PNGBLOGS

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says his cabinet has approved an asylum seeker detention centre on Manus Island. Mr O'Neill told reporters in Port Moresby on Thursday a timeframe on the re-establishment of the centre was "entirely up to the Australian government", which would manage the centre. "The Papua New Guinea government has now approved that arrangement and we have invited officials from Australia to immediately set this facility up so that we can battle this ongoing regional issue," he said. "We also have similar problems in Papua New Guinea but it is not on the scale that is confronting our neighbour. But as a responsible government, we see that is a regional issue." He expects Australian officials to arrive in PNG at some point next week. While the Australian government would meet the cost of running the centre, PNG officials will assist and work closely with Australian officials ... "so that we can also build our own c

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says his cabinet has approved an asylum seeker detention centre on Manus Island. Mr O'Neill told reporters in Port Moresby on Thursday a timeframe on the re-establishment of the centre was "entirely up to the Australian government", which would manage the centre. "The Papua New Guinea government has now approved that arrangement and we have invited officials from Australia to immediately set this facility up so that we can battle this ongoing regional issue," he said. "We also have similar problems in Papua New Guinea but it is not on the scale that is confronting our neighbour. But as a responsible government, we see that is a regional issue." He expects Australian officials to arrive in PNG at some point next week. While the Australian government would meet the cost of running the centre, PNG officials will assist and work closely with Australian officials ... "so that we can also build our

A confidential report on Papuan separatists prepared by Indonesia's elite Kopassus military unit claimed armed groups stood ready for guerrilla war but had proof of just one weapon for every 10 men. The report "Anatomy of Papuan Separatists" was published by Australia's Fairfax newspapers Saturday, and claimed the people of the resource-rich eastern province were "easily influenced by separatist ideas". "Irrational demands for customary rights to land and limited transportation infrastructure (have) hampered economic growth," the report said. "Obedience and loyalty of Papuans towards their customary/religious leaders is very high, to the point that it has primacy over law and creates opportunities for horizontal conflict." Based on extensive surveillance operations in the special autonomous region, home to some 2.7 million people, the report contains dossiers on key figures in the Papuan independence movement, and lists its international

A confidential report on Papuan separatists prepared by Indonesia's elite Kopassus military unit claimed armed groups stood ready for guerrilla war but had proof of just one weapon for every 10 men. The report "Anatomy of Papuan Separatists" was published by Australia's Fairfax newspapers Saturday, and claimed the people of the resource-rich eastern province were "easily influenced by separatist ideas". "Irrational demands for customary rights to land and limited transportation infrastructure (have) hampered economic growth," the report said. "Obedience and loyalty of Papuans towards their customary/religious leaders is very high, to the point that it has primacy over law and creates opportunities for horizontal conflict." Based on extensive surveillance operations in the special autonomous region, home to some 2.7 million people, the report contains dossiers on key figures in the Papuan independence movement, and lists its internatio

I commend Peter O'Neill for setting up a commision of inquiry into the mismanagement at the Dept of National Planning. As a illiterate landowner from the SHP, may I ask him to do the same at MRDC.  MRDC is an entity that manages the PNG Oil and Gas Landowners equity and royalty benefits and Future Generations Funds. Under Mr. Mano's management, the landowners from Gobe, Kutubu, Moran and Ok Tedi have lost hundreds of millions of kina.  The board of directors of MRDC's subsidiaries such as Petroleum Resources Kutubu, Petroleum Resources Gobe, Petroleum Resources Moran, MRSM, MROT etc are semi educated people, especially the landowner Chairmen and directors.  In the name of investing for the landowners, Mr. Mano and his team have stolen tens of millions of kina investing in questionable business deals that brings no revenue for the landowners: May I call upon the current goverment to investigate the follwoing investments by MRDC for the landowners: 1. Purchase of Heavy Lift

