Thursday, November 29, 2012

PNG has interest in BHP Biliton AGM today

THE tenure of BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers is expected to dominate the company's annual meeting with Australian shareholders in Sydney today.

Proxy advisers have given the company a clean bill of health while big shareholders are also much happier about the level of consultation with investors than they were a year ago, meaning Mr Kloppers' future looms as the elephant in the room.

BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers

Environmental and social activists have flocked to Sydney ahead of the event, with social media suggesting some have travelled from South America and Papua New Guinea.

PNG is home to the Ok Tedi copper mine that BHP handed over more than a decade ago after an environmental controversy.

Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said BHP was still influencing the fund that now controls Ok Tedi, and urged the company to keep its distance.

''There is no longer a valid reason for it to continue to exercise any control over the board appointments to that fund,'' he said.

Top executives from rival miner Rio Tinto are also in Sydney on Thursday, with the company hosting a long-awaited investor briefing.

Multiple analysts believe the briefing could see costs rise on the company's iron ore expansion plans in the Pilbara.

The expansion to 353 million tonnes of exports each year is believed to be ahead of schedule, but the persistently high Australian dollar is tipped to cause a cost blowout compared with original estimates.

Rio has long suggested that overall capital spending in 2013 will be around $US14 billion, but that number is expected to be revised.

The meeting will also be one of the first major outings for Rio's new diamonds boss Alan Davies, and investors will watch closely for any update on the company's plan to divest its diamond assets.

Rio has been considering a divestment or restructure of its diamond assets since March, and some have speculated that more value could be generated by spinning them out into an IPO rather than selling them to the highest bidder.

PNG calls for changes to Aussie aid

By Adam Gartrell

AAP Diplomatic Correspondent

Papua New Guinea's leader wants Australia to rethink its aid spending in his impoverished nation, calling for a greater focus on big-ticket infrastructure projects like roads and ports.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has also called for a shake-up in trade and investment links between the two nations.

Mr O'Neill says the PNG-Australia relationship is currently in "good shape" but has warned against complacency.

He said while he welcomed Australia's generous development assistance to PNG - totalling close to $500 million in 2012/12 - he wants to see it more closely aligned with his government's priorities.

The country is in "dire need" of better economic infrastructure like roads, ports and airports, he said.

"To effectively deliver on these priorities would require a total realignment of the aid program, from small projects in diverse range of areas to major infrastructure projects," he told the National Press Club in Canberra ysterday.

"I know there will be some in the aid program who will be horrified by this suggestion.

"But if we are going to make sure your aid genuinely supports our economic and social development and helps us guarantee our security and stability we simply must make sure it is more targeted to align with our priorities."

Australia's aid program in PNG currently focuses more on needs like health, education and governance.

China had made great inroads into the South Pacific region by funding infrastructure projects but Mr O'Neill insisted the Chinese aid footprint in his nation was very small - although he would welcome more.

Mr O'Neill said he did not want to suggest AusAID's current programs were not working, simply that they were spread too thin.

The prime minister said there was also need for a "new focus" on trade and investment. There is currently significant Australian investment in resources projects but Mr O'Neill wants more diversity.

"I would like to see a greater focus on two or three areas in our economy where there is a lack of competition and where we want to see strong investment in the near future," he said, nominating construction and agriculture.

Mr O'Neill also criticised Australian media coverage of PNG, particularly claims that his country is a failed or failing state.

"This is just simply wrong," he said, describing the claims as "harmful" and "hurtful".

PNG calls for changes to Aussie aid

Date: November 28, 2012 - 1:24PM

Adam Gartrell, AAP Diplomatic Correspondent

AAP
Papua New Guinea's leader wants Australia to rethink its aid spending in his impoverished nation, calling for a greater focus on big-ticket infrastructure projects like roads and ports.
PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has also called for a shake-up in trade and investment links between the two nations.
Mr O'Neill says the PNG-Australia relationship is currently in "good shape" but has warned against complacency.
He said while he welcomed Australia's generous development assistance to PNG - totalling close to $500 million in 2012/12 - he wants to see it more closely aligned with his government's priorities.
The country is in "dire need" of better economic infrastructure like roads, ports and airports, he said.
"To effectively deliver on these priorities would require a total realignment of the aid program, from small projects in diverse range of areas to major infrastructure projects," he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
"I know there will be some in the aid program who will be horrified by this suggestion.
"But if we are going to make sure your aid genuinely supports our economic and social development and helps us guarantee our security and stability we simply must make sure it is more targeted to align with our priorities."
Australia's aid program in PNG currently focuses more on needs like health, education and governance.
China had made great inroads into the South Pacific region by funding infrastructure projects but Mr O'Neill insisted the Chinese aid footprint in his nation was very small - although he would welcome more.
Mr O'Neill said he did not want to suggest AusAID's current programs were not working, simply that they were spread too thin.
The prime minister said there was also need for a "new focus" on trade and investment. There is currently significant Australian investment in resources projects but Mr O'Neill wants more diversity.
"I would like to see a greater focus on two or three areas in our economy where there is a lack of competition and where we want to see strong investment in the near future," he said, nominating construction and agriculture.
Mr O'Neill also criticised Australian media coverage of PNG, particularly claims that his country is a failed or failing state.
"This is just simply wrong," he said, describing the claims as "harmful" and "hurtful".

