An NGO in Papua New Guinea says the Prime Minister's announcement that controversial land leases will be scrapped needs to be followed up with action.

Peter O'Neill has announced that Special Agriculture and Business Leases obtained illegally will be cancelled and provisions in the Land Act which allowed for SABLs to be granted, abolished.

He's acting on the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the SABLs which was presented to the government nearly a year ago.

Effrey Dademo from the NGO Act Now has been calling for the scrapping of the leases for a long time and says the Prime Minister has made similar promises in the past.

"Since then we've had three such promises made already, this is like the fourth one so we're not holding our breath just yet, we're calling on the prime minister to actually implement his promises and not just make those promises."

Effrey Dademo says the Prime Minister also needs to decide what to do with officials implicated in the report who are still working in the Lands Department.