By Peter Kranz*

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT of self-congratulation in the Australian media about the proposed Asia-Pacific free trade agreement.

But has anyone considered the fine print, and the effect this may have on smaller countries like PNG?

One aspect of the proposal - so far overlooked - is the tightening of corporate interests and increasing their power to sue governments over restrictions on their operations.

APEC the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum starts this coming Sunday in Hawaii but another meeting to draw attention to the economies of the Pacific called Moana Nui is also taking place in Honolulu, reports Radio Australia

Convenor of the alternative conference is Professor John Osorio, a professor of history at the Center for Hawaiin Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Presenter:Geraldine Coutts
Speaker:Professor John Osorio, convenor, alternative APEC conference, Hawaii

Fr. Ed Meli, MSC*

It seems to me that New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPOL) is highly acclaimed by the World Economic Forum from purely economic point of view. I stand to be corrected but if I am not mistaken, a certain law guarding people's rights to their land and virgin forests in PNG, prohibits Oil Palm Companies to clear virgin forests to plant oil palm.