Angry scenes in Papua New Guinea parliament over no-confidence vote

Angry scenes erupted in Papua New Guinea's parliament today after the government avoided a motion of no-confidence by adjourning the session until November.

MPs hurled abuse at each other across the chamber and security officers had to restrain members of the public who voiced their frustration when the government won the adjournment vote on Wednesday.

Opposition leader and former prime minister Mekere Morauta said Prime Minister Michael Somare's government was running scared, so much so that they broke constitutional laws to avoid the no-confidence vote.

Mr Morauta told a news conference after the vote that parliament had only sat for 29 days and the adjournment meant they would miss the required 63 days sitting time for the year.

"Yesterday Somare said he had the numbers to block a vote of no-confidence, today he adjourned. The government is worried, it is fractured. He is afraid to face the music, the constitution, he will go down in history as someone who has threatened democracy," Mr Morauta said.

The opposition would go to PNG's Supreme Court and refer Mr Somare, Parliamentary Speaker Jeffery Nape and the leader of government business Paul Tiensten to the Ombudsman Commission for violating the constitution, he said.

Opposition member Julius Chan, also a former prime minister, said PNG was not in political limbo but "now in hell".

Western Province Governor Bob Danaya, who has sided with the opposition, said there was a big split within government based on principle. "They are destroying this country," he said.

Six other government backbench members listed a series of scandals and corruption as their reasons for swapping sides. "This has come from within the government, from us, we are dissatisfied and angry," MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham said.

Mr Somare on Tuesday said he had the government's full support and the numbers to defeat a no-confidence vote. But on Wednesday the government opted for a successful 56 to 32 vote to adjourn parliament until 10 November.

A government spokesman said the adjournment was to allow for "much needed refurbishments" to parliament house.

 

Arona - like every place you've never been

That's me checking out fried tilapia at a roadside market

Fresh mandarins and vegetables on sale

Scenic landscape overlooking Yonki

Coffee Industry Corporation signboard at Kassam

Evangelical Brotherhood Church property at Kassam

Scenic Highlands Highway at Kassam

The drive between Kassam Pass and Kainantu is one of the most-scenic and beautiful in the country.
Arona Valley which you drive past was once mooted by the colonial administration as a potential capital for the then Territory of Papua New Guinea.
That is no longer the case, Port Moresby having stolen the thunder, but the picturesque Arona plays a pivotal role in PNG’s economy.
It’s here that PNG’s largest manmade lake – with water from the Ramu River – supplies electricity to the five Highlands provinces, Morobe and Madang.
It is, however, a paradox that electricity is “so near, yet so far away” and many of the surrounding villages are yet to be connected to the power supply.
That, together with land compensation matters, remains a contentious issue.
Those aside, the manmade lake is dubbed the travelers as the “Highlands Sea” and it’s now a common sight to see outboard motor dinghies zooming and dugout canoes being paddled across the hunting grounds of a bygone generation.
You could be forgiven for thinking that you were out on the deep blue ocean!
But then again, perhaps this can only happen in “The Land of the Unexpected”.
Fish, particularly tilapia, thrive in this inland sea – which was made in the late 1980s and early 1990s – providing a readily available source of protein and cash for hundreds of villagers on its shores.
Taking a drive up there last Saturday with officers of the Coffee Industry Corporation was so refreshing from the hustle-and-bustle of Port Moresby and brought back so many unforgettable memories.
In 1984 and 1985, whilst a student at the nearby national high school at Aiyura – another of the great Highlands valleys – I was fortunate enough to have done some memorable bushwalks through this area, so I can visualise Arona the way it was before flooding.
Along the shores, there are cattle grazing and bees hard at work in the hives, in scenes of pastoral poetry.
It’s a joy for weary Highlands Highway travelers to stop at the PNG Power township of Yonki and gaze across this scenic lake, garnished by pine trees, to a magnificent backdrop of mountains.
The Arona Valley is also one of the more lush, fertile and verdant areas of the Highlands.
Vegetables and fruit grown in abundance, supplemented by readily-available protein from the lake.
Hence, in this land of milk and honey, you have a very healthy-looking population.
Arona, like the rest of the Highlands, has coffee trees aplenty, providing a steady source of much-needed income for the people.
Nearby is Kassam Pass, which provides panoramic, awe-inspiring views of the Ramu Valley of Madang Province and the Markham Valley of Morobe Province.
Kainantu, the “Mile-High Gateway to the Highlands”, is about 30 minutes drive away, while the Eastern Highlands capital of Goroka is about an hour and 30 minutes drive.
Lae is about two hours and 30 minutes drive, likewise, Madang.
The lake, together with the pine trees and rolling hills, was as pretty as a picture in the afternoon sun and brought back memories of when my late wife Hula and I would stop here and marvel at nature while driving between Goroka and Lae.
Arona Valley once inspired the colonial administration to consider it as the potential capital of PNG.
You can see why with a visit to this part of PNG

