THE Umi-Atzera and Onga-Waffa people in Markham Valley, Morobe, are urging the government to repeal the Special Agricultural Business Lease (SABL) policy because it “regards landowners as mere slaves”.

“In Markham district, we will never invite and entertain government’s SABL policy,” provincial agriculture chairman and Umi-Atzera president, Daki Mao said.

More than 5,000 people gathered at Mutzing station to witness the launching of pioneer Morobe palm oil project last Friday.

via The National

SOME landowners want all logging operations in the Turubu log pond area in East Sepik province to stop until the Special Agriculture Business Licences (SABL) report is completed and the government makes its recommendations.

They want to know why the report into SABLs is still pending and logging operations going on in areas not consented to.

Thursday. The second last day of the working week and the political situation in this awe inspiring nation of ours is ever turbulent, yes we are truly a vibrant democracy.

By Dr Kristian Lasslett*

O’arise all you children of this land…otherwise *bai yu kisim pen!

Sound familiar? In our uniquely Papua New Guinean way, law is something that we learn (more like taught to us) at a very early stage in our lives. We are taught the boundaries of acceptable behavior almost from the moment we are aware and can decide our actions.

 By Gary Juffa* - via PNG News Facebook Page

An ominous moon has risen over the island of Papua New Guinea tonight, it casts its thick dark shadows across all of the nation, over its villages, its districts and settlements, its suburbs and streets, its ghettoes and by-ways, its highways, valleys and plains.

By Dr. Kris Lasslett 

Last month the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) Axel Sturm publicly raised concerns over the volatility of BCL’s share prices. In an interview with PNG Industry News, he blamed political uncertainty in Papua New Guinea for BCL’s current woes.

By Andrew Lattas

Fifty years ago in Papua New Guinea, knowledge or save as we call it in Tok Pisin would have meant how well you can foresee the weather, how well you can fish, hunt or gather. How well you could dance and chant and sing those customary rites. 

Our knowledge was practical, there were rules and regulations that kept some semblance of order in the complicated myriad of relationships in our traditional society.

ACT NOW! recently launched a email action addressed to Pacific Island Leaders, requesting an end to experimental seabed mining in the region. The basis for the concern was in relation to the environmental and social sustainability issue surrounding this "first of it's kind" mining and it's long term impact on coastal communities.