tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18357763247222422482024-02-07T20:47:20.803-08:00Liverpool WantokUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-50708173270982563912015-08-18T09:22:00.001-07:002018-07-29T19:21:54.371-07:00El Nino - What is it?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WPA-KpldDVc" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-30256033595038105612014-05-27T04:29:00.001-07:002014-05-27T04:29:19.205-07:00Secrets Beneath The Rubble: ExxonMobil In Papua New Guinea<i>Source:</i> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/01/exxonmobil-papua-new-guin_n_5242489.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/01/exxonmobil-papua-new-guin_n_5242489.html</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are some disturbing facts buried in the debris of ExxonMobil’s
$19 billion liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, which was
funded in part by a U.S. government loan. In 2012, a landslide from an
ExxonMobil quarry there killed 27 people -- a disaster ExxonMobil and
the government of Papua New Guinea declared to be an act of God. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Other
evidence, however, paints a very different picture -- and also reveals
the entire project is fueling civil unrest that may be approaching a
boiling point. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our short documentary, which accompanies <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/179618/exxonmobils-new-guinea-nightmare" target="_hplink">an in-depth piece published April 30 in The Nation</a>, looks at what actually happened in landslide in Papua New Guinea.</span></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/m3YOmjAlB7k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Exxon <a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2014/04/29/Exxon-opens-LNG-facility-on-Papua-New-Guinea/2421398778802/" target="_hplink">announced earlier this week</a> that its liquified natural gas facility in Papua New Guinea has started operating. </span></div>
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Written by: Ian T. Shearn and Olivier Pollet<br />
Narration by: Ian T. Shearn<br />
Edited by: Alexandre Berman<br />
Videography by: Olivier Pollet and Spencer Austad<br />
Academic Advisor: Dr. Kristian Laslett, International State Crime<br />
Special thanks to: The Australian Centre for Independent Journalism <br />
The film was produced by The Gumption Group, with support from the
Mailman Foundation, The Nation Institute and the Fund for Investigative
Journalism.</span></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><em>Ian
T. Shearn, a Pulitzer-Prize winning newspaper journalist, is currently a
freelance journalist and communications consultant at his New Jersey
media company, The Gumption Group. His previous works include
investigative pieces on ExxonMobil in Indonesia for Mother Jones and on
the American Farm Bureau for The Nation. </em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><em>Olivier Pollet
is a French journalist and independent documentary filmmaker. He
directed and produced Canning Paradise, an award-winning investigative
feature film about the tuna industry in Papua New Guinea. His works
concentrate on human rights, the environment and development issues.</em></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-90112659588753363252013-12-05T02:00:00.005-08:002013-12-05T02:00:57.693-08:00Be wary of environmental damage, Governor Kas says <h2 class="PostHeaderIcon-wrapper">
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MADANG Governor Hon. Jim Kas MP<i> </i></div>
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<i>Source:</i> <a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/60742" target="_blank">The National</a>, Wednesday December 4th, 2013 </div>
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MADANG Governor Jim Kas is concerned about the damage to the environment on the Ramu River.<br />
He has called on the Ramu nickel project developer to be mindful of the
damage being done and how it was affecting villagers living along the
Ramu River.<br />
Kas said although he admired the Chinese developer MCC for their
perseverance and “still being around” despite the falling nickel prices
on the international stock market, it needed to consider the Ramu River
people with regards to the increased sedimentation.<br />
While he admitted that he had no scientific data to support his argument, he believed the sedimentation was caused upstream.<br />
He suggested that the Government should have the Marengo Mine come under the new Mining Act and not the 1992 Mining Act.<br />
In addition, he said the Kurumbukari (KBK) should be covered under the old Mining Act.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-64835330840114915632013-09-19T02:48:00.002-07:002013-09-19T02:48:17.588-07:00Ok Tedi immunity removed
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<i>Source: </i><a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/56487" target="_blank">The National, Thursday September 19th, 2013 </a></div>
<br />
OK Tedi mine landowners can now pursue legal actions against BHP in
relation to environmental damage caused by the mining operation.<br />
It follows Parliament’s amendment of the Immunity Act 2001 yesterday.<br />
The bill, tabled by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, received overwhelming
support from MPs. They repealed the Ninth Supplemental Agreement on Ok
Tedi where all parties undertook to waive any rights or action against
BHP Biliton and the State in relation to environmental damage caused by
the mining operations at Ok Tedi.<br />
O’Neill said the mine caused a lot of environmental damage which the State and the people did not expect.<br />
He said BHP, “hell-bent on the profits”, ignored it and allowed the
disposal of waste into the Fly River, causing extensive environmental
damage which affected many lives.<br />
“No one can sit in this house and excuse BHP for the destruction it had
caused. But that is what the government, under Sir Mekere Morauta, did
in 2001,” the prime minister said.<br />
“They came up with a deal that would grant total immunity to BHP from
prosecution for environmental damage or compensation, in exchange for a
programme company (PNGSD) set up outside of PNG in Singapore, and still
controlled by BHP.<br />
“Of course Sir Mekere now sits at the top of PNGSDP, and Ok Tedi Mining
Ltd as chairman, courtesy of his friends at BHP when he retired.”<br />
He said the Bill would remove this waiver for BHP Biliton meaning that
landowners or affected parties could bring any action or enforce any
right against it.<br />
“The government in 2001 made a very bad decision in granting immunity
to a corporate giant, preventing its own people from exercising their
right under law to sue for permanent damages done to their environment
and their livelihood.<br />
“This doesn’t happen anywhere else. Companies and corporate entities own
up to their responsibilities and pay compensation,” he said.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-29533721079703999052013-09-18T16:57:00.001-07:002013-09-18T17:00:07.017-07:00PNG Government takes control of Ok Tedi Mine <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eoin Blackwell, AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>AAP</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Papua New Guinea will take over full ownership of the Ok Tedi
mine, after the government of Peter O'Neill pushed through laws in
parliament.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The laws passed on Wednesday also quash a 12-year-old law
giving BHP Billiton immunity from prosecution for environmental damage
stemming from the gold and copper mine's construction in the 1990s.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The laws cancel the PNG Sustainable Development Fund's
(PNGSDP) shares in the mine, and issue new ones granting the state 100
per cent ownership of the mine in PNG's Western province.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The PNGSDP was set up by BHP Billiton to manage the proceeds
of the mine on behalf of the people of Western province when the mining
giant withdrew from PNG.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Mr Speaker, it is the state's view that it is in the best
interests of the people of Western province and PNG that the state have
100 per cent of the shareholdings in (Ok Tedi)," Mr O'Neill told
parliament on Wednesday.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The state commenced discussions with BHP Billiton with a
view to acquiring PNGSDP's shares in OTML and changing PNGSDP's program
rules.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"However, BHP Billiton has withdrawn from all discussions and the negotiation has broken down."</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The laws passed on a vote of 62 to none.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tensions between the government and the PNGSDP had been mounting for months.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Tuesday, former prime minister and PNGSDP chairman Mekere
Morauta launched a pre-emptive salvo at Mr O'Neill, saying his attempts
to take over the mine amounted to theft.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Stealing an asset worth approximately ($A860 million) to the
people of Western, plus their annual share ($A193 million) of the Ok
Tedi Mine dividends, is not acceptable legally or morally.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"It is unconstitutional as well.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I also fear this is the first step - I hope he does not want
to get his hands on PNGSDP itself and the $US1.4 billion ($A1.50
billion) in the long-term fund," Sir Mekere said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In his speech to parliament, Mr O'Neill said shareholders will be compensated.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Mr Speaker, the state is not taking these shares," he said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The state will be providing some compensation to PNGSDP. The
proposed bill will provide that the prime minister, on the advice of
(cabinet), will determine an amount of compensation; and to whom any
compensation shall be paid."</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In his speech removing BHP Billiton's immunity from
prosecution for environmental damage sustained in the `90s, Mr O'Neill
