New laws include life sentence for sex crimes

AMENDED laws for sexual violence and crimes against women and children will see prison terms increasing from five to seven years and a maximum of life imprisonment, The National reports.

According to the Criminal Code Act (Amended) 2003, these penalties covered the crimes of sexual penetration, molesting and indecent acts against children under the age of 16 and women.

Speaking at the conclusion of a three-day regional workshop in Lae, Morobe, on Wednesday, deputy public prosecutor Nicholas Miviri said sexual penetration without consent was deemed as rape and the circumstances of aggravation raised the maximum penalty to life in prison.

Miviri explained that under the amendment, the penalties start from seven years to life imprisonment.

The government had, in 2001, amended the PNG sex offence laws after finding them to be “outdated”.

It consequently passed the Criminal Code (sexual violence and crimes against children) Amendment Act 2003 and the Evidence (Amendment) Act 2003.

Miviri, however, expressed concern that the new laws were not being used by the prosecutors, including the police and social welfare workers.

He said that on many occasions, the offenders got off the hook because they were charged under the wrong laws.

The Lae workshop was aimed at making police and social workers aware of the implications and ramifications of the new laws.

Miviri was optimistic that the awareness would help police use the proper laws to successfully prosecute offenders.

 

 

Amnesty wants Papua New Guinea government to act on violence

AMNESTY International (AI) handed over to the Papua New Guinean government a 37,000-signature petition urging an end to violence against women in PNG, The National reports.

AI Australia campaign coordinator Hannah Harborow handed to Community Development Minister Dame Carol Kidu a huge stack of folders containing the signatures calling for urgent government action to address the extremely high rates of violence against women and girls.

Last week marked a historic moment for PNG women when the PNG government was, for the first time, questioned by the United Nations (UN) committee on the elimination of discrimination against women about the high rates of violence against women, and about government efforts to address the issue.

A delegation of women from PNG also visited the United States to speak before the UN on behalf of their countrywomen and demanded an end to violence.

Harborow, who attended the review session in New York, said: “There were encouraging words from the PNG government when it went before the UN. But it is not enough just to acknowledge that gender violence  is an urgent problem.

“The government must prove it is serious about addressing violence against women and girls. It needs to pass laws specifically targeting domestic violence, provide emergency services for women fleeing abuse and lay charges against perpetrators of violence.

“The women of PNG may take some comfort from their government’s statement to the UN that it hopes in the future to fund emergency services and shelters run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and churches for women fleeing violence,” Harborow said.

AI said it looked forward to seeing the government fulfill its promise that the UN review session would lead to increased budget for initiatives to rectify the abuse and violence.

The government also pledged that it would use the UN review to raise awareness of violence through the PNG media, including holding a joint media conference with NGOs on the issue.

 

 

Kokoda villages get building materials and medicines

THE delivery of 10 tonnes of essential materials over the next few days to Kokoda communities will reinforce the Australian government’s commitment to improve health and education and address safety issues along the track, The National reports.

The materials were being sent on several charter flights from Port Moresby to Manari, Efogi, Naduri, Kagi and Kokoda station. 

The shipment included building materials and supplies for aid posts and schools and safety cones and maintenance tools for the upkeep of airstrips, all key projects under the joint PNG and Australian governments’ Kokoda Initiative.  

“We will continue to work with the government of PNG, the Kokoda Track Authority and local communities to ensure we understand what works best for Kokoda communities and how this should be actioned,” Australian High Commissioner Ian Kemish said.

“Through this partnership, we are working together to improve the lives of local people who live along the Kokoda Track corridor, and to improve the trekking experience of those people walking the track.”

Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) chairman James Enage said the delivery of these materials would not only help to bring about further improvements to the lives of people along Kokoda but would keep the track as PNG’s top tourist draw card.

“Improvements to Owers Corner road, better maintenance at local airstrips and improved water and sanitation facilities all contribute to a better tourism product,” Enage said.

“KTA will continue to work with the governments of PNG and Australia to encourage more people to come and enjoy the unique Kokoda experience.”

Some of the materials will go into completing school buildings and aid posts partially erected over the past months in Manari, Efogi, Naduri and Kagi.

The villages also received curriculum materials for schools and medical supplies for aid posts.

Leon Sime, head of Kokoda Hospital, said the Kokoda Initiative was having a positive impact on health delivery in the area.

“The benefits are wide-ranging,” Sime said.

“From fixing the road to the hospital, which creates easier access for patients, through to more regular health patrols, all of these things are making health delivery better,” he added.

A norm worth dying for: Life after Somare

From MAVARA HANUA 

Somare is indeed a shrewd politician and that is a fact.
 
Commanding calm, respect and power, he steered a formidable and determined opposition. 
 
Admirers of this man are attracted to him for his reliance, opponents rebuke him of his craftiness and Papua New Guineans are divided in whether he is good for us or not. 
 
The majority of our people know him as the founding father of our nation and that's that. 


They see him as an old wise man that speaks unquestionable wisdom and when he speaks, it has a power source that mesmerises everyone. 


A Sukundoumu indeed.
 

Having a rare privilege to brief him once, I was told that my 50-page brief needed to be condensed to five minutes as that is the concentration span of the old man.

I of course jerked at the thought of condensing an important policy position but that was the fact and off I went. 

He picked up one issue where we spent a good 20 minutes on and that was how the people will benefit.   

After consulting his advisors on the matter, he presented the policy position to cabinet.

Clumsy, gibberish and not impressive in articulating the issues, the ministers got the message.

I couldn't help noticing why this was the case, highly intelligent men and women in cabinet subjecting themselves to an ailing old man that although commands respect is woefully overwhelmed with national interest issues.

