Dear ACT NOW! supporter
It has been another disturbing week for democracy in Papua New Guinea.
It seems no-one but the Prime Minister and Governor General believe Paulias Matane's re-election as GG was fair or legal. It is reported even the Speaker of Parliament was told by his legal advisors the election process was a constitutional blunder and seriously flawed. But rather than following advice to refer the matter to the Supreme Court, the Speaker bowed to political pressure and announced Matane had been reappointed.
There was then the Attorney General's ludicrous edict that there should be no media coverage of the Environment Act amendments and no public demonstrations. Thankfully both the media and Madang landowners have completely ignored the edict. But the sinister side of this affair is the government 's apparent belief it has the power to direct the police and its willingness to try and shut down Constitutional freedoms - as Arnold Amet was caught on camera doing on Wednesday.
The Business Against Corruption Alliance has also highlighted the problems within our police force. It has called on the Police Commissioner to meet to discuss the harassment of lawyers and business employees by some officers. BACA has also expressed concern about the lack of transparency by government law and justice agencies in the execution of legal processes.
On a more positive note, the Madang Day of Protest against the Environment Act was a resounding success. You can view photos from the day and add your own personal comments to all those already posted. Your on-line petition now has over 750 signatures and the media about the changes just continues to grow.
There has also been an exciting new development on the ACT NOW! website with the addition of a dedicated Campaign section.
As well as updating the ACT NOW! website everyday with the latest news on major resource projects, like the Ramu mine and Exxon-Mobil LNG, and regularly publishing new blog articles we are constantly looking to improve the layout of the site and add new features.
The Campaign area includes all the latest information about your campaigns, background facts and analysis and the latest news reports.
We have also been able to use the website to make available the documents that have been released for public comment as part of the PNG Mineral Policy and Legislative Review. The government had been selling access to these at K400 a time - you can access them for free on the ACT NOW! website!
We are also hoping to announce a new and improved home page for the website very shortly which will link directly to the campaigns and provide a summary of the latest news.
Unfortunately these developments do come at a price and we rely on your financial support to make them possible. If you are able to assist by making a financial contribution then you can do that on-line or by emailing us. Every extra Kina really does help so please make a donation.
The ACT NOW! team