UK Foreign Office Minister to tour Papua New Guinea and Asia Pacific region

UK Foreign Office Minister, Chris Bryant (pictured), is making his first ministerial visit to the Asia-Pacific region from July 26 to August 7 visiting Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

His visit to PNG on August 3-4 will include meetings with the Government of PNG and Autonomous Bougainville Government, international partners, civil society and commerce.

During his official two-day visit he will also deliver a keynote speech to the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce entitled "The UK and PNG - Partners in a Globalised World", launch UK involvement in the Meri Seif Project which includes the unveiling of the British High Commission as a Meri Seif Ples.

He will also visit Anglicare Stop Aids, meet with Carteret Islanders for an update on their relocation programme and have a round table discussion on climate change with civil society representatives.

He will then travel from Port Moresby to Cairns on August 4 to represent the British Government in discussions at the annual summit of the Pacific Islands Forum.

 He will carry a message of support for Pacific Island states - particularly vulnerable to and amongst the least responsible for climate change - as they use their collective voice to urge developed nations to reduce global emissions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

 The Minister will also discuss the situation in Fiji.

Chris Bryant said: "We're not about to underestimate the importance that PNG and Asia-Pacific voices are likely to have in Copenhagen in December.

“Low-lying Pacific Island nations can be influential in particular - each has a voice at this important summit and stand to suffer terribly from a changing climate.

“We will pull together with them and other like-minded nations.

“As a friend of Fiji too, the UK is deeply concerned about the damaging effects military rule is having on its people and I am especially worried about increasing reports of human rights abuses.

“I will be discussing with international partners at the Forum how we can work together best to help Fiji make an early return to civilian democracy."

INTEROIL ANNOUNCES "SPUDDING" NEW APPRAISAL WELL IN THE GULF PROVINCE.

PORT MORESBY: INTEROIL Corporation has commenced the drilling phase (“spudding”) of a new appraisal well in the Gulf Province.

The well, Antelope-2, is situated in the same region as the company’s three previous gas strikes, Antelope-1, Elk-1 and Elk-4.

All three wells are on InterOil’s Petroleum Prospecting License 238 site and have each returned gas flow rates of more than 100-million cubic feet per day.

In fact, Antelope 1 flowed at a record 380 million cubic feet per day on test.

The planned depth of this latest well is 2,550 metres and it is expected to take approximately 3 months to drill and evaluate.

The aim of the new well is to evaluate the southern extent of the field, to develop an increased understanding of hydrocarbon fluid contacts in the structure and further evaluate the potential for commercial quantities of oil.

InterOil Chief Executive Officer Phil Mulacek said the well will also confirm whether the extent of the structure is in keeping with the interpretation of the seismic data.

“It should enhance our understanding of the structure and its possible potential”.

“We anticipate working with our independent resource evaluator to review our resource estimates at the conclusion of drilling and testing of this well”, he said.

It is expected that gas from the Elk-Antelope structures would feed the proposed Liquid Niugini Gas project (of which InterOil is a foundation partner).

