By Scott MacWilliam*

By Prof Jason Nakandaul Herra

PNG is ill-prepared for the impact of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

So far, we have watched the progress from gas agreement in May 2008 to financial closure on March 11 with little more than fascination.

Susuve Laumaea,  Pacific Freedom Forum

Government officials responsible for the sudden suspension of senior news editor Dorah Masseung from her management position in the PNG National Broadcasting Corporation must let the national media do its work without fear or political pressure.

There have been two major victories in the last few days in the campaign to defend Papua New Guinea's Constitution and uphold democratic principles.

By Rosa Koain

Violence against women is so widespread in Papua New Guinea that it is part of daily life for almost all of us. Everyday we see or hear of men physically and violently abusing women - but in 99.9% of cases both the victims and those of us who see what is happening remain silent.

By APP

Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court has ruled the reappointment of the governor-general was unconstitutional and invalid.

Controversy surrounded the June installation of Sir Paulias Matane, who critics said was appointed by the government despite numerous breaches of parliamentary process.

On Friday, the full bench of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the appointment was unconstitutional because Sir Paulias was not selected after a secret ballot in parliament.

Back in April two articles were written on the ACT NOW! blog about a Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops' Conference which asked the question: Will Papua New Guinea's liquified natural gas projects be a blessing or a curse?

Below (thanks to our friends at LNG Watch) is the full text of that letter. It should be essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of PNG and should, perhaps, have been tabled for discussion during this weeks PNG mining talk fest in Sydney...

ABC Radio reports the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Mines and Petroleum has called on the PNG government to sign up to an international anti-corruption initiative.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative began in 2003.

It is designed to help countries clean up their mining and resources industry by publishing the details of all revenue received, in a format easily understood by all citizens.

Thirty-two nations, most from the developing world, have already joined.

Editorial: Post Courier

The 11th Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney, Australia kicked off on Monday. In a packed room, PNG’s Oil Search Limited, a major partner in the LNG project, shocked the experts and government officials including ministers from both countries, by revealing it has paid a whopping K11.931 billion in oil benefits between 1992 and 2009.