By PETER NIESI

We have watched you rise in stature as the nation’s vice regal, Governor-General, Head of State of Papua New Guinea on behalf of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

You have presented yourself as a champion in the fight against corruption with consistent, consecutive leadership in word and through Transparency International (PNG) Inc annual Walk Against Corruption.

Papua New Guinea, Sir, is crying out for role models of righteousness in the light of much questionable decision-making by the elected government of the day.

A coalition involving Transparency International, business houses in Port Moresby who have supported the creation of a Business Against Corruption Alliance, civil society and PNG's peak legal professional body is calling on the Government to address a number of serious issues including:

By Charles Mende*

I have heard and read about the current appointment of the Governor-General with interest and since it is a constitutional situation involving the representative of the Head of State it deserves extensive and thorough public discussion. It appears that there are some improprieties as a result of the conduct of the Parliament in the appointment of the G-G then it should be challenged in court. 

On June 30th over 3,000 people peacefully marched through Madang town to protest the government's amendments to the Environment law that take away landowners rights and grant immunity to foreign companies for the environmental damage they cause.

[img_assist|nid=1269|title=Madang protest 2|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=400|height=267]

[img_assist|nid=1271|title=Madang protest 3|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=400|height=267]

Controversial plans for PNG’s first Special Economic Zone, the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone in Madang, have hit a legal hurdle.

Although the government had negotiated a $180 million loan from the Chinese government to fund the building of the industrial park, that loan is in breach of PNG law. This is because under the loan agreement one particular Chinese company will get to build the park and 70% of the loan monies have to be spent on Chinese goods and services. This breaches PNG laws that require open and competitive bidding process that includes at least 3 companies.

By JOHN FOWKE from an AIDWATCH report edited by TIM ANDERSON & GARY LEE*

Prime Minister Michael Somare's attempts to rule Papua New Guinea like an African dictator have taken another step forward with an Edict from the Minister for Justice (see attached pdf below) that bans public debate on the Environment Act amendment and orders the police to stop any public gatherings or protests.

Prime Minister, Michael Somare, has a secret legislative plan that will make the proposed changes to the Leadership Code and even the recent amendments to the Environment Act seem relatively benign and insignificant. 

The PM is waiting for the opportunity to again by-pass proper Parliamentary process and bulldoze through legislation for a Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that will further impoverish rural Papua New Guineans and boost the profits of foreign multinational companies.

ABC RADIO

ELIZABETH JACKSON: Covering politics can be a tough gig for journalists; there's always lots of speculation and big egos. Reporters are often critical of politicians, but it's relatively rare for the criticism to flow the other way, publicly at least.

Not so in Papua New Guinea, where journalists recently received a tongue-lashing, courtesy of the prime minister Sir Michael Somare.

And as our PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports, it's not the first time it's happened.