raised the recent BP oil disaster on the Gulf of Mexico.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"BP accepted responsibility for the disaster which has
destroyed the environment and marine ecosystem and affected human lives
in the US," he said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Why not BHP? What is so special for them to be granted total immunity for what they have done?"</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He also took a swipe at Sir Mekere for passing laws in 2001 granting the mining giant immunity.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Mr Speaker, no one can sit in this house and excuse BHP for the destruction it had caused," Mr O'Neill said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"But that is what the government under Sir Mekere Morauta did in 2001.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"They came up with a deal that would grant total immunity to
BHP from prosecution for environmental damage or compensation, in
exchange for a program company set up outside of PNG, and still
controlled by BHP."</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">BHP has repeatedly denied it controls the PNGSDP. Comment is being sought.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-66973255453604441052013-08-14T04:45:00.001-07:002013-08-14T04:45:39.735-07:0015 Reasons Why Papua New Guinea is Awesome<a href="http://www.gapyear.com/articles/200861/15-reasons-why-papua-new-guinea-is-awesome">15 Reasons Why Papua New Guinea is Awesome</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-24903734776430615492013-08-10T10:07:00.001-07:002013-08-10T10:07:35.490-07:00The controversy surrounding the Asylum Seeker Processing site in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/GpqiHzxld6U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-13788156774860465532013-08-09T05:49:00.002-07:002013-08-09T05:49:37.724-07:00Agreement to allow Papua New Guinea students to study in New Zealand Uni
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<i>Source:</i> <a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/54227" target="_blank">The National</a>, Friday August 9th, 2013</div>
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The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill was guest of honour at the Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand, to witness the signing of a
memorandum of understanding between the university and the Commission
of Higher Education and to pave the way for Papua New Guinea doctoral
students to complete education at Victoria.<br />
<br />
It is an initiative of the Victoria University which is willing to pay
tuition fees for PNG doctoral students with the PNG Government picking
up accommodation and boarding costs.<br />
<br />
The university’s vice chancellor Pacifica Luamanuvao Winnie Laban drove
this initiative and visited all the six universities in PNG and the
relevant ministers to seal the deal. The deal was signed by vice-chancellor Prof Pat Walsh of Victoria
University and the director general of PNG Commission for Higher
Education Prof David Kavanamur. <br />
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-85479136538595201202013-07-05T04:11:00.003-07:002013-07-05T04:14:05.401-07:00Brian Brunton on Papua New Guinea MiningIs the Papua New Guinean Government regulating the Mining Companies in
order to really benefit its people? Dr Brian Brunton, A Former National
Court Judge, now based in the Milne Bay Province and co-ordinating the
'Alotau Environment' NGO Group says the Milne Bay people are no
strangers to the outcomes of Mining. "We are left with a hole in the
ground, and you can imagine where the money goes to," he says.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Q8eAV79sHP4" width="460"></iframe>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-25923031566143068232013-06-03T07:24:00.003-07:002013-06-03T07:26:40.377-07:00Enga students to study in Philippines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFwCAnsjFV5Wha_08mElQRc-eqBZ6pfxcYIoYUs8JeuEaSfJOXy3h5Y_guCDeRqMsMjD0UBZ8LQujXACLO73Mu8R879Okxeqe8kozTHIS1psWXloOmittDQqcRTb1PjnI2dqW6Xy8RmI/s1600/ipatas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFwCAnsjFV5Wha_08mElQRc-eqBZ6pfxcYIoYUs8JeuEaSfJOXy3h5Y_guCDeRqMsMjD0UBZ8LQujXACLO73Mu8R879Okxeqe8kozTHIS1psWXloOmittDQqcRTb1PjnI2dqW6Xy8RmI/s400/ipatas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Enga Governor Grand Chief Peter Ipatas MP </div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Source: <a href="http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20130603/news15.htm" target="_blank">Post Courier</a>, 3rdJune, 2013</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></b>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; word-spacing: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">One hundred and twenty Engan students will this
year go to Philippines to undertake studies in various technical trades.<br />
This is possible, courtesy of the Enga provincial government (EPG) under the
auspices of “action” Governor, Grand Chief Peter Ipatas who has placed K4.5
million for this purpose. <br />
The funding came from the Enga Childrens Fund, a facility created from the sale
and proceeds from the EPG equity in the Porgera gold mine project. <br />
Enga’s “action” Governor, Grand Chief Peter Ipatas made this announcement when
officiating the second culture show of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Secondary school
at Pausa, Enga province on Saturday June 1. <br />
“It’s no place for wantoks but for the best to go” and anyone, grade 10 and 12
leavers from the Enga province are eligible, and if interested can apply when
applications are opened (advertised) in two weeks-time, Ipatas said.<br />
He boasted of the 16-year-old free education policy of his Government,
describing it as “the most successful policy ever by any one provincial
government since Independence, that has actually influenced the National
Government to adopt”.<br />
Ipatas reiterated his Government’s fullest and continuous commitment to funding
free education for all Engan students, until “Enga tops the country with the
highest number of professional people in the workforce”. <br />
Mr Ipatas then presented a cheque of K20,000 to the school’s show organising
committee, to assist in some of their costs while announcing an additional
K430,000 funding for the school by EPG. <br />
He then cut the ribbon to officially open the school’s completed projects such
as the new Ludtke library, school clinic, a duplex classroom, three teachers
houses, a new school grand stand, and new look school gate. <br />
Thousands gathered to witness this fun-filled day that was coloured up with
student participating in their traditional singsing groups. <br />
Also in attendance was Gutnius Lutheran Church Bishop, David Piso. <br />
School principal, Mr Gerry Mark thanked Governor Ipatas for his continuous
support to education in the province. <br />
Mr Mark said his school was proud to host its second cultural day which aims to
promote the Vision 2050 goals on preservation of culture and secondly,
commissioning of the schools various projects.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-67662635993098188122013-06-03T04:21:00.001-07:002013-06-05T09:09:20.612-07:00Wabag MP Robert Ganim's 10 Million Kina Budget Praised<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="PostHeader">Wabag MP Robert Ganim </span></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/50789" target="_blank">The National,</a> Monday 3rd June 2013</div>
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WABAG MP Robert Ganim has been commended for a well-documented
budget of K10 million for the district services improvement program
(DSIP).<br />
Enga provincial administrator Dr Samson Amean told a provincial
management team last week that it was first time for the Ganim and the
joint district planning and budget priorities committee to have a budget
plan with realistic priorities on spending.<br />
Amean said the allocation of funds was in line with development targets
of the national government’s Vision 2050 and various medium term
strategies.<br />
He said Enga would go a long way if other districts did the same as Wabag.<br />
“I am happy that the MP for Wabag has come up with a well-documented
budget plan that reflected the aspirations of the national government’s
long and short term plans,” Amean said.<br />
He said it was the role of the district administrators to advise the MPs
on procedures involved in coming up with plans on how to use public
funds so that the people in the villages were the ultimate
beneficiaries.<br />
Amean’s comments followed public speculation that many MPs only had
“shopping lists” for DSIP funds without following proper budget
expenditure procedures.<br />
It is understood that service delivery and project implementation in a
particular district in Enga had come to a standstill because the local
MP did not follow these procedures and did not hold any budget priority
committee meetings.<br />
A senior public servant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said
the acting district administrator for that district was still waiting
for the MP to organise the operation of the district while other
districts were ready to undergo their second quarterly budget review.<br />
Governor Peter Ipatas raised concern two weeks ago about at least one
MP’s decision to engage Western Highlands provincial authorities to
administer road redevelopment in his district.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-69137006860089056592013-05-20T16:50:00.001-07:002013-05-20T16:50:30.298-07:00Pundari Tours InterOil's Refinery at Napa-Napa<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/flWEEh52cBY" width="459"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-73582628485431918982013-05-20T08:54:00.000-07:002013-05-20T08:56:52.550-07:00Pundari lauds InterOil for efficient ecology handling<h2 class="PostHeaderIcon-wrapper">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Hon. John Pundari MP., Minister for Enivironment & Conservation, Papua New Guinea</b></i></span></div>
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<i>Source: </i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/50050" target="_blank">The National</a>, Monday 20th May 2013 </span><br />
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RESOURCE companies in the country should ensure they apply sound
management system in their operations, Environment and Conservation
Minister John Pundari says.<br />
