Asylum seekers to face PNG court next week

8 Mar 2013, 1:25 pm   -   Source: AAP

Eighteen asylum seekers are expected to face a Papua New Guinea court on Monday on charges of assault at Manus Island detention centre.

A group of 18 asylum seekers is expected to face a Papua New Guinea court on Monday on charges of assault and fighting at the Manus Island detention centre, police say.
Manus Island provincial police commander Alex Ndrasal said 17 of the detainees have been charged with fighting during two incidents at the centre on Christmas Eve and January 31.
Another detainee was charged with assault.
The group is expected to face court in Lorengau, the capital of Manus province, on Monday.
"Only 18 asylum seekers have been charged, and not 19 as previously thought," Inspector Ndrasal told AAP on Friday.
"The charges relate to fighting and assault only."
Earlier, Insp Ndrasal said 19 asylum seekers had been arrested and charged over a series of incidents that included an escape attempt and a suicide attempt.
Last month reports emerged that a detainee had threatened suicide after dousing himself in a liquid substance.
The incident is understood to have taken place at the temporary asylum centre's internet facility.
Manus MP Ronnie Knight said lights were smashed and a coconut was hurled during the fighting.
There are more than 270 detainees living in the temporary tent facility on Lombrum Naval base in Manus province.

Interest piques for Papua New Guinea trade mission

Nick Dalton

Friday, March 8, 2013

The Cairns Post

A FAR North trade mission to Papua New Guinea next month is expected to be the biggest yet with the organisers promising actual business deals will take place.
Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Anthony Mirotsos said it was not designed as "a talkfest, back-slapping or cocktails".
"Interest is very significant and we will be providing members with more sophistication than before," he said.
"It will be bigger and better and we want to walk away with transactions, businesses doing deals.
"I am very confident that we will be able to produce some tangible fhbusiness."
Chamber chief executive officer Deb Hancock said the chamber had yet to advertise the mission but about 12 businesses had already "knocked on the door".
"It is not just a toe in the water," she thsaid.
Ms Hancock told members and guests at the monthly lunch meeting yesterday that the business delegation to Lae and Port Moresby from April 11-16 was to be "mutually beneficial" for both regions.
"We've told the chambers in PNG that we're not taking business away from your businesses," she said.
Two trips were planned this year and the April mission would include a promotional group involving the State Members for Cairns, Barron River and Mulgrave, Gavin King, Michael Trout and Curtis Pitt, Advance Cairns, Ports North and the Cairns Regional Council as well as another group which would target specific industries to fhproduce  "the best possible contracts".
"The intention is to focus on strategic industry-based opportunities," she said.
"In Lae, this will be agribusiness industry development, such as horticulture, fishing, fish processing, marine and allied services, along with small to medium enterprises ," Ms Hancock said.
"In Port Moresby, the focus will be on small and medium enterprise development, along with the Pacific Games."
Ms Hancock said a Chinese company had provided some artificial grass for a Games project that had melted in the heat.
"We in Cairns have tropical expertise and can supply products suitable for tropical climates," she said.
Ms Hancock said there had been a high level of collaboration between regional organisations in Cairns to ensure that the trip would be a success.
She said expressions of interest would be called soo

Violence: PNG's women face a crisis

by Jenny Hayward-Jones - 8 March 2013 1:49PM

The Intepreter

 

It's not often in international affairs that a story about sorcery makes the headlines or that I find myself being interviewed about it. The horrendous public execution of Kepari Leniata, a young woman accused of using sorcery to cause the death of a young boy in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea, received worldwide condemnation following the publication of photos of the incident.
High quality reporting by Jo Chandler on sorcery-related violence in PNG and on the Mount Hagen incident drew much needed attention to the this ugly underside of PNG society. PNG's traditional and social media outlets condemned the murder of Kepari Leniata and a Facebook community has set up a 'Remembering Kepari Leniata Campaign' to pursue action on sorcery-related violence.

