It has been a very interesting month with some highly contoversial changes on the politcal scene and some seemingly positive developments on ACT NOW! campaign issues.

While these developments have given some reason for optimism and celebration, many have mixed feelings and good reason for doubts remain.

One positive is the Commission of Inquiry into the SABL customary land grab which has begun its hearings. You can follow the latest developments on the dedicated ACT NOW! SABL blog. Here our reporter, Evah Kuson, is providing exclusive updates as the Commission uncovers the failings in the Department of Lands and the truth about foreign ownership of lands titles.

ACT NOW! has also publicly welcomed a number of government announcements including the promise of an Independent Commission against Corruption, sale of the Somare's Falcon jet, and the ditching of plans for a publicly funded private hospital. But we will keep the pressure on to ensure these promises are turned into real action.

Looking back through the 30 plus blog articles published this month on the ACT NOW! website, the predominant theme is still the model of development and the failure of neo-liberal style capitalism to improve the lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.

Rather than following the development path set out in our Constitution successive PNG government's have been manipulated by foreign government's and large corporations who have been given free reign to pursue their own agendas in PNG at the expense of our people and our environment.

These foreign interests and their political puppets often use the word 'development' when what they are really offering is 'exploitation'. Rather than blindly worshipping at the alter of economic growth, we should spend more time asking who really benefits and is it sustainable?. 

Martyn Namorong has written some excellent articles on this issue on his blog, the Namorong Report, and a number have been reproduced on the ACT NOW! website. It is well worth taking a few moments to read posts like... 

• PNG my poor little rich country
• Mineral Archipelago: Journeys from Bougainville to Basamuk
• Bagarap-ment: Divided and falling part
• Genocide in PNG, and
• The darkness of neon lights

... to get a better understanding of where we have gone wrong and how we can find a better future.

In one of his posts Martyn quotes from a speech Francis Ona gave in 1989, words that are even more relevant today than they were then:

"The only significant development we have seen since independence is the widening gap between the few rich and the poor majority...  State has no credibility, it is an instrument for the rich to oppress the masses... Neither Somare, Chan, Wingti, Namaliu, Momis nor their other counterparts are nationalists. All our politicians from national to provincial level are puppets for the foreign capitalists...."  

This is the fundamental problem that we, as Papua New Guineans, need to address.