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He said this during a tour of InterOil’s refinery facility at Napanapa, outside of Port Moresby last week.<br />
During a briefing with the company, Pundari was impressed with InterOil’s environmental management and monitoring practices. He said the refinery facility was small, however, it uses some of the
world’s recognised standards that are less harmful to the environment.<br />
<br />
“This is small refinery but it introduces some of the world’s best standards as far as water treatment is concerned. InterOil says it puts more emphasis on waste management and monitoring activities while using state of the art facilities. The company is also investing about US$250,000 on incinerator for treating solid and liquid wastes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-72631430599468238712013-04-19T04:54:00.001-07:002013-04-19T05:00:06.058-07:00THE PACIFIC AXIS SHIFTS<h1 class="entry-title">
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By<a class="url fn n" href="http://www.grubsheet.com.au/?p=4049" title="Graham Davis"> Graham Davis</a> – <abbr class="published" title="2013-04-19T11:28:50+00:00">April 19, 2013</abbr><span class="entry-cat"><b>Posted in: </b><a href="http://www.grubsheet.com.au/?cat=1">All</a></span></div>
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An outstanding success: Voreqe Bainimarama arrives in Port Moresby (Photo:ABC)</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">There’s elation in Fijian Government circles over the highly successful outcome of this week’s visit to Papua New Guinea by the Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, at the head of the biggest Fijian trade and investment mission ever to visit another country. The original aims of the visit were ambitious enough – to lay more of the foundation for the creation of a single, integrated market for the countries of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Yet the results exceeded even the most ambitious expectations of the PM, his Foreign Minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, and the trade delegation of 65 Fijian business leaders from 47 companies. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Commodore Bainimarama described himself as being “on a high”. And the normally ultra-calm and measured Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry, Shaheen Ali, said he was “overwhelmed” by the “marvelous” outcome of the visit. Within hours, some of the Fijian companies were already receiving orders and entering into agreements with PNG suppliers and distributors. And by day two of the mission, two more Fijian businesses had registered as foreign investors in PNG. This is in addition to the F$180-million investment by Fiji’s national superannuation fund, the FNPF, in Bemobile – a major telecommunications provider in PNG and Solomon Islands – and the management takeover of its operations by Vodafone Fiji.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">The Fijian Government sees itself as equal partners with PNG in ultimately leading the other MSG countries into an economic union to improve the lives of every Melanesian. There’s a notable absence of rivalry of the sort we’ve witnessed over the years in Europe, where Germany, France and Britain have consistently maneuvered for advantage in the European Union. As Fiji sees it, Papua New Guinea has the biggest market – seven million people compared to around 900,000 here – plus the massive wealth that flows from its minerals and energy sectors. And Fiji has an established manufacturing base, a skilled and educated workforce and is positioned at the crossroads of the Pacific. In other words, their assets are complimentary. Each country has its particular challenges – Papua New Guinea with corruption and lawlessness and Fiji still grappling with finally putting to rest the divisions that have hampered its development since Independence. Yet there’s a strong feeling on both sides that working in tandem in a joint leadership role is the best way to improve the lives of their own citizens and their Melanesian brothers and sisters in the smaller MSG states. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">There’s no doubt that Melanesian solidarity generally was a big beneficiary of this visit. As Commodore Bainimarama put it, PNG -Fiji ties go way beyond the mutual respect and cooperation that is the traditional benchmark of diplomacy. The peoples of both countries genuinely like each other, enjoy each other’s company and share a vision of a stronger Melanesia building a common economic and political future for all its citizens. And of course, both Governments bear significant grudges against the most dominant power in the region, Australia, which they regard as generally arrogant, overbearing and indifferent to Melanesian sensibilities. The same applies to New Zealand, albeit to a lesser extent.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">As Grubsheet has written before, Australia’s mishandling of its Pacific neighbours – and especially Fiji – is a mistake of historical proportions. Its failure to fully engage with them, let alone comprehend their challenges, and its propensity to prescribe and even hector, has driven influential Pacific countries like Fiji and PNG further into each other’s arms and the arms of others outside the region. The Australian trade union heavies and their stooge of a Prime Minister who currently determine Pacific policy – and the foreign affairs establishment which implements it – seem to have little concept of Melanesian sensitivities and protocols. It’s well known in Suva than even the mention of Australia can trigger a surge of anger in Prime Minister Bainimarama, who feels sorely aggrieved that Canberra chose not to even sit down with him, let alone try and comprehend his reforms. During this visit, the PM kept his counsel, adhering to the diplomatic convention of not criticising another country on someone else’s soil. In fact, it was the Papua New Guineans who made unflattering public comments about Australia. PNG’s Trade Minister, Richard Maru, accused Canberra of using his country as a “dumping ground” for its goods and said it wasn’t in Australia’s interests for the Melanesian countries to become self sufficient in anything. If that was what was being said publicly, then we can be sure that the language behind the scenes would have been a lot more colourful. The shared grievances of both governments about Australia would have been fully aired.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Certainly, there was general astonishment about the way in which this visit appeared to have been downplayed by Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, which also has a significant presence in PNG. Aside from one story that correctly cited a series of “historic” agreements, the rest of the visit was generally ignored. Indeed on the first day, Radio Australia’s current affairs program, Pacific Beat, chose to lead with an item criticising Fiji’s constitutional process rather than give weight to the region’s two biggest and most influential island countries forging closer ties. It merely reinforced the notion in Fijian minds of the ABC’s chronic bias against the Bainimarama Government and Radio Australia as a lapdog of Canberra’s foreign policy. By any normal journalistic standard, this was a big Pacific story of significant interest to the populations of PNG and Fiji and, to a lesser extent, those of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Kanaks of New Caledonia, who make up the rest of the MSG. It was buried. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Is Australia sensitive about the fact that its so-called smart sanctions against Fiji haven’t turned out to be smart at all? You bet. American diplomats report that far from modifying their policies in the face of defeat, the Australians have stepped up their efforts internationally to isolate Fiji. Was Commodore Bainimarama’s visit a collective two-finger salute to Australia? Well, maybe just a little. Yet the overriding sentiment in official circles in Suva nowadays is that Australian attitudes are irrelevant. In any event, Blind Freddy can see that Julia Gillard’s Government is toast -with a 29 per cent primary vote in the most recent opinion poll – and that Australian policy towards Fiji is bound to be more realistic, if not more favourable, when the Coalition’s Tony Abbott storms into power in the Australian election in September. A full year out from the promised Fijian poll, Abbott and his likely foreign minister, Julie Bishop, will have ample time to end Labor’s vendetta and rebuild the relationship. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">There were many highpoints of this visit, not least the Bemobile signing -Fiji’s biggest foreign investment on behalf of all Fijians through the FNPF in one of the most dynamic sectors of the global economy- telecommunications. The Government’s critics continually harp on about the FNPF putting the retirement savings of ordinary Fijians at risk. Yet with Vodafone Fiji running Bemobile, the potential to grow that investment seems rock solid. In Fiji, there are more mobile phones than people – a penetration rate of 105 per cent. In Papua New Guinea, the penetration rate is 35 per cent. That’s a lot of potential customers and a lot of mobile phones.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Among other highlights of the visit:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">The announcement that citizens of both countries will no longer require visas to visit each other. This is on top of existing plans to achieve a seamless flow of labour between the MSG countries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">The provision for retired Fijian civil servants – who are obliged to vacate their jobs at 55 – to work in Papua New Guinea to boost the local skills base.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">The plan for a permanent Fiji Trade Mission in Port Moresby and the continuation of the joint effort to break down the remaining impediments to trade and investment, with a view to developing a common market. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Most important of all – at least in the shorter term – is the financial support Papua New Guinea has offered Fiji to conduct its election in September 2014 and introduce the first genuine parliamentary democracy in the country’s history of one-person, one vote, one value.