New Act challenged in court

THE Government’s new law to prevent landowners complaining about environment damage from major resource projects is being challenged in court.
Lawyers landowners who began a legal suit against the Ramu nickel project filed documents in the Supreme Court last Thursday to contest the constitutionality of the environment law amendments rushed through Parliament in the last gasp of the sitting on May 28.
Controversial figure Noel Anjo was reported arrested by police in Goroka yesterday at a public forum on the law change. Debate has been raging publicly since the Parliament action.
Tiffany Nonggorr, lawyer for landowners, says the amendment Act breaches four sections of the National Constitution and is unconstitutional.
Referring to Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare’s statement in the Post-Courier yesterday, she said: “It is clear the Prime Minister has received bad advice on the effects of the Environment (Amendment) Act 2010 and we suggest he reads the new Act for himself.’’
She said the changes, to become law at the next sitting of Parliament, would give absolute power to the Environment Director to approve past, present or future environmental harm and free developers of liability.
That power and the director’s decision were not “reviewable or challengeable’’ in a court of law and the landowners would not be able to sue for compensation for environmental harm or to stop any future harm.
Ms Nonggorr said: “The landowners do not even have to be told about the decision and there is no opportunity for them to be heard on the decision before the Director makes it.’’
She said the landowners had been stripped of their common law and customary rights to go to court to seek protection or to get compensation from environmental harm that was allowed by the Director.
Ms Nonggorr said the reference was filed in the court registry last Thursday by the Rai Coast Landowner (plaintiffs in the Ramu nickel tailings injunction case) and served on the Attorney General on the same day.
Two top legal advisers to the Government said in the Post-Courier the day before the reference was filed that the amendments did not deprive landowners of their rights to sue for damages in court.
“Those rights remain,’’ Attorney General Lawrence Kalinoe said. But the permit holders’ rights must also be protected, he said. He was supported by Solicitor General Neville Devete.


By Noel Pascoe
Post Courier
Tuesday 8 June, 2010