PNGBLOGS

Whether you talk about merging the two airlines or the decision to terminate the Project Agreement with Interoil, or even to sack and appoint certain controversial persons to Boards of statutory corporations, this O'Neill Namah government does not have the legitimacy to govern this Country while the Jury is still out in the pending legal cases. Peter O'Neill does not have the democratic legitimacy to govern. His position is somewhat similar to Frank Bainamarama of Fiji who is a leader by the point of the gun, who usurped democracy. Australia and New Zealand have consistently upheld the rule of the law and disengaged with Frank Bainamarama. What has happened in the PNG Parliament is no different. What has happened is the subject of court proceedings at the Country's Highest Courts. We therefore in effect have a care taker government, not a real government with the legitimate mandate of the people of Papua New Guinea. The people will express themselves at the po

Whether you talk about merging the two airlines or the decision to terminate the Project Agreement with Interoil, or even to sack and appoint certain controversial persons to Boards of statutory corporations, this O'Neill Namah government does not have the legitimacy to govern this Country while the Jury is still out in the pending legal cases. Peter O'Neill does not have the democratic legitimacy to govern. His position is somewhat similar to Frank Bainamarama of Fiji who is a leader by the point of the gun, who usurped democracy. Australia and New Zealand have consistently upheld the rule of the law and disengaged with Frank Bainamarama. What has happened in the PNG Parliament is no different. What has happened is the subject of court proceedings at the Country's Highest Courts. We therefore in effect have a care taker government, not a real government with the legitimate mandate of the people of Papua New Guinea. The people will express themselves at

I refer to the on-going public media releases by the Managing Director of MRDC, Mr Augustin Mano. It is clear that he is using resources of the landowners to defend himself from all accusations leveled against him. I have been interested as a landowner in following his media releases and public information through MRDC websites and prints. There is only two points he seems to say in all of these media releases. First that he followed proper financial management procedure for all the landowner investments and secondly, he has improved the value of shareholders asserts since taking office as the Managing Director. While this may be true, he should wait patiently for normal investigation which has already been ordered to prove himself rather than constantly defending himself over the media. This investigation will confirm whether or not proper financial management procedure was followed. The Terms of Reference (TOR) should also find out if any ‘kick backs’ or bribes (as we commonly know

I refer to the on-going public media releases by the Managing Director of MRDC, Mr Augustin Mano. It is clear that he is using resources of the landowners to defend himself from all accusations leveled against him. I have been interested as a landowner in following his media releases and public information through MRDC websites and prints. There is only two points he seems to say in all of these media releases. First that he followed proper financial management procedure for all the landowner investments and secondly, he has improved the value of shareholders asserts since taking office as the Managing Director. While this may be true, he should wait patiently for normal investigation which has already been ordered to prove himself rather than constantly defending himself over the media. This investigation will confirm whether or not proper financial management procedure was followed. The Terms of Reference (TOR) should also find out if any ‘kick backs’ or bribes (as we commonly k

BEHIND Papua New Guinea's resource-fuelled growth - 9 per cent this year - and its febrile uptake of mobile phones and social media lies a world, hidden in misty valleys and on remote islands, of grinding poverty. We might have learned more of such poverty's true dimensions from a national census conducted in mid-year. But there are growing signs that the census, already postponed for a year because of inadequate funding, has effectively failed. Such issues need to weigh on the minds of leaders from PNG and Australia as they meet in Canberra today. While Julia Gillard holds talks with new PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, eight PNG ministers, including former prime minister Mekere Morauta, will be meeting a group of Australian counterparts. The Australians, who will include Finance Minister Penny Wong, Trade Minister Craig Emerson and Pacific secretary Richard Marles, will be led by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. They will discuss replacing the 12-year-old bilateral aid agree

BEHIND Papua New Guinea's resource-fuelled growth - 9 per cent this year - and its febrile uptake of mobile phones and social media lies a world, hidden in misty valleys and on remote islands, of grinding poverty. We might have learned more of such poverty's true dimensions from a national census conducted in mid-year. But there are growing signs that the census, already postponed for a year because of inadequate funding, has effectively failed. Such issues need to weigh on the minds of leaders from PNG and Australia as they meet in Canberra today. While Julia Gillard holds talks with new PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, eight PNG ministers, including former prime minister Mekere Morauta, will be meeting a group of Australian counterparts. The Australians, who will include Finance Minister Penny Wong, Trade Minister Craig Emerson and Pacific secretary Richard Marles, will be led by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. They will discuss replacing the 12-year-old bilateral a

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

 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 al

AUSTRALIA may be sheltering hundreds of millions of black dollars funnelled out of South Pacific countries by corrupt politicians and public officials, with the money laundering being tolerated by a disinterested federal government. Papua New Guinea, in particular, is believed to suffer from the avarice of some of its officials and politicians, with a senior police officer recently claiming the country loses as much as 50 per cent of its budget - about $1.9 billion - through fraud and corruption every year. The claims have been made at a Queensland conference by a governance expert, Jason Sharman. Professor Sharman called on the Australian government to drop its ''nonchalant attitude'' towards the problem, which he said hamstrings regional aid, governance and security policies. ''Recent research on grand corruption has emphasised the importance of following the money trail to determine where corrupt senior officials hide their stolen assets,'' he told th

AUSTRALIA may be sheltering hundreds of millions of black dollars funnelled out of South Pacific countries by corrupt politicians and public officials, with the money laundering being tolerated by a disinterested federal government. Papua New Guinea, in particular, is believed to suffer from the avarice of some of its officials and politicians, with a senior police officer recently claiming the country loses as much as 50 per cent of its budget - about $1.9 billion - through fraud and corruption every year. The claims have been made at a Queensland conference by a governance expert, Jason Sharman. Professor Sharman called on the Australian government to drop its ''nonchalant attitude'' towards the problem, which he said hamstrings regional aid, governance and security policies. ''Recent research on grand corruption has emphasised the importance of following the money trail to determine where corrupt senior officials hide their stolen assets,'' he tol

The Papua New Guinea government has announced a merger of the country's two main airlines, Air Nuigini and and Airlines PNG. These are among the main business and economic developments in PNG this week. Presenter: Geraldine Coutts Speaker: Rod Mitchell, joint CEO of PNG's NASFUND  MITCHELL: Sir Mekere Morauta, who was the former prime minister of PNG is now Minister for State Enterprises and his first, I guess key announcement has been the merger of the two airlines, which is Airlines PNG and Air Nuigini. Air Nuigini is the government airline and Airlines PNG is a private airline, which is listed on the Port Moresby stock exchange. The view there is that a merged entity could provide better service to more outlying regions and also engage in reduction in cost to make a single airline more efficiently and more cost-effective. The problem has been like a lot of duopolies in PNG is that there's a big business and a small business and the small business peters along. The big b

The Papua New Guinea government has announced a merger of the country's two main airlines, Air Nuigini and and Airlines PNG. These are among the main business and economic developments in PNG this week. Presenter: Geraldine Coutts Speaker: Rod Mitchell, joint CEO of PNG's NASFUND  MITCHELL: Sir Mekere Morauta, who was the former prime minister of PNG is now Minister for State Enterprises and his first, I guess key announcement has been the merger of the two airlines, which is Airlines PNG and Air Nuigini. Air Nuigini is the government airline and Airlines PNG is a private airline, which is listed on the Port Moresby stock exchange. The view there is that a merged entity could provide better service to more outlying regions and also engage in reduction in cost to make a single airline more efficiently and more cost-effective. The problem has been like a lot of duopolies in PNG is that there's a big business and a small business and the small business peters along. Th