Prime Minister shocked at reclassification of Unagi Park

By MADELEINE AREK in The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

A previous member of the Lands Board may have conducted himself improperly in the sale of the land known as Unagi Park, now the subject of controversy and potential legal action.

The reclassification of the Unagi Park (allotment 4 to 16 section 122 Hohola) from reserve/recreational to commercial had shocked Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare when it first surfaced.

In November 2005, and again in June 2007, the Prime Minister wrote to Lands Minister Sir Puka Temu to investigate this land deal.

Sir Michael said if the land was indeed granted initially to the National Capital District Commission for recreational purpose, then the reclassification (to commercial) should be reversed.

It is unclear if any investigation requested by the Prime Minister was carried out.

Sir Puka refused to comment when contacted by phone yesterday.

He said he would make a detailed public statement today.

The Prime Minister’s Media Unit also declined comment, referring The National to the Lands Department.

Two companies, Virgo No. 65 Limited and Fairhaven Limited, are claiming ownership of the land and have asked NCDC to remove all playground equipment from the park.

The NCDC is opposing this, insisting the land is reserved as a park and is preparing to go to court.

Company documents obtained by The National show that former Lands Board chairman John Tangila was a shareholder of Virgo No. 65 Pty Ltd, a company incorporated on Jan 19, 1998.

The documents show a number of other people, believed to be family members of Tangila, as shareholders.

They all have a Mt Hagen address.

The company was later sold to three naturalised citizens, who now want to have the Unagi Park developed for commercial purpose.

A number of church, women and youth groups, opposed to this land being developed for commercial purpose, approached the Prime Minister to intervene.

In November 2005, the Prime Minister instructed Sir Puka to provide him with an intense brief into how the reclassification of Unagi Park was made.

In the second letter, written in June 2007, Sir Michael expressed “surprise and shock” that his orders in 2005 for an investigation into how the land was reclassified were not adhered to.

Sir Michael had expressed concern that the land was not lawfully obtained by individuals and organisations stating claim to it, and had advised the minister to immediately investigate how it was reclassified.

The brief was to include whether the mentioned parcels of land (allotments 4 to 16, section 122, Hohola, Gordon) were first granted to the NCDC as special purpose; why the lease granted to NCDC was cancelled and the area rezoned to commercial; if there had been any new grants done to other persons or organisations and, if there had, then to whom were the respective parcels granted to and when.

The report was to be made available to Sir Michael “as soon as possible”, as he strongly believed that “if all investigations reveal that these parcels of land were firstly granted to NCDC to be used for recreational purposes, then all or any other grants should be cancelled”.

On June 29, 2007, in another letter to Sir Puka, Sir Michael expressed frustration that despite his Government’s election promise to investigate all unscrupulous land deals in the country as a matter of priority, the Unagi Park deal had been allowed to go through.

 

Latest pictures of my cucumber garden

And for those of you who have been following the saga of my kids, me and our cucumber garden, here are latest pictures of our cucumber patch today.
Nice, green, and flowering.
I'll keep you posted.

Malum

Let's keep the playground

Editorial in The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

DEPUTY Prime Minister and Lands Minister Sir Puka Temu cannot just remove from the public a prime piece of land which has been zoned reserve land for recreational purposes.

We understand that the said land has never had its “special purposes lease for recreation” revoked. This piece of land, for those familiar with Port Moresby, is that large tract of land which lies opposite the SP Brewery and extends to the Gordon police station.

Just rezoning the land for “commercial purposes” does not make it right or legal as the particular tract of land in Port Moresby’s Gordon suburb has been subject of dispute going as far back as 1985.

We refer Sir Puka to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee report into this portion of land which was originally described as section 122 Hohola.

The PAC reported the Lands Board has “granted and the department (of Lands) has issued State leases over land that was, and still is, zoned as Reserved Open Space Land for the benefit of the public”.

The PAC report reads in part: “Consideration of the facts shows a clear pattern of conscious illegality in the Lands Board and (at best) cooperation by the Department of Lands and Physical Planning.

“The dealings also well demonstrate the paralysis of action that attends the Department of Lands, even when the illegalities of lease issue are known to the department and have been publicly acknowledged by it.

“The history of this parcel is complex ... but the grants and issues of private title over all of section 122 Hohola are unlawful and require immediate action from the National Government to rectify the defects and/or reinstate this valuable public asset – if indeed it is not too late to do so.”

The PAC report containing the above comments and recommendations was presented to Parliament long before Sir Puka made his decision.

Apparently, the National Government took no action to rectify the defects or reinstate this valuable public asset and it is already far too late.

The land was zoned as “Reserved Land” as far back as 1985 and for a time, the entire lot was used as public recreational land.