PNG calls for changes to Aussie aid

Date: November 28, 2012 - 1:24PM

Adam Gartrell, AAP Diplomatic Correspondent

PNG calls for changes to Aussie aid

Date: November 28, 2012 - 1:24PM

Adam Gartrell, AAP Diplomatic Correspondent

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

In Port Moresby today

Pictures by MALUM NALU

Here are pictures of my wanderings through Port Moresby today, a prodigal son back home, after three weeks away in Taipei, Taiwan.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy:

I noticed today that the Union Jacks - which went up with much fanfare for Charles and Camilla - are already becoming tattered at the edges! Save us the embarassment, Justin, and do some pole climbing! Oh, and as a last word, God Save the Queen!

Cruizin down the freeway!

View from The Lodge towards Downtown Port Moresby

The big boys of Port Moresby...Crowne Plaza, Grand Papua, and Deloittes Towers as seen from The Lodge

Ela Beach as seen from The Lodge

The observatory at Ela Beach as seen from The Lodge

The big boys...again

Just in time for Christmas...I loved this bloom in Downtown Port Moresby

Crowne Plaza

But we could do with a lot of improvement in the rubbish department

Another new building looking from town towards Ela Beach

At the crossroads

ANZ Harbour City

PNG stands firm on Ross Garnaut ban

By Adam Gartrell

AAP Diplomatic Correspondent

Papua New Guinea's leader is standing firm on his decision to ban Australian climate change adviser Ross Garnaut from entering his country.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill maintains Professor Garnaut insulted his nation's leaders during a media interview and is no longer welcome there.

In happier days...Garnaut (left) and Western Governor Ati Wobiro sign at agreement in Tabubil on Saturday, September 1, 2012.-Picture by MALUM NALU

Prof Garnaut, who is chairman of Ok Tedi Mining, was quoted by The Australian newspaper as saying that with such an accumulation of wealth in PNG, it was "tempting for political figures to think of better ways of using it right now rather than putting it into long-term development".
Mr O'Neill said Prof Garnaut's statement was not true and could damage his country's reputation.

"As a leader of the country I cannot stand by and allow comments like those to continue," he told reporters at the National Press Club in Canberra today.
"It was irresponsible. He has to take ownership of that statement."
Mr O'Neill says his government has sought an explanation.
"Some of the explanations he's given to us are not acceptable to us," Mr O'Neill said.
Mr O'Neill has previously said Prof Garnaut, who until recently was also chairman of the PNG Sustainable Development Fund (PNGDF) trust, would not be allowed back in until control of the Ok Tedi mine was given back to the PNG people.
The trust was given ownership of the Ok Tedi mine, located in PNG's Western Province, by mining giant BHP Billiton.
Mr O'Neill claims BHP is running the PNGSDF by remote control from Melbourne and has questioned whether the 37-year-old nation had benefited from the project.
The prime minister on Wednesday reiterated his call for BHP to back off.
"There is no longer a valid reason for it to continue to exercise any control over the board appointments to that fund," he said.

