Bligh bats for PNG hydro-power plan

QUEENSLAND premier Anna Bligh has talked up the potential of two big renewable energy projects in North Queensland and Papua New Guinea’s Purari River, saying they could help the region take the “next giant leap forward”, The National reports.

She also quelled fears the PNG scheme could hurt renewable energy proposals in North Queensland, saying the two schemes were complementary.

The 50-50 owned Australian-based energy company Origin Energy and PNG Sustainable Development Program’s ambitious plans to build a multi-billion-dollar hydro-electric plant in Gulf   near Purari River and send the electricity back to Australia via an undersea cable have not impressed investors or analysts.

The Townsville Bulletin yesterday, reporting on Bligh’s six-day visit to the North Queensland, said a host of renewable energy projects had been mooted along what had been dubbed the clean energy corridor between Townsville and Mount Isa.

A BIS Schrapnel report has found there was potential for 900MW of installed renewable capacity to be connected to the grid through an AC transmission line by 2015-16 - 300MW in baseload power from biomass and solar thermal sources and another 600MW from wind power.

The newspaper reported that Origin Energy was assessing the potential for an 1800MW hydro-electric scheme on the Purari River in PNG and exporting power into Australia’s energy grid via a cable link to North Queensland by 2020.

There have been fears the PNG scheme could ruin plans for North Queensland schemes although Bligh and energy consultant John O’Brien, a director of one of the companies pushing development of the AC transmission line called the CopperString project, doused that yesterday.

Bligh said the two projects complemented one another while O’Brien said the increasing demand for electricity meant the region would need all the sources of power it could get to meet requirements.

“I think the Townsville community, particularly the business community, understands that reliable base-load power is critical to this economy taking its next great leap forward,” Bligh said.

 

 

AusAID to cut down on advisers

AUSTRALIA will sack more than a third of AusAID advisers in an attempt to eliminate waste in the nation’s A$457 million PNG assistance programme, a move immediately welcomed by the Somare government, The National reports.

Australian foreign minister Kevin Rudd yesterday advised his PNG counterpart Sam Abal of the government’s decision to make big cuts in the ranks of the 487 Australian advisers working on PNG aid.

Rudd said a review of the PNG-Australia development cooperation treaty had found “widespread dissatisfaction with the aid programme” and the “capacity building through advisers model is not working”.

A string of negative reports about Australia’s PNG aid programme have pointed to a pattern of waste through spending on consultancies and training, as well as exorbitant salaries.

In June, it was revealed that one aid adviser working in PNG was on a package of A$55,000 a month. However, Rudd did not provide details of which positions would be axed.

“The review considered 487 positions. An outcome of this review is that PNG and Australia have now agreed that more than one-third of positions will be phased out within two years,” Rudd said in a statement.

National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten last night welcomed the decision.

“This is consistent with our view. But, maybe, they should go a step further by tying the Australian aid to our budget, so we fund the Australian taxpayers funding our programmes directly.

“The medium-term development plan will be reflected in our national budget starting next year, and the Australian taxpayers can be assured they will get results for their dollar,” Tiensten said.

Tiensten added: “This is a good start for the re-elected Labor government,” Tiensten said.

Rudd told the Australian media building up skills in PNG would be a high priority for Australia over the next decade, particularly as revenues from a liquefied natural gas project would boost the economy and require a skilled workforce.

“The Australian government is committed to strengthening the aid programme and ensuring value for money across all the development assistance programmes,” Rudd said.

Jenny Howard Jones, from the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, said the sharp cut in the number of technical advisers was a positive move in a prickly situation between PNG and Australia.

“Capacity building is still needed in PNG by all means, but the issue has been the proportion of aid to technical assistance,” she said.

“Both sides were frustrated with years spent on capacity building with little to show and, now, with the doubling of Australia’s aid budget, there will be greater scrutiny from parliament and the taxpayer to see value for their aid dollar.”

