Ninety-nine year SABL leases issued to logging and oil palm companies have been condemned as "oppressive" and unfair by the Supreme Court.

The comments came in a decision endorsing the findings of the National Court that the SABL lease over Portion 144C in the East Sepik Province was null and void and all logging and oil palm planting was illegal.

RH Consultant and ex Managing Director of the PNG Forest Authority, Kanawi Pouru, addresses villagers in the Pomio district

SABL Story Project*

PNG’s largest logging company and multi-sector business group is telling rural communities that human rights and sustainable business principles impede rural development and should be ignored if people want to get rich.

As much as half of the whole of Papua New Guinea could be impacted by potentially destructive experimental seabed mining operations.

Papua New Guinea's Development Strategic Plan for 2010-2030 undermines the principles in our Constitution and will lead to further inequality and poverty if government departments continue its implementation.

That is the conclusion drawn in a study undertaken by University of Papua New Guinea academic, Patrick Kaiku on behalf of the community advocacy group ACT NOW!

The recent corruption case in Singapore involving former Prime Minister Michael Somare emphasises the need for Australia to do much more to crack down on money laundering from PNG.

The oil palm mill at Dirina in Pomio

SABL Story Project*

Who would think that a responsible government, whose income is dependent on tax revenue would allow one of our major export crop to be smeared with more dirt? 

The Singapore court has found Somare received over US$750,000 in corrupt payments and authorities have frozen his Singapore bank account

Source: Amir Hussain – Straits Times

Court upholds SABL ruling

Source: Daphne Wani in The National (owned by logging company Rimbunan Hijau)

THE Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision of 2014 despite a judicial review application by Sepik Oil Palm Plantation Ltd over a Special Agricultural and Business Lease (SABL).

The audio from this video clip is being aired as an advert on commercial radio throughout PNG for the month of September.

Source: Isaac Nicholas, Post Courier

LANDOWNERS in East New Britain Province have won a landmark legal battle to retake their “hijacked” land from the controversial Special Agriculture and Business Lease (SABL).

The people of Baining in Gazelle district had taken the State and developer to court over the SABL deal which has now been declared null and void by the National Court in Kokopo last Thursday.