Trading Bougainville Copper (ADRs) 867948

Der Kläger in PNG ist ggfls. bewaffnet, der hier in Deutschland vermutlich eher nicht. ;-)

Exkurs: Rationalität von Rechts- und Wirtschaftssystemen bzw. Gesellschaftstheorien...


 

 

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Bougainville mine: locals who oppose its re-opening must have a voice
by ramunickel
Deference to Bougainvilleans must be the priority – a position that remains anathema to diplomats, politicians and insider media

Antony Loewenstein | The Guardian


The mine. Photograph: Antony Loewenstein

The mine lies like a scar across a bloody face. Guava village sits in a remote area in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (PNG), above a copper mine which closed 25 years ago. Resistance to the Rio Tinto-owned pit exploded in the late 1980s and during a recent visit, I got to stand above the massive hole that caused the crisis. Human rights abuses were rampant back then, with locals missing out on the financial spoils. Opposition to the enterprise was inevitable and necessary.

Run by Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) from the 1970s, the Panguna mine spewed unprecedented amounts of pollution into the ground, water and atmosphere. It lingers to this day but nature has begun to reclaim its rightful place across kilometres of land, dipping its ferns, grass and lush green trees across oily and rusting equipment. Guava, with its 400 inhabitants, is a peaceful place up a steep rocky incline. During the rainy reason, clouds dance around unpredictably and the hot sun shines on the moist and muddy soil. From there, the view above Panguna is breath-taking, the scope of the environmental damage visible, and the lack of clean-up criminally negligent.

The Bougainville civil war, which was sparked by conflicts over the mine, lasted 10 years and cost the lives of up to 15,000 people. The PNG government blockade, comparable to that imposed on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, caused immense suffering amongst the civilian population. At the height of the conflict the government – which many say had BCL involvement – trained and led soldiers to crush the Bougainville resistance; some researchers have since claimed that Australia provided support to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in the process.

Locals were victorious, but they paid a high price: the island has remained eerily stuck in time for a quarter of a century. In the nearest main town of Arawa, where I stayed, burned-out buildings and petrol stations still stand, and drunk youth loiter in parks. The region is nonetheless relatively safe these days, unlike many other areas of PNG, but it faces an even greater threat: the potential re-opening of the mine by the same forces who seem destined to, once again, not listen to landowners.

During my time in Bougainville, I spent the vast bulk of my days with communities near the old mine and around the waste deposits that left vast swathes of land with little more than sandy dirt. A local woman, Theonila Roka, told me as the sun set on the polluted Kavarong river that mining simply isn’t necessary to bring Bougainville independence. “In many ways we’re already independent”, she said. “Most people are self-sufficient, growing their own food on their land.” She doesn't ignore the economic realities of wanting independence through a planned referendum between 2015 and 2020, but she has no faith that BCL and the government won’t collude once more to deny mineral and financial rights to her people.

Sadly, journalists rarely interview any Bougainvilleans. A recent report by the ABC run Australia Network completely ignored the locals and only featured an interview with the Australian-based writer of a study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) that encourages more Australian engagement and big mining. As articulated by a notable dissenter of the ASPI study, locals are rarely given a voice.


Theonila Roka. Photograph: Antony Loewenstein

This year has also seen the unedifying sight of AusAid funding Australian academics such as Anthony Regan to assist the Bougainville Autonomous Government to draft new mining laws, which some claim is occurring without proper public consultation (something which Regan denies). During my time on the island, I constantly heard worries about the lack of transparency over who will be allowed to mine and how – along with who owns the rights to the resources.

Nowhere in most media stories is any acknowledgement that Canberra is recruiting advisors with links to the mining giant – but Australia's record as a colonial administrator to PNG is not easily forgotten on the ground. Some land-owners in Bougainville told me they resented outsiders telling them that they should suffer the reality of polluting extraction while Australians live comfortably in clean cities.