Assistance in areas likely to bring direct benefits, such as the massive ExxonMobil LNG project, was potentially a more effective use of advisers, she said. – AAP

 

Blackouts threaten Mendi hospital

By YVONNE HAIP

 

CONSTANT power blackouts in Mendi town, Southern Highlands, is becoming life-threatening for patients at the Mendi General Hospital, chief executive officer Joe Turian warned yesterday, The National reports.

Turian said blackouts was threatening the life of patients put on life support, babies placed in incubators, sterilising machines and other hospital equipment.

He described the electricity service as “appalling”.

He said during many power outages, doctors were in the middle of operations and the situation had become chaotic and life-threatening. 

Turian said the oxygen concentrator was also powered by electricity to produce oxygen for patients and, when the supply stayed off for long periods, the patients suffer and will die from oxygen deprivation. 

“The hospital operates life-saving machines that depend on electricity and, once the power supply goes off for long periods, patients on lif-saving machines will suffer and die,” he added.

“The hospital depends on electricity to power everything from laundry washing, sterilising machines, fire equipment, water filtration and kitchen equipment, X-ray, dental equipment, incinerator and workshop machine to laboratory equipment and others,” he said.

“We are grateful that we have not lost any patients,” he said.

The hospital gets its power supply from the Ramu grid, operated by PNG Power. It did not have a backup generator until one was donated recently.

But the problem of constant outages seemed to come from interferences to power lines by vandals.

 

 

Officers to be deployed to drought-stricken area

By JUNIOR UKAHA

 

DIRECTOR of the National Disaster Office (NDC), Martin Mose, said provincial disaster officers from Lae will be deployed to the drought-stricken Menyamya area of Morobe, The National reports.

He said his office was made aware of the drought through the media only yesterday and had alerted their officers on the ground in Lae to visit the area, assess the situation and report back to his office.

Mose made this assurance after reading The National’s front page report yesterday.

The head of disaster operations in the nation said as soon as the ground officers in Menyamya submitted their assessments and reports NDC would act accordingly.

“We cannot do anything as yet. We will wait for the report to come to us and then we shall consider appropriate measures to help the affected people,” he said.

According to Mose, the emergency funding earmarked for emergency exercise each year was insufficient and could not cater for disasters of a larger magnitude if it occurs.

He said he could not disclose the amount given by the state to NDC because of protocols and said the chief secretary was the one in charge of the matter. 

In the Menyamya case, Mose said if the nature of the drought was not serious and the magnitude was small, than the responsibility of relief and help work will fall back to the hands of the provincial government and provincial disaster offices.

However, he said if the drought was serious and needed immediate attention, then the NDC would come on board and declare a national emergency and would work closely with the provincial governments to help the affected people.

 In the meantime, Mose said his office was aware that there would be a “mega drought” in the coming months.

He urged people in affected areas to take measures to help themselves while waiting for NEC to approve his office’s contingency plan for carrying out emergency work in the country.

 He said once the national disaster contingency plan was approved, a task force would be set up to oversee the coordination and implementation efforts.

Meanwhile, the fears of the coming dry season was also  confirmed by the National Weather Services assistant director for climate and special services, Kasis Inape, who said the normal rain season has been prolonged due to the effects of a previous drought season last year.

Inape also said the clear skies in parts of the country with strong winds blowing were signs that the drought would continue and urged people to be weary.

PNG seen as biggest tuna processor after '14

By PEARSON KOLO

 

PAPUA New Guinea is expected to emerge as the world’s largest tuna processor after 2014, The National reports.

This would become possible once PNG catches, processes and sells the final product of tuna to the European Union (EU) markets and other markets in the world.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigrations Sam Abal said this last week after returning from Europe where he had a follow up meeting with the European parliamentary committee (EUPC) on international trade in Brussels.

Abal who was accompanied by the Fisheries Minister Ben Semri and senior executives of the National Fisheries Authority said the meeting was in preparation for the EUPC to finalise the interim economic partnership agreement (IEPA) signed in 2007 between PNG and EU.

