PNGBLOGS

NATIONAL REPORTS SERIOUS breaches of human rights by police in Popondetta have prompted the senior provincial magistrate there, William Noki, to suspend all court cases before him. Noki, Northern’s only magistrate, refused on Monday to hear any more court cases prosecuted by the Popondetta police in protest of what he termed “serious human rights abuse and violation of the law by police”. And he gave the police an ultimatum: “If your behaviour continues, I will have no choice but to dismiss cases against suspects who claim they had been tortured or brutalised by police”. Before a crowded Popondetta court room of prominent citizens, journalists, non-governmental organisation representatives and police personnel, Noki said: “This not a police state.” “We live in a democratic country and the rule of law must prevail. “It is the responsibility of police to make arrests, and not behave like mobsters. “I am tired of cases of people being taken into custody and their rights abused. “Police h

NATIONAL REPORTS SERIOUS breaches of human rights by police in Popondetta have prompted the senior provincial magistrate there, William Noki, to suspend all court cases before him. Noki, Northern’s only magistrate, refused on Monday to hear any more court cases prosecuted by the Popondetta police in protest of what he termed “serious human rights abuse and violation of the law by police”. And he gave the police an ultimatum: “If your behaviour continues, I will have no choice but to dismiss cases against suspects who claim they had been tortured or brutalised by police”. Before a crowded Popondetta court room of prominent citizens, journalists, non-governmental organisation representatives and police personnel, Noki said: “This not a police state.” “We live in a democratic country and the rule of law must prevail. “It is the responsibility of police to make arrests, and not behave like mobsters. “I am tired of cases of people being taken into custody and their rights abused. “Polic

NATIONAL REPORTS A SENIOR judge yesterday expressed disappointment over the inadequate penalty for those found guilty of committing rape and incest. Waigani National Court’s Justice Panuel Mogish said such offences were serious and had carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment but Parliament, in its own wisdom, cut it down to a maximum seven years. “For Parliament to reduce the maximum penalty from life to seven years is a huge reduction. Incest is a very serious offence and I don’t know who advised Parliament at that time to adjust the level of penalty,” Mogish said. He said numerous calls were made over the years for Parliament to review the penalty but to no avail. Mogish said the calls for review “fell on deaf hears.” “Parliament should read some court judgments on incest cases and make some changes on the level of penalty as the matter is serious,” the judge said. He told state lawyers to ask the public solicitor to write to the justice minister and attorney-general on the ma

NATIONAL REPORTS A SENIOR judge yesterday expressed disappointment over the inadequate penalty for those found guilty of committing rape and incest. Waigani National Court’s Justice Panuel Mogish said such offences were serious and had carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment but Parliament, in its own wisdom, cut it down to a maximum seven years. “For Parliament to reduce the maximum penalty from life to seven years is a huge reduction. Incest is a very serious offence and I don’t know who advised Parliament at that time to adjust the level of penalty,” Mogish said. He said numerous calls were made over the years for Parliament to review the penalty but to no avail. Mogish said the calls for review “fell on deaf hears.” “Parliament should read some court judgments on incest cases and make some changes on the level of penalty as the matter is serious,” the judge said. He told state lawyers to ask the public solicitor to write to the justice minister and attorney-general

FINANCIAL TIMES Papua New Guinea’s government has upset conservationists, landowners and parliamentarians after amending environmental laws last Friday that will make it harder to prosecute mining projects that damage the environment. Tiffany Nonggorr, a lawyer representing close to 1,000 landowners, including those opposed to China Metallurgical Group’s US$1.4bn Ramu nickel mine, said the changes meant landowners had lost the right to sue for negligence. “If they [the miners] did in PNG what BP has done in the Gulf of Mexico, they could escape liability for damaging the environment,” she said. Coastal landowners are particularly worried about the impact on marine life from waste that the Ramu mine will be allowed to dump into the ocean. Powes Parkop, a PNG parliamentarian, lawyer and conservation advocate said the government had granted itself “almost absolute power” to grant environment permits and assess the standards required of those permit holders. He said at the same time it had