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">According to officials travelling with Commodore Bainimarama, the PM couldn’t believe his ears when the amount of the PNG contribution was announced out of the blue by his opposite number, Peter O’Neill. “What did he say?”, he asked. At first, the Ministry of Information flashed a media release that the amount was 15-million Kina. But it soon became clear that the fifteen was actually FIFTY. A sense of astonishment, delight and gratitude swept the Fijian delegation and text messages lit up in the corridors of power in Suva. More than 40-million Fijian dollars!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By any standards and especially in the Pacific, it is an astonishingly generous amount. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">This contribution has sealed the Fiji-PNG relationship and laid to rest the concerns of some that PNG was more intent on cementing its own interests during this visit than pursuing a genuinely equal partnership. It means that Fiji no longer requires other outside assistance to finance the poll, and especially from those countries or groups of countries like the European Union, which appear more interested in using the money as political leverage than in assisting Fijians to determine their own future. Instead of having election observers from the EU – as happened controversially in 2006 – the Prime Minister wants election observers from PNG and the other MSG countries. He accused the EU observers of endorsing a “flawed” election in 2006 and said Fiji wanted an observer group with “integrity”. This will not be music to the ears of Fiji’s voluble EU Ambassador, Andrew Jacobs, who before the PNG announcement, was telling people that Fiji would need to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>approach the EU for assistance and accept certain conditions that are now decidedly moot.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">With Commodore Bainimarama having now travelled across the world to New York to chair a meeting of the G77 Plus China and the rest of the Fijian delegation making its way home, it’s clear that this visit has been an outstanding success. History may also judge it as the week that Fiji and PNG cemented their common future and came to realise more fully the potential they have – working together – to establish the MSG as the pre-eminent regional grouping and its integration as the best way to improve the lives of all Melanesians. One thing is certain. The axis of power in the Pacific is gradually shifting, whether Australia, NZ and their Polynesian client states such as Samoa like it or not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-42037733785226255002013-04-18T00:22:00.000-07:002013-04-18T00:22:29.508-07:00PNG-UK trade takes off<h2 class="PostHeaderIcon-wrapper">
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<i>Source: </i><a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/48578" target="_blank">The National,</a> Thursday 18th April 2013 </div>
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<strong> By MALUM NALU</strong><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hugo Swire MP -Minister of State for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office</span></b></div>
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TRADE between the United Kingdom and Papua New Guinea is growing fast
and worth almost 160 million pounds (K531.8 million) a year.<br />
Minister of State for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, <br />
“In 2012, goods worth than 120 million pounds (K398.8 million) from Papua New Guinea were exported to the UK,” Swire said.<br />
“Not to mention our import of six of your finest rugby players to play in the UK Super League.<br />
“Distance matters less in the modern world.<br />
“Spices and commodities like tea, coffee, palm oil, shell fish and gold
from Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region are brought and consumed in
the UK.<br />
“The finest produce from across the globe finds its way to Fortnum and
Mason, Her Majesty the Queen’s grocer in Piccadilly,, and their shelves
are stocked with Papua New Guinean products like coffee and chocolate.<br />
“Such is their universal appeal that the UK is the second biggest
importer of Papua New Guinean produce in the EU – only Germany imports
more .<br />
“And goods produced just a few miles from here can be found in
independent corner shops across the UK, from Cornwall to Aberdeen.”<br />
Swire said it was not only finished products that were being imported.<br />
“Raw materials also form a vital part of our shared economy,” he said.<br />
“New Britain Oils Ltd has invested 18 million pounds (K59.8 million) in a state-of-the-art processing plant in Liverpool.<br />
“This has created new British jobs and increased demand for sustainable-certified palm oil from plantations in Papua New Guinea.<br />
“Just a few weeks ago a British company, Heritage Oil Plc, announced an
expansion into Papua New Guinea’s gas market, acquiring operating rights
and a substantial interest in two sites.<br />
“The EU-Papua New Guinea Economic Partnership Agreement, which allows
duty free access for PNG products entering the European market, can only
increase trade – to the immense benefit of the Papua New Guinea economy
and society.<br />
“Indeed, trade between Britain and the whole of the Pacific is on the rise.”<br />
Swire said PNG already had the largest economy in the Pacific and had the resources and potential to grow even more rapidly.<br />
“A partnership with the UK will help to drive this long-term economic
growth offering trade links, access to European markets, increased
foreign investment and world-class expertise in the protection and
sustainable development of natural resources,” he said.<br />
“What I have seen and heard so far gives me great reason to be
optimistic about our shared future, and I very much look forward to
further successes.”<br />
Hugo
Swire, who is in Port Moresby for the Commonwealth Youth Ministers
meeting, told a Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry breakfast
at the Royal Papua Yacht Club yesterday that this was a significant
achievement in the current financial climate.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-69718746863572824202013-04-09T07:33:00.001-07:002013-04-09T07:33:54.612-07:00In conversation with Sir Mekere Morauta<a href="http://devpolicy.org/in-conversation-with-sir-mekere-morauta-20130408/">In conversation with Sir Mekere Morauta</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-35475157907379967772013-03-12T07:32:00.000-07:002013-03-12T07:32:09.738-07:00Pundari: Ok Tedi mine a curse<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxpSNpv51SvDwBfmeXWI2zzHMR9QhNvs2mk02_Nn5i-YzzoYVOaeKWVuss5Y9rlmsgTypFhyphenhyphenN0JBzjenhMHmhnDjAflitpOeLBmNvGwoMAQYquQSc6iQ7yHS0n_4P19W8zb9StA7DUIs/s1600/pundari1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="John Pundari" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxpSNpv51SvDwBfmeXWI2zzHMR9QhNvs2mk02_Nn5i-YzzoYVOaeKWVuss5Y9rlmsgTypFhyphenhyphenN0JBzjenhMHmhnDjAflitpOeLBmNvGwoMAQYquQSc6iQ7yHS0n_4P19W8zb9StA7DUIs/s1600/pundari1.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Hon. John Pundari, Minister for Environment & Conservation, Papua New Guinea</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/46637" target="_blank">The National, </a></span><a href="http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/46637" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Tuesday 12th March, 2013</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">By SONIA KENU</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">MINISTER
for Environment and Conservation John Pundari yesterday broke his silence on
the Ok Tedi mining pollution issue, describing it as a “curse” on the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fly River</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> people of Western. He says
he plans a visit to all impacted areas along the Ok Tedi and </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fly River</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> areas and intends to take
along a contingent of international and national media to see for themselves
the scale of damage.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The mine has been operating in the country
for some 27 years, and while it has made a significant contribution to the
development of our country, it has also brought a curse upon the people of
Western in terms of the enormous environmental damage caused to the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fly River</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> system,” Pundari said.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The
Ok Tedi mine has been using the riverine disposal of waste rock and mine
tailings and has caused considerable environmental degradation. “This has had a
major impact on the lives and livelihood of the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fly River</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> people. “The benefits to
the people in the impacted area, in my view, are far less than the impact the
operation of the mining has done to the health of the environment. “The damaged
environment will remain long after the mine has shut down and continue to
affect the lives and health of our people for many generations.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Pundari
said Ok Tedi mine had been operating under the Mining (Ok Tedi Agreement) Act
of 1978, followed by various supplementary agreements, which were amended over
the years until the recent one in 2001 -- the Mining (Ok Tedi Mine
Continuation) Agreement Act 2001.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“These
agreements give indemnity against prosecution to BHP, the original developer of
the mine,” he said. “Excluding the mine from regulations under the Environment
Act has prevented my department from taking an active role in its management.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Pundari
said BHP walked away from the mine and left PNG to deal with the damage caused
to the environment, which would remain long after the mine was closed and would
become a burden to the government. “Our people of the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fly River</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> and Western have suffered
in silence for a very long time in their own God-given land from activities of
the mine and the wastes generated in it,” he said. “I, as the minister
responsible for the environmental matters, and our government, would not be