I commend Peter O'Neill for setting up a commision of inquiry into the mismanagement at the Dept of National Planning. As a illiterate landowner from the SHP, may I ask him to do the same at MRDC.  MRDC is an entity that manages the PNG Oil and Gas Landowners equity and royalty benefits and Future Generations Funds. Under Mr. Mano's management, the landowners from Gobe, Kutubu, Moran and Ok Tedi have lost hundreds of millions of kina.  The board of directors of MRDC's subsidiaries such as Petroleum Resources Kutubu, Petroleum Resources Gobe, Petroleum Resources Moran, MRSM, MROT etc are semi educated people, especially the landowner Chairmen and directors.  In the name of investing for the landowners, Mr. Mano and his team have stolen tens of millions of kina investing in questionable business deals that brings no revenue for the landowners: May I call upon the current goverment to investigate the follwoing investments by MRDC for the landowners: 1. Purchase of Heavy L

The son of former Papua New Guinea prime minister Sir Michael Somare has warned the government of Peter O'Neill against making any major decisions ahead of an expected Supreme Court challenge over its legitimacy. Former state enterprises minister Arthur Somare said ministers and public servants should refrain from major decisions until the constitutionality of Mr O'Neill's government had been decided by the nation's Supreme Court. "The interim regime in Waigani (the capital district) and public servants need to act with due care and in recognition of the serious constitutional challenge now before the Supreme Court regarding the way forward for this nation," Mr Somare said in a statement on Friday. Officials from East Sepik, Sir Michael's home turf, recently filed the Supreme Court reference alleging no grounds had existed for parliament to declare the prime ministership of Sir Michael vacant when MPs voted to oust acting prime minister Sam Abal on August

The son of former Papua New Guinea prime minister Sir Michael Somare has warned the government of Peter O'Neill against making any major decisions ahead of an expected Supreme Court challenge over its legitimacy. Former state enterprises minister Arthur Somare said ministers and public servants should refrain from major decisions until the constitutionality of Mr O'Neill's government had been decided by the nation's Supreme Court. "The interim regime in Waigani (the capital district) and public servants need to act with due care and in recognition of the serious constitutional challenge now before the Supreme Court regarding the way forward for this nation," Mr Somare said in a statement on Friday. Officials from East Sepik, Sir Michael's home turf, recently filed the Supreme Court reference alleging no grounds had existed for parliament to declare the prime ministership of Sir Michael vacant when MPs voted to oust acting prime minister Sam Abal on Augu

There once was a man named Peter O’Neill, With very dark skin yet an irish man’s name, Yes Peter once tried all that bisnis stuff too, But he never could pay his way, Chorus: Heads up, heads up for Peter O’Neill, he’s now the PM, ok? HOORAY for Peter O’Neill, O’Neill, he’s managed to have his way. --- Maladina and Peter, a dream team for sure! They took on the fund with the NPF name They cleaned it all up then they cleaned all out, Herman Leahy was helping, they say, (Repeat Chorus) A bladi success was that NPF theft, ‘cause they managed to hide it away, While Jimmy got fat, our poor Peter went broke, It was high time he learnt a new way. (Repeat Chorus) Nape plus Peter, a second team WOW! Somare would hate them but where is he now? The door is wide open and Peter’s walked through, Scheming and planning to get rich anew. (Repeat Chorus) Now Abal was honest, that’s not a good trait, In our PNG parliamentary circus of late, Peter promised them something, we still don’t know what, NA trai

There once was a man named Peter O’Neill, With very dark skin yet an irish man’s name, Yes Peter once tried all that bisnis stuff too, But he never could pay his way, Chorus: Heads up, heads up for Peter O’Neill, he’s now the PM, ok? HOORAY for Peter O’Neill, O’Neill, he’s managed to have his way. --- Maladina and Peter, a dream team for sure! They took on the fund with the NPF name They cleaned it all up then they cleaned all out, Herman Leahy was helping, they say, (Repeat Chorus) A bladi success was that NPF theft, ‘cause they managed to hide it away, While Jimmy got fat, our poor Peter went broke, It was high time he learnt a new way. (Repeat Chorus) Nape plus Peter, a second team WOW! Somare would hate them but where is he now? The door is wide open and Peter’s walked through, Scheming and planning to get rich anew. (Repeat Chorus) Now Abal was honest, that’s not a good trait, In our PNG parliamentary circus