The proposed multi-billion Kina project would be a major windfall for the PNG economy and make a significant contribution to the nation’s GDP in years to come.

 

For further information and to arrange media interviews contact:

Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager Media Relations InterOil Corporation

Ph: (675) 311 2796

Mobile: (675) 7201 3870

Email: slaumaea@digicelpacific.blackberry.com

MAPS REVEAL SECRET LIFE OF TURTLES AND MARINE HABITATS IN URGENT NEED OF PROTECTION

A series of conservation maps produced by WWF reveal for the first time the secret life of endangered turtles in the world’s most diverse marine region – the Coral Triangle.

The maps are the first to bring together the different life cycle movements, migration routes, foraging grounds, and nesting sites of green, hawksbill and leatherback turtles.

The maps were produced with the help of satellite tracking, and allow the identification and targeting of areas in urgent need of protection. They also highlight the inter-connectedness of marine habitats making a strong case for co-operation among Coral Triangle countries for the protection of shared marine resources in the region.

“We now have a better picture and more comprehensive understanding of where marine turtles feed, breed, and nest around the waters of the Coral Triangle,” said Matheus Halim, WWF Coral Triangle Turtle Strategy Leader.

Marine turtles play a crucial role in the delicate web of ocean life by maintaining the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are home to other marine species such as shrimp, lobster, sharks, dugongs and innumerable reef fish.

The maps serve as a guideline for where to establish Marine Protected Areas. “The maps clearly identify which areas in this region need protection”, said Halim. “WWF is calling for the establishment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that encompass these locations as part of the new six nations Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and for turtles to be made a priority under The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).”

Apart from showing life cycle movements, the maps also indicate locations with high incidence of turtle bycatch in the region, value for identifying where fishing methods require modification.

The Coral Triangle, home to six of the seven known species of marine turtles in the world, stretches across six countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, covering the seas of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.

Marine turtles are listed on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species as either ‘Endangered’ or ‘Critically Endangered.’ This means they are among the most threatened animals on the planet and face the real risk of extinction.

The loss of nesting beaches and feeding habitats due to pollution and coastal development, the illegal trade and consumption of turtle eggs, meat, and other derivatives for commercial purposes, and the accidental catch (or ‘bycatch’) of turtles in fishing gears are just some of the many threats facing marine turtles. 

Marine habitats in the Coral Triangle important to commercially-valuable fish species are being lost or degraded at an unprecedented rate. The last decade alone has seen a drastic decline in fish stocks due to inadequate fisheries management and widespread overuse of marine and coastal resources.

Establishing a network of MPAs can help alleviate the stress on marine and coastal resources and help build the marine environment’s resilience against other threats such as coral bleaching, caused by climate change.

“MPAs offer a range of benefits for fisheries, people, and the marine environment by providing safe havens for endangered species to thrive and for depleted fish stocks to recover,” says Dr Lida Pet-Soede, WWF Coral Triangle Programme Leader. “MPAs provide services to local communities who depend on the sea and its resources. Protecting these critical marine habitats means protecting the food and livelihood of millions people in the Coral Triangle region and beyond.”

The maps were produced by WWF in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation and other regional partners.

• The Coral Triangle is the most diverse marine region on the planet, matched in its importance to life on Earth only by the Amazon rainforest and the Congo basin. Defined by marine areas containing more than 500 species of reef-building coral, it covers around 6 million square kilometres of ocean across six countries in the Indo-Pacific – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.

• The Coral Triangle also directly sustains the lives of more than 120 million people and contains key spawning and nursery grounds for tuna, while healthy reef and coastal systems underpin a growing tourism sector. WWF is working with other NGOs, multilateral agencies and governments around the world to support conservation efforts in the Coral Triangle for the benefit of all.

• The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food is a new six-nation initiative to secure the future of marine resources in the region. See www.cti-secretariat.net for more information.

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) coordinates the regional response to illegal trade in protected species, which threatens biodiversity, endangers public health, and undermines economic wellbeing. See www.asean-wen.org for more information.