International media coverage of the Mount Hagen murder led the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Amnesty International to call for the PNG Government to implement the recommendations of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission to repeal the Sorcery Act 1971.
The PNG Government has promised to take action on sorcery-related violence. The reaction to this incident, when there have been many others like it, suggests a tipping point may have been reached.
Action on addressing sorcery-related violence (some suggestions for which contained in this Oxfam report) however, has to be accompanied by addressing violence against women in Papua New Guinea, which affects two out of three women. Annmaree O'Keeffe's post outlined some horrific statistics of violence against women worldwide. Medecins Sans Frontieres has described the levels of violence against women in PNG as 'unique outside a war-zone or state of civil unrest'.
This is an issue Papua New Guinea has to resolve from within and there are limits to the influence outsiders can bring to bear. But given the extent of the violence, there is a case to be made that this is a humanitarian crisis that requires at least some international assistance.
Foreign governments and non-government organisations can help to sow the seeds of change and assist Papua New Guineans working tirelessly on helping women escape domestic violence. The focus of International Women's Day this year in highlighting violence against women is important. The Australian Government, to its credit, has taken a regional leadership role on ending violence against women through its Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development initiative. It has used AusAID programs to encourage and implement practical action. The Australian Foreign Minister last year announced funding for four Family and Sexual Violence Units in PNG.
Calls for action to end violence against women from then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited PNG in 2010 and the Duchess of Cornwall during the royal visit to PNG in 2012 were also important in reinforcing a strong global message.
The PNG Government appears more ready than its predecessor to admit the extent of the violence against women but the attention driven by media reporting and lobbying from social media forums is still necessary to ensure action.
These issues are not a distraction from the core business of governing. They are not second order priorities. Violence against women undermines democracy, economic growth, effective government and peace in Papua New Guinea. It contradicts the PNG Constitution's Preamble principles of integral human development and equal participation. It should not be hidden behind the veil of untouchable traditional cultural practices. Violence against women in any form is not traditional, nor is it cultural. It is unlawful and it is wrong.
Photo by Flickr user Jeremy Weate.

Australia could help stop PNG violence: Judge

From: AAP

A LEADING Papua New Guinea judge says Australia could help PNG stop the sorcery-related torture and killing of women.

Justice Catherine Davani told an International Women's Day lunch in Canberra of a spate of torturing and killing of women in PNG suspected of being sorcerers.
Last month, Kepari Leneiata, 20, a young mother who was also known as Angelin, was stripped, tortured with a hot iron poker and burned alive before a crowd of onlookers, including children.
They had accused her of using sorcery to kill a six year-old boy.
The murder triggered international outrage, with PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill joining the United Nations, the US and Australia in describing the crime as barbaric.
Justice Davani told the lunch on Friday that Australia could help.
"If AusAID were to assist the PNG government in curbing and alleviating the torturing and killing of women in PNG suspected of being sorcerers, then the suggestion is to assist enhanced investigating powers of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary," she said.

"Of course, the policemen can be trained on how to enact investigations."
"I believe very strongly that Australia will be making a major and very useful contribution toward the protection of women and women's lives if this were done for Papua New Guinea."
Comment was being sought from AusAID.
As many as 100 people were arrested recently in connection with the horrific burning murder of Ms Leneiata in the Western Highlands city of Mt Hagen.
Police had been under pressure to make arrests after photos in both of PNG's daily national newspapers appeared to show hundreds of witnesses watching Ms Leneiata burn.

PNG Forest Products growing ‘very fast’

Source: The National, Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Story and pictures by MALUM NALU

PNG Forest Products (PNGFP) managing director Tony Honey says the company is growing “very fast” and is diversifying into other areas, including mining and a hotel venture.
Speaking after the opening of PNGFP’s K100 million Upper Baiune hydro power project in Bulolo, Morobe last Saturday, Honey said the opening of the project heralded exciting new times for the company.
Subject to favourable results from a current testing programme, PNGFP is planning to recommence alluvial gold mining in a joint venture deal with Pacific Niugini Minerals at Widubosh, near Bulolo.
PNGFP’s Jackson Airport hotel project in Port Moresby, between Gateway and Airways hotels at 7- Mile, will include a fully functioning hotel with 96 rooms, a swimming pool, bar and restaurant, conference room, business centre and internet cafe.
Site preparation has begun.
PNGFP is already well-established in plywood manufacture, sawmilling, planing mill, joinery shop, doors, prefabricated buildings and other products.

Honey talking with one of his supervisors in the PNGFP sawmill.

It is also into retail with the largest outlet in Bulolo, a farm which carries about 1,700 head of cattle, which supplies beef to the retail store and the Bulolo Country Club with a golf course and accommodation.
“It’s a monumental thing for this company to embark on such a large project,” Honey told guests at the Bulolo Country Club.
“I don’t know whether a lot of people appreciate this, but the company’s trading very well.
“Like every other company in PNG, you have to improve your efficiency to make the company a whole lot better.
“There are a lot of risks out there for us, but we’re very, very confident.
“Things are changing, we’re evolving, and we’re growing fast, perhaps too fast in many aspects.
“When you grow so fast, there are lags in all areas.
“We have to bring those lags up to growth.
“It takes patience and fortitude, but we will do that.”
Honey said the success of the company was due to its very skilled and committed workforce.
“We have a very good band of people here,” he said.
“We have a very, very resilient company with a lot of resilient people.
“The biggest thing about this company is that it predominantly employs Papua New Guineans.”
Honey said of this, about 97% are Papua New Guineans and 3% are expatriates.
“That’s a big company in PNG standards,” he said.
“That’s why we’ll keep on growing and developing into a diverse company.
“We’re not just about timber, just about plywood, farming, retailing and go on with the flow.

