PUBLIC AFFAIRS BY SUSUVE LAUMAEA

No gain in shooting or silencing messenger

TO shoot or to silence the messenger is more and more becoming a copy-cat past-time for governments in the Pacific region. It is a development all supporters of democracy, media freedom, freedom of expression and human rights must strike out against vigorously. It’s a worrying trend especially in Fiji under the interim government of military strongman Frank Bainimarama, in Samoa and is voiced ominously in Papua New Guinea from time to time by “big wigs” in the three arms of government. We must never remotely suggest to shoot or to silence the messenger. No gain will be made for any nation going that way. Such is tantamount to ripping out heart and soul – the very fabric of democracy as system of government of the people, for the people by the people. It was not surprising that this scribe and Frank Senge Kolma, a journalist colleague writing for a daily newspaper also as a columnist have been singled out and warned to walk the “straight and narrow” journalistic path and “take heed that (we) are treading on dangerous grounds” – a reference made by a senior judge on Thursday in relation to respective commentaries we have written in the past week for our respective newspapers about less than convivial “mouthings” coming from the hallowed halls of the judges. There is no bad blood there nor is there loss of respect all round. No doubt there is misunderstanding. But the implied threat against freedom expression and freedom of the press stands out like a sore thumb. At stake is denial of media and journalistic freedom of expression and publication with responsibility of public information, critique, analysis and commentary on prevailing and emerging issues of national interest and concern. Often times this scribe writes about freedom, liberty and human rights, and usually in terms of threats to or the reduction of these precious commodities by officialdom that is usually perceived to suffering or huffing and puffing under the weight of an acute case of insecurity and inferiority complex. We in PNG do not have to go the way of repressive and suppressive regimes elsewhere within our own Pacific region or further afield. Officialdom does not have to be suggesting situations similar to restrictions that have all but eroded freedom of media and freedom of expression by journalists and the public of Fiji. We are nation with a great deal of potential to strengthen our institutions of democracy – a pillar of which is free press, freedom of expression, freedom of thought and freedom to be free. Papua New Guinea’s National Constitution enshrines and bestows freedoms, liberties, rights and social obligations upon every man, woman and child of PNG in the Preamble and in Constitution Sections 32 inclusively through to Section 63. The letter, intent and spirit of the safe-guards provided in the National Constitution are awesome. They’re massive and are a must read for all citizens of PNG.  Lest we all get hoodwinked by those in the know who can manipulate the laws to serve self-interest. The relevant constitutionally-guaranteed freedom that this scribe and Frank Senge Kolma are being warned and threatened – by implication -- not to exercise freely is Section 46 – Freedom of Expression. Constitutional Section 46 stipulates that:

1.      Every person has the right to freedom of expression and publication, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by law -

(a)    that imposes reasonable restrictions on public office-holders; or

(b)   that imposes restrictions on non-citizens; or

(c)    that complies with general qualifications on qualified rights

2.      Freedom of expression and publication includes:

(a)    freedom to hold opinions, to receive ideas and information and to communicate ideas and information, whether to the public generally or to a person or class of persons; and

(b)   freedom of the press and other mass communications media.

