Marape v O’Neill

By REBECCA KUKU and HELEN TARAWA - The National

PRIME Minister James Marape has stressed that his “Move to the Opposition” ultimatum on Tuesday was aimed at the People’s National Congress (PNC) party and Peter O’Neill.
“There is no longer a PNC-led Government. The Government is now led by Pangu Pati.
“So as the leading party, Pangu is showing PNC and its party leader and former premier Peter O’Neill the (political) direction to relocate.
“We are making it clear that Pangu is detaching itself from the PNC,” he added.
Marape made the comments yesterday when The National asked if there was any ultimatum for PNC members, who were ministers, to leave their party.
He said ministers, PNC Members of Parliament (MPs) and members could choose to remain but as a party, Pangu was detaching itself from PNC.
“I have made it public knowledge that we are not here to run PNC’s interest or play second fiddle to PNC. So, party to party, we are detaching ourselves from PNC, especially from O’Neill,” he added.
Marape said it was up to PNC to decide what to do but “we’ve told them to go to the Opposition side (in Parliament)”.
“For the individual cases of ministers and members, they are welcome to choose to stay or move with the party,” he said, adding that “if they decide to stay, I will not kick them out”.
“Because our government is not based on parties. Take for example, the way I was voted as PM, I was supported by MPs from both sides of the political divide.
“And I have (to date) also invited two leaders who did not vote for me to join my Cabinet. So our Government is crossing party lines, we do not intend to be like past governments when the Cabinet members were appointed from a dominant party (in the Government caucus).”
Marape said it was basically about finding the best candidates to do the job.
“It is about bringing like-minded leaders who are ready to put the nation’s interest before their party and personal interests, regardless of which party they come from.
“So the PNC members in Government are welcomed to make their own decisions, but the Pangu-led Government is making it clear to all that we are now detaching ourselves from the PNC and O’Neill,” he added.
Earlier, Marape also spoke to The National saying: “The Government will respect individual leaders and MPs on their decision. The leaders will decide for themselves on which side of the House (Parliament) they wish to be.
“They have every right to make their own judgments, I have no influence in those party board room discussions. I made statements on behalf of the greater coalition we have, so we will let it rest with that.
“The Pangu Pati against the PNC has been declared. Individual members decide for themselves,” he added.
Parliament Speaker Job Pomat, a PNC member, said: “I support the Marape-Steven Government.
“I am the Speaker but I am also a member of PNC and will remain in the party and support the Government,” he added.
Another PNC member, Public Service Minister Westly Nukundj said he would serve the current PM and the Government of the day regardless of party affiliations.
“For us it is not about the political parties, it’s about the Government. And, we all remain committed to Marape. We voted him and we will support him,” Nukundj said.
“It is like-minded leaders coming together to run the country under a new leadership. Our position is we are committed to the current leadership and current Government.
“It is not just me but all the ministers.”

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/marape-v-oneill/

PPL boss quits after 20 months

Posted on The National

PNG Power Ltd (PPL) acting managing director Carolyn Blacklock quit her job yesterday saying that she was making way for a more productive and healthy relationship with the Government.
In a letter to her team, she said in recent months: “PNG Power had suffered badly from lack of payment for electricity from our largest customer and shareholder the Government”.
Blacklock said PNG Power under her leadership for 20 months had been unable to achieve dispatching power from the commissioned low cost, clean gas-fired NiuPower Power Station.
“As a result, our costs have remained high and we are unable to sustain the double impact of continuing higher costs due to the failure to dispatch from NiuPower and Government not paying its way for electricity.
“I have made a very hard but strategic decision to stand down in the hope it allows relations between PNG Power and our shareholder to normalise and thus allow the reform of our company to continue.
“You have proven that when good people put their heads together, treat each other with care and respect and work hard, anything is possible.
“A change of the scale we have underway requires strong leadership from the board and management but it also requires collaboration and genuine intent from all of you, our customers, development partners, financiers and suppliers.
“You are all trusted to deliver. I am very proud of each little and large effort you have made as individuals and team to make PNG Power a better company.
PPL board chairman Peter Nupiri, who announced Blacklock’s resignation, told The National that she had stepped down as the acting managing director after being appointed by the O’Neill-government in January last year.
He said the board would meet soon to appoint an acting chief executive officer in the interim while recruitment would start for a replacement.
Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari in a statement last night, said: “I am not surprised with Carolyn’s blame game over her resignation.
“She is known to be involved in corporate and local politics and has a habit of undermining established processes and people in Government at all levels.”
Lupari claimed Blacklock undermined the Dino Power Project, owned by landowners from Southern Highlands, Hela, Gulf Western and Central from day one.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/ppl-boss-quits-after-20-months/

