PNGBLOGS

ISLAND BUSINESS Niue is backing Papua New Guinea in ending a 25-year relations with the United States, after it abrogated the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, signed in 1987. Making the statement a day after being re-elected Niue’s Premier, Toke Talagi said his country was on the same wavelength as PNG, which announced it did not want to continue under the present circumstances. The treaty allows US fishing boats limitless access to the Pacific’s tuna stocks. “We formally give notice to withdraw from the multilateral treaty on fisheries with the U.S.,” acting PNG Prime Minister Sam Abal was quoted as saying in April in the local daily newspaper Post Courier under a banner headline screaming “USA Ejected.” The decision effectively ended two years of fruitless negotiations to renew the treaty. “We’ve been begging them for years to update it, but they haven’t been listening at all,” said Sylvester Pokajam, a senior fisheries official in PNG, who is also the chairman of the Parties to the Nauru

ISLAND BUSINESS Niue is backing Papua New Guinea in ending a 25-year relations with the United States, after it abrogated the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, signed in 1987. Making the statement a day after being re-elected Niue’s Premier, Toke Talagi said his country was on the same wavelength as PNG, which announced it did not want to continue under the present circumstances. The treaty allows US fishing boats limitless access to the Pacific’s tuna stocks. “We formally give notice to withdraw from the multilateral treaty on fisheries with the U.S.,” acting PNG Prime Minister Sam Abal was quoted as saying in April in the local daily newspaper Post Courier under a banner headline screaming “USA Ejected.” The decision effectively ended two years of fruitless negotiations to renew the treaty. “We’ve been begging them for years to update it, but they haven’t been listening at all,” said Sylvester Pokajam, a senior fisheries official in PNG, who is also the chairman of the Parties to the Nau

JAKARTA POST State electricity monopoly PT PLN plans to seek additional natural gas supply from Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to overcome a shortfall that has led to a significant increase in the company’s operating costs. This year, the company is struggling to acquire more gas to reduce costs in producing power amid soaring global oil prices, PLN president director Dahlan Iskan said in Jakarta on Friday. “We need around 1,800 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd] of gas, but we only receive 800 mmscfd from the government. If we our supply of gas was adequately met, we could save up to Rp 60 trillion [US$6.97 billion] a year,” he said. Due to the shortfall, PLN currently only produces 9,800 megawatts of electricity from its gas-fired power plants, below the maximum capacity of 11,000 megawatts. As reported earlier, PLN is also considering the possibility of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran and Kuwait. The House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing

JAKARTA POST State electricity monopoly PT PLN plans to seek additional natural gas supply from Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to overcome a shortfall that has led to a significant increase in the company’s operating costs. This year, the company is struggling to acquire more gas to reduce costs in producing power amid soaring global oil prices, PLN president director Dahlan Iskan said in Jakarta on Friday. “We need around 1,800 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd] of gas, but we only receive 800 mmscfd from the government. If we our supply of gas was adequately met, we could save up to Rp 60 trillion [US$6.97 billion] a year,” he said. Due to the shortfall, PLN currently only produces 9,800 megawatts of electricity from its gas-fired power plants, below the maximum capacity of 11,000 megawatts. As reported earlier, PLN is also considering the possibility of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran and Kuwait. The House of Representatives Commission VII over

TIMES OF INDIA Mexico and Papua New Guinea have come up with a proposal that could either end the continuing impasse at the UN climate talks or break down negotiations completely. The two countries have proposed that instead of working by unanimity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should decide on major issues by a simple majority. At present, the gathering of 195 countries cannot take a decision without consensus. Till recently, consensus meant unanimity. But at the last big meeting in Cancun in 2010, the host Mexico dramatically altered that by over-ruling a very vocal Bolivia and finalized the 'Cancun agreements'. The Cancun agreements operationalised the controversial Copenhagen Accord, which could not be adopted earlier as a UN decision because some countries had opposed the move. Bolivia had said the Cancun agreements were leading to a regime that would not stop climate change but be a fig leaf for all. The Copenhagen accord had remained just a political sta

TIMES OF INDIA Mexico and Papua New Guinea have come up with a proposal that could either end the continuing impasse at the UN climate talks or break down negotiations completely. The two countries have proposed that instead of working by unanimity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should decide on major issues by a simple majority. At present, the gathering of 195 countries cannot take a decision without consensus. Till recently, consensus meant unanimity. But at the last big meeting in Cancun in 2010, the host Mexico dramatically altered that by over-ruling a very vocal Bolivia and finalized the 'Cancun agreements'. The Cancun agreements operationalised the controversial Copenhagen Accord, which could not be adopted earlier as a UN decision because some countries had opposed the move. Bolivia had said the Cancun agreements were leading to a regime that would not stop climate change but be a fig leaf for all. The Copenhagen accord had remained just a political

OP-ED   It was too good to last. That is our conclusion when we view the political marriage between the National Alliance Party (NA) and the United Resource Party (URP) now. In a country where political alliances used to last no more than 18 months, nine years both parties have stayed together is a record of sorts in the political history of Papua New Guinea. The current NA led Government swept to power in 2002 and retained the Government after the 2007 National Elections. The electors endorsed the NA as the party to lead Government by voting in 22 MPs while URP joined NA as its major coalition partner with six MPs. The two were joined by several junior political parties. With men like Don Pomb Polye, Sam Abal, Patrick Pruaitch, Paul Tiensten, William Duma, Anderson Agiru and Peter O’Neill with other leaders of the minor parties at the helm, they provided the needed support to the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, to establish a stable Government for this country. That partnership remai

OP-ED   It was too good to last. That is our conclusion when we view the political marriage between the National Alliance Party (NA) and the United Resource Party (URP) now. In a country where political alliances used to last no more than 18 months, nine years both parties have stayed together is a record of sorts in the political history of Papua New Guinea. The current NA led Government swept to power in 2002 and retained the Government after the 2007 National Elections. The electors endorsed the NA as the party to lead Government by voting in 22 MPs while URP joined NA as its major coalition partner with six MPs. The two were joined by several junior political parties. With men like Don Pomb Polye, Sam Abal, Patrick Pruaitch, Paul Tiensten, William Duma, Anderson Agiru and Peter O’Neill with other leaders of the minor parties at the helm, they provided the needed support to the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, to establish a stable Government for this country. That partnership rem

Advocate for Indigenous Constructions Industry  The National Development Bank (NDB) has major plans on improving its current branch office buildings in preparation for the proposed NDB micro-bank by giving contracts ONLY to Foreign Construction Companies by overlooking qualified PNG Indigenous contractors. It has started with the NDB Wewak branch in East Sepik to be the first to undergo this new deve¬lopment with the construction of a modern two-storey building. The National Development Bank (NDB) and its management needs to be mindful that not all Papua New Guineans are daft. This is open letter of rebuke to the Government and the directors of the National Development Bank and its management team regarding the recent awarding and signing of a K4.9m contract to build NDB bank office in Wewak by a foreign/Malaysian own Construction Company as reported in The National on Friday the 10th June 2011 . Please correct me, Is this not the same National Development and people’s bank under the