Thieves ransack office of PNG corruption taskforce

By PNG correspondent Liam Fox of ABC

Thieves have ransacked an office belonging to Papua New Guinea's anti-corruption taskforce, stealing laptop computers and files.

About 20 men are believed to have tied up three security guards and broken through a heavy steel gate to get to Taskforce Sweep's administration office.
The office was left trashed with paper strewn everywhere and drawers emptied onto the floor.
Taskforce Sweep's chairman Sam Koim says staff are still trying to establish what has been stolen.
He says some laptops and investigation files are gone but the break-in will not deter his officers.
"This is not going to discourage us. No-one will intimidate us," he said.
Taskforce Sweep's investigations have led to the arrests of dozens of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen over the past 18 months.

UN says Australia's PNG refugee camp is inadequate

Channel News Asia

SYDNEY: A United Nations report Monday criticised Australia's immigration camp on Papua New Guinea (PNG), warning living conditions are harsh and asylum-seekers' detention arbitrary.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees called for no more children to be sent to the camp on remote Manus Island, which was established as part of Australia's plan to ship refugees offshore to deter more from coming.
In its report, the UNHCR warned of "very significant inadequacies in the legal and operational framework governing the transfer, treatment and processing" of asylum-seekers.
Detaining asylum-seekers on a mandatory and indefinite basis, without possibility for review, amounted to "arbitrary detention which is inconsistent with international human rights law", it added.
"The key failing is that there are in place no legal frameworks for the processing of refugee claims," UNHCR regional representative Richard Towle told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Australian government said it was committed to working with the UNHCR, which has a long-standing opposition to offshore processing, and would do so in regards to the processing centre on Manus.
"We continue to work closely with the PNG government regarding the assessment of asylum claims. Processing has not yet begun, but will occur in due course," a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor said.
Papua New Guinea had assured Australia that asylum claims would be assessed in line with the Refugee Convention, she added.
A UNHCR team that visited Manus for three days last month said both Australia and PNG were committed to adequate procedures and conditions being in place despite the difficulties faced in remote Pacific locations.
But it said at the time of their visit, living conditions for most of the 221 detainees on Manus were harsh and, for some, inadequate.
"The hot and humid weather made the temporary accommodation very uncomfortable," Towle said.
The government spokeswoman said the standard of facilities at Manus were "in line with the living standards and amenities for local PNG residents".
"Detainees have access to health, mental health, education and recreational services," she said.
Australia began dispatching asylum-seekers to Manus Island in November as part of a new policy of sending boatpeople offshore to deter others from making the risky journey to Australia which has claimed hundreds of lives.
Canberra's other offshore camp, on the small Pacific nation of Nauru, has also been criticised by rights advocates, with Amnesty describing conditions there as "appalling" and likely in breach of obligations to refugees.
Australia last year dealt with a record 17,202 asylum-seekers arriving by boat. The majority pay people-smugglers for passage from Indonesia on leaky wooden vessels, and sinkings are routine.

PNG likely to extend no-confidence ban

By EION BLACKWELL of AAP

PAPUA New Guinea's parliament is expected to decide tomorrow whether to extend a ban on votes of no confidence from 18 months to 30 months in a bid to ensure political stability.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is expected to secure about 80 votes to pass the law, which will ban votes of no confidence in the government until 30 months after it is first elected.
The bill passed its first test in November with 102 votes, but in late January opposition leader Belden Namah - who at first praised the bill - announced the opposition was withdrawing its support.
"It goes against the spirit of the constitution in that it restricts or removes the parliament's function of keeping the executive government accountable to the parliament," he told local media on Sunday.
"We will not support the bill and we call on the members of parliament not to vote for the bill."
A spokesman for Mr O'Neill said he expected the bill to pass despite the protests of the 15-man parliamentary opposition.
At the first passage of the bill in November Mr O'Neill warned that constantly shifting parliamentary loyalties meant governments were planning for survival, instead of implementing policies.
"It's no wonder our health and social indicators have been in decline, and infrastructure like roads and bridges and ports are in (an) appalling state, our schools and education facilities are run down.
"We cannot allow this to continue."
AAP understands Mr O'Neill needs 74 votes to pass the bill into law.
Votes of no confidence have been a thorn in the side of successive prime ministers since PNG gained independence from Australia in 1975.
PNG's first prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, lost the top job in 1980 after a vote of no confidence.
In 2003-04, the Somare government failed in its bid to have the so-called grace period extended from 18 to 36 months.
He was PNG's longest-serving prime minister after a nine-year run, but was deposed by parliament on August 2, 2011, in favour of Mr O'Neill.
That move sparked a constitutional crisis that ended in mid-2012 after a general election which put Mr O'Neill back in the prime minister's seat with the backing of about 94 of PNG's 111 MPs.