The sheer scale of copper and gold beneath the ground explains the deals being struck. It’s easy to see why so many stakeholders are so keen to keep these issues out of the public spotlight: it’s a bad look to treat local concerns as illegitimate while waving around big dollars to seduce key players. Central Bougainville MP and minister for information and communication Jimmy Miringtoro told the Post Courier that the local population must become resource owners and shareholders. “These [mining] laws”, he said, “must also ensure equitable distribution of wealth from the mine so that no one group in Bougainville becomes rich while the rest are poor.” Indeed, deference to Bougainvilleans must be the priority – a position that remains anathema to diplomats, politicians and insider media.


Some equipment remains, unused. Photograph: Antony Loewenstein

In the meantime, the lack of real democracy in Bougainville continues to haunt the island as its population gears up to make crucial decisions regarding its independence and the management of its resources. Former resistance leader Sam Kauona is one of the loudest public voices opposing the re-opening of the mine. He told me in Arawa that he recently met the BCL and Rio Tinto heads in the island’s capital, Buka. He said they were shocked when he said it was time for unjust mining legislation across Commonwealth nations to be changed to reflect the will of the people, and that Bougainville was going to lead the charge.

On my last day, I met AusAid’s team leader in Bougainville, Deo Mwesigye. A friendly man who is curious about my reading of the political situation, Mwesigye believes the population largely supports the role of Australia in assisting the building of roads and hospitals there. But when I pointed out that these projects, while important, were referred to by many of the people I interviewed as little more than band-aid solutions, he remained silent.

Today, locals or key land-owners remain skeptical of big scale mining, scarred by the past. Even though the local government initiated formal talks around Bougainville this year to discuss the possibility of re-opening Panguna, locals told me the meetings were not inclusive, that many land-owners felt they were excluded, and that authorities arrived with a pre-ordained goal: bring BCL back to the island. Women’s perspectives are almost invisible, though a Bougainville Women in Mining group submitted a paper recently which detailed their exclusion from the decision making process.

PNG remains a unfinished nation which is being stripped of its resources, from logging to natural gas. The situation in Bougainville provides a perfect opportunity for authorities and the titans of multinational extraction to atone for the mistakes and crimes of the past.

ramunickel | December 19, 2013 at 7:03 pm | Tags: Anthony Regan, Bougainville, Environmental damage, Human rights, Landholders, Panguna, Papua New Guinea, Rio Tinto | Categories: Environmental impact, Financial returns, Human rights, Papua New Guinea | URL: http://wp.me/pMvf7-2Wt
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c'est moi (u.a.)  

und um der NSA die Arbeit abzunehmen oute ich mich als Käufer heute.  

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/...ion-analyst/1236840

bei fallenden Kursen laut Kostoljany das positivste Zeichen an der Börse.
Weiß da jemand mehr.
 

ew post on Papua New Guinea Mine Watch
                    
           §
Australia’s War on Bougainville continues by other means
by ramunickel

The drums of intervention are pounding in Australia’s security establishment. The target is Bougainville.

Over the past month we have seen a number of observers, connected with ASPI, make dire warnings (The Australian Strategic Policy Institute describes itself as ‘independent, non-partisan think tank’, an interesting claim given it is funded by the Australian Department of Defence and a number of corporate sponsors that include prolific weapons manufacturers such as Locheed Martin, MBDA Missile Systems and Thales, i.e. companies that profit from death and our capacity to inflict it on greater scales).

Bougainville, ASPI claims, could slip back into civil war. Could is the key word here. Something of a weasel word in fact; America could slip back into civil war, its incredibly unlikely though.

But there is nothing like a good horror story to jolt upright consciences in Canberra, especially when the PNG desk shares a broom closet with DFAT’s janitor.

The argument continues, Bougainville is in peril of slipping back into civil war unless ‘we’ act now. For ‘we’ insert Australia, and the United States – China is notable by its omission.

‘We’, Australia, ASPI have argued – in a December report – need to flood Bougainville with human resources to bulwark the political apparatus and economic infrastructure in preparation for independence.