PNG Prime Minister promises political stability, corruption crackdown

By James Grubel of Reuters

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill promised today to bring stability to the revolving door of Papua New Guinea politics and to crack down on corruption as his government courts multi-billion dollar resources investments.
O'Neill and rival Sir Michael Somare had both claimed to be the leader of the South Pacific island nation last year, turmoil typical of PNG politics, before O'Neill was re-elected in August.
In the middle of that crisis, corruption watchdog Transparency International ranked PNG 154th out of 183 nations on its global graft index released a year ago, only beating out countries like Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan.
"We have to fight corruption. Corruption is like a cancer. If it is not detected, it simply grows and grows," O'Neill told the National Press Club in the Australian capital, Canberra.
"If not reduced, it undermines our efforts to maintain political stability and social cohesion. It is also a strong deterrent to good foreign investment."
On his first visit to PNG's former colonial ruler Australia since his re-election, O'Neill said an anti-corruption commission should start operating next year.
A special task force -- known as Sweep -- has been investigating graft for the past year and is looking into more than 170 complaints involving around $1 billion of public funds.
PNG, a nation of around 6.5 million people, is going through a resources boom and is home to a $15.7 billion Exxon Mobil gas export project, which is due to start production in 2014 and boost GDP by around 20 percent. There is also the vast OK Tedi copper mine and the Frieda River copper project run by Swiss-based global miner Xstrata.
Despite such abundant mineral wealth, successive governments have been unable to deliver infrastructure or services to the people, around 80 percent of whom eke out subsistence livings of village farming and small cash crops.
Task force Sweep's chairman Sam Koim has targeted politicians and officials who have invested money in the tropical northern Australian city of Cairns, describing Australia as the money-laundering destination of choice.
O'Neill said that, as well as plans for the new anti-corruption body early in 2013, parliament was also working on political stability. New laws that will guarantee a grace period of 30 months before a government can face a no-confidence motion, instead of the current 18 month, have passed the first stage of the legislative process, he said.
To win power in PNG, leaders must cobble together a range of lawmakers and parties to form a coalition. Lawmakers often change allegiances if offered better jobs from rival parties or leaders, which creates uncertainty and instability.
O'Neill said that, since PNG gained independence from Australia in 1975, many governments had faced challenges as early as six months into their terms, even though elections are only held every five years.
"That has not created stability at all. It does not give confidence to any investor to invest in an environment as such," he said. O'Neill hoped the new 30-month grace period would ease investors' concerns.

Adventist missionary killed in East Sepik accident

Adventist News Network

An accident has claimed the life of John Lello, a Seventh-day Adventist missionary who was serving in Papua New Guinea through Adventist Frontier Missions.

Lello died while felling trees near a remote project site in the South Pacific island nation’s East Sepik Province, a press release from the Adventist supporting ministry said. He was 46.
“We are greatly saddened to announce the tragic death of John Lello,” the release said. “Please join us in surrounding his family in prayer.”
Lello’s wife, Pam, and the couple’s two daughters, Alissa and Abby, have since been flown to Port Moresby, where they were joined by Stephen and Laurie Erickson, another family working in PNG through AFM. AFM Associate Training Director Dale Goodson, who spent 12 years in PNG with the Dowa tribe, and his wife are currently en route to lend additional support, said James Arkusinski, Communication director for the ministry.
The Lello family had worked with Adventist Frontier Missions since 2009. They finished fundraising and launched to PNG in March. There, they ministered to the animist Ama people in the country’s northwest. The Ama live along a small tributary of the Upper Sepik River accessible only by plane or dugout canoe, Arkusinski said.
In an article for Adventist Frontiers, the magazine published by AFM, Lello was confident that God was leading his family to PNG, adding that “one thing is certain – He is calling you to give your all.”
Lello was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from church-run Walla Walla University in Walla Walla, Washington, United States, in 1991. Later, he graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, United States, with a master’s degree in Science Education.
Before accepting a post with AFM, Lello taught math and physics at church-run Glendale Adventist Academy and Spring Valley Academy.
Adventist Frontier Missions is a Seventh-day Adventist lay ministry dedicated to establishing church-planting movements among people groups with no Adventist presence. AFM currently has 30 long-term missionary families or single missionaries serving worldwide.
Lello is the first AFM missionary to die in the field over the ministry’s 27-year history

PNG hands down big spending K13 billion budget

ABC

Don Polye, PNG Treasurer

The government in Papua New Guinea has handed down a big spending budget with a focus on rebuilding the country's crumbling infrastructure.

At just under six billion dollars (K13 billion) it's PNG's biggest ever budget and the government is going to have to borrow more than a billion dollars to fund it.
The Treasurer Don Polye told parliament the focus is infrastructure, education, health and law and order.
Some of the big ticket items include 200 million dollars to start rebuilding the country's main economic artery, the Highlands Highway, and 140 million dollars to comprehensively restore the Port Moresby General Hospital.
The budget predicts growth will fall from 9 per cent this year to 4 per cent next year.
Inflation is expected to climb to 8 per cent.
Director of PNG's Institute of National Affairs, Paul Barker has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat that although he considers the budget conservative, the government is counting on the situation in Asia improving.
"With a decline in the growth of some of the major Asian economies - like almost recession in India again, Chinese growth back to 7 per cent, this is resulting in lower commodity prices and we're dependent on those commodity prices for getting us the level of revenue that are expected particularly from the mining sector and through taxes," he said.
He said infrastructure, education, health and law and order will take priority -- and insisted communities will benefit.
"What was concerning me was that there doesn't seem to be anything, as far as I can see so far, for building up the capacity building at the local level - the district, local government level- there seems to be an indication that this would be left to the development partners," he said.