Scholarship recipients prepare for studies in China

Posted on The National

TWO students from Imbonggu in Southern Highlands say they are ready to study in China and face the new challenge.
Roland Kepikiya and Freddy David, were among the 34 recipients (26 men and eight women) from Papua New Guinea selected to pursue their studies in China on Chinese government scholarships.
Kepikiya, 20, told The National last Thursday during their scholarship presentation in Port Moresby that he aimed to be an economist and hoped getting the scholarship to China would help him achieve that goal.
He said after completing grade 12 at the Mt Hagen Park Secondary School in Western Highlands, he was selected to take up external studies in business at the University of PNG (UPNG).
“Compared to UPNG internal studies, external studies is very expensive and as a student with financial issues, I didn’t have money to pay for a single course,” he said.
“Considering the problem, I saw the Chinese government scholarship programme in the newspaper so I applied for bachelor in economics.
“Being one of the 34 students who won the scholarship, I am very happy and ready to meet the challenges, especially as it will be my first time to be outside of PNG,” he said.
Kepikiya said he wanted to work with the National Government after completing his studies in China.
“It was through them (Government) that we got the chance to pursue our education in another country,” he said.
“I want to give back to the Government and the people of PNG.”
David, 23, who completed grade 12 at Tusbab Secondary School in Madang, told The National that when he came to Port Moresby, a relative informed him about the scholarship so he applied.
“I was a science student in high school and had the ambition to become a health worker,” he said.
“When the opportunity came I went ahead and applied to study basic medicine in China.
“After completing my studies I want to bring back the knowledge to PNG, especially Imbonggu and help deliver services.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/scholarship-recipients-prepare-for-studies-in-china/

Opportunity of a lifetime

By PETER ESILA - The National

AN 18-year-old from remote Oksapmin in the Telefomin district of West Sepik, will study in China, thanks to a Chinese government scholarship.
Caleb Frank, along with 25 other Papua New Guineans, received their scholarship at a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Port Moresby on Friday.
“I am thankful for such a golden opportunity,” Frank told The National.
Frank did all is schooling in Oksapmin and in the last two years in Aitape.
He was the dux while doing science at the St Ignatius Secondary School in Aitape in 2016 and applied for mechanical engineering at the University of Technology but was not selected.
“I was disappointed when not selected and was looking for ways to get in,” he said.
He leant of the scholarship through his brother and applied for one in February.
“When this scholarship came in, it was sent from heaven. I was so happy that God  made a way for me to come in.”
Frank will spend the first year studying Chinese language at the Tongji University in Shanghai and will spend four years studying aeronautical engineering in Nanchang Hangkong University in the Jiangxi province.
“I would like to thank God almighty first, my family for financially supporting me and never gave up on me, the people at the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and the least the Chinese government for providing this scholarship package for Papua New Guinea students.”
Chinese Ambassador Xue Bing said over the last 14 years about 300 PNG students received scholarships from his government.
“Many of them have come back to the country, working in different departments and organisations and played an important role in the national construction and for the promotion of friendship between China and Papua New Guinea,” Bing told the recipients at the farewell reception at the Chinese Embassy.


Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/opportunity-of-a-lifetime/

PNC MPs will stay: O’Neill

Posted by The National

PEOPLE’S National Congress (PNC) Party leader Peter O’Neill yesterday claimed that all his 22 Members of Parliament (MPs) will remain with the party.
That will make PNC the biggest Opposition party in Parliament, with the position of seven other MPs who did not vote for James Marape as prime minister in June still unclear.
However, O’Neill’s claim that his party’s 22 MPs will remain loyal is doubtful as the positions of the eight ministers who are PNC members are also unclear.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Justin Tkatchenko, a PNC member, told The National yesterday: “I had made a commitment to support Marape as prime minister (PM) of Papua New Guinea.
“My commitment as Justin Tkatchenko Member for Moresby South is that I am supporting and will continue to support and commit to the current PM for the next two and a half years.”
But, Marape had said on Tuesday: “Any MP and ministers from the PNC who wish to remain in Government are encouraged to do so and team up with another political party.
“Any ministers from PNC who choose to remain in Government are encouraged to remain. But those who feel offended with this gesture of bringing in certain factions of the Opposition into the Government and wants to go with the PNC are (also) encouraged to do so.
“The removal of PNC is part of the cleaning process under the new Government. We want to do better and we have fought for a change of government.”
Should Marape stick to his words and action, Tkatchenko and seven minister aligned to PNC must quit their party to keep their Cabinet posts.
If the eight ministers remain in PNC, Marape is likely to drop them from his Cabinet, and do a major reshuffle to appoint new ministers.
O’Neill said all party members had resolved to remain with PNC including the eight ministers at a caucus meeting on Tuesday night.
“We met with all 22 MPs and resolved to remain with PNC. The ministerial appointments are the prerogative of the sitting prime minister,” he added.
The eight ministers from PNC are Works and Implementation Michael Nali, Immigration and Border Security Petrus Thomas, Labour and Industrial Relations Alfred Manase, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Soroi Eoe, Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology Nick Kuman, Public Service Westly Nukundj, Health and HIV/AIDS Elias Kapavore and Tkatchenko.
Again contradicting O’Neill, Tkatchenko said: “PNC had a caucus meeting in which all 22 (ministers) turned up … and they passed a resolution that we will support Marape right through to the next election.
“Whatever happens I will allow the prime minister to make the judgment on that. It’s about continuity, good governance and getting on with the job,” he said.
Tkatchenko said: “My ministry has done much work. We have already made very good inroads. I have no intention nor do I want to be part of this play-mongering, it is totally unnecessary. Like all the other PNC members, we made a commitment to support Marape as prime minister,” he stressed.
On Tuesday, Opposition MPs joined the Government following the appointment of Kavieng MP Ian Ling-Stuckey as Treasurer.
Opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch said in a statement that four of them were National Alliance (NA) members, except for Northern Governor Gary Juffa who is from the Peoples Movement for Change party.
The NA members were Namatanai MP Walter Schnaubelt, East Sepik Governor Allan Bird, North Fly MP James Donald and Ling-Stuckey.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/pnc-mps-will-stay-oneill/

PNG LNG production, loading curtailed by damage at facility: Oil Search

By Srijan Kanoi -S&P Global Platts 

The mooring system at the Oil Search operated Papua New Guinea production facility was reported to be damaged, causing loading and production disruptions, the company said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange Wednesday.

"As a precautionary measure, Oil Search temporarily suspended scheduled liquids loading last week. In addition, to extend the liquids storage available in the liquids export system, the company curtailed production from the Oil Search-operated oil fields and the PNG LNG operator partially reduced PNG LNG production," Oil Search said in the statement.

The company added that due to adverse weather and sea conditions in the Gulf of Papua, the inspection of the mooring system could not be carried out yet.

Oil Search said that they developed a temporary solution for safe berthing and loading of vessels at the facility, which enabled liquids loading to resume at a reduced rate from August 25.

LNG Vessel Kumul is currently anchored at Port Moresby since August 26, waiting to load a cargo from the PNG LNG facility, cFlow, Platts trade flow software showed.

No ships left the port between August 18 to August 25, the data showed. The last LNG vessel to load a cargo and sail from Port Moresby was Maran Gas Leto, which entered the port on August 23 and sailed on August 25, according to Platts cFlow.

Oil search said that they were working closely with the PNG plant operators to ramp up LNG production back to normal. However, they added that it was currently unclear whether it would be necessary to adjust their 2019 production estimate, due to the damaged mooring system and the resultant loading issues.

PNG's LNG facility has an annual nameplate capacity of 6.6 million mt of LNG, according S&P Global Platts Analytics.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/png-lng-production-loading-curtailed-by-damage-at-facility-oil-search/

ANNA AMOS TO REPRESENT PNG AT PACIFIC FASHION FUSION SHOW IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

By PNGFDW Media, Port Moresby

Textile fashion designer Anna Amos will represent PNG at the Pacific Fashion Fusion Show (PFFS) on 5 October 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Ms Amos will be accompanied by a representative of PNG Fashion & Design Week Ltd.