More recently another security pundit from the Australian security establishment, Andrew Smith, has acknowledged this may be a little indelicate given Australia’s reputation on Bougainville. Instead, he suggests that the US could provide the necessary aid. However, elsewhere Smith adds, this is a short-term solution, in the longer term the Rio Tinto mine must be opened – which Smith describes as ‘fabulous’ – arguing ‘it’d be a tragedy to deny Bougainvilleans these benefits’. Indeed!

Of course, all this talk of intervention is draped in the sterile language of post-modern imperial power – we come to help, aid, assist, and develop, always in consultation and in the spirit of partnership. Absent is the realist calculus that actually informs foreign policy decisions.

So let’s put things in realist terms. During the 1990s, a revolutionary movement on Bougainville attempted to set a new historical course for the island, one which rejected the basic tenets of capitalist development, and instead focused on Melanesian notions of balance and harmony between people and people, and people and nature. A ‘daring’ notion in unequal times – a Melanesian path for a Melanesian people.

According to Australia’s then Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans, this act of self-determination was entirely unacceptable to Australia not because of its content – good democrats must allow diversity of views after all – but because it was pursued through violence. Of course Evans saw no irony in the fact Australia had appointed itself regional referee on the basis of its disproportionate military power.

Irony aside, stricken from the record, was how a largely peaceful campaign to pursue this Melanesian path of development – which included protests to close down the Rio Tinto copper and gold mine – was met with violence by the PNG state; and that the formation of a rebel force was in response to sneak attacks on landowner villagers by PNG armed forces, only hours after a peace agreement had been reached with landowner leaders.

Instead landowners were portrayed as instigators and cut-throats, seeking change through violence; cue Australia’s military intervention. Hard-power in realist terms. ADF officers stationed in the High Commission, and the PNG Defence Force, began facilitating the means of war, while diplomats cultivated PNG’s willingness to employ violence against its own citizens, by lobbying PNG Ministers to act with determination. The result was a brutal military campaign which had Australia’s fingerprints all over it – in the form of ADF operatives on the ground in Bougainville, in the forms of a deadly arsenal of weapons supplied to the PNGDF for the specific purpose of suppression, and in the form of polite denials in Canberra by political leaders who were no stranger to skulduggery – remember at the same time they were snatching gas reserves from East Timor, while civilians were butchered by friends in Indonesia’s military junta (one of these leaders, Senator Robert Ray – the Defence Minister who in the early 1990s denied any ADF involvement on Bougainville – now sits on ASPI’s Board)..

But hard-power was dealt a resounding blow on Bougainville. Despite the many thousands killed, Bougainville rebels successfully saw off Australian and PNG military aggression, leading the latter parties to accept a peace agreement in 2001 that acceded to all the demands asked for by the rebels in 1989, but which were rejected by largely arrogant leaders who believed a ‘simple village people’ were no match for the modern weapons of war. They were wrong.

However, since then the Australian government has regrouped, very successfully in fact. No longer with guns, but aid, no longer with orders but advice. In realist terms, through soft power. And they have found willing collaborators in the Autonomous Bougainville Government. Collaborators who largely agree with the principles of neoliberal government, with its commitment to untrammelled markets, and foreign investment led growth. Cut asunder are the principles of Melanesian development loudly articulated during the uprising in 1989.

If you stroll around Bougainville, the latter model has a lot of support. People see the soil and lush plumage of the jungle as a friend to be preserved, respected and utilised in a harmonious way through agriculture, tourism and sustainable forms of alluvial mining. The ABG, with its Australian advisors, speak a different language – this language does not see in the earth a great gift to be cherished but an economic opportunity, they do not see between man and nature a fragile bond that must be handled with care, rather they see a magnet for foreign investment.

So in the neoliberal model, everything is for sale, the trees, soil and minerals, because under this extreme model of capitalism everything has an economic price – woolly notions like balance, harmony or indeed sustainability are viewed with condescension. Indeed, Andrew Smith calls it ‘utopian’, lambasting in particular the Bougaivnillean writer Leonard Fong Roka, who continue to rally for the Melanesian model.

