DEC incapable of regulating mine wastes and continues to do so

Bulolo MP Sam Basil has criticised the Department of Environment and Conservation for failing  to properly regulate the mining industry in Papua New Guinea and ensure its  operations are environmentally-safe.

 "DEC has a responsibility on behalf of the nation to ensure that mining operations are safe and will not damage the environment,” he said.

“Yet time and again the mines end up causing massive pollution problems while DEC sits by and watches."

 With pollution from Bougainville, Ok Tedi, Misima, Pogera mines and recently the Hidden Valley Project Mr Basil now confirms that PNG government through DEC is now telling the world that mining with pollution in PNG is normal business practice so all environmental cowboy are welcome to come and dig.

 Mr Basil has recently filed legal proceedings against the Hidden Valley mine in his constituency over its pollution of the Watut River.

 "It is not good enough for Environment Minister Benny Allen to say DEC received an environmental audit report on the Hidden Valley mine in May this year and will be working on an environmental improvement plan,” he said.

 “If the minister is serious about re-inventing another environmental improvement plan to supersede the failed plan, then the shut down mine and a complete river rehabilitation option must be his priority.

“The guns-for-hire environmental consultants will just report what DEC wants them to say to water down situation and we will not buy that cheaply.

“They must remember that the Bougainville and Ok Tedi days are long gone and we will not repeat the same mistakes and be fooled again.

 “If the Minister's sponsored audit report says the river is safe then I’m willing to invite the minister and his DEC secretary to consume a litre of water each collected from the Watut River in front of his people to prove to them that their river is safe.

“If they are not prepared to prove any report by consuming water from Watut then I am cautioning the minister in advance to be very careful about pushing report that he himself does not understand.

 "Where is the report?

“Why have I not been given a copy?

“Why don't the landowners who are suffering the impacts of the pollution have a copy?   “Is DEC trying to cover up things for the mining company?

“The report should be released immediately."

 Mr. Basil says that the DEC should explain why it has given the Hidden Valley mine an environmental permit in the first instance when they already know that almost all of their environmental approved plans have been a failure.

“It can only prove that DEC doesn't know what they are approving and must be held liable together with the operator should any litigation takes place against the  mining company for lying to the government and DEC for professional negligence to the people of PNG,” he said.

 

“The current pollution in the Watut river system without DEC noticing anything wrong until recently is very bad for the future of the mining industry and the development of the up-and-coming Wafi Golpu project in his electorate.

 “DEC only acts when the community mobilises and with this court action we are going all the way to make DEC and MMJV accountable to the people of Watut and the nation.

 “The same goes to the approval of the deep-sea mining permit that has recently been granted by DEC.

“It must be stopped at all costs until a thorough investigation by scientists is sought.

 “The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) must also be involved in that matter because the impact on our tuna stocks and its breeding ground is still not yet known and will be a threat to our growing tuna industry.

 "DEC like MRA is supposed to be protecting landowners, their resources and the environment, not facilitating mining on the cheap.”

 Mr Basil says he has instructed his lawyers to look into whether DEC and the Minister could be legally held liable for the damage the mine has caused.

 He also suggested that in the future it would be good to have Ministers appointed to their ministerial portfolios only if their electorate plays host to such projects.

 “Ministers from un-impacted areas which has no mine and pollution will simply make the ministers be just another rubber stamp which we are currently experiencing in PNG,” he said.

 “That is why we see endless writers writing to the view column of the dailies showing their endless frustrations against many unpopular decisions of departmental heads and their ministers.”

 Mr Basil also assures the public that when government changes” the new government will give priority to replace complacent and incompetent department secretaries and overhaul departments to honestly operate to protect the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and its people”.

 

Junior MPs urgeds not to be misled by veterans

By Bulolo MP SAM BASIL

 

 

The Supreme Court’s decision to reject the Deputy Speaker of Parliament’s application to challenge the Supreme Court’s Order to recall Parliament is welcome news to all, and a clear sign that our judicial system still functions to protect the Constitution on behalf of the people.

We all know that the Deputy Speaker may have been pressured by the Speaker and the National Alliance Regime to once again play their game by challenging the judiciary's decision, so as to cling onto power.

Now that the Prime Minister is being sidelined and the Speaker is now acting Governor General, the incumbent Regime will play the MPs down the ladder to protect its own interest .Thank God the Supreme Court corrected the situation regarding the Governor General as Parliament was unable to, as the Regime has been manipulating Parliament for eight solid years now.

It is a disgrace that when the Supreme Court made its ruling clear that procedures were not followed, the Deputy Speaker should then make a further defective application to Court.

He should have known that the actual party to the application was the Parliament, which consists of all of us elected MPs and not just the National Alliance Party, which the Deputy Speaker is a member of.

The National Alliance Regime must know by now that Parliament belongs to the people of Papua New Guinea and can be recalled at short notice during emergencies or war, or in this situation, a vacancy in the post of the Governor General.