“Under the IEPA agreement, fish caught anywhere in the world which is processed on shore in PNG can be exported to the European Union duty-free,” Abal explained.

“Other countries supplying fish to the European markets are also pushing for similar preferential market access so it is in PNG’s interest to defend the IEPA for its own fish products.”

Abal said more than US$400 (K1 billion) million had already been committed by potential investors who want to set up fishing and processing industries in the country.

 

 

Drought-starved children die

By PISAI GUMAR

 

AN ecological disaster with severe implications on lives has befallen the Menyamya district of Morobe, The National reports.

Councillors said in Menyamya yesterday that the situation in Morobe’s border with Eastern Highlands and Gulf was similar.

The prolonged drought of the past eight months had scorched the earth, cracked the soil, dried up food gardens, cash

crops and waterways.

The total impact of the drought on more than 100,000 people had not been measured by the Menyamya district administration, but officials feared the worst.

So far, reports said eight children had died from starvation in the past month in the most hard-hit area, Lagai in Kome sub-district, about 25km from Menyamya station towards the border with Eastern Highlands.

Ward councillors from Zipa, Miseck Moses, Kenali Jessie Solomon and elementary teacher George Titus at Ilbali and ward development committee at Longuli village Ofaiah Malje reported that five children had died in Ikumdi and three at Kenali in the Hakwange area.

All over Menyamya, people were surviving on pandanus nuts and young shoots.

Feral animals and reptiles, including cuscuses, bandicoots, snakes, lizards and birds had been seen dying from the heat.

Most mammals foraging for food had no fruits to feed or canopies to hide.

Aquatic creatures including eels, fish and tadpoles from three major rivers – Woklei, Kulani and Wanami in Lagai, Hengali, Awapango and Buu-Angai – are also dying.

The rivers had grown green with algae while small water sources continued to dry out while growing furry green algae.

The people had no choice but to use the same water used by animals.

At Lagai, ward councillor James Milpa reported that eight domestic pigs had died from dehydration.

The heat had also resulted in the burning down of nine houses at Ilbali including a trade store.

Bush fires, both natural and man-made, were flaring up.

No relief was in sight, the councillors said.

Kome LLG president Thompson Molinguso and Lagai Primary School headmaster Miseck Peter said the drought had reduced classes from six hours daily to two-and-a-half, adding that pupils became dizzy towards mid-morning.

Molingusa said without immediate government assistance, more people would die either of starvation or disease.

He added that they were wishing for rain.

But, an ecologist warned that any rain after a drought was often heavy, which could lead to flooding and more disasters.

 

 

 

Tiensten: Align plans with MTDP

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

PROVINCIAL governments throughout the country have been reminded to state clearly their plans in line with the national government’s 2011-15 medium-term development plan, The National reports.

National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten said the medium-term development plan (MTDP) would drive PNG’s development plans and programmes.

It was approved by cabinet this week at a cost of about K65 billion for the next five years.

Tiensten sounded the reminder after receiving the Western Highlands provincial development plan from Governor Tom Olga in Port Moresby yesterday.

Western Highlands is the first in the country to produce a medium-term development plan that is aligned with the national government’s medium-term and 20-year strategic plans (see separate story).

The minister said the MTDP was clear and would direct all stakeholders to address PNG’s development problems.

He said the dreams of PNG prospering and becoming an educated, healthy and united nation had not been realised in the last 35 years.

“The living standards of our people have not improved.

“The MTDP sets clear targets for every sector to achieve,” Tiensten said.

He said while the 2010-30 strategic plan was a step for guidance, the MTDP was the yardstick for sectoral, provincial, district and LLG plans for the next five years with clear expenditure outlined.

“The implementation of the MTDP will require a total reform in the way we do business to avoid the nation slipping back to the last 34 years,” he added.

He said the plan also provided both direction and accountability for all sector activities.

Tiensten also urged all other provincial governments to follow in the footsteps of Western Highlands and develop medium plans that were aligned with the national government’s MTDP.