It acquired the name Unagi Oval after the late former lord mayor of Port Moresby and Moresby Northeast MP, David Unagi.

That land has been subdivided into many lots and according to the PAC, has been “unlawfully granted to private ownership”.

The entire tract of land was declared in 1969 as section 122, Hohola. The first subdivisions were made in 1982 and the land was divided into lots 1-7.

On Nov 28, 1985, allotment 1 section 122 was “reserved from lease” for the purposes of “public recreation”, published in the National Gazette and a trusteeship was vested in the NCD Interim Commission.

In 1990, further subdivisions were done and others subsumed under the new lots. A 15m wide road was then carved out from part of the land. After yet another subdivision and merging action in 1997, lots 1 to 5 and 11 of section 122, Hohola were cancelled. They ceased to exist.

Although these sections ceased to exist subsequent dealings were conducted with allotments 1, 2, 12 and 13 by the Lands Board and the Department of Lands and Physical Planning.

This is the confusing state of affairs surrounding this piece of land which the minister has now decided to pass off as commercial land.

While it is his prerogative to do so, we are alarmed and disturbed that the minister has chosen to do so when the capital city is deprived of recreational land.

The PAC concluded, following its examination of the relevant details that “the State has been deprived unlawfully, of a large and valuable tract of land for no or no adequate recompense, that the State has been exposed to liability by departmental actions and failures and that the public have been deprived, quite illegally, of prime recreational land”.

The PAC report refers to certain illegal deals and transfers of titles between certain private companies, various Lands Board chairmen and the Department of Lands but we will not go into that.

Suffice it to say that the NCDC and the public had lost zoned Reserved Land, the State had received no recompense and there are questions about the legality of the entire process.

More worrying is the failure of the department to protect this asset in the first place.

The whole saga is very complicated and should be the subject of a deeper inquiry not to be bundled off and forgotten by a rezoning decision. It just will not do, Mr Minister.

 

Activist campaigns to save Unagi Park.

By MADELEINE AREK in The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

A WOMAN activist has gone on the campaign trail following the reclassification of the Unagi Park at Five-Mile in Port Moresby from a public reserve to commercial.

She is calling on everyone in the city to help her fight against the commercialisation of the park.

The park has been reclassified from an open space or public reserve to a commercial area by a May 6 National Gazettal notice authorised by Lands and Physical Planning Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sir Puka Temu.

Dorothy Tekwie, a staunch human rights yesterday initiated the “Save Unagi Oval/Children playground Campaign” in a bid to allow the area to remain as it currently is – a park to be used by city residents, especially children.

In an email note to friends and colleagues, Ms Tekwie said for far too long, the Government had stood by and watched recreational areas being sold off to “greedy foreign business interest” and she would not watch the same being done to the

Unagi Park.

She said her campaign was to “save these last pieces of limited public recreational land in the city for our children to play and enjoy”.

She urged city residents to join her expose another insensitive, irresponsible and corrupt decision by the Government to deny children and others the right to recreational services in the city.

Since The National ran the story yesterday, city residents have expressed disgust at the Government over its actions, calling it an act of greed that was in the interest of foreign businesses.

Several people The National spoke to raised concerns over the manner in which Sir Puka had gone back on his earlier decision to allow the land to remain a public reserve.

They also expressed concern that in future, Port Moresby would run out of parks and public reserves.

Michael, who lives at Hohola Four, makes the weekly pilgrim there with his daughter Aliya, who has fallen in love with the slide.

When told about the reclassification of Unagi Park, he asked: “Where else can we take our children to play and enjoy themselves outdoors?

“Take a look around the city and you will see new buildings springing up everywhere. But there’s no place for our children to play and enjoy themselves.”

Janet, who lives at Erima and regularly commutes to work along that route, said “it’s a bad decision”.

“The park is nice as it is.

“It allows a break for the eye, especially when you’re bombarded with ugly buildings all over the place and betelnut vendors plying their untidy trade,” the young mother said.

She continued: “I don’t know who the developers are but if they want to change that into an amusement park or someplace where families can retire to, then okay, but another ugly building smack bang in the middle of that beautiful peace of land would be a disaster and the minister should seriously reconsider his decision.”

Linda, a betelnut vendor who has been enjoying the facilities with her children since NCD Governor Powes Parkop “lit up the place”, was extremely annoyed when she sighted The National yesterday and said the minister had lost the plot.

“He said something and then went back on his word.

“These businesses who have title to the land should go to Eight-Mile or Nine-Mile and conduct their affairs.  “Leave the park alone,” the disgruntled Engan woman said. 