Janet Sios, Director/Founder of PNGFDW Ltd and Chair of the PNG Fashion Festival congratulated Ms Amos on her selection reiterating the platform’s commitment to embarking on meaningful partnerships to support and promote Papua New Guinean designers and their work.

“We are happy to have extended this platform’s network into New Zealand and we know that this is the start of a very fruitful partnership that will bring much good for our PNG designers. I thank Nora Swann and the brilliant team behind her at the Pacific Fusion Fashion Show for reaching out to PNGFDW Ltd and for giving PNG this opportunity to part of this amazing event.

“We hope that through this partnership, more PNG designers will embark on fashion exchange programs with our New Zealand counterparts in the future,” said Sios.

PNG Fashion & Design Week Ltd will also send three designers to Australia for the Pacific International Runway (PIR) Sydney in November, following the completion of the Inclusive Fashion Show in Port Moresby.

“Anna has a wealth of experience as a textile fashion designer and lecturer in textile design at the University of Papua New Guinea. Anna is an exemplary designer and ambassador for the cultural and creative industries in PNG I am certain she will represent this platform and PNG’s budding fashion industry with distinction at the PFFS 2019.

Models for the Inclusive Fashion Show wearing AA Tribal from Anna Amos

“Anna successfully led the PNG Fashion Festival skills development and capacity building programs in Lae, Kokopo and Port Moresby training up to 309 aspiring designers. She and fellow-designer Tabu Pelei Warupi did a fantastic job teaching and sharing their knowledge and expertise with upcoming designers.

“Anna has blessed and enriched so many lives out there through her work. She is so passionate about helping other designers, especially the emerging and those in rural communities and she has transformed the lives of participants this year. With that said, on behalf of the PNGFDW Ltd team and the organizing committee of the PNG Fashion Festival, I wish Anna the very best in her preparations for her trip and I know that she will do this platform and this country proud,” said Sios.

Anna Amos (right) with Tabu Pelei Warupi in Kokopo

Pacific Fashion Fusion Show 2019 is themed ‘fashion factory’ acknowledging the history of families that migrated to Aotearoa (New Zealand. Aotearoa is the Maori name for the country of New Zealand meaning “land of the long white cloud”. According to Maori folklore, the discovery of Aotearoa (New Zealand) was made by the great Polynesian navigator Kupe who came from Hawaiiki, the mythical ancestral homeland of the Māori.

“This year we embark on a journey that looks back in history when families migrated to Aotearoa in search of a better future. The night’s theme of “Fashion Factory” acknowledges where it all began, working endless days and nights during the industrial revolution to provide for families. Inspiration is drawn from the stories of our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents to take us on their journey. We will celebrate their successes with gratitude.” –PFFS 2019

Go to this link for more: https://pngfashiondesign.com/anna-amos-to-represent-png-at-pacific-fashion-fusion-show-in-auckland-new-zealand?fbclid=IwAR3UU7plYnbdQ4zxjdTrJkyT_cd0Dbvn89-QQ2vLn_933qZcx_rdJtXTYlM

Chinese-owned nickel plant spills waste into Papua New Guinea bay

By Melanie Burton and Tom Daly - Reuters

Waste from a nickel plant in Papua New Guinea owned by Metallurgical Corporation of China spilled into the adjacent Basamuk Bay over the weekend, three sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Locals noticed red discharge clouding parts of the bay that is next to the Ramu Nickel plant in Madang, Papua New Guinea, a local indigenous person who took photographs of the spillage told Reuters. The man declined to be identified because of the topic’s sensitivity.

The head of Papua New Guinea’s Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) said that its officials, as well as those from PNG’s Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), had put together a preliminary report on the incident.

“MRA Mines Inspectors and CEPA Scientists have been at the site since last Monday to conduct investigations,” MRA Managing Director Jerry Garry told Reuters. He was unable to immediately offer additional details.

MCC, a unit of MinMetals, built and operates the plant, which produces nickel sulfate that is sent to China to the battery industry for electric vehicles.

MCC did not respond immediately to an official request for comment.

Nickel sulfate is increasingly used in batteries for electric vehicles as the world transitions to a greener and less polluting economy.

However, investors concerned with responsible sourcing have demanded greater sustainability in procurement and along the supply chain.

