Acting Prime Minister, the Hon. Sam Abal MP, has announced the government’s intention to set up a Commission of Inquiry into the issue of Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases.

The Commission will investigate the grant of Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases covering some 5.2 million hectares of customary land to ensure all legal requirements have been followed and that the leases are being used for the purposes intended in the legislation.

Papua New Guinea's Attorney General, Arnold Amet, has published an unreserved apology for his racial attack on MP Ken Fairweather at last week's Pacific Marine Industrial Zone forum.

Papua New Guinea's Lands Minister has come out in the media to strongly back the controversial Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases which have been heavily criticized by landholders, NGOs, scientists and academics in PNG and overseas.

The leases have been described as a huge land grab, but the Minister apparently sees nothing wrong.

By PMIZ Watcher

While government Ministers are pressing ahead with plans for the controversial Pacific Marine Industrial Zone, despite considerable opposition from local communities, official documents show there is complete confusion about how much money the project will cost.

By Paul Barker, Director of the Institute of National Affairs*

The stormy events at the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone forum last Friday have received plenty of media attention, but one question remains unanswered: what has happened to the K25 million of public money allocated in the 2007 national budget for PMIZ preparatory works?

This question was put directly and publicly to government Ministers Gabriel Kapris and Arnold Amet, by Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather on Friday.

By Rosalyn Evara*

A heated racial slur exchange between Attorney-General Sir Arnold Amet and Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather [see video below] marred a public forum in Madang attended by senior national ministers to discuss the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone project with the local people.


From a Special Correspondent

When  three  senior  government ministers arrived at Alexishafen on Friday for a public forum on the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ),  they didn’t expect the kind of  anger they got from the Rempi and Kananam communities.  

Francis Gem, from the Kanamam area  took the stage in front of 300 people  and  in one swooping motion  said:

By Nancy Sullivan*

The Kananam Meeting on the proposed Pacific Marine Industrial Zone was called for this Friday because a spate of important government officials claimed to have never received their invitations to the first Rempi Forum.