As the sun sets on the career of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, what should be his swansong? Sir Michael, known as the father of the nation of Papua New Guinea, actively led the push for independence in the 1970s and for 43 years served the people of PNG in its parliament—18 of those as Prime Minister. He is the only PNG Prime Minister to have seen out a full parliamentary term—aided by the Organic Law on Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) that made it illegal for party members to defect to the opposition. (This law did not survive a recent court challenge as to its constitutional legality but in the interim, since 2002, Sir Michael’s government has benefitted from the law, originally proposed by Sir Mekere Morauta, now in opposition.) Arguably, it was thanks to this law and Sir Michael’s ability to successfully meld together and lead a loose coalition of political parties that PNG gained a reputation as a politically stable nation. This attribute enhanced PNG’s attractiveness

POST COURIER'S FRONT PAGE OF THE PNG GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE JET OR IS IT NOT THE FORMER KUMUL ONE -SUPER KING AIR?

POST COURIER'S FRONT PAGE OF THE PNG GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE JET OR IS IT NOT THE FORMER KUMUL ONE -SUPER KING AIR?

New Prime Minister Peter O’Neill may have pulled off a coup last week but the Southern Highlander still has his work cut out for him. With the announcement of his cabinet last Friday, already the grumbling has begun from one quarter at least – the Sepik bloc. Three MPs who sided with new government – Ronald Asik (Wosera-Gawi), Dr Moses Manwau (Wewak) and Peter Iwei (Telefomin) – have voiced their displeasure at being overlooked for mi­nisterial positions. O’Neill has maintained that all stakeholders in his government were consulted and portfolios allocated after exhaustive consideration. Nevertheless, one cannot escape the fact that this looks like a backlash for the nine years spent under the yoke of Sepik dominion. At this stage, we are not sure how stable and secure the new administration may be but if the events of the past weeks and months is anything to go by, then no­thing is etched in stone. On the ministries front, O’Neill has assembled a talented group of individuals who had

New Prime Minister Peter O’Neill may have pulled off a coup last week but the Southern Highlander still has his work cut out for him. With the announcement of his cabinet last Friday, already the grumbling has begun from one quarter at least – the Sepik bloc. Three MPs who sided with new government – Ronald Asik (Wosera-Gawi), Dr Moses Manwau (Wewak) and Peter Iwei (Telefomin) – have voiced their displeasure at being overlooked for mi­nisterial positions. O’Neill has maintained that all stakeholders in his government were consulted and portfolios allocated after exhaustive consideration. Nevertheless, one cannot escape the fact that this looks like a backlash for the nine years spent under the yoke of Sepik dominion. At this stage, we are not sure how stable and secure the new administration may be but if the events of the past weeks and months is anything to go by, then no­thing is etched in stone. On the ministries front, O’Neill has assembled a talented group of individuals who ha

Next Prime Minister?? Mr Nape, whilst he is my hero, should for all intents and purposes be declared clinically schizophrenic. I don't even think he knows what he's going to do next, but it will be interesting I'm fairly certain of that. Sure he's made some dubious calls in favour of the now-deposed Somare/Abal govt. And whilst Belden and company made noise about blatantly disregarding the Constitution etc etc, legal redress was always available to them to challenge the validity but they declined to so is there a degree of hypocrisy from the now opposition that Mr "No Idea" Nape has woke up one day and decided that there is a vacancy so we can go straight to court? Any layman/woman that clearly can see when looking at Section 142 that Peter O'Neill and company cannot stand on any leg and rely on it to validate his election as PM, and it smacks of smugness and arrogance that the new PM or new AG has not come out to the media and stated unequivocally that