Now with no Prime Minister and with Parliament about to go into session with an acting speaker, the National Alliance regime will now skate on thin ice.

We all know every Regime and every dog has its day and now their day has come to an end. National Alliance must accept this fact and succumb to the situation.

I am now reminding all good Members of Parliament that the Somare era has finished and that every right –thinking MP should have a vision for this country that is different from the current disaster that National Alliance has provided. All MPs must work to achieve a better day for PNG. They are mandated by their constituents to represent them in Parliament, without fear or favor and they are needed now, more than ever, to act.

For this country to shift into another dimension, a generational change in the leadership is a must, so MPs now must not underestimate themselves or fear the old dogs anymore.

They are leaders in their own right and must stand up now to make a change.

This country seriously needs it.

MPs must not play second fiddle but must be seen to take charge of the destiny of this country.

The future rests in their hands and the next generation of leaders to come.

Our post-independence leaders have done us proud but they must accept the fact that evolution of leaders needs to take place for the betterment of this country.

I think completely differently from the old guard and I believe strongly that most of my other colleague MPs are the same; we must insist therefore a generational change of leadership has to occur to take the country forward.

 

Christmas is here

The air around the Jack Pidik Park is filled with the magic of Christmas.
Colourful lights and other attractions adorned the park but, of notable value, is a manger beautifully laid out in true biblical fashion, furnished with an artificial baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the three kings, shepherds and even an angel.
May the blessings and tidings of Christmas be with us all as we celebrate the birth of Christ. – Nationapic by BURL MOSES

Aussie firm snares LNG telecom deal

AN Australian company has beaten off stiff overseas competition to win a multi-million dollar contract to supply specialist telecommunications rooms along the route of the inland pipeline for Papua New Guinea’s US$15 billion liquefied natural gas project, The National reports.

Perth-based Lowrie Constructions Ltd will supply at least three separate telecommunications facilities in remote areas of the pipeline route.

This extends from Southern Highlands and Western provinces to Kopi on the southern coast before the gas and liquids enter a subsea pipeline to Port Moresby and the new LNG processing plant there, currently under construction.

Lowrie - an electrical/switch room manufacturing specialist wholly-owned by South Australian-based private equity firm, Paragon Private Equity – has already begun construction of the units, timed for first delivery to PNG through next year.

“PNG’s intense tropical weather and steep mountainous terrain poses demanding engineering challenges in ensuring both stability of installation and then long-term performance of the facilities despite their remoteness and surrounding climate,” Lowrie Construction’s general manager Adrian Poyner said yesterday.

“In addition, however, we had to compete against numerous international tenderers for the contract, so our systems performance, cost structures and delivery capability were critical factors to securing this - our largest ever contract in PNG,” Poyner said.

“We also had to demonstrate a proven track-record in pre-qualifying in regard to the client’s safety and quality criteria.”

Under the design, fabricate and construct contract, with one of the project’s major construction consortia, one of the telecommunications rooms to be located at the project’s marine terminal will be a double storey facility.

Lowrie says all rooms will be transported to Perth’s marine and rail export hub at Henderson and shipped to the eastern states prior to delivery to PNG.

A number of the rooms will arrive at their final destination via the giant Russian-built Antinov aircraft carrier.

The rooms will be fabricated, constructed and fitted out at two of Lowrie’s manufacturing sites in Perth before being exported.

This work will include installation of a complex HVAC system to ensure the rooms can cope with PNG’s local tropical conditions.

 

 

Sex slave

Woman’s hubby, son of ex-politician, enjoys group sex, bondage and sadism

 

By EVAH KUAMIN

 

THE son of a former parliamentarian, who subjected his wife to three years of sexual abuse, is in police custody in East New Britain as investigators try to piece together his sex life which borders on sadism, The National reports.

The wife (named) had told police, after the couple was arrested early yesterday in a raid, that she had been kept as a sex slave and threatened with death if she ran away from their home in Rabaul town.

She is now helping Kokopo police with their inquiries into the perverted lifestyle of the man, in his early 20s, who, according to complaints filed, indulged in group sex, bondage and forcing foreign objects into the wife’s private parts.

The wife said she was subjected to constant torture and sexual abuse during the three years of their marriage, which she described as a “nightmare”.

The former politician’s son had been arrested once before – early last month – for wife bashing and had been on good behaviour bond.

Yesterday, he was fined K200 for breaching this as police kept him in custody to investigate the latest complaints against him.

Officer in charge of criminal investigation division in Kokopo, Insp Steven Ula, said yesterday two young women had given their statements to police and he was preparing a brief for the provincial police commander, Supt Sylvester Kalaut, on their next course of action.

The wife, from New Ireland, said her husband would force her into their bedroom, lock the door, strip her and subject her to painful sex acts.

