PNGBLOGS

The Cairns-based Cape York Institute has confirmed its chief executive, property developer Gummi Fridriksson, is on extended leave without pay. The institute’s group chief executive, Duncan Murray, issued a statement saying Mr Fridriksson “has been and continues to be on extended leave without pay to enable him to concentrate on his business interests in Papua New Guinea”. Mr Murray issued a glowing endorsement of Mr Fridriksson, whose Port Moresby property venture attracted international notoriety after settlers’ homes were bulldozed. “Whilst at the institute, (Mr Fridriksson) discharged his duties diligently and professionally,” Mr Murray said. As revealed in The Australian last Tuesday, Mr Fridriksson is the secretary of the PNG-registered Paga Hill Development Company, which acquired a commercial lease over a prime piece of real estate overlooking the harbour in Port Moresby in a land deal that was heavily criticised by a parliamentary committee in the Pacific nation. The PHDC insi

The Cairns-based Cape York Institute has confirmed its chief executive, property developer Gummi Fridriksson, is on extended leave without pay. The institute’s group chief executive, Duncan Murray, issued a statement saying Mr Fridriksson “has been and continues to be on extended leave without pay to enable him to concentrate on his business interests in Papua New Guinea”. Mr Murray issued a glowing endorsement of Mr Fridriksson, whose Port Moresby property venture attracted international notoriety after settlers’ homes were bulldozed. “Whilst at the institute, (Mr Fridriksson) discharged his duties diligently and professionally,” Mr Murray said. As revealed in The Australian last Tuesday, Mr Fridriksson is the secretary of the PNG-registered Paga Hill Development Company, which acquired a commercial lease over a prime piece of real estate overlooking the harbour in Port Moresby in a land deal that was heavily criticised by a parliamentary committee in the Pacific nation. The PHDC insi

A joint venture headed by InterOil Corp. (IOC) has offered to sell half of two gas fields it owns in Papua New Guinea to the government and local landowners, in a move that may unlock development of a new US$6 billion-plus export project, according to documents seen by The Wall Street Journal. Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd., a joint venture led by InterOil, signed an agreement in 2009 with Papua New Guinea to develop a large-scale liquefied natural gas, or LNG, project, but it has since clashed several times with the government over the design of the venture. In May, the government threatened to terminate the agreement, triggering a fresh round of talks. A letter sent by Liquid Niugini Gas, dated Sept. 18 and seen by The Wall Street Journal, outlined the venture's new offer to overhaul ownership of the Elk and Antelope gas fields and secure a breakthrough in the long-running dispute. It offers to split ownership of Elk and Antelope's resources equally, with InterOil and its partners h

A joint venture headed by InterOil Corp. (IOC) has offered to sell half of two gas fields it owns in Papua New Guinea to the government and local landowners, in a move that may unlock development of a new US$6 billion-plus export project, according to documents seen by The Wall Street Journal. Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd., a joint venture led by InterOil, signed an agreement in 2009 with Papua New Guinea to develop a large-scale liquefied natural gas, or LNG, project, but it has since clashed several times with the government over the design of the venture. In May, the government threatened to terminate the agreement, triggering a fresh round of talks. A letter sent by Liquid Niugini Gas, dated Sept. 18 and seen by The Wall Street Journal, outlined the venture's new offer to overhaul ownership of the Elk and Antelope gas fields and secure a breakthrough in the long-running dispute. It offers to split ownership of Elk and Antelope's resources equally, with InterOil and its par

Prominent Australian Prof Ross Garnaut, already under fire for his extensive links to the environmentally destructive mining industry in Papua New Guinea   has chosen to bring “evasive and dishonest” businessman, Rex Paki onto the board of the PNG Sustainable Development Program. Garnaut is the Chairman of PNGSDP. Over the past 20 years Paki has appeared before two Commission of Inquiries (Finance Department and National Provident Fund), two Public Account Committee Inquiries, and a Supreme Court case where he was slammed by the full court. Paki was intimately involved in the Paga Hill development in Port Moresby between 1997-2000, a development which has recently been making headlines for forced evictions and corrupt property deals In January 2004 the Public Acounts Committee reprimanded Paki’s company Ram Business Consultants (RAM) for issuing an “empty cheque” to the Accountants Registration Board, and then “practicing without … formal registration”. Two years later in a separate in

Prominent Australian Prof Ross Garnaut, already under fire for his extensive links to the environmentally destructive mining industry in Papua New Guinea   has chosen to bring “evasive and dishonest” businessman, Rex Paki onto the board of the PNG Sustainable Development Program. Garnaut is the Chairman of PNGSDP. Over the past 20 years Paki has appeared before two Commission of Inquiries (Finance Department and National Provident Fund), two Public Account Committee Inquiries, and a Supreme Court case where he was slammed by the full court. Paki was intimately involved in the Paga Hill development in Port Moresby between 1997-2000, a development which has recently been making headlines for forced evictions and corrupt property deals In January 2004 the Public Acounts Committee reprimanded Paki’s company Ram Business Consultants (RAM) for issuing an “empty cheque” to the Accountants Registration Board, and then “practicing without … formal registration”. Two years later in a se

Australia on Friday said it was on track to send asylum-seekers to impoverished Papua New Guinea despite the United Nations raising concerns about the country's ability to handle refugees. In a letter to Canberra, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said it was not clear to his agency that the transfer of boatpeople to PNG was "fully appropriate". It was the UNHCR's assessment that PNG "does not have the legal safeguards nor the competence or capacity to shoulder alone the responsibility of protecting and processing asylum-seekers transferred by Australia", he wrote. But a spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said asylum-seekers were set to arrive on PNG's Manus Island within weeks. "We have consulted with and tabled correspondence by the UNHCR -- and as always, we take on board issues they have raised," the spokesman said. "We continue to work with the PNG government on implementation and e

Australia on Friday said it was on track to send asylum-seekers to impoverished Papua New Guinea despite the United Nations raising concerns about the country's ability to handle refugees. In a letter to Canberra, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said it was not clear to his agency that the transfer of boatpeople to PNG was "fully appropriate". It was the UNHCR's assessment that PNG "does not have the legal safeguards nor the competence or capacity to shoulder alone the responsibility of protecting and processing asylum-seekers transferred by Australia", he wrote. But a spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said asylum-seekers were set to arrive on PNG's Manus Island within weeks. "We have consulted with and tabled correspondence by the UNHCR -- and as always, we take on board issues they have raised," the spokesman said. "We continue to work with the PNG government on implementa

THE UNITED Nations refugee agency has detailed five major concerns about the federal government's plan to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea's Manus Island in the coming weeks. The concerns are detailed in a letter from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, that was tabled in Federal Parliament this week as a resolution approving the designation of PNG as a ''regional processing country'' passed in both houses. They include PNG's failure to sign international treaties against torture and for the protection of stateless people, and the absence of any national legal or regulatory framework to address refugee issues in PNG. In the letter, to Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, Mr Guterres says the arrangements for offshore processing on Manus Island - like those on Nauru - are between the countries involved and that the UNHCR ''would not have any operational or active role to play in their implementation''. Date