Ownership of mineral and petroleum resources

By GREG ANDERSON                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 Executive Director

Papua New Guinea Chamber of Mines and Petroleum

 

In recent weeks there has been a great deal of publicity and media hype promoting private ownership of mineral, petroleum and even water resources as a simple recipe that will solve all the issues of resource development and benefit distribution.  The Chamber strongly believes that the arguments presented for private ownership of resources are grossly misleading and simplistic and will stop any future resource development in PNG.

Ownership of minerals and oil and gas resources is currently vested in the State.  Despite the frequent use of the words “resource owners” in the media to describe landowners from mining and petroleum areas, the only resource owner in PNG is the State.

State ownership of minerals is vital to the development of PNG as a Nation.  State control of resources allows them to be developed for the benefit of all citizens as required by the Constitution.  The resources are managed in an effective and orderly manner that is recognised internationally and accepted by the investor.  Private ownership of minerals means that a few lucky individuals could expect to become rich at the expense of the rest.  Papua New Guinea cannot develop as a Nation under these conditions; it would splinter into groups driven by self interest.  

An exploration tenement gives the holder the right to explore for minerals or oil and gas which is an expensive and high risk activity.  The explorer’s only security is the tenement and the guarantee provided by the State that the explorer will have the right to develop any discoveries made on the tenement in accordance with requirements and obligations set by the State.  If any potential explorer believes that the State will not, or cannot, provide this guarantee with an acceptable risk profile then the explorer will not invest exploration dollars.

The simple fact is that if a change is made to mineral ownership, exploration will die and there will be no new resource developments as the risk profile will be unacceptable to any potential developer. There will be a complete breakdown in the well established, internationally recognised system that underpins resource development in PNG.  There will be no benefits for anyone.

Whilst landowner support and agreement is integral to all current projects the State owns the resource and it issues a production licence over those resources for the benefit of all citizens. This situation provides the ultimate safeguard and provides a level of surety and confidence to the investor.  PNG’s success in resource development speaks for itself.

Papua New Guinea has one of the most equitable benefit sharing systems in the world for mining and petroleum developments.  The country has developed a formula for benefit sharing which is unique on a worldwide basis.  It includes the National Government, affected Provincial Governments and Local Level Governments, and the impacted communities.  Whilst the law states that the minerals belong to the State the benefit distribution clearly recognises the unique Melanesian cultural and traditional affinity to the land by prescribing a suite of benefits to the affected landowners.

The real issue with resource development in PNG is the lack of governance and transparency associated with the use of the benefits generated from resource development.  Change in ownership will not address this problem, it requires a fundamental shift in the way that governments and landowner leaders manage, utilise and distribute resource benefits and the way they report on this to their respective constituents.  It requires a major shift towards transparency, integrity and openness.

The National Government, Provincial Governments, and leaders of landowner companies and organisations need to regularly and comprehensively explain to their constituents the value of the benefits they receive and how they have been utilised.  For example, why is it that Provincial Governments that have received hundreds of millions of Kina rarely explain to the people the existence of these funds, let alone what has been achieved with them, or what are the plans for future expenditure and investment.  Where are the audited reports for the public to view? Similarly, many landowner companies have not produced annual reports, held regular meetings or conducted election of office bearers.

The Chamber firmly believes that private ownership of minerals is not a way forward for PNG. PNG equity in the country’s resource sector is growing year by year through investment by the Government, landowners, superannuation funds and individuals buying shares through the Port Moresby Stock Exchange.  If mineral ownership was privatised the fundamental question that investors would ask themselves is am I prepared to risk my money in a company operating in PNG. The answer that all investors will come up with is no, the risk is totally unacceptable. All Papua New Guineans know the greed and conflict that would arise.

The Chamber is opposed to any move to change State ownership of mineral and oil and gas resources to enrich a handful of fortunate landowners at the cost of all Papua New Guineans

Thought for today

From PAUL OATES in Queensland, Australia 

 THE KITCHEN TABLE

There are lots of things wrong with Australia today,
And I'd like to have something to say if I may.
You know that, forsooth, our problem with youth, Untidy, ill-mannered,
untamed and uncouth,
Is the fact that their home life.
is so often unstable,
And it's all for the lack of a kitchen table.

Remember,
How once we would sit down as one,
Dad would say grace,
when the carving was done.
With our own serviettes from our own special rings,
And we all knew our manners and etiquette things.
Then our elders would tell us of custom and fable,
When we all sat about at our kitchen table.

