The middle class in PNG seems to be preoccupied with a debate over whether the country should continue to look South to Australia and New Zealand for assistance or whether it is better to look North to China. 

But, prompted and encouraged by Australia, China and Prime Minister Somare, they are asking the wrong question and thus they continually miss the answer to the question they should be asking which is how can PNG lift itself above its current problems and find a better way forward?

Adapted from a story by ELIZABETH MIAE

POLITICIANS are to blame for the poor state of Papua New Guinea’s maternal health, says prominent gynecologist, Dr Glen Mola. 

“Five women die daily, but the Government ignores the problem. Women are not important as far as politicians are concerned. Women can just die when having their babies, em samting nating (it’s nothing). Is that what politicians think? That women are disposable?” he says.

Catholic Bishops meeting in Lae for their annual conference have highlighted the fact that major resource projects in PNG have generally failed the people and have had more negative consequences than positive ones.

“For many people the most obvious outcome of so-called development has been more negative than positive, for example, widespread corruption, poverty and violence are on the rise”.

“Wealth hasn’t trickled down throughout society and so urban settlements are growing and rural areas are becoming poorer,” say the bishops in a Pastoral Letter.

The National Court sitting in Madang last week refused to lift an injunction preventing the Chinese Metallurgical Construction Company (MCC) from constructing a marine tailings disposal system for its Ramu nickel mine.

The Ramu nickel mine is just one of several large mining projects under construction in Papua New Guinea and is the first major Chinese investment in the country.

Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) National Goals and Directive Principles provide the Job Description of all leaders of this nation. They set the foundation on which this nation must be governed. But it seems our leaders have forgotten the script.

Forty years ago, 16 Papua New Guinean members of then, House of Assembly, developed a vision for a new nation.

The Ombudsman Commission's opposition to the proposed changes to the Leadership Code could not be clearer, despite mischievous claims from some politician that the Commission supports the amendments.

In May 2009 the Ombudsman Commission submitted an 11 page brief to the National Executive Council (which can be downloaded below) setting out its concerns about so called "Maladina" amendments and making clear that it did not support the changes.

The Ombudsman Commission submission makes clear that the proposed changes:

The people of Papua New Guinea are caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of violence, says Medicine Sans Frontiers.

The rapid development the country has experienced over the past year has had the unintended consequence of aggravating existing tensions. For the most part, it is women and children who bear the brunt of this, suffering rape and other terrible forms of violence—some of it carried out by family members—that create an urgent need for both medical care and psychosocial support.

A recent video documentary called CRUDE is all about the Ecuadorian Amazonians and their 10 year fight against Chevron Texaco for polluting their land.

Pablo Farcado, the 2009 Goldman prize winner, was not a lawyer when he commenced legal proceedings on behalf of his Ecuadorian Amazonian people...

The proposed amendments to the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership - the so-called 'Maladina amendments' - have created a lot of controversy. 

The Community Coalition Against Corruption is mounting a major campaign to try and persuade Parliament not to enact the proposed amendments.

The Ombudsman Commission, whose powers would be restricted by the proposed amendments, is against the changes (despite apparent claims to the contrary by the Government in Parliament).

But what are the proposed changes?

It would be easy to conclude the government has its head in the sand over the current resources boom and is ignorant of the fears of most in the general community.

While the Prime Minister and his senior team constantly talk up the good times ahead for PNG from major resource projects like LNG, the Ramu nickel mine and the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone, most acadmics, observers and media commentators are seriously worried that PNG is heading for a huge disaster.