Three recent announcements show very clearly that PEOPLE = POWER = CHANGE.

Last Monday the Prime Minister dumped plans for an expensive semi-private super-hospital. The K500 million project had drawn widespread criticism because it would take further resources away from PNG's dilapidated provincial hospitals and rural health facilities and would only be accessible to a tiny minority of the population.

The project was heavily criticised on internet blogs like pngexposed and in the letters pages of the newspapers. Individuals also took to emailing the Health Minister and forwarding him copies of the comments being posted on the internet and many health professionals spoke out.

In making his announcement that the hospital would be shelved the Prime Minister said he had been 'following the public debate'.

This week it has been announced that PNG's new mobile phone lottery has been suspended. The new lottery has been widely criticized by civil society groups concerned by the lottery's appeal and accesibility to children.

ACT NOW! was one of the first to voice its concerns on the internet and there were plenty of others who spoke out through blog articles, letters to the newspapers and media releases.

Following ACT NOW!'s complaints to the Australian Stock Exchange and Investments and Securities Commission, mining company Highlands Pacific has come clean and informed its investors that production from its Ramu nickel mine cannot begin until a court dispute with local landowners over its marine waste dumping plans is resolved.

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ACT NOW! is committed to bringing together people to take action on the issues that matter to us all and bringing about real change.

What has happened to the super hospital and the mobile phone lottery illustrate that together we can make change happen - so never doubt the power of your voice and the effectiveness of taking a small step such as posting a comment on the internet, sending an email or writing to the newspaper.