PNG ship tragedy probe to start soon

By EION BLACKWELL of AAP

PAPUA New Guinea police say once funding is released they will start a formal investigation into the sinking of the Rabaul Queen a year ago that claimed the lives of over 140 people.

The overloaded MV Rabaul Queen sank on the morning of February 2 last year with as many as 411 people on board, after being smashed by huge waves about nine nautical miles (16 km) off Finschhafen, as it made the overnight trip from Kimbe to Lae.

PNG police say they will start a formal investigation into the sinking of the Rabaul Queen.

Police minister Nixon Duban says police will begin an investigation into PNG's worst maritime disaster once funding is released by the government on February 7.
"As of last year the Royal PNG Constabulary through its crimes directorate drew up a plan of action including a terms of reference for the investigation, and assembled an investigation team made up of senior police detectives selected from around the country," Mr Duban said in a statement.
"We are waiting for the 2013 financial year to open, which should be after February 7, and the police investigation will swing full speed into operation."
A commission of inquiry in June last year found there was no basis whatsoever to carry an excess of 295 passengers on board Rabaul Queen.
The commission, headed by Judge Warwick Andrew, was scathing of ship owner Captain Peter Sharp and made a series of recommendations for changing practices at PNG's National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA).
"The evidence before the commission shows that the shipping operation of Captain Sharp has been compromising the safety of crew and passengers for many years," the report said.
"Captain Sharp demonstrated to the commission that he had little or no respect for people, including those in authority.
"The safety of passengers was not of paramount concern to Captain Sharp. He made it clear in evidence that he put profit ahead of safety."
The report called on the NMSA to take immediate steps to revoke the appointment of Mr Sharp as a recognised surveyor of ships.
Of the report's 25 recommendations, 14 were aimed at improving the capability of the NMSA.
AAP has been unable to contact the authority to determine if any of the recommendations - which include six-monthly safety checks on PNG passenger ships - have been implemented.

Ok Tedi villagers back prime minister

Source: The National, Monday, February 4, 2013

LANDOWNER umbrella group Ok Tedi Mine Impacted Area Association (OTMIAA) says it fully supports the stand of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill not to be pushed by either BHP Biliton or PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP) into extending mine life to 2025.
OTMIAA president Nick Bunn said his association represented nine regions of the Ok Tedi impacted area communities, comprising 165 villages of more than 100,000 people and would support O’Neill until all issues affecting the people and Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) communities were sorted out.
“The 16 leaders of the nine regions, who are members of OTMIAA, have pledged to work together with the government to ensure that all the long-standing concerns and issues relating to environmental damage impacting on human health and social welfare within the CMCA regions are sorted out before any mine life extension can be considered,” he said.
Bunn called on the prime minister to urgently set up a royal commission of inquiry, headed by prominent and eminent international scientists and jurists, to investigate the whole Ok Tedi saga and report the findings to the government for action to be taken.
 Bunn highlighted the following concerns:

• The Ok Tedi 9th supplemental agreement act must be reviewed and amended to get rid of BHP control and manipulation; 
• The memorandum of agreement (MoA) 2006-07 was overdue for review;
• Overdue dividend payments held within the Western province People’s Dividend Trust (WPPDT) must be released to the CMCA people’s entity immediately as promised in the MOA of  June 29,  2007;
• Landowner issues within the Bige dredging lease mining purpose (LMP) 37 and LMP 79 pyrite storage pond area must be sorted out;
• Issues raised by villages along the Fly River system which are affected by mine waste but were not included in the CMCA agreement must be sorted out;
• Deteriorating health, nutrition and water issues in the whole Fly River system;
• Landownership issues within the mine lease area (MLA) currently going through court; and
• Landowner local business development, localisation and training programmes need to be prioritised.

BHP: No link with OTML, PNGSDP

Source: The National, Monday, February 4, 2013 

 