So it appears a new war has begun on Bougainville. This one will not be fought with guns, but money, influence, media campaigns, and air-brushed consultation forums. The aim of this war being waged on  Bougainville is nonetheless consistent; to deny Bougainvilleans their own model of development and to instead impose an outside model, that is ‘best’ for it, and rather conveniently Australia.

So now is the time for Bougainvillean independence activists committed to a Melanesian model of development to develop a strategy not based on weapons, but on influence; how will the soft power of the Australian state be met with countervailing forces on the ground and in national/international forums. The stakes are high; all the blood spilt will either be for something or it will be for nothing.
ramunickel | December 23, 2013 at 11:20 am | Tags: ASPI, Australia, Australian government, Bougainville, Environmental damage, Human rights, Landholders, Panguna, Papua New Guinea, Rio Tinto | Categories: Environmental impact, Financial returns, Human rights, Papua New Guinea | URL: http://wp.me/pMvf7-2X0

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http://www.bcl.com.pg/ ist wieder erreichbar. Über einen 1 Monat gab es Fehler 'database error'.  

....in den letzten Tagen, ( sind wahrscheinlich schon alle im wohlverdienten Urlaub ;-)) wünsche aber allen ein ruhiges entspanntes und frohes #Weihnachtsfest#

+ ein gutes erfolgreiches #NEUES JAHR 2014# mit vielen Überraschungen und Adrenalin pur.

 

" ... wünsche auch allen ein ruhiges entspanntes und frohes #Weihnachtsfest#

+ ein gutes erfolgreiches #NEUES JAHR 2014# mit vielen Überraschungen und Adrenalin pur. " 

... Danke  Traderevil,  dass du mir es vorgeschrieben hast ... 

Ich wünsche uns Investierten obendrein, dass die Herrschaften da unten mal positiv zu Potte kommen.

Also, allen nen guten Rutsch

( ohne aus zu rutschen !!! )

( ... und ich bin dann auch mal wechhh ... )

Carlchen 

 

Verlangsamung mit Ansage...

241213ABG TO SLOW MINING PUSH
By Aloysius Laukai

The Autonomous Bougainville Government will slow its push for Mining in the Autonomous region as from the new year.
ABG President, Chief DR. JOHN MOMIS made this known in his Christmas and New Year message to the people of Bougainville on New Dawn FM today.
He told New Dawn FM that the government was listening to the landowners who wanted BCL to return as investor of the Giant Copper and Gold project but the landowners keep changing sides resulting in the Government losing a lot of money, time and effort in the process that has taken us nowhere.
PRESIDENT MOMIS said that the ABG wants to enact the Mining Law that will protect both the mining company and the resource owners but this has dragged on and on and on with no end in sight.
He said that the ABG is now turning its focus on Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry for much needed revenue.
President Momis said that they will still continue talks on the Panguna mine but on a much slower pace.

Ends  

41213 2014 LOOKS BRIGHT SAYS MOMIS
By Aloysius Laukai

The ABG President, Chief Dr. John Momis says that 2014 could be a bright year for the ABG.
In his Christmas and New Year message to the people of Bougainville, PRESIDENT MOMIS said that the ABG this year managed to enact the INWARD OUTWARD INVESTMENT BILL which will now guide Investments in the region saying that all countries need investments for growth.
Other laws were the Bougainville Education Act 2013, Public Service act and the mining law which has been questioned by landowners since the first draft was released for comments.
This law could be enacted by the ABG Parliament in the new year.
PRESIDENT MOMIS said despite these setbacks, the ABG managed to move several projects that the people will benefit from in the New Year.
He mentioned the TOROKINA OIL PALM Project that will soon kick off in which the landowners will benefit from the sale of timber that would be harvested when felling the tree to clear land for the Oil Palm project.
He said landowners will have money from these timber even before the project kicks off the ground.
He also mentioned educational trips to Philippines from 42 persons from Central and South Bougainville.
The remaining 21 from North Bougainville will travel to the Philippines in JANUARY 2013.
The ABG President announced that a Passenger boat that can carry more than 350 passengers would be operational by February 2014 and would be servicing a most lucrative route that is from Buka,Rabaul, Kimbe and Lae and back.
He said another boat for the people of Atolls will also be purchased in 2014.
THE ABG President travelled to BUIN today for his Christmas and New Year Break.