• For information on Coral Triangle go to: www.panda.org/coraltriangle

For further information:

Matheus Halim, WWF Coral Triangle Programme Turtle Strategy Leader, Tel: +62 21 576 1070 Email: mhalim@wwf.or.id

Lida Pet Soede, Leader, WWF Coral Triangle Programme Tel. +62 812 381 8742 Email: lpet@wallacea.wwf.or.id

Paolo P. Mangahas, Communications Manager, Tel: +60 3 7803 3772 Email: pmangahas@ywwf.org.my

DOWNLOAD MAPS & PICTURES

Maps can be downloaded from the WWF website here www.panda.org/coraltriangle/turtles

 

Who is the "State", "Crown"

By BAPA BOMOTENG

Some thoughts.

 The Member for North Fly must be commended for the introduction of the Bill to  repeal the "State" to Resources Owners..

I fully support this Cause.  It has great spiritual implication in breaking down the great imperial oppression. of the colonial "covenants" signed in blood in the corridors of London (Kings/Queens) and European empires.

 Political will must be prayed for so that break  through comes.  So we see real wealth transfer...This is a spiritual fight against principalities and powers that rule the mid-airs and kingdoms.  These are ancient rulers.  they have to bow down..

 

Ps Bapa

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=====

 I support the issue now before the Parliament for the "Resources ownership" and the legal transfer from the strong wicket Colonial "State" which refers to the British Crown and its Empire days. 

The days when land and assets including oil, gold, gas was locked up by imperilists and "discovereiers", who claimed it for the "Crown" or the "King/Queen" of the Eurpoean empires in the last 200-300 years. 

 "State" is an age old colonial terminology that was written by clever and greedy who built the European Empires and kingdoms to possess, imprison and steal from inhabitants of the colonies.Since the British empire days, the "Crown", the "State" under British Laws, passed to PNG through the Australian law system, which PNG adopted has been engrained in the legal system, denying the basic rights to property, especially the land and its resources.  

The colonization process brought the colonies and nations into subjection and bondage, being denied their rights.  Thus ownership of any thing under six feet belongs to the "State". 

 This includes the our Seas and the vast Ocean bed.Who is the "State"?  Who is the "Crown"? 

Our lawyers can tell us all about this in details.  From a laymen's view, we have all along been doped to think this nation and its people, the resources are governed by the Papua New Guinean leaders. 

 We are not. 

The "State", represented by the Governor Generals Office, a puppet of the British empire, who have interest over all our resources and our mother land. 

So they can dictate who comes in at what terms and steal our resources. 

They own 90-95 and dig up every thing and leave us all buried in our vomit with alcohol and cheap services for a season. 

After 30 plus years of Independence our schools have good to worse, our health services have crumble to decay, our roads are riddled with pot holes all over the nation, our air-strips have closed down, our agriculture stations have had culivation of weed and grass. 

 And here we are talking about a Billion Dollar LNG project.

The "State", if it were "by the people for the people", our politicians would hear the pleas of our grass roots people now.  Futhermore they built the land law with  "99 years land lease agreement" to tie the land to the colonial masters, until all the land owners are dead and gone. 

By then, they declare its "Sate" property. 

The question again.

Who is the "State"? 

They got the prime land  under the 99 years land lease.

This is a strategic amendment the leaders of the nation will debate and do the right thing by voting for repealing the word "State" and repalcing it with resource owners. 

History needs to be re-written, so our future generation will honour and love us for.  Other-wise the blood of our future generations will be on the hands of our leaders and Law makers today.  Our grand sons and daughters of tomorrow will look back and curse the bones of the leaders of today, if the ultimate transfer and repealing of the words "State" is not repealed.

 Bapa Bomoteng

Concerned Citizen

Samoa probes Papua New Guinea minister's transactions

Property financing came from offshore company

 

By Savea Sano Malifa

 

APIA, Samoa (Samoa Observer, July 26, 2009) – The Central Bank of Samoa (CBS) has instigated an inquiry into the local real estate financial transactions involving the Papua New Guinea Minister of Forests, Belden Namah.