By MALUM NALU

BHP Biliton says the company “now has no association whatsoever with Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) or PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP)”.
The Australian newspaper reported this at the weekend after The National’s lead business story last Friday about Prime Minister Peter O’Neill warning that the government might not approve the extension of the mine life of the nation’s biggest single taxpayer, Ok Tedi, unless BHP Billiton agrees to amend the terms of the copper-gold mine’s ownership.
Also at the weekend, Ok Tedi Mine Area Impacted Association (OTMIAA) said in a statement (see separate story) it fully supported O’Neill’s stance not to be pushed by either BHP or PNGSDP into extending Ok Tedi mine life to 2025 until all issues affecting the mine and Commmunity Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) communities were sorted out.
“BHP’s preference was to close the mine early,” the BHP spokesman said.
“This was not acceptable to the PNG government which was concerned about the socioeconomic impacts of early closure.
“The PNGSDP is an independent company, which has provided a lasting legacy for the people of PNG.”
Journalist Rowan Callick, whose article in The Australian last November infuriated O’Neill into banning then-OTML chairman Prof Ross Garnaut from entering PNG, wrote an article at the weekend explaining BHP’s non-involvement in PNGSDP and OTML.
“Following a series of environmental problems, BHP - which built the mine in the then-remote Star Mountains in PNG’s Western province in the early 1980s - pulled out of the venture,” he wrote.
“Through an agreement with the PNG government of the day that involved a form of indemnity over environmental damage, BHP placed 63.4% of the ownership in the hands of PNG Sustainable Development Program, a trust that was chaired by leading economist Ross Garnaut.
“The PNG government holds 24.4% of Ok Tedi Mining, and the Western province government 12.2%.
“Under the rules established a decade ago, two-thirds of the dividends that PNGSDP receives are held in a fund for use only after the mine’s eventual closure.
“The figure has now reached US$1.4 billion.
“The other third goes into a development fund, which deploys about US$100 million a year, of which a third is spent on projects in Western pro­vince and two-thirds in the rest of the country.
“In 2011, the mine paid US$543 million in taxes, about 16% of the PNG government’s income.
“Last November, Prof Garnaut resigned as chairman of PNGSDP and was replaced by former prime minister Sir Mekere Morauta.
“Recently, BHP ceased appointing three of the seven PNGSDP directors.
“They are now chosen by the board itself, which also includes PNG government nominees.
“But BHP must agree to any changes in the core terms of reference under which the trust operates.”

PNG ups the ante in with BHP over Ok Tedi mine row

Rowan Callick | The Australian 


PAPUA New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has warned that the government may not approve the extension of the mine life of the nation’s biggest single taxpayer, Ok Tedi, unless BHP Billiton agrees to amend the terms of the copper-gold mine’s ownership.

Mr O’Neill told members of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday that he was “not in a hurry” to grant an extension to the mine — whose permits expire later this year — even though it provides a quarter of the country’s export receipts.

Following a series of environmental problems, BHP — which built the mine in the then-remote Star Mountains in PNG’s Western Province in the early 1980s — pulled out of the venture.

Through an agreement with the PNG government of the day that involved a form of indemnity over environmental damage, BHP placed 63.4 per cent of the ownership in the hands of PNG Sustainable Development Program, a trust that was chaired by leading economist Ross Garnaut.

The PNG government holds 24.4 per cent of Ok Tedi Mining, and the Western Province government 12.2 per cent.

Under the rules established a decade ago, two-thirds of the dividends that PNGSDP receives are held in a fund for use only after the mine’s eventual closure. The figure has now reached $1.4 billion.

The other third goes into a development fund, which deploys about $100 million a year, of which a third is spent on projects in Western Province and two-thirds in the rest of the country.

In 2011, the mine paid $543m in taxes, about 16 per cent of the PNG government’s income.

Last November, Professor Garnaut resigned as chairman of PNGSDP and was replaced by former prime minister Mekere Morauta.

Recently, BHP ceased appointing three of the seven PNGSDP directors.

They are now chosen by the board itself, which also includes PNG government nominees. But BHP must agree to any changes in the core terms of reference under which the trust operates.

Last month, OTML chief executive Nigel Parker told PNG’s The National that more than 100,000 people in 156 villages had unanimously backed the extension of the mine’s operations until 2025.

But this requires government approval. And Mr O’Neill told the Port Moresby chamber that those seeking the extension, particularly BHP through PNGSDP, had to clearly indicate to the government that the mine life extension would make a real change in the country.

“So far, I am not convinced,” Mr O’Neill said.

The Prime Minister said he did not believe the parliament made the right decision 10 years ago in agreeing to the mine’s new governance.

 “We have given (BHP) protection from the environmental damage that caused misery for our people,” he said. “This is not the sort of development I want to encourage. We are quite happy to wait” (for BHP to agree to changes in the mine ownership structure and governance). The resources are not going to run away.”

A BHP spokesman said last month that the company “now has no association whatsoever with OTML or PNGSDP”.

  “BHP’s preference was to close the mine early,” the spokesman added.

 “This was not acceptable to the PNG government which was concerned about the socioeconomic impacts of early closure. The PNGSDP is an independent company which has provided a lasting legacy for the people of PNG.”