Now, they're building new mansions,
with 4-car garages.
Our working lives,
mortgaged to interest and charges.
There's less time at home,
for the tea to be made,
And it's seldom today, that a table is laid.
There's room after room under gable and gable,
But there's not enough room for a kitchen table.

At weekends, the parents are chauffeurs unpaid,
No wonder they're tired and their tempers are frayed,
As they ferry their broods to arenas of sport,
Where the culture of winnings intensively taught,
And there's more on the tele,
both free and by cable,
So, there's no room for talk,
around the kitchen table.

Karl Marx called religion,
the drug of the people,
But there's scant regard now for the church or the steeple,
Just give 'em more sport and don't let 'em think,
And keep 'em away from the kitchen sink.
We'll give 'em more sport and the culture of Babel,
The throwaway culture that threw out the table.

With the culture of rap and their baseball caps,
There'll soon be no fellers, no chaps and no guys.
When they all dress the same,
then it's little surprise,
that the girls swear as much,
and as foul as the blokes.
So we grandparents must,
just as long as we're able,
Keep our culture alive,
around the kitchen table.

Sway to the tapioca dance from the Trobriand Islands of the Milne Bay province, Papua New Guinea

Pilot’s wife and children wait for answers about crash

Widow Betty Kuyei Kaines surrounded by children Chris Kaines Jr, Emerald, Story and Answer admire a picture of their pilot husband and father Chris Kaines in today’s The National.

The grieving widow and children of pilot Chris Kaines today made an emotional plea to the Civil Aviation Authority to release details of the plane crash which killed her husband on Aug 7, 2008.
Betty Kuyei Kaines, surrounded by her three daughters Emerald (seven), Answer (five) and Story (two), told of the heartbreak of losing their husband and father and of waiting for answers about his death to no avail.
She also wants the operator (named), who has been elusive since the crash, to be questioned by police and relevant authorities.
Also present at the interview was Chris Kaines Jr, 17, the pilot’s son from his first marriage to Betty Komes.
As Mrs Kaines talked, the three girls pointed out excitedly to the picture of their father in today's The National, saying “daddy, daddy”.
Chris Kaines’ Jr, a quietly-spoken young man who is a spitting image of his father, said he was hoping to follow his father’s footsteps and become a pilot.
While all attention is focused on the Aug 11 Airlines PNG Twin Otter crash which killed 13 people, Kaines’ crash over the Kokoda Trail last year almost exactly a year ago to the date, remains uninvestigated.
Kaines, from Gassam village on Siassi Island, Morobe province, died in a mysterious Cessna 206 plane crash in the mountains of Myola, along the Kokoda Trail, on Thursday, August 7, 2008, on the way to Yongai in Goilala.
Details are sketchy; however, the general story is that Kaines, a very experienced pilot, was with two passengers when they experienced engine failure at Myola.
He successfully brought the Cessna down and saved his two passengers but was crushed in the cockpit; however, his body remained intact.
Kaines’ baby, Story, would celebrate her first birthday on Saturday, Aug 9, and he was looking forward to joining her for a party.
He, tragically, would never do so.
“It’s very, very challenging, especially to take up the role of both father and mother,” Mrs Kaines said as she fought back tears.
“For us to wait in vain for someone, at least someone, to give us a definite report on the crash is so painful.
“All we want to know is how he crashed.
“The Civil Aviation Authority should give us something, at least something in writing, so that we can be satisfied.”
Mrs Kaines is saddened that while last week’s crash has taken precedence over all others, with CAA chief executive officer Joseph Kintau saying a preliminary report should be ready after 30 days, while she and many other pilot widows and children continue to wait.
“When I heard them say that a report of last week’s crash would be ready in 30 days, I said, ‘wow, but what about Chris?’” she said.
“I feel that it’s unfair for the Airlines PNG crash at Kokoda to be given priority, just because it involved Australians, and they are rushing to produce a report upon demand.
“If they can produce a report for the Australians within 30 days, how about us?
“We’ve waited for a year!
“Our father was a local pilot, carrying local teachers from Port Moresby to Goilala, and his death didn’t attract much media attention, therefore, it has been swept under the carpet.
“At least we can have peace of mind if we know the cause of Chris’ death.
“They have to tell us whether it was because of a mechanical fault, weather, pilot error, whatever.
“To those families who have lost loved ones in last week’s crash and in previous crashes, their loss is our loss.
“We share the same concern as them, the anxiety of waiting for the body, of waiting for the sound of choppers and planes bringing in the body.”