FINANCIAL TIMES Papua New Guinea’s government has upset conservationists, landowners and parliamentarians after amending environmental laws last Friday that will make it harder to prosecute mining projects that damage the environment. Tiffany Nonggorr, a lawyer representing close to 1,000 landowners, including those opposed to China Metallurgical Group’s US$1.4bn Ramu nickel mine, said the changes meant landowners had lost the right to sue for negligence. “If they [the miners] did in PNG what BP has done in the Gulf of Mexico, they could escape liability for damaging the environment,” she said. Coastal landowners are particularly worried about the impact on marine life from waste that the Ramu mine will be allowed to dump into the ocean. Powes Parkop, a PNG parliamentarian, lawyer and conservation advocate said the government had granted itself “almost absolute power” to grant environment permits and assess the standards required of those permit holders. He said at the same time it h

ABC RADIO ELIZABETH JACKSON: Covering politics can be a tough gig for journalists; there's always lots of speculation and big egos. Reporters are often critical of politicians, but it's relatively rare for the criticism to flow the other way, publicly at least. Not so in Papua New Guinea, where journalists recently received a tongue-lashing, courtesy of the prime minister Sir Michael Somare. And as our PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports, it's not the first time it's happened. LIAM FOX: Press conferences with the 74-year-old prime minister of Papua New Guinea are pretty rare these days; they only happen once every few months or so. Recently Sir Michael Somare returned from an overseas trip and wanted to set the record straight on several matters he felt the media had covered poorly. He shuffled into the conference room with the help of a walking stick, sat down and unloaded onto the waiting press pack. MICHAEL SOMARE: I go out as a prime minister, everywhere promoting th

ABC RADIO ELIZABETH JACKSON: Covering politics can be a tough gig for journalists; there's always lots of speculation and big egos. Reporters are often critical of politicians, but it's relatively rare for the criticism to flow the other way, publicly at least. Not so in Papua New Guinea, where journalists recently received a tongue-lashing, courtesy of the prime minister Sir Michael Somare. And as our PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports, it's not the first time it's happened. LIAM FOX: Press conferences with the 74-year-old prime minister of Papua New Guinea are pretty rare these days; they only happen once every few months or so. Recently Sir Michael Somare returned from an overseas trip and wanted to set the record straight on several matters he felt the media had covered poorly. He shuffled into the conference room with the help of a walking stick, sat down and unloaded onto the waiting press pack. MICHAEL SOMARE: I go out as a prime minister, everywhere promo

SYLVESTER YAKAI Friends, people of PNG, some or a smart SELFISH mogul is well behind all these events that have been unfolding over the last couple of months. It is no coincidence. The way they are happening demonstrates existence of a drawn up strategy that guides the execution of all these activities to reach a certain goal/objective. Let me give you this, it is my personal perspective to qualify my claim above 1. The Maladina Bill Initially we had the Maladina bill, seeking to not only amend the OC act but also to do some repealing and additions. These came about after many parliamentarians were investigated or summoned over the last two years, almost at every turn to declare their business involvements, assets or other business activities as required by the leadership code. Most are government boys. To top it off, the OC grabbed the Chiefs collar for non-submission of acquittals. 2. The Environmental Act. This came about when the PM and NEC was trying to bulldoze operations at th

SYLVESTER YAKAI Friends, people of PNG, some or a smart SELFISH mogul is well behind all these events that have been unfolding over the last couple of months. It is no coincidence. The way they are happening demonstrates existence of a drawn up strategy that guides the execution of all these activities to reach a certain goal/objective. Let me give you this, it is my personal perspective to qualify my claim above 1. The Maladina Bill Initially we had the Maladina bill, seeking to not only amend the OC act but also to do some repealing and additions. These came about after many parliamentarians were investigated or summoned over the last two years, almost at every turn to declare their business involvements, assets or other business activities as required by the leadership code. Most are government boys. To top it off, the OC grabbed the Chiefs collar for non-submission of acquittals. 2. The Environmental Act. This came about when the PM and NEC was trying to bulldoze operations a