A source close to MCC said the incident did not have any adverse impact on the environment.

“There is no impact on marine life and fish. The mining and environment ministry went there but both found no problem,” the source said.

“There is no need to say anything about this. It was a small accident. There was a little leak … but it has no effect on the environment.”

However, Madang Governor Peter Yama called the Basamuk Bay slurry spillage “the worst environmental disaster in PNG history,” according to a report by the country’s Post-Courier newspaper on Monday.

He called for the government to immediately close down the project for its “poor environmental record,” the report said.

Yama also said that the plant’s mining license expired in April, the Post-Courier reported.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape has vowed since he came into power in May to reap more benefits for the impoverished nation from its huge oil, gas and mineral resources partly through mining license renegotiations.

The person who shared the pictures of the spill alleged that the nickel sulfate plant, which disposes of its treated mine waste by pumping them through a pipe into the deep ocean waters, has “destroyed many species of fishes and reefs” since starting up in 2012.

“That’s why as local traditional landowner citizen, I’m very concerned and have ill feelings to this developer and the government of PNG,” the person said.

Ramu produced a record 35,355 tonnes of nickel and 3,275 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate according to Canada-listed Cobalt 27 Capital which holds an 8.6% stake in the operation, and rights to some supply. The company’s Managing Director Anthony Milewski declined to comment on the incident.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/chinese-owned-nickel-plant-spills-waste-into-papua-new-guinea-bay/

Rai Coast MP Calls for closure of PNG’s Ramu Nickel Mine

NBC News / PNG Facts 

Member for Rai-Coast in Madang Province Peter Sapia is calling for the immediate closure of the Ramu Nickel Mine's Basamuk refinery.

Mr. Sapia's calls follow several images which went viral on social media Facebook, showing the sea's color turning a different shade of red, brown and orange.

He says this is clearly a breach of the company's environmental permit and therefore they shouldn't be allowed to operate there anymore.

Mr. Sapia who directed his question to Minister for Environment of Conservation Geoffrey Kama today in Parliament says as local MP, he wants the Government to go back to the table and negotiate the future of the mine.

“Mr. Speaker according to the Ramu Nickel environment plan, the tailings waste will be processed properly before being discharged into the sea and that there will be zero leakage or spillage.

“I have already engaged an independent mining expert to be on site to conduct a quick inspection which I will present next week.

"Mr. Speaker environmental plans are presented to the Conservation Environment and Protection Authority before any environmental permit is granted to any mine to operate.

“Ramu Nickel has now breached the environmental permit and therefore cannot operate anymore – profit must not be prioritized at the expense of the environment,” Mr. Sapia said.

Meantime Environment and Conservation Minister Geoffrey Kama in response, says he has engaged specialists working in the Department of Mining and they are in the area currently assessing the situation.

Mr. Kama says the suspected spill occurred on Saturday 24th August.

“Em spill tasol, long graun na wara mix I kam em spill na igo insait.”

"Nau ol lain i wok long em I stap.

"They will give me back the report and I am scheduled to go there next Monday.

Mi go long hap na taim mipla i lukim situation em i bagarap, yes bai umi pasim displa main.

"Tasol bai umi lukim ripot na bai umi toktok, mi hamamas olsem man I gat pawa long pasim – Chief Mine Inspector em I stap pinis long hap wantaim olgeta staff blong mi.

“So I kam bek na I go olsem wanem, bai mi kambek na toksave gen,” Kama i tok.

In November 2018, the landowners petitioned the National Government to 'stop the K5 billion project extension-' it is unclear what has become of that petition.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/rai-coast-mp-calls-for-closure-of-pngs-ramu-nickel-mine/

Investigate MRDC and Petroleum Resources Gobe

By Mack Lone Bolan - Post Courier

Taking back PNG also means ensuring that the politically connected do not out our laws – the case of MRDC.

It is quite alarming to witness that the Office of the Prime Minister and other responsible agencies of government have not found it necessary to inquire into what is unfolding at the MRDC and inform the public to reduce their apprehensions about the government’s resolve on curbing corruption.

We have the chairman of the trustee company, the Petroleum Resources Gobe Ltd (PRG) Philip Kende and the managing director of the manager (MRDC) Mr Augustine Mano engaged in open war of words over a K30.3m which disappeared just weeks before the recent vote of no confidence and there is plenty of speculation surrounding it.