Politics of landowners and extractive industry will worsen

By James Wanjik

Port Moresby, 19 August 2009

E-mail: jameswanjik@hotmail.com

 

LAND is a way of life for people in PNG. No love is lost when landowners raise land rights with intruders on their land. Panguna landowners warned the miners and minders for little over nine years. Failure by the miner and minder saw landowner grievance turn into law and order and civil strife. We as a nation lost 20, 000 souls. Panguna mine remains closed.

The story, “Gas plant closed” (Post Courier, Tuesday, August 18, 2009 p.1) is a wake up call. Hides landowners have been voicing their concerns on the LNG project for a while now. Teaching us lesson was Panguna mine. The mine was forcefully developed because it was to underwrite PNG’s independence. It did. But it was unsustainable from intergenerational landowners’ perspective. Now LNG is being rushed to underpin 2050 National Strategic Plan. Total arrogant leadership is the beginning of destruction of our national unity.

Bougainville is now autonomous because leaders turned deaf when landowners called for review of Panguna deal. The Hides landowner leaders have been calling for the review of the LNG Gas Agreement of 22 May 2008 but the leaders are pushing on as if the LNG was a public investment program project. They are very powerless to stop to listen. Fear of losing popularity is the reason.

In Madang landowners of Ramu mine have taken out legal suits against the miner and minder. When ignorant and arrogant leaders come to their senses PNG would be powerless over China.

New Ireland Province has warned that they will not cooperate with minder of miners on New Ireland. The Governor is agitated by Puka Temu’s arrogance (The National, 17 August 2009, p.9).

Wafi landowners are very restless with the setting up of Land Titles Commission. Legal advice and role playing government business is working Wafi landowners to be agitated.

Porgera landowners are slowly coming to realise the lethal combination of miner and minder that moved Police without State of Emergency. While lawlessness is not tolerated, landowners will take on the Government as they inform international organisations such as, United Nations, Amnesty International, and Canadian shareholders of Barrick Gold.

Many similar landowner issues are simmering. Very soon some of these will hit the news. When they do PNG will be the loser. The reason is MRA. It has no duty to serve PNG for it is a counterfeit working for money only.

Tell our leaders to remove MRA now. It is the only right thing to do.

Unanswered questions surround August 2008 plane crash

Captain Christopher Kaines...his plane crash is shrouded in mystery


While all attention is focused on the Aug 11 Airlines PNG Twin Otter crash which killed 13 people, another crash over the Kokoda Trail last year almost exactly a year ago to the date, remains uninvestigated.
Several unanswered questions surround the death of pilot Chris Kaines, from Gassam village on Siassi Island, Morobe province, who died in a mysterious Cessna 206 plane crash in the mountains of Myola, along the Kokoda Trail, on Thursday, August 7, 2008, on the way to Yongai in Goilala.
There are several unanswered questions as to the flight plan given to the Civil Aviation Authority, the air worthiness of the Cessna, why the operator disappeared after since the death of Kaines, is there any truth that he was carrying mercury and a large amount of money when he crashed, and many more, including questions on the involvement of certain groups and individuals.
On remote Siassi Island, they continue to grieve the loss of a bright and ambitious son who soared over the skies of Papua New Guinea like an eagle.
Their commercial pilot son perished in a light-plane crash a year ago and yet PNG’s aviation regulators had failed to examine why the crash had occurred.
They wanted answers and there were none.
Ironically, this weekend, Kaines’ haus krai (house of mourning) at Waigani will be removed, as is customary, after a year of mourning, and at a time when Australia and PNG are still reeling from last week’s Kokoda crash.
Journalist New Cuthbert, who is the late pilot’s brother-in-law, said: “In fact, this weekend, I will get rid of the haus krai.
“I have allowed the missus to mourn her brother for 12 months and last month, she told me that yes, her tears have dried, and Chris’ body has become bones in the ground.
“I will make a traditional feast for my brother’s in-law so that laughter and merriment can return to us.
“I will also walk the Kokoda trail with Minister Chris Chris Abel and pass by the land where Chris went down, and from those peaks, I will fulfill the age old custom of my people to say to Chris: ‘It is done you can really rest in peace’.”
Reporters probing the crash last year hit a brick wall at CAA when trying to get information on the crash.
Kaines was a very experienced aviator, whose feats are the stuff of legend, including busting gun smuggling operations in Western province with police, once landing on the Hiritano Highway when his engine failed, who in 2006 year flew a private plane from the USA to PNG, and whose ambition in life was to buy his own plane and run a charter operation.
The procedure for a flight plan is:
- Each aircraft prior to departure to a destination needs to produce a flight plan to flight services of the CAA for approval;
- The flight plan states the flight, pilot, and all relevant details like destination;
- The control tower is responsible for clearing the aircraft for take off and monitors its flight to and from its destination; and
- If the aircraft fails to report, the tower raises the alarm and CAA organises the rescue.
In the case of Kaines:
- He himself did not produce the flight plan but somebody may have and deliberately changed details so as to have CAA approve the flight;
- The aircraft used was one that was used by trainee pilots;
- The operator (named) did have an airworthy certificate issued against the particular aircraft;
- It was to train pilots so whoever produced the flight plan stated himself as the flight instructor and Kaines as trainee in order to get approval; and
- No aircraft and pilot under instruction is authorised to carry passenger and cargo.
“(Named operator) was to have flown the aircraft himself as per the flight plan,” a source said.
“His name may have appeared as the pilot but let Chris (Kaines) on this flight alone.
“That is why when the aircraft crashed, information out of Civil Aviation stated that the aircraft had as flight instructor an expatriate and a PNG trainee pilot.
“Chris spells his name as Chris Kaines, which is very foreign indeed
“”But (named operator) never took that flight and according to the flight plan he was supposed to do so.
“We learnt this from Chris’s wife”
“The bottom line is that (named operator) deceived Chris and deliberately misled Civil Aviation into approving the flight plan and get clearance to make the flight.
“We now know Chris had already made several flights into the area before the crash.
“On the one before the crash, he reported a faulty radio.
“This was brought to the attention of a particular engineer with Hevi Lift who questioned this aircraft to which he was to install the radio.
“When he did he was told it was the one sitting at Nadzab because of some legal complication.
“But then he was also told that it belonged to Northwest Air.”
A year on, these and many other questions remain unanswered.