In confirming this on Friday, CBS Governor Leasi Papali’i T. Scanlan said his office has advised the Attorney General’s Office to look into launching an investigation into whether money laundering had been involved in the transactions.

"After all," Leasi said, "we have to protect Samoa’s integrity."

He told the Samoa Observer they made their decision following the receipt of the relevant reports from the bank through which the funds involved in the transactions had been channeled.

"Normally under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2007, all money remittances of over $30,000 should be reported to us by the banks," Leasi explained. "These remittances are listed in what is known as the banks’ Suspicious Transaction Report (STR), and if they are new clients we ask more questions. I can now confirm that from the STR reports the funds were not from individuals but were from a company offshore. We have now asked the local bank involved to go back to the people they’d received the funds from and find out if they were laundered funds or not. "The onus is on the bank to find out (the details.)"

Leasi said the CBS was undertaking its "due diligence" responsibilities and it expected all local banks to undertake theirs.

"If there is suspicion arising from any banking transaction," he said, "we advise the Attorney General’s Office to look further into (the matter). After all, we have to protect Samoa’s integrity."

On 15 July, the Samoa Observer reported that Mr Namah was involved in the purchases of certain real estate properties around Apia amounting to about 5 million tala [US$1.9 million]

He had apparently helped in the negotiations for the purchase of properties including:

• Chan Chui Co Ltd on Taufusi Road for more than 2 million tala
• A two-storey home at Papaloloa for 1.49 million tala
• A Vaitele property for 1.8 million tala.

According to the previous owner of the Papaloloa property Mrs Freda Andrews, Mr Namah came with his partner to her home. "She fell in love with the house and they bought it." She said when Mr Namah came to their home they knew nothing about him.

"We don’t know anything about him," she said. "The partner fell in love with the house and they bought it."

Although the buyers gave a "10 per cent deposit" her husband was "so persistent" that soon afterwards they were paid in full.

"We’ve got our money," she said, which they had since used to "renovate" another property they owned.

As for the cost of "more than $2 million" for Chan Chui Co Ltd, this was confirmed by Mr Namah’s lawyer in Samoa, Papali’i Tologata Siaki Tuala, during a phone interview.

But the owner of the Vaitele property, Mr Ray Bancroft, was not happy when he was asked for a comment then. He said he had been given a deposit of $200,000 and was promised the rest of the money would be paid by a certain time.

However when the Observer talked to him before the story was published, the balance had still not been paid. At that time, Mr Bancroft was not impressed, saying he had put his furniture in the sale out of trust.

"The furniture alone is worth $100, 000," he revealed. "If I’d known there was to be a problem, I would have put the house back on the market."

Mr Bancroft said he had made it clear to Mr Namah he wanted to sell the property, which was why he had allowed his furniture to be part of the sale.

Asked for a comment at that time, Papali’i said Mr Bancroft had nothing to worry about.

"(The deal) will be finalised as soon as possible," he said.

He also assured Mr Bancroft his client "is just waiting for all the funds to arrive."

Besides, he said the agreement allowed Mr Bancroft "to keep most of the $200, 00 deposit" if the deal fell through.

Later when the story about Mr Namah’s alleged transactions was published in the Samoa Observer, it was picked up by PNG’s The National newspaper which also published it. Mr Namah later told parliament that the reporters "should go back to school."

The National’s story reported that Mr Namah’s lawyer Papali’i threatened to sue the Samoa Observer over the report.

"Mr Namah’s association with these property investments has been with and through his local partner and as the contact for his business partner abroad."

Later on 16 July 2009, Papali’i sent a letter to Samoa Observer’s editor in chief threatening to sue the paper.

The letter also asked to "publish an immediate correction and apology to Mr Namah …"

That letter in full is in letters to the editor section with this newspaper’s response.

 

Samoa Observer: www.samoaobserver.ws/

Copyright © 2009 Samoa Observer. All Rights Reserved