Panguna was once one of the largest and most profitable copper and gold mines in the world, but a new report says it has left a terrible legacy for residents of Bougainville. Photograph: Human Rights Law Centre

New report alleges mine caused environmental devastation and ongoing health problems for communities

Source: Ben Doherty, The Guardain, 31 March 2020

31 March 2020

A local Civil Society Organisation (CSO) called Project Sepik, today called for the rejection of the Frieda River mine on the grounds that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was ‘unfit for purpose’.

Market prices in Port Moresby have shot up in recent days, K50 for a medium sized water-melon and K1 for an unripe lemon 

Eddie Tanago - 27 March 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic further emphasises the message that our customary land is our social safety net, our security, our life, our sustenance and our provider and must be protected at all costs.

Source: Scott Waide - My Land, My Country - 24 March 2020

So it’s a global pandemic with 15,000+ dead already, 350,000 infected and nearly 105,000 recovered.

2nd March 2020

Patrick Kaiku has recently published an important paper on our National Development Plans in PNG and how they measure up against the National Goals and Directive Principles.

Below is the Executive Summary and a link to download the full Paper.

PHOTO: The sugarcane project saw hundreds of Cambodian families forcibly evicted from their land. (ABC News: Sam Clark)

24th February 2020

Banks want to lend money to people and small business in Papua New Guinea and to take rights over customary land as security in case the loans do not get repaid.

This could lead to a huge transfer of customary land into private ownership and lead to families and whole communities being forced off their land and losing their livelihoods.

18th February 2020

The latest corruption scandal involving a government Minister and a foreign oil company emphasises once again the need for the government to legislate on hidden or ‘beneficial’ company ownerships.

Allowing people to register a company without revealing who are the real owners or beneficiaries creates a massive information vacuum that enables corruption and tax evasion to happen right under our noses.

12th February 2020

The latest version of the Bill to establish a new Independent Commission Against Corruption was published in the National Gazette on October 17, 2019

You can download a copy below.

12th February 2020

The Land Minister’s announcement of a new pilot project that will further disenfranchise customary landowners is part of a misguided promotion of private sector greed over people’s need for customary land for income generation.

The government should be focused on empowering rural people to build resilient communities on their own land rather than serving the greed of foreign owned banks and big corporations.