Papua New Guinea women answer the call of the air

You can fly higher than an eagle...Rachael Kaltia in an Airlines PNG plane

Like the great American women pilot Amelia Earhart, whose last port of call was Lae, Morobe province, on July 2, 1937, more and more young Papua New Guinea women are taking to the skies.
During the five years remaining in her life, Earhart acted as a tireless champion for commercial aviation and for women's rights.
Two of these young PNG women pilots, Rachael Kaltia and now Jannie Moala, answered this high flying call and like Earhart lost their lives in their love and passion for the air.
While all attention over the last week has been on Ms Moala, captain of the ill-fated Airlines PNG Twin Otter that crashed over the Kokoda Trail last week, Ms Kaltia was the first PNG woman pilot to lose her life while flying.
Ms Kaltia, 24, one of PNG’s first women pilots, was killed in an Airlines PNG Twin Otter crash in Goilala, Central province, along with Australian Philip Wiseman on July 28, 2004.
She was born on March 14, 1980, and completed her primary school at Kuma community school, Southern Highlands province, in 1993.
She went on to do her top-up at Biro top-up primary school in 1995.
Ms Kaltia continued her tertiary education and completed her Grade 12 at Mogol secondary school in Mendi, and was awarded an AusAID scholarship to do pilot training in Australia in 1999.
In 2000, she commended her pilot training in Avondale School of Aviation in Sydney and achieved a commercial pilot’s license (theory) and private pilot’s license.
She further graduated with a certificate in aviation (private pilot’s license) at Avondale in 2001.
In 2002, Ms Kaltia completed commercial pilot’s license, command multi-engine and instrument rating at Avondale.
Airlines PNG first employed her as a first officer in March 2002 until her tragic death.
Young Papua New Guineans, especially women, were urged in 2004 to take the life of the late Rachael Kaltia as a role model.
Airlines PNG then general manager Simon Wild made the call during Ms Kaltia’s funeral service at the Sione Kami United Church on Friday, Aug 13, 2004.
Mr Wild urged the congregation that whenever they saw an eagle saw by, “in our minds, we can see Rachael fly by, in a Twin Otter, with that fantastic smile”.
“We pray that Rachael has set a shining example for all Papua New Guineans, the professionalism she showed, the dedication, the hard work,” he said.
“The hard work Rachael had put in, in Australia, showed that she had the ability to get up there and stand, amongst not only other Papua New Guinean men, but among expatriates from all around the world.
“I put it up, amongst the next generation of Papua New Guineans and young girls, to set Rachael’s life as a role model of what you can accomplish by putting in that dedication.
“She was a true professional.”
Last Tuesday, PNG again lost one of its bright young stars, when Jannie Moala crashed on the Kokoda Trail.