burning question is how does PNG resettle asylum seekers or rather the genuine ones? Hopefully, O’Neill has the answer. Surely, one hopes, he has considered the issue and all his options before signing the Regional Resettlement Arrangement (RRA) with Rudd. There has been widespread criticism of the agreement, here and overseas, but the prime minister has revealed very little about his plans to implement the RRA so far. When it was announced on July 19, all O’Neill told a press conference in Brisbane was that Papua New Guinea fully supported this major initiative to combat the scourge of people smuggling. He admitted that it was not going to be easy, “but of course, Papua New Guinea is blessed with lots of land mass and