Amendment Act Challenged by Landowners

Ramu landowners to challenge law

A LANDOWNER group opposing the Ramu nickel mine deep sea tailing placement system at Basamuk, Madang, says it is going to court to seek an interpretation of the legality of the amended Environmental Law.
The group called a media conference in Port Moresby yesterday to announce its stand concerning the law.
It wants a Supreme Court interpretation on the rights of landowners and whether their livelihood would be deprived by the amended law.
Representatives George Ireng, Sama Meilombo, Gideon Sioba and Lynette Dawo said they were not against the project and developments taking place in their area.
Rather, they were concerned about the future generation whose environment might be destroyed by the amended law.
They said the government and developers should look at other wastes disposal alternatives like bag filling, dam, and dewatering facilities.
The group said it had copies of two independent reports, which revealed the possibility of environmental damages and their effects on the lives of the people.
One of the reports is from the Lutheran church while the other one is from the Scottish Association and Marine Sciences.
Both were engaged by the government.
Rai Coast MP James Gau said the Ramu mine is important to the Papua New Guinea economy
as well as the local economy because the people of Rai Coast had been neglected of basic
services for the past 30 years.
Gau said so far there was no evidence to show that deep sea tailings system would cause pollution and environmental pollution.
“Critics must give us this damaging evidence to convince us that we should look for other options,” Gau said.
He added that, “if they (critics) want to block the mine operating and developing in our area, then they must provide alternate source for the people of Rai Coast to earn money.
“If they cannot provide alternatives to better our lives, then they should leave us alone,” he said.

Source:
By JEFFREY ELAPA
The National, 4 June 2010