SABL

SABL decisions beginning to really bite local communities

On 22 Apr, 2021 By ACTNOW

An arieal view of forest clearance for oil palm planting in West Pomio

By Paul Pavol

The people of West Pomio in East New Britain Province lost most of their land and forest under the controversial, government-backed, Special Agriculture Business Lease scheme.

Lands Minister must publish full SABL list

On 29 Aug, 2019 By ACTNOW

ACT NOW! has published an updated version of its sucessful short video 'SABL Scandal Buried and Forgotten' to mark the six year anniversary of the SABL COI findings.

The stain of the SABL land grab is hanging over the head of the new Marape government says Community Advocacy group ACT NOW!

“It is now six years since the Commission of Inquiry reports were presented in Parliament revealing that over 5 million hectares of land had been stolen from the local communities”, says Campaign Manager Eddie Tanago.

SABL Response to UN Due In Seven Days

On 04 Apr, 2019 By ACTNOW

Source: FRANKLIN KOLMA / Post Courier

THE PNG government now has one week left to give a response to the United Nation’s third letter of concern on the issue of ill-treated SABL – special agriculture business lease.

Government Land Summit is a new corporate land grab

On 20 Feb, 2019 By ACTNOW

The Government is plotting to grab more customary land and hand it to multi-national companies and the commercial banks, says community advocacy group ACT NOW!

“The government has been forced to stop issuing illegal SABL leases but now wants to use the National Land Summit as a cover to find new ways to ‘facilitate access to customary land’ for big business and the banks”, says campaign manger, Eddie Tanago.

Govt. must publish full SABL list

On 22 Jan, 2019 By ACTNOW

It is one of the world’s biggest illegal land grabs, yet more than 5-years after the government promised to cancel the SABL leases and return the land to its customary owners, the people of Papua New Guinea are still waiting to hear which, if any, leases have been cancelled.

Government must publish full list of SABL leases

On 22 Jan, 2019 By ACTNOW

PNG failing to confront human rights issues - HRW

On 20 Jan, 2019 By ACTNOW

Image: Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC leaders summit in Port Moresby last year. PNG's PM has faced criticism for spending on the meeting. Photo: APEC Papua New Guinea Media team

Issues of corruption and land grabbing figure high in Human Rights Watch assessemnt of PNG

UN challenges govt over SABL land grab

On 14 Jan, 2019 By ACTNOW

The United Nations has accused the Papua New Guinea government of racial discrimination against its own people over its failure to stop foreign companies using SABL leases to illegally occupy customary land.

More than 50,000 square kilometres of indigenous land has been seized using the illegal agriculture leases, as exposed in a 2015 Commission of Inquiry.