able to fix the wrong done by these large multi-national corporations to our
environment and our people.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“It
hurts me greatly to hear the cry of our people in the </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fly River</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> area about the
irrepressible damage done to the environment and their lives. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“It
even hurts me to go and talk about the kind of benefit the Ok Tedi mine has
brought in, when their suffering outweighs the benefit the mine brings in.”</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-68191890155311748782013-02-01T04:47:00.001-08:002013-02-01T05:11:10.997-08:00Barry Holloway: An affair to remember <br />
<h1>
</h1>
<h4 class="news-article-author">
By
<cite>
Mark Baker (<a href="http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/1272243/an-affair-to-remember/?cs=7" target="_blank">Bendigo Advertiser</a>)</cite></h4>
<h3 class="news-article-author">
<cite></cite>THEY buried him on Australia Day on a windswept hillside in
north-eastern Tasmania, far from the land he fell in love with, that he
helped transform and that came to adopt him as one of its own.</h3>
<br />
But
Barry Holloway brought Papua New Guinea home with him to the little
timber church with the peeling paint and rusting tin roof at Kimberley,
near Sheffield. It was there in his children, in the readings in the
pidgin and in the haunting strains of <i>Rock of Ages</i> sung in Motu, the language of the coast.<br />
<br />
The
journey had begun here, in the house across the valley where his mother
was born and where she gave birth to him in 1934, and in the nearby
school where a boy dreamed of a life of adventure far away.<br />
That
journey was to take 60 years and it would traverse the modern history of
PNG - from colonial trust territory, to self-government and
independence and beyond.<br />
<br />
It began with a teenage cadet patrol
officer trekking through the remote and untamed territory of New Guinea
and ended with a distinguished political career, a knighthood and the
deep affection of a generation of Papua New Guineans.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barry Holloway with the Queen in 1974.</span></b></div>
<br />
At each
step, Barry Holloway made a special mark. He was, probably more than any
other Australian, instrumental in the making of modern PNG, and his
death closes a circle on Australia's engagement with PNG's coming of
age.<br />
<br />
He was one of the first expatriates to advocate independence
for the Australian trust territory in the 1960s. He helped found Pangu,
the country's first political party, and ran the numbers that saw a
brash young journalist named Michael Somare become its first leader. He
chaired the committee that drafted the constitution and, at independence
in 1975, he was one of the first white men to take citizenship of the
new nation, happily surrendering his Australian passport.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barry Holloway with a UN Trusteeship Mission in 1956.</span></b></div>
<br />
He
became speaker of the first parliament after independence, then a senior
minister in several governments. He was a reformer, a champion of the
ordinary man and a campaigner against corruption, the issue that many
believe drove him to an early death.<br />
<br />
After finishing secondary
school, Holloway moved to Melbourne and was working as a labourer when
he saw a newspaper advertisement seeking young men with ''initiative,
imagination and courage'' to work as patrol officers in the UN-mandated
Territory of Papua and New Guinea.<br />
Between 1949 and 1974, more than 2000 Australians aged between 18 and 24 were recruited as patrol officers, or <i>kiaps</i> - pidgin for captain, from the German <i>kapitan</i> - and sent to bring the rule of white law to the often lawless outer reaches of the territories.<br />
<br />
After
six weeks' basic training, Holloway arrived in Port Moresby in April
1953, a lanky 18-year-old with a shock of curly red hair who was ready
for adventure. After an initial posting with an experienced kiap on
Bougainville island he was sent alone to a district in Madang province.
Suddenly he was at once police chief, magistrate, medical chief, census
officer and director of engineering for roads and airstrips.<br />
On
one of his first patrols into an uncontrolled area he had to defuse a
clash between two warring tribes with the help of only a handful of
native policemen.<br />
<br />
''After three weeks, the whole crowd of about
600 to 700 would be massing around,'' he told the ABC in 2009. ''We
demonstrated the power of the .303 by lining up about five shields,
making a dum-dum out of a bullet, and showing how it would come out with
a great gap on the other side. Because to these people these [rifles]
were just sticks, and had no meaning until we demonstrated their
power.'' That was the end of the tribal fight.<br />
<br />
Holloway moved to
the Eastern Highlands in 1958 and won election to the territory's first
House of Assembly in 1964. He had a natural campaign advantage with his
unruly red hair. Many of the tribes believed the gods had red hair.<br />
<br />
He
also had a unconventional but effective campaigning style. He would
arrive at each village with a simple message: ''On election day just go
the polling station and chant, 'Ollo-way, Ollo-way, Ollo-way'.'' And
they did, in their thousands.<br />
<br />
In Port Moresby, Holloway quickly
befriended the first indigenous MPs and openly championed the case for
independence in a parliament dominated by the colonial administration
and conservative white planters.<br />
In 1976 he and Tony Voutas,
another kiap turned MP, helped found Pangu along with a clutch of
others who would become legendary figures in the emerging nation -
Albert Maori Kiki, John Guise, Ebia Olewale and Michael Somare.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Barry Holloway with Indonesian foreign minister Adam Malik and PNG chief minister Michael Somare </b></span></div>
<br />
In
the struggle to choose a party leader, Holloway was instrumental in
securing the numbers for Somare to beat Guise, who later became
governor-general. As Somare noted in a tribute sent to the Holloway
family last week: ''I acknowledge his immense contribution and great
support for my early political aspirations … He was among a handful of
non-indigenous people who supported the principle that Papua New
Guineans should be able to determine their own future.''<br />
<br />
Somare
went on to become chief minister when Australia granted self-government
in late 1973 and the first prime minister at independence two years
later. After serving as speaker of the first parliament, Holloway held a
series of ministerial appointments, serving as finance minister under
Somare and Julius Chan, who led the country's second government.<br />
<br />
His
love affair with PNG was both physical and spiritual. Nine of his 12
children were born to Papua New Guinean mothers. Friends say the
unofficial count is 16.<br />
<br />
His first wife Elizabeth, whom he met and
married in Tasmania while on leave from PNG, moved back to Australia to
raise their twin sons and daughter. The boys returned in 1975 to spend
independence year at school in PNG.<br />
<br />
Son Daniel recalls: ''He took
Damien and me up to Goroka on one occasion. When we got there, one day
he drove to his office and asked us to wait outside on the footpath. A
little while later he came back with a skinny little boy and said to us,
'Meet Joe. He's your brother.' I think it was as much of a surprise to
Joe as it was for us.''<br />
<br />
Many other children and grandchildren and
great-grandchildren were to follow. ''None of us quite knew when he was
going to stop,'' Daniel says. ''It was a bit of a running joke. Each
time another child was born, we told him, 'You can stop now'.''<br />
<br />
Holloway
married Ikini Yaboyang, a feisty young journalist, in 1974. He is
survived by his last wife, Dr Fua Uyassi (Lady Holloway). Says Daniel:
''He cared very much for all his children … and despite his marriages
unfortunately not working out, he also cared for his wives to the end.''<br />
<br />
His
large and unconventional family was just one of the ways in which his
life matched that of many traditional ''big men'' in PNG society. His
homes in Port Moresby and Kainantu were open houses to friends and
colleagues, his vehicles were freely available and what money he had was
shared with those in need. ''If he only had a dollar in his pocket and
someone asked him for some money he would give it to them,'' Daniel
says.<br />
A lifetime of such generosity and a series of business
ventures, including starting his own micro-finance scheme for villagers,
left him with little at the end of his life.<br />
''He was flat
broke,'' said Ernie Lohberger, a fellow Tasmanian and long-time PNG
resident. ''In the end he was living on a friend's boat because he
couldn't afford the rents they charge in Port Moresby these days.''<br />
Unlike
many Australians who stayed after independence - and many more of the
Papua New Guineans who succeeded them in positions of power - Holloway
did not set out to enrich himself. He was appalled by those who did
and, ultimately, it probably hastened his death.<br />
Disturbed by a
trend that now ranks PNG among the worst on Transparency International's
global corruption index, Holloway decided to make a political comeback
in last year's elections, standing for governor of Eastern Highlands
Province.<br />
<br />
Two weeks before campaigning was due to begin in the
midyear poll, he suffered a stroke that temporarily blinded him,
according to a close friend. He refused to go to hospital because his
opponents had argued that, at 78, he was too old for politics and he
feared they would use the news to wreck his campaign.<br />
Despite the
pleas of family and friends, he threw himself into the campaign,
travelling by road and air and often on foot to visit as many of the
scattered and remote villages in the province as he could. In the end,
he lost, but only by a few hundred votes.<br />
''He got more than
100,000 votes. It was testament to the strength of his following and his
standing in the Eastern Highlands,'' Peter Donigi, a long-time friend
and PNG's former ambassador to the United Nations told the mourners in
Kimberley.<br />
<br />
Supporters wanted Holloway to call for a recount,
which they believed would see the result overturned, but he refused.