Ends  

Was will Momis damit bezwecken?

Nimmt er wirklich Abstand vom Mining,oder will er nur Druck auf die Landowner ausüben?
Das Problem mit dem illegalen Mining wäre damit nicht von Tisch und eigentlich hätten die die illegales Mining betreiben somit gewonnen,und alle anderen schauen in die Röhre.

 

Momis macht das richtige. Indem er das Miningprojekt auf Eis legt kommen die Landowner langsam wieder von ihren Bäumen auf den Boden der Tatsachen zurück. Dann läßt es sich wieder einfacher verhandeln.

Wünsche allen im Forum ein gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest.  

http://ramumine.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/momis-dumps-plans-for-early-rio-tinto-return-as-landowners-force-u-turn/

Momis dumps plans for early Rio Tinto return as landowners force u-turn

ABG President John Momis has been forced into an undignified u-turn over plans to allow Rio Tinto back into Bougianville to re-open the Panguna Mine. Key to Momis"s plan was a new Mining Law drafted by Australian academics for hire and financed by the Australian government and backed by the mining industry. But Bougianville people have repeatedly rejected various draft versions of the new law, a position which has now forced Momis to concede defeat. 

ABG TO SLOW MINING PUSH

Aloysius Laukai | New Dawn

The Autonomous Bougainville Government will slow its push for Mining in the Autonomous region as from the new year.

ABG President, John Momis made this known in his Christmas and New Year message to the people of Bougainville on New Dawn FM today….

He told New Dawn FM that the government was listening to the landowners who wanted BCL to return as investor of the Giant Copper and Gold project but the landowners keep changing sides resulting in the Government losing a lot of money, time and effort in the process that has taken us nowhere.

President Momis said that the ABG wants to enact the Mining Law that will protect both the mining company and the resource owners but this has dragged on and on and on with no end in sight.

He said that the ABG is now turning its focus on Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry for much needed revenue.
President Momis said that they will still continue talks on the Panguna mine but on a much slower pace.

 

ist der Bericht ja nicht gerade. "...He said that the ABG is now turning its focus on Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry for much needed revenue..."

Aber jetzt muß sowieso erst 'mal die FED beobachtet werden.  

BCL stabilisiert sich und scheint einen Boden wie Anfang 2010 auszubilden.
Spannend wird's auf jeden Fall!
Guten Rutsch euch allen  

Bullshit Mountain Collapses on Bougainville – President Injured, but No Fatalities
In his Christmas day address, Bougainville"s President began his long awaited U-Turn. "The Autonomous Bougainville Government will slow its push for Mining in the Autonomous region as from the new year", the President claimed. "Never" one to blame the people for his own mistakes, the President immediately blamed the people for his own mistakes.

New Dawn FM report: "He told New Dawn FM that the government was [only] listening to the landowners who wanted BCL to return as investor of the Giant Copper and Gold project but the landowners keep changing sides resulting in the Government losing a lot of money, time and effort in the process that has taken us nowhere".

But of course this is a lie, and anyone in the mine area knows the people have never changed sides, their side has always been land, environment, custom and community, while Momis and his cronies stand for money, greed, foreign predation and environmental destruction (Francis Ona nailed him on this front in 1989).

Does the President forget about that infamous meeting in November 2011, where Michael Oni, the Mining Minister told landowner leaders "that there was no two ways about [it, the] Panguna mine [is] being opened in the not too distant future". Doe he forget his own words at this meeting, "[the mine] must be opened and there is an important need for a Unified Stand by ABG and Panguna Landowners". That sounds very much like a direction from the ABG to the landowner community, not vice versa.