This freedoms, liberties and rights are as good as how they can be freely exercised. When they are interfered with, obstructed or usurped through a public official’s insecurity or inferior complexes, the chances are that the values that we all take for granted in democratic systems of government come unstuck big time. Having created the premise upon which horns might lock in relation to the latest warning by a senior judge to me and my colleague let me present my case without fear or favour. Some events have overtaken the discussions in publications that have stirred some degree of judicial ire. That’s to be expected. People in high places must always know and appreciate that when they start wagging their tongues or utter a sound they have a willing audience who want to hear them but who are also critical or analytical of what may be said. Journalists – as news hounds – keep the public informed, educated and aware through their print and electronic media writings, commentaries and broadcasts. The role-play of investigative and provocative journalistic commentators, columnists and analysts is a little different from that of the normal news beat journalist or reporter. The commentary column is where the journalist writes analytically and investigatively and with a great deal of care and responsibility. That’s where one calls a spade and spade if evidence justifies the label. For instance, when there is smoke obviously a fire burns. Likewise when there is vomit there is bound to be smell. For both situations, a newshound worth his or her salt does not get the whiff of smell and go back to sleep. An inquisitive newshound – whether from Uritai village on the banks of the Lakekamu River in Gulf Province or from the mountain tops of Jimi in the Jiwaka area of Western Highlands will trace the smell to its origin and investigate it for its news value. That’s basically what the Laumaea and Kolma commentaries were about. The facts stack up. For instance, three judges sitting as a Supreme Court made a ruling that affected another judge presiding over the same case in the National Court. The judge in the National Court felt seriously aggrieved that he had not been fore-warned. He made a statement – more or less – as a personal explanation and also to abundantly register his displeasure to his colleagues. That’s fine. But then there was that other reactionary statement a day later from another judge lending support to the aggrieved judge.  Hello, stand back. The smell is getting stronger. To this newshound the situation became a vomit case. Any dog could smell that. Vomit is contents of the stomach expelled through the mouth. Among many animals dogs are usually drawn to human vomit. They explore the contents of the vomit and consume some or all of it. Watch them sometimes and you will agree. But where is this analogy taking us? The analogy is in relation recent judicial utterances by Justices Bernard Sakora and Mark Sevua -- two of the nation’s senior judges of the National and Supreme Courts. They vented displeasure in no uncertain terms in the media about a certain decision of the Supreme Court. The facts are that on Monday November 3, a three-judge Supreme Court comprising then acting but now confirmed Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, Justices Nicholas Kirriwom and Sao Gabi removed a stay order on the Commission of Inquiry into the management of public monies by the Department of Finance. The stay order was issued by Justice Sakora who was presiding over a judicial review sought by former senior public servants Zachery Gelu, Isaac Lupari and Tau Liu to disband the commission of inquiry. The Supreme Court also ruled that the judicial review be taken away from Justice Sakora and be given to another judge. On Tuesday, November 4, Justice Sakora – in compliance with judicial protocols -- issued a seven-page judicial statement in court wherein he slammed the Supreme Court decision as “hijacking” a case that was before him and giving it to another judge without informing him. He felt “insulted, abused and denigrated.” It is objectionable and offensive to be treated this way, apart from, of course, the disrespect and nonsense that was perpetrated on the laws and legal procedures that we are bound by,” Justice Sakora said. “In my considered opinion, there has been a blatant interference with my judiciary functions, in the process questioning my judicial integrity and independence.”
He also said the entire proceedings were “hijacked” from him without proper legal processes being followed to remove the matter that was currently before him.
“In my considered opinion, no law or procedure, or combination of both, would support and justify the intervention and interference of the Supreme Court in the way that it did -- (On Monday November 3).
“And the way it did was to ride roughshod over the constitutional powers, duties and functions given to this court by section 155(3) (a).
“In the process, the Supreme Court interfered with my judicial independence, a valuable and cherished doctrine of democracy and constitutionalism.”
He said the Supreme Court decision was “both objectionable and obscene as contrary to the principles under which our independence Constitution was based.
“It is intolerable by any democratic standards.”
He said the law and proper process to disqualify him from hearing this case were not followed.
“Duly appointed authorities exercising people’s powers under the Constitution, be they legislative, executive or judiciary, who ought to know and appreciate the laws and procedures of this country – the principles that the Founders of the Constitution unequivocally adopted to help, guide and govern us – do not appear to have any respect for those principles.
“Some of us who are committed to doing things right by all manner of people, true and faithful to our judicial oath and declaration, not to mention the Lawyers Oath we all took on admission to practice law in this country, are now constantly frustrated.
“Those of us who are duty-bound to enforce the laws of the country, are being constantly frustrated in this very serious task, by those who wish to evade and avoid the requirements of the laws and procedures of the country, by those who wish to cut corners, as it were.”
He added: “There is an assault on the democratic principles adopted on Independence (of PNG). As a necessary adjunct to this is the popular tendency these days to condone and reward mediocrity, irregularity, unconstitutionality, and illegality.
“The unusual become the usual (way of doing things), the unacceptable become acceptable, and the irregular becomes regular.”
The judge said the people’s judicial power was not a “popularity contest” as in the case with the Miss PNG contest. On Wednesday November 5, Justice Mark Sevua -- in support of Justice Sakora -- made a statement denouncing the actions of the Supreme Court.
“I support the comments made by Justice Sakora and endorse his concerns,” Justice Sevua said. The newspaper continued to quote Justice Sevua as having said that such an action of the Supreme Court was indeed “insulting” to a judge whom he described as one of PNG’s leading and most experienced judges on the bench. According to the newspaper Justice Sevua also said it was not the first time such a decision was made in recent times when interlocutory matters were before National Court judges and while they were still pending before those judges (as individual National Court judge hearings), the matters were taken to a higher court and then “hijacked” and given to be heard by another judge.
“This is a very dangerous trend and must be stopped by all means,” Judge Sevua is quoted as having said. He is further quoted as having said the rich and well-to-do could run to the Supreme Court and have matters before judges “hijacked”, but the “little people” could not because they could not pay and that the public should know that such “hijacking” of cases amounted to interference in a judge’s judicial duties.
“It is a blatant interference of a National Court Justice executing his judicial functions,” Justice Sevua is quoted as having said. Wisdom, freedom, restraint and responsibility come with a great deal of self-sacrifice and maturity is how this scribe would sum up this storm in a tea-cup. Here are a couple of quotes as food for thought: "More and more, if you're not in the digital conversation about your community, you're not in a conversation that matters" --   Alberto Ibargüen, President of The Knight Foundation. And former US president and founding father John Adams once said: "You will never know how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the pains to preserve it."