Instead, he was one of the first to send a message of congratulation to
the new provincial governor.<br />
Some say he never recovered from the exhausting campaign, his health issues compounded by prostate cancer.<br />
<br />
''Barry
never saw himself as merely a catalyst for change,'' says Tony Voutas,
who left PNG on the eve of independence. ''For him, it was his country.
He was one of the few in those colonial days who looked at Papua New
Guineans as equal human beings. The planters called them bush kanakas
and some right-wingers regarded them as a different evolutionary stream.<br />
''But
Barry was one of those people who did not see race. And the Papua New
Guineans regarded him as one of them. And once you are accepted into
their society it is as if you were born into their society.''<br />
After
his death at a Brisbane hospital on January 16, the leaders of Kainantu
wanted him brought back to be buried there, but Barry Holloway's last
wish was to be laid to rest beside his mother and father in the church
yard at Kimberley.<br />
<br />
As
men wept and women wailed on Saturday afternoon, a daughter stepped
forward and sprinkled a sachet of his favourite Goroka coffee into the
red clay of the grave. For a moment the aroma of the New Guinea
highlands mingled with the scents of the Tasmanian bush.<br />
<br />
''They will never see anything like this in Kimberley again,'' said Geoff Pedley, an old schoolmate.<br />
They won't. We won't.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Mark Baker is editor-at-large. He is a former PNG correspondent for Fairfax.</b><br />
<h2 class="news-article-author">
<cite> </cite></h2>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-38405747018574972392013-01-17T03:11:00.001-08:002013-01-17T03:11:43.237-08:00PNG Government to streamline procurement process<a href="http://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2013/01/government-to-streamline-procurement.html?spref=bl">Malum Nalu: Government to streamline procurement process</a>: Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has announced that the government’s procurement process is to be streamlined. A committee headed by ch...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-33840063231815565952013-01-11T10:51:00.001-08:002013-01-11T10:51:06.885-08:00Sir Mekere Morauta is new chairman for Ok Tedi Mining Ltd<a href="http://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2013/01/sir-mekere-morauta-is-new-chairman-for.html?spref=bl">Sir Mekere Morauta is new chairman for Ok Tedi Min...</a>: The board of PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd announced yesterday that it had accepted the resignation of Professor Ross Garnau...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-89509553998590881552013-01-10T03:51:00.001-08:002013-01-10T03:51:36.152-08:00PNG to host and chair APEC in 2018<a href="http://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2013/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html?spref=bl">Malum Nalu: PNG to host and chair APEC in 2018</a>: Papua New Guinea will for the first time host and chair the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in 2018. Prime Minister Pe...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-36376946637750946432012-12-01T06:00:00.002-08:002012-12-01T06:00:45.713-08:00PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S ENERGY SECTORS FUTURE IS BURNING BRIGHT – BUT FOR WHO?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By Honourable Gary
Juffa – </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Governor
Oro Province</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Papua New Guinea</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="usercontent">In December from the 03rd -05th, 2012, the 12th PNG –
Australia Gas and Petroleum Conference will be held in Sydney, NSW, Australia,
organized by the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum. It will be held at the
prestigious Sydney Hilton and once more all manner of people involved in the
gas and petroleum industry in Papua New </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guinea,
either directly or indirectly will be there networking, hoping to impress one
another with what they know, or who they are or who they know. <br />
<br />
There will be many current and ex politicians from PNG and Australia even,
experts, gurus on this and that and econometricians, geologists, engineers,
lawyers and accountants and so forth. There will be middlemen and agents, those
who actually mine and those who mine the stock exchanges around the world,
boosting their shares up with great news from the last frontier. In fact there
will also be many experts on PNG, some who have actually lived there, some are
even Papua New Guinean. <br />
<br />
Again, there will be much to discuss and much is at stake – for instance PNG’s
future economic prospects and the future profits of the investors in this
industry. The two significant questions that come from both these areas of
concern are: how does PNG benefit and, how do the investors benefit? <br />
<br />
Of course, the investors care very little how much PNG benefits as long as PNG
allows access to its resources, grant all manner of Tax and Customs exemptions
and allows the Mobile Squad to stand guard at project sites to counter
irritating landowners. All the while, PNG is supposed to feel very grateful for
a pittance of a stake of some sort in such projects. Clever schemes set up by
lawyers and accountants force the PNG Government to excessively fund costs
associated with being a stakeholder of some sort and undertake to handle all
landowner issues an example of which was witnessed by Papua New Guinea and the
rest of the world in Bougainville with the loss of 20,000 lives from 1988 to
1998 and the destruction of a province and a people who are still recovering to
this day. <br />
<br />
But they can’t say that, at least not in public, survival is their focus,
profit is their agenda.<br />
<br />
A test of care would be to measure the stake Papua
New Guinea owns in any mineral resource
project – less then 10% in many instances and this often very reluctantly from
the investor. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Papua New Guineans are always being told in overt or covert manner
by investors how grateful they should be for the developments taking place in
their country. Expert spin Doctors paid oodles of money arrive on PNG shores
literally every day with brand new ideas on how to convince the people to not
only accept but to demand and ask and even pay for investments in their
country, for their own resources. These magicians who write and talk up a great
and convincing hype arrive heeding the call by the industries major players who
are willing to pay buckets of money so that they do not have to pay what is
rightfully due to the resource owners, that is the people of PNG. <br />
<br />
As for the keepers of the gate of the economy, the Government, well they are
usually the first to sell out. At least that has been the case and has become
the tradition since the first missionaries were sent to urge Papua New Guinea
to help the people turn a collective cheek so that the administration that
followed could plunder at will and whim and “civilize” the people, often
brutally and in condescending and discriminatory fashion until their
independence, where by they could now be geographically and politically
independent but remain economically manipulated for as long as possible. <br />
<br />
So, while the spin doctors churn out propaganda products galore, referred to by
the corporate world as “marketing tools” or “community affairs promotion
efforts” that are designed to pacify the people and assure the developers that
their conscience is clear, the reality is just the opposite for the average
Papua New Guinean who has to cope with the burgeoning cost of living, food and
accommodation costs ever more while salaries and wages remain ever low with
increasingly less accessible government services and increasing crime and fewer
opportunities for employment or business. As for the landowner, few genuine
landowners benefit, most often miss out. It is usually those who are educated
to some degree and in the right place at the right time that end up benefiting.