National Reports THE national government will ensure all development taking place in the country will take into account mitigation opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, at the same time, ensure adaptation issues are addressed. Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said climate change was cross-sectoral and would require and “attract significant budgetary and planning implications” that would involve central agencies like Treasury and National Planning”. Sir Michael was addressing chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc and members of the national climate change committee at their first meeting last week. “In our effort to institutionalise climate change in PNG, there are varying views and understanding of this issue; which can and is causing significant negative impacts in our provinces and across the world. “It is also an issue that holds great potential and opportunity for a country like PNG to diversify its development options, particularly in the renewable energy sector and

National Reports THE national government will ensure all development taking place in the country will take into account mitigation opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, at the same time, ensure adaptation issues are addressed. Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said climate change was cross-sectoral and would require and “attract significant budgetary and planning implications” that would involve central agencies like Treasury and National Planning”. Sir Michael was addressing chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc and members of the national climate change committee at their first meeting last week. “In our effort to institutionalise climate change in PNG, there are varying views and understanding of this issue; which can and is causing significant negative impacts in our provinces and across the world. “It is also an issue that holds great potential and opportunity for a country like PNG to diversify its development options, particularly in the renewable energy secto

By: SAM BASIL MP The government of the day representing the people of Papua New Guinea has gone on the defense against increasing concerns from the public regarding the infamous Environment Act amendment, and sadly has not come out clearly to explain some of its actions. It seems this National Alliance-led coalition government has not learnt its lesson from the unpopular rushed decision making, which saw the nation stood up in peaceful democratic fashion to denounce the Maladina bill amendment a couple of months ago. There is increasing public pressure, especially from different groups of resource owners around the nation, through the media regarding the recent amendment to the Environment Act which was voted for by 73 MPs and against 10 MPs on May 28th in the last parliament sitting. According to the initial explanation by Environment and Conservation Minister Benny Allan, these changes to the nation’s laws regarding its vast natural environment outlaws third party lawsuits against re

By: SAM BASIL MP The government of the day representing the people of Papua New Guinea has gone on the defense against increasing concerns from the public regarding the infamous Environment Act amendment, and sadly has not come out clearly to explain some of its actions. It seems this National Alliance-led coalition government has not learnt its lesson from the unpopular rushed decision making, which saw the nation stood up in peaceful democratic fashion to denounce the Maladina bill amendment a couple of months ago. There is increasing public pressure, especially from different groups of resource owners around the nation, through the media regarding the recent amendment to the Environment Act which was voted for by 73 MPs and against 10 MPs on May 28th in the last parliament sitting. According to the initial explanation by Environment and Conservation Minister Benny Allan, these changes to the nation’s laws regarding its vast natural environment outlaws third party lawsuits against re

SIMON CULLEN Community leaders in far north Queensland say the Australian Government should be prepared to risk a diplomatic standoff with Papua New Guinea (PNG) to fix problems with a regional treaty. A Senate inquiry is examining the Torres Strait treaty which gives PNG residents from the Western Province traditional visiting rights to Australia. But the hearing has been told large groups of PNG residents are bringing with them drugs and alcohol as well as knives and machetes. The Mayor of the Torres Strait Island council, Frank Gela, says the large number of Papua New Guinean visitors is also putting pressure on local health services. "We get the feeling that PNG does not care about the people of the Western Province because Australia is taking care of them via the treaty," he said. "The Australian Government needs to be tougher on the PNG Government dictating where the foreign aid goes so it can be directed to the Western Province as this area is completely neglected