She told police she had kept quiet all this time because her husband had threatened to beat her up, even kill her, if she did so.

On one occasion, the husband locked her up in their bedroom and went to Kokopo, returning hours later to strip her naked and beat her up with an iron rod. After that, he ordered her to go out and look for food.

She told police that on some occasions, after continuous beatings, he would order her to look for young women to join them for a threesome, or for him to have sex with them while she was forced to watch.

“Mi save stap na laip blo mi em nightmare tasol (I stay with him but my life has been a nightmare),” the wife said.

She said that on another occasion, the husband tied her to a chair and placed the tip a grass knife over a candle, then proceeded to stab her about her private parts.

When she struggled to be freed, the hot grass knife pierced the sides of her thighs.

On other occasions, he beat her with an iron rod on her breasts, private parts and back, causing extensive injury.

One woman, 20, laid a complaint with police after she was forced to have sex with him.

She said the man had first beaten up his wife and then stripped the two of them, locked the bedroom door and had sex with them about eight times.

Kalaut said this case would not be treated lightly.

 

 

Somare Jr arrested and charged

By GABRIEL FITO

 

MICHAEL Somare Jr has been arrested and charged in relation to last Saturday’s discharging of a firearm at East Sepik Governor Peter Wararu’s Wewak Hill residence, The National reports.

Provincial police commander Insp Charles Parinjo was not available yesterday to say what Somare Jr had been charged with, and when he was likely to appear in court.

Parinjo issued the arrest orders on Wednesday, saying police were effecting normal police procedures.

It came hours after a meeting at Wewak police station attended by sidelined Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Wararu, National Alliance party branch executives and supporters and the people of Yangoru-Saussia electorate who were claiming compensation from the Somare family.

Parinjo said Somare would be treated as any other ordinary citizen who had broken the law. At the same time, he urged disgruntled parties to remain calm and let the law take its course.

Sir Michael also said he would allow the law to take its course and appealed for peace to prevail while they discussed other customary obligations towards enhancing their relationship.

Meanwhile, aggrieved customary and local level government leaders from Yangoru-Saussia expect to meet Sir Michael next week in Wewak to discuss their compensation demand of K35 million.

The first K5 million demand came from Wararu’s relatives while a K30 million demand came from NA supporters and people of Yangoru-Saussia who claimed that the governor had been unfairly treated.

A petition to this effect could not be delivered to Sir Michael on time as he had left Wewak for Port Moresby after the meeting.

 

 

WikiLeaks says Indons blamed for drug trade

THE United States has accused the Indonesian military of drug smuggling and illegal logging rackets along the border with Papua New Guinea, The National reports.

It also blamed Jakarta for the continuing unrest in the troubled Indonesian province of Papua which shared a land border with PNG.

In secret US cables released by WikiLeaks, US diplomats had expressed fears that the Indonesian government’s neglect, rampant corruption and human rights abuses were stoking unrest in the province.

A September 2009 cable from the US embassy in Jakarta said “the region is politically marginalised and many Papuans harbour separatist aspirations”.

In a 2007 cable, that WikiLeaks made available to the Age newspaper, an Indoneisan foreign affairs official said the Indonesian military had far more troops in Papua than it was willing to admit.

Cables sent throughout last year blamed Jakarta for the instability and chronic underdevelopment of Papua, and accused military commanders of drug smuggling and illegal logging along the PNG border.

A 2006 cable detailed a briefing from a PNG government official, who said the armed forces were “involved in both illegal logging and drug smuggling in PNG”.

In another cable from 2006, the US embassy recorded the reaction of Indonesian authorities to a riot in West Papua that left four officials dead.

“While the gruesome murder of three unarmed policemen and an air force officer at the hands of angry mob is unconscionable, the authorities’ handling of the aftermath has merely added a new chapter to the history of miscarriages of justice in Papua,” it said.

“It is clear that the police rounded up a miscellany of perceived trouble-makers and random individuals and that the prosecutors and judges then railroaded them in a farcical show trial.”

Cables throughout last year blamed the Indonesian government’s neglect of West Papua – including the failure to ensure revenue generated by mining is distributed fairly – for continuing unrest.

“Most money transferred to the province remains unspent although some has gone into ill-conceived projects or disappeared into the pockets of corrupt officials,’’ a September 2009 cable said.

The US cables also recorded allegations of corruption involving local officials.

After NGO Human Rights Watch released a report last year, alleging that military officers had abused Papuans in the town of Merauke, the US embassy in Jakarta wrote that the incident was isolated and might have involved soldiers following orders from local official Johanes Gluba Gebze.

“An ethnic Papuan, Gebze, presides over a regional government where allegations of corruption and brutality are rife,” the 2009 cable said, adding advisers to Papua governor Barnabas Suebu as saying Gebze was “out of control” and had made numerous illegal forestry deals with Chinese and Korean companies.