Next Prime Minister?? Mr Nape, whilst he is my hero, should for all intents and purposes be declared clinically schizophrenic. I don't even think he knows what he's going to do next, but it will be interesting I'm fairly certain of that. Sure he's made some dubious calls in favour of the now-deposed Somare/Abal govt. And whilst Belden and company made noise about blatantly disregarding the Constitution etc etc, legal redress was always available to them to challenge the validity but they declined to so is there a degree of hypocrisy from the now opposition that Mr "No Idea" Nape has woke up one day and decided that there is a vacancy so we can go straight to court? Any layman/woman that clearly can see when looking at Section 142 that Peter O'Neill and company cannot stand on any leg and rely on it to validate his election as PM, and it smacks of smugness and arrogance that the new PM or new AG has not come out to the media and stated unequivocally

AUSTRALIA’S prime minister, Julia Gillard, was quick to telephone her congratulations to her new counterpart in Papua New Guinea (PNG). She rang Peter O’Neill on August 3rd, just a day after he assumed office, reflecting the hope in Canberra that PNG’s incoming government might manage the affairs of state better than its predecessor—if it manages to survive an impending challenge in the Supreme Court. The chairman of the local branch of Transparency International, Lawrence Stephens, also applauded Mr O’Neill’s promise to fight corruption. Some in his cabinet have promising reputations, including the new minister for public service and sport, Bart Philemon, and Sir Mekere Morauta, himself the prime minister from 1999-2002, who played host to Mr O’Neill’s faction at his Toaguba Hill residence in Port Moresby last week as they prepared their parliamentary coup. But some caution is necessary. PNG’s governments are notorious for corruption, and ever run the risk of turning the state into a

AUSTRALIA’S prime minister, Julia Gillard, was quick to telephone her congratulations to her new counterpart in Papua New Guinea (PNG). She rang Peter O’Neill on August 3rd, just a day after he assumed office, reflecting the hope in Canberra that PNG’s incoming government might manage the affairs of state better than its predecessor—if it manages to survive an impending challenge in the Supreme Court. The chairman of the local branch of Transparency International, Lawrence Stephens, also applauded Mr O’Neill’s promise to fight corruption. Some in his cabinet have promising reputations, including the new minister for public service and sport, Bart Philemon, and Sir Mekere Morauta, himself the prime minister from 1999-2002, who played host to Mr O’Neill’s faction at his Toaguba Hill residence in Port Moresby last week as they prepared their parliamentary coup. But some caution is necessary. PNG’s governments are notorious for corruption, and ever run the risk of turning the state into a

Papua New Guinea’s deputy Prime Minister, Belden Namah has urged Papua New Guineans to support the new Government, as it instigates investigations into the disappearance of millions of kina in public funds. Namah, also called for cooperation from public servants, the private sector and civil societies, as the Government tries to instill some corrective measures. The disappearance of public funds will be among the top agendas for discussion when new O'Neill-Namah cabinet meets for its first session today. Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, says a team of special investigators, vested with prosecution powers will be engaged, to investigate the controversial 125-million Kokopo deal, among other corrupt dealings by the previous regime. Instead of a commission of inquiry, which normally takes up a lot of time in the past, O’Neill said his government wants to speed up the process as people of Papua New Guinea are demanding answers. PM O'Neill said they will engage a special investiga

Papua New Guinea’s deputy Prime Minister, Belden Namah has urged Papua New Guineans to support the new Government, as it instigates investigations into the disappearance of millions of kina in public funds. Namah, also called for cooperation from public servants, the private sector and civil societies, as the Government tries to instill some corrective measures. The disappearance of public funds will be among the top agendas for discussion when new O'Neill-Namah cabinet meets for its first session today. Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, says a team of special investigators, vested with prosecution powers will be engaged, to investigate the controversial 125-million Kokopo deal, among other corrupt dealings by the previous regime. Instead of a commission of inquiry, which normally takes up a lot of time in the past, O’Neill said his government wants to speed up the process as people of Papua New Guinea are demanding answers. PM O'Neill said they will engage a special i