BY ARTHUR WILLIAMS*

QUITE A FEW DECADES ago PNG started logging for export revenue rather than building homes for its people or making furniture. It was explained at the time that commercial logging would benefit the nation as well as the communities that allowed it on their land.

In the 1980s, Pedi Anis, one time Premier and now entrepreneur and friend of the Asian loggers, told the citizens of Lavongai Island that the only way forward for development was to embrace timber felling (despite knowing it was a very poorly regulated industry).

We were told that logging would bring roads, institutional buildings like schools and aid posts, and many hectares of cocoa trees.

Now Pedi refutes the tale of selling his ancestral island to an Asian company by writing in the press that “poverty Rules on Lavongai … services run down … no economic activity…”

He failed to address what had happened to the island from 30 years of timber deals.

Renowned economists tell poor nations they can use their rich resources to kick start economic development. I was taught years ago that the key to successfully developing local industry was to identify a cheap source of fuel.

So nations like PNG were told to allow exploitation of oil wealth. It happened but, alas, PNG’s leadership allowed exploiting companies to dictate the terms of the deals and so PNG does not have a cheap source of fuel despite the black stuff being abundant in its ground and when millions of barrels have been exported.

Will the same thing happen with the LNG project? I predict it will, and nascent companies that could be developed on cheap oil and gas will never see the light of day. As someone posted elsewhere in PNG Attitude: ‘The expected leap in values of energy will largely benefit the oil cartels, not PNG.’

Resource development is being pushed by major multinationals trying to maximise profits for the lifetime of their managers and investors with no thought for the future generations in developing nations, where too much is being extracted - often too soon - and not for the best price.

Why is there this rush to deplete PNG’s natural wealth before it has enough experienced and knowledgeable citizens (and even good politicians) to ensure the majority of the wealth stays here, not in foreign banks?

Nautilus (Nawt-to-lus) undersea miner was praised by Chief of Chiefs Somare, who congratulated highlander John Pundari for completing the deal. It will see the mining of gold and copper found in high concentrations in massive sulphide deposits on the sea floor in 1,600 metres of water.

Each year, 1.3 million tonnes of ore will be cut from the seafloor and pumped to the surface in seawater slurry.  There, it will be dewatered before being moved onshore for processing.

It seems to a simpleton like me that a huge amount of dirty waste products will be produced by this unique project that will see New Ireland waters being polluted and fish stocks degraded with perhaps a terrible unknown impact on coastal communities around Solwara1.

Then comes more theory: like how detrimental it would be to have all the income from PNG’s resource projects brought on shore. I searched for a simple explanation why this was considered most beneficial for PNG. It set me wondering why the wealthy developed nations are happy to keep their money in their own banks and not send it overseas.

The now deceased Lavongai Council President once remarked to a mining warden meeting: “Olsem wanem. Dispela samting kapa o wel insait long graun emi no bilong nau tasol emi no savi kaikai na dring. Emi bin stap long taim tumbuna inap nau. Larim istap pastaim na bihain taim mipela iet inap long divelopim long gutpela fasin inap long halivim olgera man meri wantaim!”

[“What’s this all about? This resources in the ground do not just belong to the present. They don’t eat or drink. They’ve been been there from ancient times until today. Leave them there until we’re ready to properly exploit them in everybody’s interests.”]

Amen, my old friend and grassroots mentor.

* Spotted on PNG Attitude