Lets see how long it takes for the ABC to report on the President"s backflip (or BCL"s "world class" blog Bougainville 24), if they do you can bet they wont acknowledge their own role in building this unstable mountain of bullshit that is falling on top of the ABG. For the last two years ABC journalists – the master chefs of corporate excrement – have waged a largely unprompted crusade for their corporate friends and benefactors in Canberra. When SBS dared to speak the unspeakable and expose BCL"s role in war crimes (i.e. real journalism), where did the company"s chairman go to have his empty denials published? Why the ABC, of course.

When President Momis and his friends from AusAID attempted to legalise a resource swindle by sneaking legislation into parliament, who misinformed the public on their behalf? Why ABC, naturally! "New Bougainville Legislation a World First for Landowners Rights to Minerals", was the headline.

Indeed, for the past year we have been told that President Momis and Rio Tinto are good guys, just trying to develop Bougainville so the people can enjoy independence. Outspoken critics like Sam Kaouna on the other hand, so the corporate line goes, is a greedy self-seeking war-lord in bed with criminal Canadian investors. And with uncanny timing AusAID have funded a research project designed to find out about these alleged Canadian criminals – research run by the same AusAid advisor who oversaw the drafting of the "World First" legislation –  then mysteriously several months later Canadian police arrive on Bougainville, though the ABG assure us that they had nothing to do with the Canadian investigation (Australia though was never asked of its role, curiously enough). Whats that smell?

The people of Bougainville know what it is. They have not forgotten, and will never forget, that President Momis from the comfort of Port Moresby sat in a war Cabinet that ordered a brutal military campaign that involved every crime in the book, execution of civilians, the burning of homes, the forced internment of villagers, and the denial of humanitarian  aid. And who was the Commander in Chief at the time, Rabbie Namaliu. And where is Sir Rabbie today? Why on BCL"s Board of Directors, the company that aided and abetted the military force he sent to the island. People don"t forget the BS, even if the media fails to draw attention to it.

And what of the alleged criminal Sam Kaouna? He risked everything for his people, by going AWOL from the PNGDF in 1989, where he had served, and joining the rebels – not for personal gain – but because he had seen painfully the war crimes being inflicted on fellow Bougainvilleans. The people don"t forget.

President Momis in his Christmas address tells us, "the ABG is now turning its focus on Agriculture [oil palm], Fishing and Forestry for much needed revenue". To translate, he is selling Bougainville"s other resources to Asian "developers", who he has been busy courting from 5-star hotels in the Philippines and China.

Its almost pathological, the President seems incapable of trusting his own people, yet they survived and innovated under the most brutal conditions imaginable, conditions inflicted on them by a Cabinet in which Momis sat. The people don"t need foreign investors, they need their own government"s faith in them and their abilities to develop an independent economy – what a novel idea.

Momis concluded his address stating "that they will still continue talks on the Panguna mine but on a much slower pace".

In other words this is a tactical retreat. The cheque book is out at the moment, and in time the ABG hopes to buy and conquer Panguna landowners. They may win over one or two weak individuals, but the people who fought, struggled and died over the course of a decade, their land and dignity is not for sale.  

Mal schauen ob es nachhaltig ist!?
Volumen steigt seit einigen Tagen
Kurse unter 0,25-0,275 sehen wir wohl nicht mehr!?  