The MRDC is just the manager of the trustee and therefore does not have the authority to be involved in anything relating to policies over the GLC process and the amendments to the provisions of the Oil and Gas Act on the management of the trust funds.

The Chief Secretary to Government, Isaac Lupari, is the chairman of the board of the manager – MRDC. He would be in a unique position to assist the government and inform the project area landowners what the truth is about the missing millions of kina not only the K30.3m but also the K200m reported in the newspapers in December last year.

In the interest of fairness, both men (Kende and Mano) ought to be sidelined and allow the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Squad led by Chief Superintendent Mathew Damaru with his Officers to have free access to the records and interview staff at the MRDC to settle these things quickly.

The Minister for Petroleum would need to ensure that the Department of Petroleum is still responsible for policy issues in the sector and not stand by and have this function or parts of it performed by someone else such as overseeing the GLC process.

We would really like to believe that the days of “if you are politically connected, you can do anything” are gone but cannot begin to talk about “Taking Back PNG” when we still have an environment where the politically connected feel they can still continue to do anything.

Tok pisin bilong Waigani must stop. Commission and inducements for processing papers, clearing things, responding to correspondences and securing approvals etc. would have to be things of the past.

Only when we have overcome all of the above and more can we begin to feel that we are Taking Back PNG.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/investigate-mrdc-and-petroleum-resources-gobe/

PNG’s China and Australia loan requests

By Stephen Howes - DevPloicy Blogs 

Media reporting of Papua New Guinea’s efforts to access foreign loans to finance the government’s budget has been far from accurate or complete. But the efforts themselves are real. And they pose significant challenges for both the country’s suitors, China and Australia, and most importantly for PNG itself.

As reported in official PNG documents, PNG has been trying to obtain a loan from China since last year. The government is seeking K1 billion from China’s National Development Bank. In principle agreement was reached at APEC last year, but the deal is still not yet done. The sticking points are the interest rate, and that China normally lends for projects, whereas PNG wants the money not be earmarked. It needs the loan to pay salary bills and interest. Given the length of time the negotiations have taken, it is not clear when or indeed if China will come to PNG’s aid.

It’s not that China never provides non-earmarked budget support, but it is certainly the exception rather than the rule. Given the difficulties PNG is experiencing in obtaining K1 billion from China, talk of China refinancing PNG’s K27 billion of government debt is fanciful.

What about Australia? Australia used to provide all its aid to PNG as budget support but that was phased out over the 1990s and discontinued by about 2000. PNG asked Australia to reconsider budget support in 2017. Australia said no then. That Australia has responded more positively this time round shows how things have changed. Australia, like China, is not predisposed to providing budget support, but does have a history of helping out at times of crisis – for example, during the East Asian crisis of the late 1990s. But Australia doesn’t go it alone. We get in behind an IMF or World Bank program, and that’s where the problem starts for PNG.

PNG is actually on a World Bank program, the first instalment of which was disbursed last year. But that program is badly off track. One of the main conditions is that PNG’s deficit (technically, its non-resource primary deficit) is meant to be falling. In 2018, the year in which the Bank program was negotiated, that deficit measure was meant to fall to 1% of GDP. Instead, it increased from 1.6% in 2017 to 2.8% in 2018 (Figure 11). Another key target is that the salary bill should not increase by more than 5% in any one year. Last year it increased by 19% (Table 11). Some of this was the payment of salary arrears, but even taking arrears out, it was a double-digit blowout.

However sensitive Australia is to China’s influence, there is simply no way that Australia would move forward with lending to PNG while the latter was in non-compliance with its World Bank program. That would undermine everything we say about the importance of multilateralism. Indeed, one would hope that the same thing is true of China. After all, China is also an important shareholder in the World Bank.

The PNG government is certainly facing a difficult fiscal situation. With revenue weak, it needs to borrow. But, more importantly, it needs to get serious about reform. This does not only mean improved fiscal performance. The underlying problem is the lack of economic growth. Reforms need to be put in place to address what the new PNG Prime Minister has called the “bleeding and struggling” economy, and what his new Treasurer has more diplomatically termed “very subdued domestic business conditions.” Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne has said that “the new Government [of PNG] is looking at a comprehensive reform program.” That’s encouraging. Perhaps after today’s Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum we’ll know more.  Comprehensive reform would unlock funding from numerous sources, not only Australia, but also, importantly, the International Monetary Fund. Without it, new foreign loans are not only less likely but also unlikely to make a difference.

