PNG’s Peter O’Neill under fire over mine court case comments

Former Papua New Guinea prime minister Mekere Morauta has accused incumbent leader Peter O’Neill of misrepresenting a Singapore court case where a $1.4 billion development fund created by BHP Billiton is at stake.

Sir Mekere said the PNG government had substantially lost a court action last week that Mr O’Neill had claimed as a success in his campaign to win control of the PNG Sustainable Development Program fund. “The numerous untruths contained in the Prime Minister’s statement have been drawn to the attention of the court by PNGSDP,” Sir Mekere said.

He said it was “puzzling to say the least that the PM ‘welcomes’ the Singapore court’s ruling in this regard, when the state has lost its application before the judge and is seeking to overturn the decision on appeal”.

Last December the PNG government nationalised the majority stake in the Ok Tedi copper mine, which BHP had bequeathed to the PNFSDP when it exited the mine a decade ago after en­vir­onmental disputes.

Mr O’Neill has been advocating a greater government role in resources development and had disputed the management of the PNGSDP fund, intended for development aid to the Western Province after mining stops.

Sir Mekere said Mr O’Neill had misrepresented the still unpublished judgment by suggesting it had gone against the fund and had limited its actions while a broader case continued.

The judge had instead indicated that she thought PNG’s claims of wasteful spending by the fund were “unfounded” and had as a result dismissed PNG’s request for a receiver to be appointed.

In an indication the legal battle is being drawn into domestic politics, Sir Mekere called on Mr O’Neill to apologise to the Western Province people for lying about an issue crucial to their future.

He also said PNG’s lawyers had told the Singapore court in a letter that Mr O’Neill had made mistakes about the case and would be clarifying his position.

SOURCE: Australian Financial Review

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