Papua New Guinea climate change boss suspended

From The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

THE head of Office of Climate Change and Environment Sustainability (OCCES), Dr Theo Yasause, has been suspended.

Government sources said Cabinet made the decision to suspend Dr Yasause from office pending a full-scale investigation into operations of the office.

Cabinet made the decision last Friday based on a submission by Public Service Minister Peter O’Neill.

Mr O’Neill is away in Abu Dhabi, representing the Government on official business, and could not be reached for comments.

But Government sources spoken to said the decision was made by Cabinet, and a formal announcement was pending.

It is understood the secretary for the Department of Environment and Conservation, Dr Wari Iamo, will be the acting director-general of the OCCES.

Acting secretary for the Department of Personnel Management John Kali will head an inter-government agency team to conduct the full-scale investigation that will look into all aspects of this office and its operations since it was established.

Recently, the media revealed allegations that the OCCES had been selling carbon trading projects to a number of overseas companies without having any policy or legislative framework in place to do so.

Since then, there have been calls for Dr Yasause to step down for an inquiry into all these allegations.

Even Kevin Conrad, the PNG Ambassador of Climate Change based in New York, USA, had expressed concern about the way the office was conducting itself regarding carbon trade.

In a recent conference of governors, it was resolved the OCCES and its head be referred to the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee for an investigation into its affairs. This referral is pending.

Meanwhile, AusAID will have an adviser attached to the OCCES for three months.

The corporate planning adviser will be based in Port Moresby, and will be responsible for helping the OCCES establish corporate governance systems to enable it to demonstrate transparency and accountability in its operations.

This would involve providing technical advice on financial and accounting systems, IT and communications and HR processes, including staff recruitment, sources said

 

Ministerial press release on Montevideo Maru

From: Keith Jackson                                                   

 

Dear Friend of Montevideo Maru -

 Veterans' Affairs Minister Alan Griffin released the following media statement this morning to mark today’s anniversary of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru.

 I think we will all appreciate the sentiments Mr Griffin offers.

 The memorial service at Subic Bay is to start in a few minutes, at 11 am Philippines' time (1 pm AEST). It will be covered on ABC-TV News tonight.

 

REMEMBERING MONTEVIDEO MARU – OUR WORST MARITIME DISASTER  

On the 67th anniversary of Australia’s worst maritime disaster, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, has called for the nation to pause and remember the 1053 Australian lives lost in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru.

“War brings many tragedies and today we remember one of the greatest tragedies of the Second World War,” Mr Griffin said.

Speaking on indulgence in Parliament last week, Mr Griffin said the story of the sinking was an unfortunate and lesser known episode of the Second World War.

“On 1 July 1942, a United States submarine, USS Sturgeon, torpedoed and sank what it believed to be a Japanese merchant vessel.  It was in fact the Montevideo Maru, carrying Australian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians who were locked in the hold with no means of escape once the ship was struck,” he said.

“On board were 1053 Australian prisoners of war and civilians who had been captured and held by the Japanese at Rabaul on the island of New Britain, in what is now known as Papua New Guinea.

“The Montevideo Maru took 11 minutes to sink.  No Australians survived.  It was not until after the war that Australian authorities discovered the tragic fate of those captured at Rabaul.

“The families and associations with connections to the Montevideo Maru have never lost sight of the tragedy that occurred 67 years ago. That some questions concerning the ship may never be answered must also add to their sense of loss.  It is something that we as a nation should never forget,” Mr Griffin said.

Mr Griffin said a local ceremony would be held in Subic Bay to remember those lost in the tragedy.

“Today the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Mr Rod Smith, will unveil a plaque commemorating those on board the Montevideo Maru on behalf of the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles Association at the Hellships Memorial, established in memory of all the ships that carried POWs,” he said.

Mr Griffin also confirmed he has approved a $7200 grant to enhance the central plinth at Subic Bay.

“Later in the year, under a grant made by the Australian Government to the RSL Angeles Sub-branch in the Philippines, commemoration of the Montevideo Maru at the Hellships memorial will be further enhanced and an interpretation will be placed in a nearby museum.”

The funds have been granted through the Overseas Privately-Constructed Memorial Restoration Program, which recognises the contribution that organisations around the world make to honouring Australia’s wartime heritage.  For more information visit www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg or contact the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on 133 254 (international callers +61 2 6289 6184).

New community website / www.8milesettlement.com

From Sean Davey

 

Dear Friends,
This is a courtesy email to notify you of the new website of the 8-Mile Settlement community in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
www.8milesettlement.com
Here you can find information, photos, stories, art and craft relating to 8-Mile Settlement.
Have a browse and enjoy. Please forward this news to anyone you know who may be interested.

Regards,

Sean Davey