Budget ver 4-facht sich gegenüber 2013

301213 FINANCE MINISTER TABLES 312 MILLION ABG BUDGET.
By Aloysius Laukai

The ABG Minister for Finance, Planning and Treasury, ALBERT PUNGHAU this morning tabled the ABG 2014 BUDGET totaling THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE MILLION KINA down by the SEVENTY SEVEN MILLION KINA from the 2013 ABG Budget.
The ABG Parliament this morning sat for the 2013 Budget presentation by the Minister for Finance, Planning and Treasury, ALBERT PUNGHAU and adjourned immediately after to allow members to properly study the budget and debate on it tomorrow morning before passing the budget tomorrow.
In his budget speech, Minister PUNGHAU highlighted three areas that the ABG has received funding for the 2014 budget.
The Three areas are funds from the National Government totaling, TWO HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT MILLION KINA.
Expected Internal Revenue of TWENTY ONE MILLION AND THREE HUNDRED KINA and unused funds from this year 2013.
Minister PUNGHAU said that the 2014 ABG Budget is about focusing on the people of the districts by addressing service delivery mechanisms which have hindered the flow of these services to the rural communities.
He said these will be addressed by increasing revenues and providing good facilities and infrastructures such as roads, schools and health facilities.
The 2014 ABG Budget will be passed by the ABG House of representatives tomorrow afternoon just before Bougainville moves into the festive mode to welcome 2014 as of midnight tomorrow.

Ends  

http://www.ariva.de/forum/...4-erwarte-ich-fuer-BCL-einen-Kurs-493272  

Kommen die Landeigner nicht in die Puschen, werden andere Optionen gezogen, 2014 wird hochinteressant! Allen einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr

A Ministerial Statement
to the Bougainville House of
Representatives
By
Hon Dr Chief John l Momis GCl, MHR,
President of the Autonomous Region of
Bougainville and the Autonomous
Bougainville Government
On
The occasion of the presentation by the
Minister for Planning, Finance &
Treasury, of the ABG 2014 Budget,
Tuesday 31st December 2013

•
MR SPEAKER, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME LEAVE TO MAKE A STATEMENT ON
THE GOVERNMENT'S 2014 BUDGET, WHICH WAS PRESENTED BY THE
MINISTER FOR FINANCE, TREASURY AND PLANNING YESTERDAY MORNING.
MR SPEAKER, I WANT TO BEGIN BY EXPRESSING MINE AND MY WIFE'S
GRATITUDE FOR THE MANY CONDOLENCE MESSAGES THAT WE RECEIVED ON
THE DEATH OF OUR ONLY DAUGHTER, MARYCATH, AND THE SUPPORT
ACCORDED TO US BY BOUGAINVILLE LEADERS; LIKE YOURSELF, MEMBERS
OF THE HOUSE, ALL BOUGAINVILLEANS AND FRIENDS IN AND OUTSIDE OF
BOUGAINVILLE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND ABROAD. WHILST IT HAS NOT BEEN
EASY FOR BOTH OF US, THE SUPPORT FROM THE PEOPLE OF BOUGAINVILLE
HAS HELPED US TO RECOVER FROM THE ORDEAL.
MR SPEAKER, AT THIS JUNCTURE, I ALSO WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE FIVE
NEW MEMBERS OF THE ABG PARLIARMENT ON THEIR ELECTIONS AS
REPRESENTATIVES OF THEIR CONSTITUENCIES IN THE BOUGAINVILLE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES. WHIILST TWO HAVE BEEN MEMBERS BEFORE AND
ARE WELL VERSED WITH THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
CONSTITUENCY MEMBER, THE OTHER THREE MEMBERS WILL NEED TO NOT
ONLY LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN THE 15 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ISSUE
OF WRITS (FOR THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS), BUT ALSO DO AS MUCH FOR
THEIR CONSTITUENCIES DURING THIS SHORT PERIOD. THIS WILL NOT BE
EASY AS YOU WILL SOON FIND OUT. THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO RETURN