For many, benefiting means they are a conduit for funds from the investor in
the form of royalties paid to a plethora of service providers such as
prostitutes, loan sharks, pokies outlets and so forth – all in Port Moresby and
Lae and increasingly Suva and Nadi and Cairns. Their actual homes remain
largely unaffected in any positive way, many have abandoned their wives and
children and live their new lives in Port Moresby
or Lae. <br />
<br />
Now let us look at the national scene in so far as development is concerned. Let
us just look at Education and Health as examples. One always hears about the
law and order situation and how Port Moresby is in the top 10 list of most
dangerous cities in the world and where rape and murder are but daily events
throughout much of PNG where many crimes go unreported and unpunished and where
ethnic tribal fights are now modernized into raging gun battles that run for
days and where many are killed – often unreported. <br />
<br />
One can measure how a country is actually progressing by glancing at the
indicators in these two areas of development – Health and Education. Papua
New Guinea boasts of the worst indicators in
the region in so far as Health and Education are concerned. Illiteracy is
making a huge comeback and ignorance is his dear friend. Schools are
overcrowded with classrooms of 80 – 100 children common and children sit on
dirt floors listening to exhausted teachers. Every year almost 80,000 school
leavers are ejected from Papua New Guineans education system with only 10,000
finding meaningful employment, the rest experience lives turmoil and challenges
witness their dreams evaporate and are forced to downscale them to accommodate
reality. Meanwhile the education system itself is a disaster with outdated
curriculum and poor administration forcing teachers to leave for other
vocations or even depart for positions in smaller pacific island countries
where safety is guaranteed and benefits are far more reasonable. <br />
<br />
As for the Health Sector, it is unhealthy and hospitals are crammed full with
those seeking medical treatment, dying on emergency floors, mothers literally
bleeding from childbirth, ordinary people of severe wounds from growing violent
crime or ethnic tension in Port Moresby,
the cities capital. Doctors are scarce and the Doctor to patient ratio is
alarmingly well below UN recommended figures - in one province it is an
atrocious ratio of 1 Doctor for 30,000 people. Health indictors paint a gloomy
and depressive picture, the specter of Death is very much visible here, gliding
over the vulnerable, the very young, expectant mothers and the elderly, picking
at what seems to be will and whim, where he so pleases. All the while the
nation is reeling from AIDS, TB and malnutrition while the population growth is
the highest in the region at 2% and one of the highest in the world and there
seems to be no effort to check its growth. <br />
<br />
What of the remote parts of PNG, inaccessible by road? Well, if you get sick,
you die. It’s that simple. A terrible story is increasingly told in PNG’s
media, the papers, radio and television, sad reports of mothers who die from
birth complications, of village children often from snakebites or dysentery or
other easily treatable (anywhere – else – in - the world ailments) almost daily
throughout Papua New Guineans rural areas where 85% of the people live. Health
Stations and Aidposts that once covered PNG providing basic medical services
are disappearing, slow agonizing deaths where nurses and doctors do not replace
those who retire or die, and how can they when any supporting infrastructure in
these areas such as electricity, Police, banks, post offices, bridges and road
even deteriorates in direct correspondence. <br />
<br />
Entire district stations, built during the colonial period and unmaintained
since are now dilapidated and decaying, most have closed down. The Churches are
increasingly the only providers in these areas where Government services are
but whimsical yearnings for yesteryear by those who can still remember what a
Health Extension Officer was. But even they are abandoned increasingly, as
foreign interest is turned over to the local priests and pastors and funds that
once flowed dry up. Here, Christian spirit is truly tested.<br />
<br />
These snapshots of Papua New Guinea’s
state of national health and education do not suggest a nation progressing. But
can corporate entities be blamed for this?<br />
<br />
Of course not! They are corporate entities and their primary function is to
turn over a profit and minimize overheads and heed their boards and or
shareholders. The parameters of what they can and cannot do in so far as
business is concerned, what they must and should pay and their responsibilities
to an economy, a people and the environment have to be clearly drawn by the
Government on behalf of its people and then, enforced and administrated
effectively and with much resilience and constant review to improve by the
Government. So no, the corporate sector is not to blame at all because they are
doing exactly what they must. <br />
<br />
This is where the PNG Government has failed for the last 37 years. They have
not exactly done what they should have. <br />
<br />
What is the hope in PNG? There is light at the end of the tunnel of doom and
gloom for PNG. <br />
<br />
The light is a growing middle-income class. A more educated and concerned Papua
New Guinea that are communicating and coordinating their concerns, gathering
and applying pressure on their government to be more proactive and protective
of PNG interests, the hope is the emergence of politicians who are not
intimidated by foreign influence and are able to speak their mind out, think
long term and be more conscious of the situation their young nation is in. This
growing group of Papua New Guineans is finding means and ways to become
increasingly involved in business, either as partners or as sole proprietors. They
are becoming confident, adventurous and financially prudent. Internet has
opened new doors and developed opportunities for greater communication, debate,
learning, commerce, networking and coordination of common concern. From
everywhere and virtually anywhere, Papua New Guineans are communicating in real
time and about real issues that confront their country and they are finding
ways to have their say and be heard and they have a lot to say. Social media
has become a platform to launch almost radical movements for common causes and
the educated Papua New Guinean can now carryout their role in ensuring that the
elected leaders, elected by the largely uneducated and innocently ignorant
masses, can be held to account. <br />
<br />
In what appears to be direct tandem, the greater masses are now being greatly
influenced by the middle class, by the educated that are now informing and
influencing voting patterns and therefore outcomes. As a result, a greater
number of more responsible, more outspoken and more conscious politicians are
being elected into parliament. The 9th parliament of 2012 is a testament to
this and the next elections will no doubt see an increase in leaders who are
not willing to be just politicians but agents of change, actually leading in
every sense of the word, critical of the direction PNG is taken and no longer
silently ignorant or negligently so of the efforts of foreign powers and
multinational corporations. <br />
<br />
Perhaps we will see a government that actually reviews the state of our economy
and scan the deplorable and despairing state of our rural communities and do
something about it. Already there appears to be greater funding opportunities
but that can only work with greater financial controls. The Government has
claimed that it is reviewing the audit and financial management mechanisms in
place to ensure improved effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of goods
and services. The Government has also borrowed substantially from CHINA
– K6 Billion to be exact – for much needed infrastructural development
purposes. <br />
<br />
Hopefully this will be managed prudently, otherwise, as is the usual formula
for any funds available for development of any sort, 40% will be soaked up in
consultants fees, overstated contracts and dished out to cronies and friends
unless the national procurement system is overhauled and stringently applied to
ensure proper application of the borrowed funds. And what of the fine print?
The media has not yet informed the people that CHINA
has insisted that 50% of all projects to be funded by the loan MUST go to
Chinese companies. Will this sacrifice be worth it for the progress of Papua
New Guinea? Perhaps. Only time hold’s the
answers. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the Opposition of the 9th Parliament looks formidable and is
strategizing to demonstrate that it will not oppose for the sake of opposing
but be critical and hold the Government to account. This was evident in
parliament when the Opposition leader stood up and made a speech supporting the
budget and the extension of the 18 month grace period to 30 months to allow the
Government more time to prove what it has been preaching. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile a new political development is emerging. Here there are a few who sit
neither right nor left, neither in Government of Opposition. But they claim to
heed the voice of their people and project that voice, those views and thoughts
and consideration on the floor of parliament. <br />
<br />
Perhaps, all these efforts from all these changes...can collectively exert
greater effort into determining their own destiny and demand greater
participation in the development of their resources, including and perhaps
especially the energy resources… Perhaps they can then ensure that conferences
such as the PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference can be held in
PNG…where the resources being determined for sale are actually found….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-51410331424623488462012-11-29T19:22:00.001-08:002012-11-29T19:23:37.192-08:00Papua New Guinea looks North<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTj4t-Qd6G_ud0hfdxssxY0ddEgRu3OjIO4fHU-DQ__riOFqXfhT01On7IpbACK7Qa_2fJw2A4o321aCLB6Hssq5YJxaQTTWUbeRnSfRx_wXjpE0y8mH5SEJNBii0a4yIH7-HxWyxdLg/s1600/942574-png-embraces-the-asian-century.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTj4t-Qd6G_ud0hfdxssxY0ddEgRu3OjIO4fHU-DQ__riOFqXfhT01On7IpbACK7Qa_2fJw2A4o321aCLB6Hssq5YJxaQTTWUbeRnSfRx_wXjpE0y8mH5SEJNBii0a4yIH7-HxWyxdLg/s1600/942574-png-embraces-the-asian-century.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Niell</div>
<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<br />
</span></b><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><i>By BLAISE
NANGOI in Sydney (<a href="http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20121130/news01.htm" target="_blank">Post Courier, November30 2012</a>)</i></span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
PAPUA New Guinea will not apologise for its growing ties with the People’s
Republic of China.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said this yesterday when addressing the influential
Australian think tank, the Lowy Institute for International Policy on his second
day of a six-day visit to Australia.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Speaking to a packed audience comprising government, business and NGO
representatives, Mr O’Neill said China, as an emerging world economic power, was
attracting interest from all over the world including the two Pacific giants,
Australia and New Zealand. </span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
The trans-Tasman neighbours were engaged in various relations with China to
progress their own economic agendas. And it was no different for PNG, whose sole
interest in China was trade and investment opportunities.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“Our fastest growing relationship is with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The PRC is today a major trading partner and a growing one,” Prime Minister
O’Neill said.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“There is also PRC investment in our resources sector and in construction. The
Ramu Nickel project, a partner (sic) between a major PRC corporation and an
Australian mining house, will be in production in 2013.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“We also benefit from donor and concessional funding support from PRC, and I
make no apology for encouraging and embracing it,’’ Mr O’Neill said.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Mr O’Neill reiterated that while PNG was looking to building a stronger
relationship with Asian power-house economies, it was and would not be at the
expense of its traditional allies including Australia and the US.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
He noted that while China was now the second largest investor in PNG after
Australia, Australia and the US remained the biggest single contributors to
project funding in PNG.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“Our relationship with Australia is special and it will never be replaced, but
we cannot keep on taking it for granted,’’ Mr O’Neill said.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
He echoed similar sentiments at his National Press Club address in Canberra on
Tuesday. And he is likely to repeat it several times more as he speaks at
several engagements in the next five days.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
It is Mr O’Neill reassuring Australia and its other Western allies that PNG is
not selling out to China for its support.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
It is clear that the US and Australia are concerned about PNG’s increased
involvement with China. They see the association as China strategically staking
a position in the Pacific for military purposes.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Mr O’Neill picked on that and told his Lowy Institute audience that PNG had no
military interest in its relationship with China. It was purely trade and
investment.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“Our engagement with Asia pre-dates our independence. But since independence, it
has been a priority of every government and every prime minister.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“We share a common border with Indonesia, so our relations with Indonesia have
always been given a high priority. They are based on mutual trust and respect.
