By Derick Barry

RD Tuna security staff have been accused of harassing female workers who refused to start their night shift in support of 489 fellow workers suspended for demanding the company abide by PNG's minimum wage laws. According to witnesses at the plant, around 30 female workers were last night physically forced into the factory.

Opposition Leader, Mekere Morauta, says the Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and the Leader of Government Business have yet again breached the Constitution by failing to ensure Parliament sits the required 63 days this year.

I will immediately seek legal advice about the options open to the Opposition for fighting the adjournment in the courts,” he said.

“The adjournment motion moved by Mr Tiensten and accepted by Mr Nape, is not only a most serious and deliberate breach of the Constitution. It goes against all the principles of democracy".

Submitted by Countryside

In recent times, many PNGns and Aussies have been engaging in a good healthy debate on aid to PNG from Australia. Everyone is in some agreement - it needs to be re-looked at - but its also quite interesting and perhaps not surprising a growing number of bloggers are screaming at the failure of PNG nationals in government, not been able to absorb the aid constructively to deliver to our people.

By HENZY YAKHAM

The current resource exploitation trend, coupled with changes in natural resources and environmental laws of Papua New Guinea clearly undermines the true spirit of the Fourth Goal of the National Constitution. In effect, it has compromised this and PNG’s future generations.

Vision 2050 uses the analogy of a driver knowing where to go before getting into a vehicle, assuming the road map PNG. Theoretically, this might be so, but practicality it may not be easy, if not impossible.

By MAUREEN GERAWA

THE number of women dying during childbirth in Papua New Guinea has doubled since 1996, but the issue has not been declared an emergency because it is not a disease, a meeting was told yesterday.

A roundtable meeting on safe motherhood held at the Parliament Function room has also heard that five women in Papua New Guinea die during childbirth everyday.

Dear Prime Minister Michael Somare

I implore you to RESTORE the Environment Act and REVOKE these newly-legislated measures that deprive all Landowners in Papua New Guinea of their most basic rights: Their right to land, their right to live in a clean and safe environment, their right to justice.

When you first became Prime Minister in 1975, PNG was one of the most constitutionally advanced new nations in the world.  It was one of the few in the Pacific where, unlike Indonesia and other nations, the local lands belonged to the indigenous owners.

Submitted by Countryside

When the Whiteman first arrived our shores, our wantoks marveled at their tools, way of life and customs. They soon became part of their foreign policy, to spread their hegemony through colonialism. Using the strategy of in the first instance missionary out post, second to protectorate and than eventually to resource extractions, the machinery of development was totally for the Empire. Yep, we went under this conveyor belt as well, carving our great land to be one part for Wilhelm Kaiser and the other for Her Majesty.

The National Court has found controversial Malaysian logging giant, Rimbunan Hijau, guilty of intimidating, threatening and harassing the Post Courier newspaper and abusing court processes in order to try and stop publication of reports critical of their logging operations.

The Court has also ordered Rimbunan Hijau's lawyer, Michael Wilson be charged with perjury for filing sworn evidence "that defies the truth with intend [sic] to mislead the court".

The full National court decision is attached below as a downloadable pdf file.

Australia's Foreign Minister failed to confront PNG's culture of corruption and conflict on his recent visit, says Paul Cleary writing in The Australian

THE visit to Papua New Guinea last week by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith highlights the disturbing incapacity of the Port Moresby government to cope with the mounting challenges it faces, and Australia's refusal to confront a culture of corruption and conflict that is tearing the place apart.