Go to this link for more: https://www.devpolicy.org/png-china-and-australia-loan-20190826/

Australia sends largest ministerial delegation to PNG in years

Posted by Radio New Zealand

Australia is sending its largest ministerial delegation in more than a decade to Papua New Guinea as part of an annual bilateral forum.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne is leading the group of six cabinet ministers to take part in the 27th PNG-Australia Ministerial Forum today.

Ms Payne will co-chair the forum alongside her PNG counterpart Soroi Eoe.

The forum follows a July visit by PNG Prime Minister James Marape to Australia and comes hot on the heels of the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Tuvalu where Australia's interaction with regional leaders was controversial.

After the meeting Australia was called condescending by a number of Pacific leaders and its attitude was described as "neo-colonial"

However, Ms Payne said Australia's relationships with its Pacific neighbours remained deep and strong.

Go to this link for more: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/397471/australia-sends-largest-ministerial-delegation-to-png-in-years

Australian loan aims to keep Marape happy

By Phillip Coorey and Andrew Tillett - Financial Review

The Morrison government is set to extend a short-term loan to help Papua New Guinea refinance its debt, as the Pacific neighbour threatens to go to China or elsewhere for assistance.

A delegation of six ministers, including Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Foreign Minister Marise Payne, visited Port Moresby on Monday for talks, less than a week after PNG said publicly it wanted $1.5 billion from Australia.

It is understood PNG Prime Minister James Marape has walked back that number to about $300 million.

A senior government source said that while normally such countries would go to the World Bank or IMF looking for loan assistance, there was "a time issue'' involved, meaning PNG was in a hurry and would go to another country for the money.

Mr Marape confirmed this, telling the ABC: "Whether it is China, India or Australia – the cheapest help that we can get and the best help that we can get in terms of the loan – I'm in the business of refinancing my entire loan portfolio."

A government source said helping PNG via a loan was preferable because there would be no impact on the budget bottom line.

Canberra is open to considering PNG's request, with officials noting that Mr Marape, who became Prime Minister in late May, has emphasised making PNG more economically independent and improving trade relationships.

However, any loans would likely be offered on the proviso of PNG undertaking economic reforms, while long-term financing options also include the Asian Development Bank as well as the World Bank and IMF.

Lowy Institute Pacific Islands program director Jonathan Pryke said PNG's economy had been struggling since 2014 when a collapse in oil and gas prices meant resources projects did not deliver revenue, forcing the government to borrow to plug the budget hole.

The government owes 27 billion kina, or $11.8 million, with public debt making up about 30 per cent of its gross domestic product.

With PNG emerging as a battleground between Australia and China for influence, Mr Marape's office earlier this month said the government had asked Beijing for assistance with its debt but he later back-pedalled and gave assurances that other partners had been asked to help.

"It's been a slow-moving crisis for PNG. They've found it very heavy going to rein in expenditure and implement austerity over the last couple of years," Mr Pryke said.

He said PNG had borrowed at high interest rates from domestic banks and refinancing its loans would ease the strain of debt repayments, which now made up 15 per cent of government expenditure.

Interest on domestic treasury bills is 1.97 per cent for 63 days and 5.3 per cent for 364 days, while bonds are 8.1 per cent for two years and 11.98 per cent for 10 years.

But a stumbling block had been Port Moresby's unwillingness to undertake reforms, Mr Pryke said.

The World Bank had provided $US150 million ($222 million) but PNG's inadequate performance had led the bank to hold back on the second tranche.

The delegation of ministers, which also included Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, Pacific Minister Alex Hawke, Immigration Minister David Coleman and Assistant Trade and Investment Minister Mark Coulton, is the biggest Australian contingent in more than a decade to visit PNG.

Talks also progressed on elevating the relationship between PNG and Canberra to the status of a Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership, with an agreement expected to be signed later this year.

