Showing posts with label 2000 Environment Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2000 Environment Act. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Environment Vandals
The opposition leader is absolutely right by saying in the article on National Newspaper today that what the government did in changing the Environment Act is Environment Vandals. It is very encouraging and promising to hear that from the opposition leader. We call on the opposition to do every bit in ensuring that all the members of the opposition including others in government to revoke these changes in the next parliament session this month. This is now a test if they opposition can do this. It will show to the people whether the opposition is really genuine in what it says.
Friday, June 11, 2010
CHINA PROHIBITS DEEPSEA TAILINGS PLACEMENT (DSTP) IN ITS WATERS; WHY PNG?
Why is the Ramu Nickel Mine (RNM) a Chinese State owned company allowed by the government of PNG to dump its waste into the sea when it is ILLEGAL in China? Are the people of Raicoast where RNM plans to dump it’s waste not humans? Are they second class citizens?
Any country that bans dumping of waste into the sea KNOWS it will cause ecological disaster. If China is one of them then there is no point in using DSTP in PNG. The RNM should look at other options of waste disposal mechanisms. Land based option is the way to go; if not shift the waste to China and dump it there, not in PNG. If RNM argues that it can not build a dam because of frequent seismic activity in PNG then why is Morobe Mines building dams in its operation sites in Bulolo and Wau? Is it simply an excuse by RNM to give as it will coast a lot of money for building a dam?
The government of PNG should also consider its marine pollution laws by the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority. These laws protect MARINE LIFE and the PEOPLE from dumping waste into the sea. Regardless of these laws, the government of PNG amends the Environmental Act 2000 to allow companies to do whatever they want to do without consultation, approval and interference by resource-owners. What kind of government do we have?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea in Madang
The Prime Minister (PM) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) met with the landowners affected by the Ramu Nickel Mine (RNM) in Madang yesterday at the provincial headquarters.
The PM maintained his position that the RNM should still go ahead despite landowners of Raicoast paying the price. He simply does not cares if the lives of the people of Raicoast are going to be severely affected when the Ramu Mine dumps 100 million tones of tailings per annum into the sea at Astrolabe Bay. This is injustice and a total slap on the face of the people of Raicoast who petitioned the government in early May.
The Governor of Madang’s main message was the current court injunction by the people of Raicoast against the government of PNG and Ramu Nico Management (MCC) prevents the company to proceed with its operation. In response, the PM and the Governor of Madang were blasted by Sama Mellambo, the 5th Plaintiff of the current court case. Mr. Mellambo strongly stated that the people of Raicoast were NOT AGAINST the operations of MCC; they SIMPLY DO NOT WANT the company to dump its waste directly into their waters. There were 4 options of waste disposal systems that the government and MCC looked at in the initial stages of the project and Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) was one of them. Three of these options were land based. They chose DSTP as it was cheaper to construct, easy to construct as well as decommission when the project ends. Sama concluded by saying that while most people at Krumbukare where the RNM will do its extraction are eager for the company to begin full operation, his people on the coast will end up dealing with the mine’s waste.
On behalf of people of Raicoast, the Ward Councilor of Bongu Village raised his concern that his people gave a petition signed by 7,500 people to the government in early May. The government did not respond to this petition though it was given 21 days. Instead the government went behind their backs and amended the Environment Act 2000 to simply get around the current injunction by the landowners against dumping of waste by MCC to the sea and blasting of their reefs.
The government is desperate and its back is against the wall. It is running out of ideas on how to deal with the issue on hand that is why the PM had to meet with landowners on the ground.
Regardless of the PM’s intervention, the people of Raicoast stand firm in their position of NO DUMPING OF MINE WASTE INTO THEIR WATERS!
Monday, June 7, 2010
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
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
Thursday, June 3, 2010
LAND Is Our HOPE
LAND, to a Melanesian and to a Papua New Guinean is, L..I..F..E. This is the equation; period!
You talk about land - you touch peoples’ hearts; you even think about land - you connect with peoples’ inner being and when you use peoples’ land - you endanger people’s life support system. You play with fire if you mess around with land in Papua New Guinea. You will pay DEARLY if you do that!
Land is passed on from generations to generations. Thousands and thousands of years, people have held on to their land. Land is NEATLY INTERWOVEN with peoples’ culture. You cannot separate the two. Land is SPECIAL; it is peoples’ LIFELINE; it is also peoples’ IDENTITY AND SENSE OF BELONGING. This is the BOND that Papua New Guineans that have passed away, including those that are still alive today as well as those unborn once had, have and will still have with their land. This is their guarantee to survival. Some of the connections that the people have with their land are NOT easily NOTICEABLE by an untrained foreign eye.
Outside agencies such as the World Bank and others have always and are still keeping their eyes and interests on the peoples’ land. Time and again, they have attempted to free up peoples’ customary land for development but encountered heavy resistance from the people. These were the attempts by outsiders, BUT LOOK! Who is now trying to do the same thing? It’s the people’s elected government of the day under the leadership of National Alliance (NA) currently led by Somare who always claims to be the father of the nation. Seriously, is he really the father of the nations? Ooooh gossh!!!!
It is our own government who is now taking peoples’ power and rights over their land and given them to multinational corporations. This took place last week. It was down in a rush. These are the very rights and powers guaranteed by the constitution that were stripped last week in the recent changes to the Environment Act 2000. This is a slap on the peoples’ face.
Now what kind of government do we have that suddenly forgets those that gave her the recognition and mandate to govern this country? What kind of government do we have that strips rights and powers away from its people and hands them over on a golden plate to foreign multinational corporations? Do we expect this from a leader that claims to be the father of the nations?