Pine logs ready to be processed into plywood at the PNGFP plymill.

“What we’ll do as a company is to make money.
“It could be chicken farming, it could be hydroponics, it could be more power stations, it could be a different type of building structure.
“We just have to grow with it as fast as we can without losing ourselves.”

Power plant named after late landowner

Source: The National, Tuesday, March 5, 2013 

 

Story and picture by MALUM NALU

THE opening of PNG Forest Products’ (PNGFP) K100 million Upper Baiune hydro power project in Bulolo, Morobe, was tinged with emotion last Saturday.
It was a bittersweet occasion for the family of principal landowner Katu Vavini, who supported the company right from the project’s beginning in 2006 until his untimely death last Dec 21 aged 83.
His efforts, however, are not in vain as the project is now being looked upon as a blueprint for projects involving landowners in the country, speakers said during the power plant’s launch.
His widow Kasing and family members – all dressed in black – wept as the new power station was named Katu Vavini Power Station.

Kasing, widow of Katu Vavini, weeps as she touches the plaque of the power station named after her late husband.

Forests Minister Patrick Pruaitch and PNGFP managing director Tony Honey opened the new plant before a cheering crowd.
Honey acknowledged the contribution of the late Vavini, saying that the project would not have been possible had it not been for his support.
It was a classic example of landowners and private enterprise working hand-in-hand.
The late Vavini’s daughter Marilyn said her father supported the project right from the beginning and it was sad that he did not live to see its fruition.
“When dad was alive, he helped a lot,” she said.
“He worked closely with the company and was with the project right from the beginning.”
Katumani landowner secretary Yana Karimini said the late Vavini’s legacy would live on for many generations to come.
“The late Katu was the driving force behind this mighty hydro power project,” he said.
“He has proved to the people of Katumani who he is, but has not lived to see his vision completed.
“On behalf of the late Katu’s people, and the Katumani people, I thank PNG Forest Products for its great respect in naming the new power station after the late Katu Vavini, who will be remembered generation after generation.”
Karimini said the Katumani people did not want to be spectators on their own land and appealed to PNGFP to consider their participation in future projects.
“I would like to assure landowners that all project benefits will be deposited into the landowner benefits trust account and will be utilised solely for the purpose of providing long-lasting benefits,” he said.

K100 million hydro plant launched in Bulolo

Source: The National, Monday,  March 4, 2013 

 

Story and picture by MALUM NALU

ELECTRICITY generation in Papua New Guinea has entered a new dimension with the opening of PNG Forest Products’ (PNGFP) K100 million Upper Baiune hydro electricity power station in Bulolo, Morobe, on Saturday.

Visitors touring the new hydro power plant on Saturday.

It was opened by Forests Minister Patrick Pruaitch and was named Katu Vavini Power Station after the principal landowner, who passed away last December.
A major undertaking for PNGFP, the power plant is the first of such projects in PNG built by a private organisation as a commercial venture to supply electricity to PNG Power.
It was funded by Westpac.
The new power plant has an installed capacity of 9.4MW.
The project is  built on customary land, which has been sub-leased by the Katumani integrated land group (ILG) landowners to PNGFP and therefore, the Katumani landowners are also important partners in the project.
This venture also conforms to the PNG government’s public private partnership (PPP) policy concerning infrastructure development.
PNGFP managing director Tony Honey said this was the oldest surviving power station in PNG since the Morobe gold rush days in the 1930s.
This is the first time that a private organisation will supply electricity to PNG Power, he said.
Commissioned on Dec 23, 2012, it is now supplying electricity to PNG Power’s Ramu grid.
“The Upper Baiune Hydro power project was first conceived in late 2006 when PNGFP became interested in supplying additional power to PNG Power,” Honey said.
“It was obvious that a good potential for further hydro power development existed immediately above the existing Upper Baiune intake as there is a 270m fall in the river over a straight line distance of only two kilometres.
“PNGFP engaged the services of Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) to conduct a  feasibility study to confirm the potential for further hydro power development and we then subsequently negotiated a power purchase agreement with PNG Power.
“With a commitment from PNG Power that they would purchase the power that would become available if the project was viable, we were able to proceed with a full feasibility study which was conducted by SMEC.
“During the feasibility study it became apparent the project would be viable, so we immediately proceeded with an environmental impact assessment and applied to Department of Environment and Conservation for the necessary environmental permits for the construction and operation of the new power station.
“On completion of the feasibility study, we moved into the design phase with SMEC preparing the tender documentation for construction.
“We then advertised for tenders in both PNG and overseas and the tenders were evaluated by Infratech Management Consultants (IMC)."
Contracts for the civil work were awarded to China Railway Construction Group, contract for the electro-mechanical installation was awarded to Asia Pacific Power-Tech (APP) and IMC was appointed as the project manager and resident engineer.