The Solomon Star is reporting that landholders in the Solomon Islands have mounted a protest against the environmental damage caused by the Gold Ridge mine near Honiara. The mine is owned by Australian company Allied Gold, which is also the operator of the controversial Simberi mine in Papua New Guinea which was forced to close by a tailings leak late last year.

With billions of dollars stolen from the public purse over the last decade in Papua New Guinea, Australia should be doing far more to stop the flow of stolen money from PNG into Australia.

Simon Kolm, the Chairman of PNG's Task Force Sweep which is tackling corruption among politicians and senior bureaucrats, recently described Australia as becoming 'another Cayman Islands' over the way it sucks up the proceeds of crime from PNG.*

Kayu Mas (PNG) Ltd, which has a timber concession in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and is being acquired by Takaso Resources Bhd, has projected a net profit of US$72 million over nine years, reports the Sun Daily in Kuala Lumpur.

By Luana Paniu

A K3 million agriculture and business project in Drekirkir, East Sepik Province has not been recognized by the Government as a Special Agriculture and Business Lease (SABL) despite functioning as one.

Under an agreement signed between a Malaysian Logging Company (named) and a prominent Leader, a least 56,000 hectares of land was leased in 1998 under lease-lease back arrangement for the planting of Oil Palm.

By Scott Waide

The crusty old teacher with more than 30 years under his belt sits on his hauswin and reaches for a buai. He is engaged in a serious conversation about education standards in the Oro Province.

“I’m talking about standards that have declined,”  he emphasizes in impeccable English.  I didn’t say declining. They have declined.  

By Jacob Pok

THE Commission of Inquiry into the Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) is investigating a foreign-owned company over the acquisition of more than two million hectares of land in Western.

The Independent Timber and Stevedoring Company, a subsidiary of a US-based company, was engaged by the government to construct a 600km Trans-Papua Highway from Kiunga into Central’s Hiritano  and through three other provinces.

Gadaisu village is in Milne Bay province near the Central province border. The village is on state land which is being developed by Tamoua Estates Ltd under a 99-year leasehold. For the past 10 years villagers had been petitioning the government to return the land to them but have not received a favourable response from the Lands Department.

Seven corporations rake in $1.81 billion dollars from foreign aid program

By Steve Lewis, The Daily Telegraph 

JUST seven corporations have raked in a staggering $1.81 billion in taxpayer-funded contracts under the booming foreign aid program.

Malaysia's leading English language newspaper, The Star, is reporting that a Malaysian company, Takaso Resources, is buying the rights to log 40,000 hectares of forest in the Inland Pomio District of New Britain Island. There is no mention of how local people have been consulted about the sale or how they will benefit from the trade in their land rights.

Takaso into timber ops in Papua New Guinea

By Yvonne Tan

By Hannah Brooks, VICE media

Papua New Guinea is currently experiencing what may be the most brazenly illegal land grab since its colonial days. Foreign corporations—specifically, logging companies—are allegedly falsifying signatures, paying off police, and lying to the government about their intentions to cut down every tree in the country.