Media Releases

Minister must name cancelled SABL leases

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 10/10/2018 - 18:38

Community advocacy group ACT NOW! is calling on Lands Minister Justin Tkatchenko to name the Special Agriculture Business Leases he claims have been cancelled. 

“For the last five years we have heard numerous false claims and unfulfilled promises from the government about the cancellation of the leases”, says Campaign Coordinator Eddie Tanago. 

“While we welcome the information released by the Minister, the pubic simply cannot trust his numbers and he must reveal the names of the leases and other details".

Government’s ‘interim ICAC’ is not “Independent”

Submitted by ACTNOW on Mon, 08/10/2018 - 16:33

The government’s announcement of a so-called ’interim ICAC’ is an insult to the nation and an abuse of the ICAC name says community advocacy group ACT NOW!

ACT NOW! says an ICAC must be independent from government and free from any political interference, but, what the Prime Minister has announced, fundamentally fails both these tests.

Peter O’Neill and his government have been pledging to establish an ICAC since 2012 yet all that has been announced is a politically driven body set up to investigate political opponents.

Logging industry depriving PNG of millions in govt revenues  

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 06:37

Foreign owned logging companies could be defrauding the country of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues says community advocacy group ACT NOW!  It is calling for a moratorium on any further logging licences until there is a full and transparent investigation and the cancellation of all illegal SABL leases.

SABL Scandal Buried and Forgotten

Submitted by ACTNOW on Thu, 30/08/2018 - 04:50

The government has tried to bury and forget the SABL land grab scandal in which more than 5 million hectares of land has been stolen from rural communities.

It is using a well tested formula that we see employed almost every time a new corruption scandal is exposed:

  1.  First a long-drawn out official inquiry that is delayed by funding and other logistical problems.

  2.  Then a further delay before the inquiry findings are tabled in Parliament.

Corruption is O’Neill’s Biggest Failure says NGO

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 14/08/2018 - 04:45

It is six years since Prime Minister Peter O’Neill promised the country an Independent Commission Against Corruption. Yet that vision is no closer to being realised today than it was in 2012, says Community Advocacy group, ACT NOW!

“Peter O’Neill has totally failed to live up to his promises in both the 2012 and 2017 Alotau Accords that the government would establish an ICAC”, says Campaign Coordinator Eddie Tanago.

APEC warned PNG has poor record on food security

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 07/08/2018 - 07:14

Community advocacy group ACT NOW! is warning APEC delegates attending the current Food Security Week in Port Moresby that the Papua New Guinea government has a very poor record on protecting rural famers and supporting local agriculture.

“In PNG we have more than 1 million local farmers who feed more than 7 million people every day, yet the government continues to allow foreign corporations to steal their land for logging and oil palm plantations” says campaign coordinator Eddie Tanago.

West Pomio SABL Damages Assessment K2.4 billion

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 03/07/2018 - 06:54

Communities affected by three Special Agricuture Business Leases in the West Pomio District of East New Britain Province have assessed the economic damage caused by logging and oil palm planting at more than K2.4 billion.

The damages assessment has been compiled by seventeen communities that have lost 42,400 hectares of customary land under the Pomata, Ralopal and Nakiura leases.

Campaign Launch: Celebrating and Defending Customary Land

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 17/04/2018 - 09:50

ACT NOW! is today launching a new multi-media campaign titled 'Celebrating and Defending Customary Land'.

Why?

Well customary land is the most valuable asset available to most Papua New Guineans but its role and importance is often misunderstood or misrepresented, particularly by outsiders.

Too few people realise customary land supports an economy estimated to be worth K40 billion a year, provides jobs and incomes for 3 million farmers and provides housing and a sense of community for more than 7 million people.

SABL petition anniversary marks PNG's greatest ever scandal 

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 21/02/2018 - 05:45

Today is the first anniversary of the presentation of a 10,000 signature petition to the Department of Lands demanding the cancellation of the SABL leases. 2018, also marks five-years since the SABL Commission of Inquiry exposed the full extent of the illegal land grab, which affects more than 10% of the whole country.

But despite repeated promises from the O’Neill government to cancel the leases, stretching back to 2013, almost nothing has been done. 

APEC Minister Organising Huge New Land Grab

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 23/01/2018 - 06:49

APEC Minister Justin Tkatchenko’s plan to allow commercial banks to take customary land as security for loans is another huge land grab, says community advocacy group, ACT NOW!

“The government has yet to cancel all the illegal SABL leases, used to defraud communities of more than 5 million hectares of land. Instead, they are pushing ahead with plans for another land grab”, says Campaign Coordinator, Eddie Tanago.