Go to this link for more: https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australian-loan-aims-to-keep-marape-happy-20190826-p52kp8

The changing dynamics of Australia, PNG and the Pacific

By WATNA MORI- The Interpreter

The visit by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Marape signalled a new chapter in a historical relationship.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison showed he was serious about the Pacific “step up” when he ensured that his first overseas visit was to the Solomon islands and the first foreign dignitary he invited to host was Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. The visit by Marape represented a significant shift in the Australia-PNG relationship, from a largely paternalistic one to one of equals.

Marape set the tone by announcing before his arrival that closing down Manus would be on his agenda, but China would not – that PNG under his leadership was ready to exercise its sovereignty on all matters, without bowing to Australian pressure. Morrison did not make the mistake of taking this lightly; instead, he chose to meet Marape eye-to-eye and show him in both words and action the prominence in which Australia now views its relationship with PNG.

The press statement following their official meeting on 22 July stated:

Prime Minister Marape’s visit to Australia marks the beginning of a new chapter for Australia and Papua New Guinea, as equal sovereign partners with a shared history and an ambitious vision for the future.

It made several announcements, most of them unsurprising: the funding for the electrification program committed to during APEC in November 2018, more funding for the PNG Police, a revisited secondary school scholarship program, and several strategic security announcements – a way of talking about China without talking about China. The tone of the press conference itself amicable and respectful, the power imbalance less obvious than on past occasions.

Morrison did not raise any concerns with Marape, at least not publicly, about the pending Papua-LNG gas project, in which Oil Search, listed on the ASX, is a major player. It was a question some might have thought relevant, but given the tone set by Marape, Morrison was again wise not to revert to the paternalistic approach of the past.

Marape went on to give a significant speech at the Lowy Institute on 25 July, setting out his policy platform for the first time since becoming PM. The contents of the speech and the hurdles Marape faces in executing his plans are well-discussed by my colleagues Jonathan Pryke and Shane Mcleod in a previous article.

Marape proposed a greater focus on the agriculture sector, creating a “food bowl for Asia”, and elevating Papua New Guineans from “rural entrapment”. He spoke frankly about the historical focus on extractive industries and its failure to deliver the development required or promised by both government and industry. And for the first time for a PNG prime minister, he spoke about environmental sustainability and climate change.

Marape reiterated that the government’s shift in policy focus should not alarm the extractive industries, a point he repeated at a lunch hosted for him the day after his Lowy speech. Further announcing that his policies would be officially released in September. Pacific Trade Invest’s Caleb Jarvis, who co-hosted the lunch with AusTrade, welcomed the focus on agriculture, emphasising its potential socio-economic impact, and he further highlighted other growth areas for PNG such as tourism and the tech sector.

All this didn’t prevent some in the media from sounding alarms for the extractive industries – almost justified when, after initial reports that PNG was ready to go ahead with the Papua-LNG project, the office of the Minister for Petroleum and Energy released a press statement on 15 August announcing that the state negotiating team was off to further negotiate the Papua-LNG project with Oil Search and Total, and that “the negotiations could work out well or even disastrously”.

The statement was released while Marape was in Tuvalu for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders meeting, joining the rest of the Pacific in taking Australia to task on climate change.

It’s unclear what Marape’s views are on the minister’s press statement and whether it was vetted by the PM’s office before being released, but its immediate effect was seen in Oil Search’s share value suffering a “stumble”. On the face of it, it seems that the Marape’s government’s motto of “take back PNG” is not yet consistently defined within his cabinet.

Marape, of course, is not the only one having issues with keeping his cabinet on message. Morrison’s seriousness in “stepping up” in the Pacific was severely challenged by the rest of the Blue Pacific at the PIF meeting on the issue of climate change. Adding a grenade into a brewing conflict that Morrison was struggling to handle diplomatically, his Deputy Prime Minister was recorded giving a speech condemning the Pacific Islands for burdening Australia with their climate-change demands. Deputy PM Michael McCormack stated that there was no question the Pacific would survive with all the aid Australia was giving them and their ability to come to Australia and “pick our fruit” under the Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme.

Marape has challenges on the home front in exacting his promises, but what he has already instigated is a change in the Australia-PNG relationship. The rest of the Pacific are also pushing for a different relationship with Australia. One of equal sovereign partners. One of a Blue Pacific. And that’s a tough pill to swallow for a country whose position in the region has never been seriously challenged since the end of colonisation.

Go to this link for more: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/changing-dynamics-australia-png-and-pacific