We cannot point fingers at outsiders now. It is our own people that are taking advantage of us. Multinational corporations now have the power to control development on our land. Why can’t the government simply assist our people to develop their resources at their own terms? We have all the natural resources; we just need to develop our human resources so we can develop our own resources. What’s so hard about it?
Papua New Guinea is one of those very few countries where people still hold customary rights to their land. When are we going to learn from other developed countries? Are those people in developed countries much more happy and satisfied with life? Where in the world do you see most people sleeping on the streets? Where do you see most people dispossessed and alienated from their land? Where do you see most peoples’ relationships in despair and loneliness? Where do you see most people that work their guts out and become slaves in factories so they can have food on the table? Is this the kind of life we want? Is this where we want Papua New Guineans to end up in?
I appeal to all Papua New Guineans to be on the streets now. Now that our leaders have changed the Environment Act at all costs, we need to make them revoke the recent changes. There is no time to waste. Put pressure on your leaders, in the next parliament session they have to undo what they have done! Enough is enough; we don’t want to be like countries in Africa that have lost their land. We don’t want to be like the indigenous people of Australia and New Zealand that have also lost their land and find it very difficult to get it back. Remember once the egg is broken, you will NEVER EVER shape it back to its original form, no matter how hard you try.
You talk about land - you touch peoples’ hearts; you even think about land - you connect with peoples’ inner being and when you use peoples’ land - you endanger people’s life support system. You play with fire if you mess around with land in Papua New Guinea. You will pay DEARLY if you do that!
Land is passed on from generations to generations. Thousands and thousands of years, people have held on to their land. Land is NEATLY INTERWOVEN with peoples’ culture. You cannot separate the two. Land is SPECIAL; it is peoples’ LIFELINE; it is also peoples’ IDENTITY AND SENSE OF BELONGING. This is the BOND that Papua New Guineans that have passed away, including those that are still alive today as well as those unborn once had, have and will still have with their land. This is their guarantee to survival. Some of the connections that the people have with their land are NOT easily NOTICEABLE by an untrained foreign eye.
Outside agencies such as the World Bank and others have always and are still keeping their eyes and interests on the peoples’ land. Time and again, they have attempted to free up peoples’ customary land for development but encountered heavy resistance from the people. These were the attempts by outsiders, BUT LOOK! Who is now trying to do the same thing? It’s the people’s elected government of the day under the leadership of National Alliance (NA) currently led by Somare who always claims to be the father of the nation. Seriously, is he really the father of the nations? Ooooh gossh!!!!
It is our own government who is now taking peoples’ power and rights over their land and given them to multinational corporations. This took place last week. It was down in a rush. These are the very rights and powers guaranteed by the constitution that were stripped last week in the recent changes to the Environment Act 2000. This is a slap on the peoples’ face.
Now what kind of government do we have that suddenly forgets those that gave her the recognition and mandate to govern this country? What kind of government do we have that strips rights and powers away from its people and hands them over on a golden plate to foreign multinational corporations? Do we expect this from a leader that claims to be the father of the nations?
We cannot point fingers at outsiders now. It is our own people that are taking advantage of us. Multinational corporations now have the power to control development on our land. Why can’t the government simply assist our people to develop their resources at their own terms? We have all the natural resources; we just need to develop our human resources so we can develop our own resources. What’s so hard about it?
Papua New Guinea is one of those very few countries where people still hold customary rights to their land. When are we going to learn from other developed countries? Are those people in developed countries much more happy and satisfied with life? Where in the world do you see most people sleeping on the streets? Where do you see most people dispossessed and alienated from their land? Where do you see most peoples’ relationships in despair and loneliness? Where do you see most people that work their guts out and become slaves in factories so they can have food on the table? Is this the kind of life we want? Is this where we want Papua New Guineans to end up in?
I appeal to all Papua New Guineans to be on the streets now. Now that our leaders have changed the Environment Act at all costs, we need to make them revoke the recent changes. There is no time to waste. Put pressure on your leaders, in the next parliament session they have to undo what they have done! Enough is enough; we don’t want to be like countries in Africa that have lost their land. We don’t want to be like the indigenous people of Australia and New Zealand that have also lost their land and find it very difficult to get it back. Remember once the egg is broken, you will NEVER EVER shape it back to its original form, no matter how hard you try.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Amendment in the 2000 Environment Act
The government of Papua New Guinea made amendments to the current Environment Act on 27 May 2010. The people need to put immediate pressure on the Speaker of Parliament not to certify this amendment. If we don’t the end result will be:
1. The government has taken away landowners traditional rights over their land.
2. The government has taken away landowners legal rights over their land.
3. The government has said to Chinese and Exxon Mobil come to Papua New Guinea (PNG), do what BP has done in the Gulf of Mexico, and we will protect you from any legal liability whatsoever.
4. It is unconstitutional, undemocratic, an abuse of human rights and it is all because the Chinese and the Americans have captured the government and Somare and his Ministers are behaving like puppets.
5. It will apply to all new projects anywhere in PNG.
The people of PNG must ACT NOW! and tell the government NO! This is NOT acceptable.
1. The government has taken away landowners traditional rights over their land.
2. The government has taken away landowners legal rights over their land.
3. The government has said to Chinese and Exxon Mobil come to Papua New Guinea (PNG), do what BP has done in the Gulf of Mexico, and we will protect you from any legal liability whatsoever.
4. It is unconstitutional, undemocratic, an abuse of human rights and it is all because the Chinese and the Americans have captured the government and Somare and his Ministers are behaving like puppets.
5. It will apply to all new projects anywhere in PNG.
The people of PNG must ACT NOW! and tell the government NO! This is NOT acceptable.
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