PNGBLOGS

Developers hover as 5 million hectares, and national pride, are signed away in 99-year leases that have raised fears of corruption. A LAND grab of 5 million hectares of Papua New Guinea, 11 per cent of its territory, has taken place quietly and apparently bloodlessly since 2003, half of it being signed over in the past two years. But tension over one of the controversial leases has reportedly turned violent in the past week, with police chiefs investigating allegations of brutality by officers flown into the site in Pomio, East New Britain, by a logging company. Police confirmed in an ABC news report that loggers financed the crackdown against local protesters who claim their traditional land was taken without their authority. The Pomio lease is one of 72 deals being investigated by a commission of inquiry in Port Moresby. Under the deals, title to the land, most of it densely forested, has been transferred from local customary ownership to the state and vested with a range of landown

Developers hover as 5 million hectares, and national pride, are signed away in 99-year leases that have raised fears of corruption. A LAND grab of 5 million hectares of Papua New Guinea, 11 per cent of its territory, has taken place quietly and apparently bloodlessly since 2003, half of it being signed over in the past two years. But tension over one of the controversial leases has reportedly turned violent in the past week, with police chiefs investigating allegations of brutality by officers flown into the site in Pomio, East New Britain, by a logging company. Police confirmed in an ABC news report that loggers financed the crackdown against local protesters who claim their traditional land was taken without their authority. The Pomio lease is one of 72 deals being investigated by a commission of inquiry in Port Moresby. Under the deals, title to the land, most of it densely forested, has been transferred from local customary ownership to the state and vested with a range

Global corporations are lining up to extract mining, gas and petroleum resources, but the country's complex land ownership system is making it difficult to pass on the benefits Peter O'Neill's first two months in office as Papua New Guinea's prime minister have seen him having to apply political damage control more often than he may have expected. There was the tidying up after members of his new-look cabinet moved to suspend certain provincial administrations – including that of East Sepik which, as the power base of Sir Michael Somare, had just launched a legal challenge to the parliamentary ruling that dramatically ousted PNG's longtime prime minister and enabled the ensuing vote that saw O'Neill replace him. Then O'Neill was kept busy clarifying the government's position on the prime ministerial jet. Though he announced that this luxury item from the Somare era would be sold, it was being used to ferry his ministers around the country. But the bigges

Global corporations are lining up to extract mining, gas and petroleum resources, but the country's complex land ownership system is making it difficult to pass on the benefits Peter O'Neill's first two months in office as Papua New Guinea's prime minister have seen him having to apply political damage control more often than he may have expected. There was the tidying up after members of his new-look cabinet moved to suspend certain provincial administrations – including that of East Sepik which, as the power base of Sir Michael Somare, had just launched a legal challenge to the parliamentary ruling that dramatically ousted PNG's longtime prime minister and enabled the ensuing vote that saw O'Neill replace him. Then O'Neill was kept busy clarifying the government's position on the prime ministerial jet. Though he announced that this luxury item from the Somare era would be sold, it was being used to ferry his ministers around the country. But the

This week, on Wednesday October 12 (today), sees the Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum convene in Canberra after a break of over two years. And on Wednesday the Prime Ministers of the two countries will meet, for the first time (outside of sideline meetings) also after a break of more than two years.  It is an important set of meetings, and not only because our Prime Ministers and Ministers don’t meet nearly often enough. PNG has recently had a change in government, and although it won’t be long before the country goes to the poll next year, the new O’Neill government does have a unique opportunity to get the country back on track after years of increasingly corrupt and paralyzed government under Somare. One of the mistakes made by the previous PNG government was not to make enough of its relationship with Australia. It’s encouraging to see PNG’s new PM come to press his country’s case. (And we’re looking forward to hear him speak at the ANU Wednesday afternoon). What shou

This week, on Wednesday October 12 (today), sees the Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum convene in Canberra after a break of over two years. And on Wednesday the Prime Ministers of the two countries will meet, for the first time (outside of sideline meetings) also after a break of more than two years.  It is an important set of meetings, and not only because our Prime Ministers and Ministers don’t meet nearly often enough. PNG has recently had a change in government, and although it won’t be long before the country goes to the poll next year, the new O’Neill government does have a unique opportunity to get the country back on track after years of increasingly corrupt and paralyzed government under Somare. One of the mistakes made by the previous PNG government was not to make enough of its relationship with Australia. It’s encouraging to see PNG’s new PM come to press his country’s case. (And we’re looking forward to hear him speak at the ANU Wednesday afternoon). What sh

 PM UNDER PRESSURE TO ACT MRDC published a paid Press Release pertaining to the purchase of HeviLift (formerly Regional Air) in both newspapers on the 04th of October 2011. The same information has been published in the Quarterly News Bulletin published by MRDC. I hereby quote one fundamental statement in the press release which is the subject of this letter “... prior to the investment decision, ‘due diligence’ was conducted in Hevilift Limited to purchase half of the shares of that company...”. The problem with this statement is that it is ‘not true’ and it is a deception posed on the Government and stakeholders to camouflage and put up smokescreen to derail the impending probe recently been ordered by the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill into the alleged mismanagement of landowners’ funds at MRDC. This is media propaganda and a deliberate attempt by MRDC management to divert the attention of the Government and the Prime Minister to derail swift conduct of investigations which has alread