·        Share your views with the writer at susuve.laumaea@interoil.com or SMS (675) 684 5168

 

The National confirms status as favourite daily

THE National daily newspaper has again surpassed the 30,000 mark in the third quarter of this year, confirming it as PNG’s favourite English daily and well ahead of the older Post-Courier. The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), in its latest report, said the average daily circulation of The National during the July-September period was 30,053 copies, 6.6% more than the previous quarter’s 28,168.
On the other hand, Post-Courier dropped about 4% from 24,140 to 23,139 copies.
The latest figures, based on 63 days of publication for both newspapers, mean that the average daily circulation of The National is about 6,900 copies or about 29% more than the Post-Courier which started almost 40 years ago.
The National, which marked its 15th year of publication this week, recorded an average daily circulation of 30,632 in July-September last year while Post-Courier’s average was 27,488. Both newspapers enjoyed high circulation during that period due to the country’s general election. The ABC is a worldwide organisation which verifies publishers’ claims on circulation. It audits more than 450 publications in the region.
Meanwhile, Pacific Star, the publisher of The National, recently signed an agreement for the purchase of two presses for the company’s printing plants in Port Moresby and Lae. Both presses are expected to be commissioned before the middle of next year.

Top of the charts

Who’s the top dawg of them all?

 Check out Rob@PNG’s listings of the top PNG websites and I think some very important pointers for successful blogging and on how he hit No.1 on Alexa’s rankings.

Could this be the end for online newspapers?

 

How PNG can benefit from Blogging

In my 20-odd years in journalism, I have written hundreds of stories and taken hundreds of photographs on a vast array of subjects, covering everything from rugby league to politics, from Kavieng to Daru.

Many of these articles were written before the age of computers, in the era of typewriters and fax machines, hence could not be saved.

Only after computers and the Internet came on the scene, in the late 1990’s, could these articles be preserved on floppy disks and CDs.

I couple of years ago, as I was cleaning up my house, I was faced with the dilemma of what to do with this myriad of stories and pictures.

Family and friends, particularly my late wife Hula – my greatest fan – had often encouraged me to compile a book of all that I’d written over the years.

After considering all the possibilities, I decided to set up my own Blog on the Internet, featuring my articles and photographs, and with the express purpose of promoting our beloved country Papua New Guinea.

So, I copied some of what I’d written and photographed over the years on a flash drive, and spent long hours on weekends at Internet cafes posting them on my Blog.

Slowly, but steadily, readership of my Blog grew and I started receiving emails from all over the world.

These came from former PNG residents, tourists who wanted to know more about the country, students doing assignments, academics, researchers, businessmen, writers, book publishers, and many, many more.

Needless to say, I’m proud that my Blog has, in one way or another, served to promote PNG around the world and may have brought in an extra kina or two into our coffers.

At the height of the Taiwan scandal earlier this year, I was surprised to receive an email from a leading TV station in Taipei, wanting to know more about Timothy Bonga and Dr Florian Gubon.

The TV station had apparently found my Blog on the Internet!

A Blog gives you your own voice on the web.

It's a place to collect and share things that you find interesting— whether it's your political commentary, a personal diary, or links to web sites you want to remember.

Many people use a Blog just to organise their own thoughts, while others command influential, worldwide audiences of thousands.

Professional and amateur journalists use Blogs to publish breaking news, while personal journalers reveal inner thoughts.

Whatever you have to say, Blogging can help you say it.

