Commission of Inquiry

ACT NOW! Campaign Update: More Success

There have been exciting developments on a number of issues on which ACT NOW! supporters have been making their voices heard; including the SABL land grab, violence against women and children, and the Environment Act amendments. You can find out more here:

SABL Land Grab

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Tearing at the soul of a fragile nation

By Jo Chandler*

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Prime Minister extends Commission of Inquiry

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says the government supports the Commission of Inquiry into Special Agriculture and Business Leases, launched this year, and has extended the timeframe from the Commission to complete its work by 5 months.


The inquiry was established by the former acting Prime Minister Sam Abal in July, for a period of three months and which was due to expire on Oct 25.

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CoI announces regional hearing dates

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Inquiry needs more time

The time frame of three-months for the Commission of Inquiry into SABL ends on October 21, but so much has yet to be done, reports the Post Courier.


The enormous number of irregularies discovered in many of the SABLs during preliminary findings as part of Terms of Reference (TOR) has seen 75 cases now before the Commission of Inquiry.


Since files were opened for mention two weeks ago, submitted evidence from all interested parties in the 75 SABL’s files revealed activities of; 


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Prelude to the Commission of Inquiry

By Roderick Kanama

Rod will be providing daily updates from the Commission of Inquiry on this blog from October 10, in this article he provides an overview of SABLs and the issues confronting the CoI.

Land acquisition for developmental purposes has been a Government policy since 1979 when the instrument for Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABL) was established, later incorporated into the Land Act in 1996. Its application had honourable intentions and was designed to achieve two main objectives;

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Police attack villagers protesting land grab

Reports from Rovang village in the Pomio area of East New Britain say that young men protesting against logging have been beaten by police with fan belts and tree branches, according to the PNG Exposed blog.

It is alleged that an aircraft from Tropic Air, operated by notorious Malaysian logging company Rimbunan Hijau, flew the police into Palmalmal from Kokopo. Kokopo police said they were not aware of this.

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Inquiry reveals many flaws

By Luana Paniu

Inconsistencies and flaws found during the preliminary stages of the Commission of Inquiry into the Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABL’s) found that almost all Departments lacked basic logistics, management and coordination to effectively carry out what was required of them. Findings also included lack of proper monitoring of officers and file movement, funding and manpower.

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Australian owns Emirau island

Emirau is an island in New Ireland province of PNG.
 Evidence at the SABL inquiry has emerged that Emirau and its surrounding waters are owned by an Australian, reports the Post Courier newspaper.


This is the result of an agreement signed on November 10, 2004 by former Kavieng MP Ben Micah and businessman Edward Carr, the counsel assiting the inquiry Paul Tusais said last week.


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