Media Releases

In a Post-COVID World Govt. Must Drop Plans For Bankable Customary Land

On 02 Jul, 2020 By ACTNOW

With the COVID-19 pandemic still expanding across the globe, the PNG government is being urged to drop its plans to put customary land into the hands of commercial banks.

“The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated once again that customary land is a vital and irreplaceable resource for our families and communities”, says Campaign Manger, Eddie Tanago.

"It should be inconceivable that the government would put customary land at risk by allowing commercial banks to hold the title as security for financial loans".

Government must legislate on hidden company ownerships

On 18 Feb, 2020 By ACTNOW

The latest corruption scandal involving a government Minister and a foreign oil company emphasises once again the need for the government to legislate on hidden or ‘beneficial’ company ownerships says ACT NOW.

“Allowing people to register a company without revealing who are the real owners or beneficiaries creates a massive information vacuum that enables corruption and tax evasion to happen right under our noses” says Campaign Manager Eddie Tanago.

Government out of its depth on customary land

On 12 Feb, 2020 By ACTNOW

The Land Minister’s announcement of a new pilot project that will further disenfranchise customary landowners is part of a misguided promotion of private sector greed over people’s need for customary land for income generation, says community advocacy group ACT NOW!

Campaign Manager Eddie Tanago says "the government should be focused on empowering rural people to build resilient communities on their own land rather than serving the greed of foreign owned banks and big corporations".

Corruption costing billions and destroying the economy

On 13 Oct, 2019 By ACTNOW

The best way for Papua New Guinea to increase economic growth and boost the size of the economy is for the government to implement a comprehensive plan to tackle corruption.

This is the message from community advocacy group ACT NOW! which has published an analysis of the economic costs of corruption and the measures needed to defeat it.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

Government must release draft ICAC law

On 30 Apr, 2019 By ACTNOW

Community advocacy group ACT NOW! is again calling on the government to publicly release the draft ICAC law that it has promised will shortly be debated by Parliament.

ACT NOW! says there have been so many delays over the establishment of an Independent Commission Against Corruption that the government cannot be trusted not to have watered down the Commission’s powers and that it may end up as just another toothless tiger.

Government Land Summit is a new corporate land grab

On 20 Feb, 2019 By ACTNOW

The Government is plotting to grab more customary land and hand it to multi-national companies and the commercial banks, says community advocacy group ACT NOW!

“The government has been forced to stop issuing illegal SABL leases but now wants to use the National Land Summit as a cover to find new ways to ‘facilitate access to customary land’ for big business and the banks”, says campaign manger, Eddie Tanago.

Government must publish full list of SABL leases

On 22 Jan, 2019 By ACTNOW

It is one of the world’s biggest illegal land grabs, yet more than 5-years after the government promised to cancel the SABL leases and return the land to its customary owners, the people of Papua New Guinea are still waiting to hear which, if any, leases have been cancelled.

OECD to send auditors to assist Papua New Guinea’s crack down on tax evasion by loggers

On 29 Oct, 2018 By ACTNOW

International and national civil society groups have welcomed the announcement that international experts will support government authorities crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies in the forestry and fisheries sectors. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is sending auditors to Papua New Guinea early next year to work with officials from the Finance Department and Internal Revenue Commission, under its Tax Inspectors Without

New report highlights human rights abuses inherent in SABL land grab

On 15 Oct, 2018 By ACTNOW

The appalling human rights abuses being suffered by the victims of the huge SABL land-grab in Papua New Guinea are the focus of a new report published today.

The SABL Land Grab: Papua New Guinea’s Ongoing Human Rights Scandal highlights the devastating impacts on people living in rural communities and gives a voice to those who have suffered the illegal loss of their land to logging and oil-palm plantations.

Minister must name cancelled SABL leases

On 10 Oct, 2018 By ACTNOW

Community advocacy group ACT NOW! is calling on Lands Minister Justin Tkatchenko to name the Special Agriculture Business Leases he claims have been cancelled.

“For the last five years we have heard numerous false claims and unfulfilled promises from the government about the cancellation of the leases”, says Campaign Coordinator Eddie Tanago.

“While we welcome the information released by the Minister, the pubic simply cannot trust his numbers and he must reveal the names of the leases and other details".

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