SIMON CULLEN Community leaders in far north Queensland say the Australian Government should be prepared to risk a diplomatic standoff with Papua New Guinea (PNG) to fix problems with a regional treaty. A Senate inquiry is examining the Torres Strait treaty which gives PNG residents from the Western Province traditional visiting rights to Australia. But the hearing has been told large groups of PNG residents are bringing with them drugs and alcohol as well as knives and machetes. The Mayor of the Torres Strait Island council, Frank Gela, says the large number of Papua New Guinean visitors is also putting pressure on local health services. "We get the feeling that PNG does not care about the people of the Western Province because Australia is taking care of them via the treaty," he said. "The Australian Government needs to be tougher on the PNG Government dictating where the foreign aid goes so it can be directed to the Western Province as this area is completely n

NATIONAL REPORTS THE petition against the Maladina amendments, presented to five opposition MPs on May 4, is now back in the hands of the Community Coalition Against Corruption (CCAC) and its partners, including Transparency International-PNG (TI-PNG) and civil societies. Copies of the petition, carrying more than 20,000 signatures opposing the changes to the Organic Law on the duties and responsibilities of leadership and the Constitution, was handed back to CCAC yesterday by Bulolo MP Sam Basil at the request of the coalition. Coalition members and concerned individuals met yesterday and agreed to withdraw the petition from the opposition leader’s office, where it has been kept, and taken back to the provinces for further action. PNG Media Council president Joe Kanekane said CCAC saw fit to retrieve the petition after the government decided against accepting or discussing it in Parliament. Kanekane, who spoke on behalf of TI-PNG chairman Peter Aitsi, who is overseas, said despite th

NATIONAL REPORTS THE petition against the Maladina amendments, presented to five opposition MPs on May 4, is now back in the hands of the Community Coalition Against Corruption (CCAC) and its partners, including Transparency International-PNG (TI-PNG) and civil societies. Copies of the petition, carrying more than 20,000 signatures opposing the changes to the Organic Law on the duties and responsibilities of leadership and the Constitution, was handed back to CCAC yesterday by Bulolo MP Sam Basil at the request of the coalition. Coalition members and concerned individuals met yesterday and agreed to withdraw the petition from the opposition leader’s office, where it has been kept, and taken back to the provinces for further action. PNG Media Council president Joe Kanekane said CCAC saw fit to retrieve the petition after the government decided against accepting or discussing it in Parliament. Kanekane, who spoke on behalf of TI-PNG chairman Peter Aitsi, who is overseas, said desp

NATIONAL REPORTS MORE than K1.5 million from the K7 million, allocated by the national government to combat the Asian cocoa pod borer outbreak in the country, was misappropriated between 2008 and last year. An internal audit and investigations conducted by the Kokanas Indastri Koporesen and the cocoa board revealed massive institutionalised corruption and misappropriation of public funds allegedly by the directors and managers of the PNG Cocoa Coconut Industry Ltd. A copy of the audit and investigation report obtained by The National showed that dubious payments were made from the CCI main account No.191061 while some of the payments were double-dipping. According to the report, the acting executive manager corporate services was paid cash totalling more than K38,000 between March and December 2008, which were deemed “excessive”, especially for personal use. Auditors also found that a deputy chairman was paid more than K13,000 but the monies were not used for the purposes intended for.

NATIONAL REPORTS MORE than K1.5 million from the K7 million, allocated by the national government to combat the Asian cocoa pod borer outbreak in the country, was misappropriated between 2008 and last year. An internal audit and investigations conducted by the Kokanas Indastri Koporesen and the cocoa board revealed massive institutionalised corruption and misappropriation of public funds allegedly by the directors and managers of the PNG Cocoa Coconut Industry Ltd. A copy of the audit and investigation report obtained by The National showed that dubious payments were made from the CCI main account No.191061 while some of the payments were double-dipping. According to the report, the acting executive manager corporate services was paid cash totalling more than K38,000 between March and December 2008, which were deemed “excessive”, especially for personal use. Auditors also found that a deputy chairman was paid more than K13,000 but the monies were not used for the purposes intende