It was than I realised what PNG politics is, a rhetorical citation of subjecting men and women to a higher form of humility based purely on respect. 

 The cabinet heard crap that day from this old man and why did they entertain it?

  It wasn't fear, it certainly wasn't intellectual might. 

They simply allowed the old man to be what he is because of respect. 

Humility beyond reckoning and it almost has a religious pretext.  

With this power, Somare wheeled good things and bad things. 

Stability is his legacy and tragically, corruption and scandals are also his legacy. 

 Like every PNGean, when we saw the photos of both camps last week, we all couldn't help noticing Puka Temu's Dream Team.

Intellectual heavies, business tycoons, career public servants and acclaimed human rights celebrities. 

This is the government PNG needs.

When we saw the Somare camp, we all agreed they are so overrated and change needs to come.

Built on ethnic lines, family connections, this is a dirty group.    

 But again, the old man prevailed. 

He hijacked parliament, killed the vote of no-confidence and in a split second, has a four-month siesta. 

Why? Because our elected leaders respect him.

When he does leave us and gracefully swims away to the resting place of the Sepik River, PNG will be scrambling for a new political norm.

Intellectual freaks will concoct flowcharts and dissertations of development, business tycoons will speak of making money, crime magnets will be interested in protecting their turf and social advocates will push for improvement in basic services. 

 And in this mêlée of norm setting, billions of kina will be spent on out competing one norm to the other.

Advocates of the norms will become our next Prime Minister but wantoks, is the price of our sacred resources worth a new norm? 

I don't know, but I am comforted by the ever-increasing desire for our men and women to bring change to our country and it is my prayer that as we go into a season of norm making, the righteous norm prevails.

New butterfly species discovered in Papua New Guinea by UK specialist

An expedition by UK butterfly specialist, John Tennent, to the outlying islands of Milne Bay has discovered a number of new butterfly species and highlighted important previously unknown information on the distribution of Papua New Guinea butterflies.

Mr Tennent is halfway through an eight-month British Natural History Museum-sponsored expedition to survey the unique butterfly populations of the islands of Milne Bay Province.

His visits to the Conflict Group, Marshall Bennett, Egum Atoll, Woodlark and the Trobriand Islands have already unveiled a wealth of new data.

“For example, a small blue butterfly previously only recorded from a few specimens found on Sudest Island more than 100 years ago has now been found on Iwa (Marshall Bennett Islands), Kitava (Trobriand Islands), Egum Atoll and the Conflict Islands.

“This kind of new information illustrates just how little we know about the fauna of some of the islands which, although often small and remote, are rich in insects and other wildlife. The fact that the islands are also amongst the most beautiful places on earth is also a real bonus for me,” he said upon his return to Alotau from Woodlark Island.

During his travels, Mr Tennent has discovered several butterfly species and subspecies that have never been recognised before and will spend many months working on bringing them to the notice of the international scientific community when he eventually returns to the UK later in the year.

British High Commissioner to PNG, David Dunn, said the discovery of so many more butterflies in the islands of Milne Bay shows the significance of PNG’s overall standing as a world biodiversity hotspot.

“This is not only the discovery of new butterfly species but a valuable addition to information and general research work already done on the islands.

“The fact these islands have such an abundance of wildlife underlines the need for the world to recognise PNG as a unique guardian of world flora and fauna and do what we can to help the people of PNG to protect and benefit from its unique biodiversity,” he said.

Mr Tennent is working closely with the PNG National Research Institute (NRI) and the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).

 His expedition is funded by the Natural History Museum, Royal Entomological Society and the Linnean Society in London, as well as by a grant from National Geographic in Washington DC.

He has just returned from Woodlark, where Woodlark Mining Limited generously hosted his visit and enabled him to go to some of the more remote islands in the region including Egum Atoll, Gawa and Alcester.

Nicole gambles for title

Miss National Gaming Control Board Nicole Jeune was over the moon yesterday after receiving K30,000 from her sponsor to compete in this year’s Miss PNG Red Cross Quest, The National reports.

 Jeune, from Northern, said she was entering the quest to be an ambassador for youth development.

Jeune is the programme producer and coordinator for Haus & Home show and standby presenter with EMTV.-Nationalpic by AURI EVA

 

Ramu NiCo pursuing nickel project despite lawsuit

DESPITE a court injunction against the proposed deep-sea tailing system for the Ramu nickel project, project owner Ramu NiCo has decided to pursue other construction activities at the mining and refining sites, The National reports.

The full-swing construction activities at the two sites are being bank-rolled by Chinese funds, which already spent more than US$1.2 billion (K3.3 billion).

Ramu Nico president Madam Luo Shu told reporters yesterday the National Court Injunction obtained by the Basamuk Bay landowners has not stalled activities at the mine site, save for the deep-sea tailing system.

With the mine being potentially the biggest project after the Bougainville copper mine or the Ok Tedi Mine, “Ramu NiCo will not let down its stakeholders, especially the National Government, project partners and the community at large”, she said.

“It’s a commitment we have with our stakeholders and the people of Papua New Guinea,” Luo said.

Highlands Pacific’s managing director John Gooding said: “Ramu nickel project is a significant project as it would be the first time for PNG to export nickel and cobalt once it begins production.”

It had the potential to have a greater impact on the country’s economy, he said.

Gooding also said Papua New Guineans could own up to 35% of the company by buying stakes through respective holdings companies.

Luo said up to the end of last year, the aggregated local procurement value involving supplies and provisions was in excess of K200 million, while spin-off businesses worth K80 million had been contracted to landowner companies.

Furthermore, more than K 5.1 million was paid to landowners as environmental and land compensation.