PNGBLOGS

Regina Varolli UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, Papua New Guinea came to New York in July to face a U.N. inspection of its recent record on women's rights. A critical panel highlighted murders of women accused of sorcery and witchcraft and the chair of the delegation apologized for the country's poor record. Papua New Guinea--one of the few countries in the world where women's life expectancy is lower than men's--ratified a major U.N. women's rights treaty in 1995, but then proceeded to miss four deadlines for reporting on its compliance with key provisions. When the delegation from the half-island nation in the southwest Pacific appeared in New York in late July it turned out to be the first encounter with the review committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW. The committee was reviewing status reports from six other countries during its 46th session from July 12-30. The meeting was housed in the temporary home of th

Regina Varolli UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, Papua New Guinea came to New York in July to face a U.N. inspection of its recent record on women's rights. A critical panel highlighted murders of women accused of sorcery and witchcraft and the chair of the delegation apologized for the country's poor record. Papua New Guinea--one of the few countries in the world where women's life expectancy is lower than men's--ratified a major U.N. women's rights treaty in 1995, but then proceeded to miss four deadlines for reporting on its compliance with key provisions. When the delegation from the half-island nation in the southwest Pacific appeared in New York in late July it turned out to be the first encounter with the review committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW. The committee was reviewing status reports from six other countries during its 46th session from July 12-30. The meeting was housed in the temporary ho

BY SAM BASIL MP The National Parliament Speaker Hon. Jeffery Nape has eroded the spirit of democracy for three consecutive years as the speaker of this eight parliament and continues to do. Since becoming a member of this eight parliament I was given a copy of the constitution the edited version July, 2007 and started browsing through the speakers role and responsibilities when I first started to realise the unprofessional and undemocratic conducts that he posses. The constitution stated clearly in Section 108 (1) that, The Speaker is responsible, subject to and in accordance with the Constitutional Laws, the Acts of Parliament and the Standing Orders of the Parliament, for upholding the dignity of the Parliament, maintaining order in it, regulating its proceedings and administering its affairs, and for controlling the precincts of the Parliament as defined by or under an Act of the Parliament. The Speaker Hon. Jeffery Nape’s decisions and actions so far on the floor of Parliament have

BY SAM BASIL MP The National Parliament Speaker Hon. Jeffery Nape has eroded the spirit of democracy for three consecutive years as the speaker of this eight parliament and continues to do. Since becoming a member of this eight parliament I was given a copy of the constitution the edited version July, 2007 and started browsing through the speakers role and responsibilities when I first started to realise the unprofessional and undemocratic conducts that he posses. The constitution stated clearly in Section 108 (1) that, The Speaker is responsible, subject to and in accordance with the Constitutional Laws, the Acts of Parliament and the Standing Orders of the Parliament, for upholding the dignity of the Parliament, maintaining order in it, regulating its proceedings and administering its affairs, and for controlling the precincts of the Parliament as defined by or under an Act of the Parliament. The Speaker Hon. Jeffery Nape’s decisions and actions so far on the floor of Parliament have

Hamish McDonald Sydney Morning Herald Politicians who talk about preserving Australia as a ''sanctuary'' from an overcrowded world, or deciding who will come here and the circumstances in which they come, cannot afford to take their eyes off the ring of islands off the north and east coastline. Which is why the election campaign has come at an unfortunate time, causing the Prime Minister to drop out of the annual gathering of leaders of the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum, being held in the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila next week. It is belatedly firming up that Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith will lead the Australian delegation, but it will not be the same, especially given Australia has held the chair for the past year and the forum is the main chance for island leaders to get the attention of Canberra. As much as the island countries build other sources of trade, investment and aid, their people literally still look to Australia through the TV programs and spor

Hamish McDonald Sydney Morning Herald Politicians who talk about preserving Australia as a ''sanctuary'' from an overcrowded world, or deciding who will come here and the circumstances in which they come, cannot afford to take their eyes off the ring of islands off the north and east coastline. Which is why the election campaign has come at an unfortunate time, causing the Prime Minister to drop out of the annual gathering of leaders of the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum, being held in the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila next week. It is belatedly firming up that Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith will lead the Australian delegation, but it will not be the same, especially given Australia has held the chair for the past year and the forum is the main chance for island leaders to get the attention of Canberra. As much as the island countries build other sources of trade, investment and aid, their people literally still look to Australia through the TV programs

NATIONAL OP/ED PORT Moresby has been growing at a furious pace. The growth rate is so fast that it has outstripped all physical planning for the city. Port Moresby, the boom town, is heading for congestion and overcrowding. It is a public emergency that is staring at the government and city planners in the face daily. In another year, traffic congestion, which is heavy now, will be so thick it will take hours to get from one end of town to another. Having arrived, the problem of finding a parking space will be so great that people will double or triple-park in one space resulting in possible angry and violent scenes. Open public spaces, already shrunk to almost nil, will be non-existent. Parks and gardens will be rare. Sporting fields will be converted into buildings and in-door sports will become common. There will be no space for additional buildings, and restrictions on high-rise buildings will be lifted as builders struggle for height to add space. Present limitations at 10-storeys