PNGBLOGS

One of PNG’s most pressing needs is creating jobs and income earning opportunities for the burgeoning young population; one might say “school-leavers”, except in PNG nearly half of the school-aged youth have never had the chance to attend school, while the recent literacy survey reports that more than half the population is illiterate; this is a poor indictment of the country’s development focus and performance, especially when there’s enough to dish out on executive jets and mate’s airlines, but not apparently to maintain rural airstrips or support third level operators, like MAF, which provide essential and life-saving services to remote communities. PNG has long had a dual (two speed) economy, with urban and enclave industries on one side, and agriculture and the rest on the other, but now this duality is becoming accentuated, even three speed, with the development of LNG. Once the relative brief (though challenging) construction phase (ending 2014) is complete, direct employment fr

One of PNG’s most pressing needs is creating jobs and income earning opportunities for the burgeoning young population; one might say “school-leavers”, except in PNG nearly half of the school-aged youth have never had the chance to attend school, while the recent literacy survey reports that more than half the population is illiterate; this is a poor indictment of the country’s development focus and performance, especially when there’s enough to dish out on executive jets and mate’s airlines, but not apparently to maintain rural airstrips or support third level operators, like MAF, which provide essential and life-saving services to remote communities. PNG has long had a dual (two speed) economy, with urban and enclave industries on one side, and agriculture and the rest on the other, but now this duality is becoming accentuated, even three speed, with the development of LNG. Once the relative brief (though challenging) construction phase (ending 2014) is complete, direct employment

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd will attempt to kick-start negotiations with Papua New Guinea on a possible asylum seeker deal as the government faces continued pressure on delays in its swap agreement with Malaysia. Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Bali on Thursday, Mr Rudd said he would meet with his counterpart from Papua New Guinea, Ano Pala, over the coming days. But he also played down the possibility of any real headway being made in a possible deal with Papua New Guinea. "Given the political circumstances in Port Moresby at the moment and the possibility of a transition to new political leadership in Port Moresby, we have to be cautious as to how we proceed with that," Mr Rudd said. "But I stand ready to assist in whatever human way I can between now and the 1st of August," he added, referring to surgery he will undergo next month to replace his aortic valve. The future of the government in Papua New Guinea remains unclear following the retiremen

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd will attempt to kick-start negotiations with Papua New Guinea on a possible asylum seeker deal as the government faces continued pressure on delays in its swap agreement with Malaysia. Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Bali on Thursday, Mr Rudd said he would meet with his counterpart from Papua New Guinea, Ano Pala, over the coming days. But he also played down the possibility of any real headway being made in a possible deal with Papua New Guinea. "Given the political circumstances in Port Moresby at the moment and the possibility of a transition to new political leadership in Port Moresby, we have to be cautious as to how we proceed with that," Mr Rudd said. "But I stand ready to assist in whatever human way I can between now and the 1st of August," he added, referring to surgery he will undergo next month to replace his aortic valve. The future of the government in Papua New Guinea remains unclear following the reti

The $US15 billion Exxon-Mobil Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project stands to be the largest resource project in PNG’s history.  Projections indicate that Government revenues accruing from the project could be as high as K2bn for the first ten years of production (2014-2024) and K3bn thereafter – representing a 22 per cent and 33 per cent increase to total revenue and grants in the 2011 Budget, respectively.  These revenues have the potential to greatly increase funding for social service delivery which, despite improvements over recent years, is still chronically inadequate for large parts of the population. In some measure, a lack of service delivery is a result of weak public sector capacity to implement expenditure plans. It is also because real per capita funding for key items such as health, education and infrastructure persisted along a long term decline during the first 30 years of independence. Since 2002, the Government has made significant progress in reversing th

The $US15 billion Exxon-Mobil Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project stands to be the largest resource project in PNG’s history.  Projections indicate that Government revenues accruing from the project could be as high as K2bn for the first ten years of production (2014-2024) and K3bn thereafter – representing a 22 per cent and 33 per cent increase to total revenue and grants in the 2011 Budget, respectively.  These revenues have the potential to greatly increase funding for social service delivery which, despite improvements over recent years, is still chronically inadequate for large parts of the population. In some measure, a lack of service delivery is a result of weak public sector capacity to implement expenditure plans. It is also because real per capita funding for key items such as health, education and infrastructure persisted along a long term decline during the first 30 years of independence. Since 2002, the Government has made significant progress in reversing

THE year 1964 was the last time a convicted felon was executed in Papua New Guinea. Back in those pre-independence days, the law accommodated the need for society to see criminals pay in full for particularly shocking crimes. The death penalty was an option open to judges to consider as the ultimate punishment for heinous acts that were, in part, about ridding society of the scum masquerading as human beings; exacting complete obedience to the laws from the populace and, in turn, keeping people on the moral straight and narrow. It is 2011 and the law has not changed. Judges are still allowed this extreme measure in cases where they believe it is warranted. Last week, in Kokopo, National Court judge Justice Don Sawong found it an appropriate toll for five men to pay for their part in a case which involved multiple homicides. Further exacerbating the charge of wilful murder brought on the five was the fact that it was done with premeditation. The men were convicted for killing eight inno

THE year 1964 was the last time a convicted felon was executed in Papua New Guinea. Back in those pre-independence days, the law accommodated the need for society to see criminals pay in full for particularly shocking crimes. The death penalty was an option open to judges to consider as the ultimate punishment for heinous acts that were, in part, about ridding society of the scum masquerading as human beings; exacting complete obedience to the laws from the populace and, in turn, keeping people on the moral straight and narrow. It is 2011 and the law has not changed. Judges are still allowed this extreme measure in cases where they believe it is warranted. Last week, in Kokopo, National Court judge Justice Don Sawong found it an appropriate toll for five men to pay for their part in a case which involved multiple homicides. Further exacerbating the charge of wilful murder brought on the five was the fact that it was done with premeditation. The men were convicted for killing eight i

THE government has accused the Post-Courier newspaper of publishing and sensationalising news which undermine the integrity of the leaders and the government du­ring the past two month. It sees it as a “suspicious move to prompt regime change” in the government. Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal made the comment while revealing that the government was watching with keen inte­rest the unfolding events of the last two weeks involving Rupert Murdoch’s media empire which rocked the world after the revelation of phone hacking by re­porters of the London-based tabloid, News of the World, which was forced to close down last week. The Post-Courier news­paper, published by the South Pacific Post in Port Moresby, is part of News Ltd, Murdoch’s Australian-based media corporation. Abal said while the Post-Courier was a meager part of the Murdoch media empire, what was happening in the United Kingdom as a result of phone tapping was also a cause for concern for his government. He said that the ap­pall