We respect Indonesia’s territorial integrity and Indonesia respects ours. We
have strong relations with Malaysia and Singapore, founded on trade and
investment and good people to people links as well.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“Our relations with Philippines are also strong and date right back to
independence.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“Japan has always been a major trading and investment partner, and we have
benefitted from concessional loans and grants and a strong presence in our
economy of Japanese companies – now including in the LNG sector.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“We also have good links with South Korea, again through trade and investment.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“We are also developing our links with India and Russia as part of our
comprehensive regional and international engagement.’’</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Mr O’Neill used as an example the latest PNG-PRC loan arrangement to illustrate
the kind of engagement it was seeking in its Look North policy – that is PNG
securing aid for impact or priority projects, which it cannot fund under current
aid arrangements with its traditional allies including Australia. The funding
would be used to finance the rebuilding of core infrastructure to improve the
lives of rural Papua New Guineans.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Referring to the proposed K6 billion loan from the Exim Bank of China, Mr
O’Neill said it would fund impact projects his Government needed to put in place
to drive market accessibility for Papua New Guineans as well as rebuild
deteriorating infrastructure. </span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
He explained that while the loan value was K6 billion, PNG did not have to draw
down the total value of the loan over the next five years.</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
“We may not need to. We will only draw down only what we need.’’</span></span><br /><span class="style11" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
Meanwhile, O’Neill is set on getting Australia to align its aid program with the
PNG Government’s priority areas.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-44541160056279527002012-10-02T15:36:00.000-07:002012-10-02T15:49:18.952-07:00United Nations Statement by Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato MP<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
(SOURCE: <a href="http://gadebate.un.org/67/papua-new-guinea" target="_blank">UN General Assemby General Debate of the 67th Session</a>)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Statement Summary: </b><br /><br />RIMBINK PATO, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration of Papua New Guinea, said his country, which had celebrated the thirty-seventh anniversary of its independence in mid-September, had recently held successful general elections, which had culminated in the convening of its ninth National Parliament and the formation of a new Government. Thanking all those who had helped with the process, including neighbouring countries in the region and the United Nations, he said Papua New Guinea’s short history was a testament to the will of its people to continue consolidating democracy according to the rule of law.<br /><br />Highlighting his Government’s key development priorities for the next five years, he said it would, over the long term, culminate in the “Vision 2020” plan. The economy would be strengthened, trade would be diversified and investment cooperation would be bolstered, all towards ensuring that the people’s basic needs were met. Papua New Guinea was also investing in the future of its children by providing free quality elementary and secondary education, in addition to further subsidizing education at higher levels. It was rehabilitating its major infrastructure — roads, transportation hubs, ports and health and education facilities — as well as increasing funding support to ensure the delivery of basic health and social services countrywide.<br /><br />“Revitalization of our institutional and human resources capacity to take the country to higher development level is also a major priority,” he continued, noting also that the Government was adopting a “zero tolerance” policy on corruption. To that end, it was establishing an independent anti-corruption commission to enhance implementation of the relevant United Nations treaty. That and other initiatives would help improve governance, enhance basic service delivery, and provide opportunities for more stakeholders to take part in development, he said. As for the economy, the annual growth rate was around 8 per cent, he said, underscoring the country’s political stability and solid macroeconomic management.<br /><br />He went on to say that a sovereign wealth fund was being created to ensure professional management of revenues generated by the country’s liquefied natural gas project and other extractive industries. “We hope to share this wealth with our pacific neighbours in an appropriate manner,” he said. On other matters, he said Papua New Guinea continued to benefit from a strong United Nations presence, which the Government highly valued. It had been a “self-starter” country in implementing the “Delivering as One” initiative, and while that strategy had been working well since 2006, he urged bilateral partners to abide by the principles of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action on aid effectiveness in order to ensure that development assistance was better coordinated.<br /><br /> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1835776324722242248.post-4736469720064253952012-09-25T17:52:00.003-07:002012-09-25T17:53:51.317-07:00Enga Province Governor Peter Ipatas turns focus towards health<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR5eHYjGjmrXpkhgoHfYjBhzR-eAWKV58gEydKXTqVfFdevpHZ9-ixkkHRsGHrvvc_VCBmLdaTRmbSpje1zNhJZAb6D9derF_yXGnUKh02s5neCJiOsHTTbjssbbgTMD_kPQrP84bY9I/s1600/peter-ipatas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR5eHYjGjmrXpkhgoHfYjBhzR-eAWKV58gEydKXTqVfFdevpHZ9-ixkkHRsGHrvvc_VCBmLdaTRmbSpje1zNhJZAb6D9derF_yXGnUKh02s5neCJiOsHTTbjssbbgTMD_kPQrP84bY9I/s1600/peter-ipatas.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Governor Peter Ipatas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin: 12pt 0pt; text-indent: 0; word-spacing: 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span class="style11"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="style11"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>By PHILIP KEPSON (<a href="http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20120925/news14.htm" target="_blank">Post Courier, 25 September, 2012)</a></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="style11">
<br />
ENGA Governor Peter Ipatas has announced a major policy shift by his provincial
government from education to health service.<br />
This was after achieving what his government had wanted by prioritising
education since “the action governor” came up with the policy 16 years ago.<br />
Mr Ipatas told more than 1000 people in the provincial capital of Wabag last
Thursday, during a swearing-in ceremony of nine new board members for Wabag
hospital, that after making Enga Province number one in education in the
country, it was his government’s prerogative to concentrate on improving health
services.<br />
According to the Enga students’ education welfare scheme, the Ipatas Foundation,
Mr Ipatas has achieved more than was initially anticipated in education for his
province with a record of more than 160,000 students currently enrolled in
various learning institutions. This is about 10 times more than the total
enrolment figure for many other provinces.<br />
Foundation chairman and former chief secretary Isaac Lupari said of the total
160,000, 8000 students were attending various tertiary institutions in the
country and abroad.<br />
Education officials in Wabag said Enga Province had more elementary, primary and
high schools than any other province, allowing grade 8 students through to grade
9 while other provinces sent a large number of students home.<br />
“ This is all because of Governor Ipatas’ foresight in making education his
first priority when he became the political head in 1996,” Nicholas Tombiam, the
provincial high and secondary schools coordinator said.<br />
Mr Ipatas said while still giving some level of attention to education, much of
the resources would be shifted to make Enga the leading province in providing
health services in the country.<br />
“My vision on building the new hospital is to see people from around the country
come to Enga for top medical treatment instead of going to Australia, Singapore
or the Philippines,” he said.<br />
Mr Ipatas said the new Enga hospital was awaiting funding from the national
government and other sources after satisfying the necessary requirements.<br />
He said his administration had spent more than K3 million during the planning
stage in the last five years including payment for feasibility studies, design
and land purchase.<br />
Vice Minister for Heath James Lagea, who visited the new hospital site near
Wabag rugby league oval, pledged support from the O’Neill-Dion government for
the building of the new hospital.<br />
Mr Lagea said the new hospital project would benefit from a major loan
arrangement with the Chinese Government for improvement and building hospital
facilities program in the country including Port Moresby and Lae hospitals.<br />
The new state of the art hospital which will cost the government over K300
million is expected to be completed in 2015.</span></span></span></div>
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