Blogging is about more than just putting your thoughts on the web.

It's about connecting with and hearing from anyone who reads your work and cares to respond.

With Blogging, you control who can read and write to your Blog — let just a few friends or the entire world see what you have to say!

Blogging let anyone, anywhere, to offer feedback on your posts.

You can choose whether you want to allow comments on a post-by-post basis, and you can delete any comments you don't like.

Access Controls let you decide who can read and who can write to your Blog.

You can use a group Blog with multiple authors as an excellent communication tool for small teams, families and other groups.

Or as a single author, you can create a private online space for collecting news, links, and ideas, to keep to yourself or share with as many readers as you want.

Blogging let you find people and Blogs that share your interests.

Your profile, where you can list your blogs, your interests, and more, lets people find you (but only if you want to be found).

Whether you're starting your Blog or just think it's time to give your existing Blog a facelift, user-friendly editing tools help you easily design a great-looking page.

A collection of templates will get you started with an attractive site right away without you having to learn any HTML, though you can edit your Blog's HTML code whenever you want.

When you're ready to take the next step, you can further customise templates to create a design that perfectly reflects you and your Blog.

You can easily upload photos on your Blog.

The fastest way to understand Blogging is to try it out, and in less than five minutes, you could be part of the phenomenon that’s transforming web and media to a participatory approach.  

 

InterOil's September Report Card

PORT MORESBY: InterOil has announced a “modest but highly encouraging” financial outcome for the third quarter of 2008.

The company recorded a pre-tax profit of $US9.3-million for the period.

This compares to a net loss of $US17.9-million for the third quarter of last year – an improvement of $US27.2 million.

The latest figures represent an annual return of less than one percent on InterOil’s major investment in Papua New Guinea.

However, Company President Bill Jasper said he was pleased with the result.

“Despite the volatile nature of the international marketplace and the current financial crisis, we have kept our head above water”.

“It’s a tribute to our dedicated and skilled workforce and our overall business strategy that we are weathering this initial stage of the storm.”

“The September quarter results follow a series of business strategies pursued during the past two years”.

“We have also adopted a number of hedging strategies to help mitigate the risks associated with the international crude oil market”.

Other key aspects of the company’s September report card are:

 

• A 39% increase in sales and operating revenues (when compared to the third quarter 2007) to $US262-million.
• An improved refinery run rate of about 19,000 barrels per day
• Securing a $US57.5-million (K150-million) working capital facility through Westpac PNG and Bank of South Pacific Limited.

 

InterOil also says that its total assets have increased by 31% while total liabilities have decreased by 1% when compared to September 2007.

The latest financial figures follow the recent announcement that drilling has commenced at its Antelope-1 exploration site in the Gulf Province.

Mr. Jasper said the company is continuing its investment position in PNG.

“These latest figures have given us a strong base from which to launch our future activities”.

   “We look forward to continued growth and a strong and vibrant future serving the people and nation of Papua New Guinea”.

For further in formation please contact

Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager Media Relations InterOil Corporation

Ph: 321 7040

Mobile: 684 5168

Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com

 

 

Happy Birthday Malum Nalu Jr

Happy belated 8th Birthday to my eldest son, Malum Nalu Jr, who turned eight years old on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.
Because I was very busy last week, son. I couldn't put anything, however, this is something from the heart.
I love you son, and God Bless You as Your prepare to take your place in this wide, wide world.
Dad

Playgrounds for the children of Port Moresby

Captions: 1. See saw, up and down we go! 2. Gerehu basketball court 3. My children at the Gerehu playground.

Powes Parkop is showing his mettle as Governor of the National Capital District.

He must be supported in his campaign to resume all public parkland in Port Moresby that has been acquired – legally or otherwise – by business interests.

Mr Parkop has flung down the challenge by ploughing a strip of land between the South Pacific Brewery and Boroko Foodworld, opposite Courts store at the brewery roundabout.

This land, and others around Port Moresby, has become a park and children’s playground and Mr Parkop has declared he will go to gaol if necessary to reclaim it for the public.

That’s the kind of determination that has been missing from the NCDC leadership for decades – not empty sabre-rattling, but a refusal to be bullied by businessmen whose dubious deals that have seen them squat on undeveloped parkland for many years.

I live at Gerehu, and whenever I can, I take my children to the playground when they can slide, see-saw, swing, climb like a monkey, or roll on the sand.

Thanks Mr Parkop, and keep up the good work.