• THE PEOPLE'S TRUST IN YOU AS THEIR LEADERS BY REASLISTICALL Y
REPRESENTING THEM IN PARLIARMENT IN THE PERIOD THAT YOU ARE THEIR
MEMBER UNTIL THE NEXT ELECTIONS.
MR SPEAKER, LET ME NOW TURN TO THE 2014 ABG BUDGET. I WANT TO
CONGRATULATE THE MINISTER AND THANK HIM FOR PRESENTING ANOTHER
GOOD BUDGET TO THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE. THE 2014 ABG BUDGET IS
APROPRIATELY THEMED "CONSOLIDATING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH HIGH IMPACT INVESTMENT" BECAUSE IT IS ONE WHICH I BELIEVE
TAKES THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF BOUGAINVILLE ONE STEP
,
FURTHER IN THE JOURNEY THAT WE, AS A PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN TO
EMBARK UPON AND THUS CONTINUE TO TRAVEL TOGETHER IN OUR QUEST
AND ASPIRATIONS FOR A BEDER FUTURE. BUT I ALSO WANT TO USE THIS
OCCASSION TO MAKE A STATEMENT TO THE PEOPLE OF BOUGAINVILLE ON
THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE SINCE WE TOOK OFFICE WITH
REGARD TO WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED, THE CHALLENGES THAT WE
CONTINUE TO FACE AND WHAT WE MUST DO TO OVERCOME THESE
CHALLENGES MOVING FORWARD IN 2014 AND BEYOND.
MR SPEAKER, THIS JOURNEY HAS NOT BEEN EASY; IN FACT SINCE THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIRST ABG IN 2005, SUCCESSIVE BOUGAINVILLE
GOVERNMENTS HAVE FACED MANY CHALLENGES. AS A NEW AND POST-
CONFLICT GOVERNMENT WITH LIMITED RESOURCES AND CAPACITY WE WILL
21t-'age
•
NO DOUBT CONTINUE TO ENCOUNTER MANY MORE CHALLENGES ALONG THE
WAY. SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES EMANATE FROM:
• THE NEED TO MEET THE VERY HIGH AND SOMETIMES UNREALISTIC
EXPECTATIONS OF OUR PEOPLE FOR QUALITY GOODS, SERVICES
AND DEVELOPMENT;
• THE REQUIREMENT TO MEET INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED
STANDARDS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE; AND
• IMPLEMENTING THE BOUGAINVILLE PEACE AGREEMENT WITH
REGARD TO
 PEACE AND RECONCILIATION,
 WEAPONS DISPOSAL, AND,
 THE REF~RENDUM.
MR SPEAKER, THESE CHALLENGES REMIND US THAT OUR SITUATION IS NOT A
NORMAL ONE; RATHER IT IS UNIQUE TO BOUGAINVILLE AND THEREFORE
REQUIRES SPECIFIC INTERVENTION STRATEGIES, SOME OF WHICH ARE
ADDRESSED IN THE 2014 BUDGET.
MR SPEAKER, THE SHIFTING OF A LARGER PORTION OF THE RECURRENT
BUDGET AS WELL AS PLANS TO DEPLOY MORE PEOPLE TO DISTRICTS UNDER
A NEW DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IS ONE SUCH INTERVENTION. THE
STRENGTHENING OF COUNCIL OF ELDERS (COEs) AS THE SECOND TIER OF
GOVERNANCE IN BOUGAINVILLE, THROUGH INCREASED FUNDING AND OTHER

TECHNICAL SUPPORT IS ANOTHER STRATEGY THAT IS ADDRESSED IN THE
2014 BUDGET.
MR SPEAKER, BY FOCUSING ON THE DISTRICTS AS FOCAL POINTS FOR
SERVICE DELIVERY, THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO IMPROVE ACCESS BY THE
MAJORITY OF OUR PEOPLE TO BASIC, BUT QUALITY GOODS AND SERVICES.
HOWEVER WE MUST APPRECIATE THAT BOUGAINVILLE WAS REDUCED TO
BASIC HUMANITY IN THE CONFLICT AND WE ARE STARTING FROM BELOW
GROUND ZERO IN THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING THIS NATION REMAINS AN
ARDUOUS AND LONG JOURNEY FOR ALL OF US. UFORTUNATEL Y, THERE IS NO
SHORT CUTS.
MR SPEAKER, THE PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS BEING UNDERTAKEN WITHIN
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THE ADMINISTRATION, AND WHICH WILL BE CONSOLIDATED WITH THE
COMING INTO FORCE OF THE BOUGAINVILLE PUBIC SERVICES
(MANAGEMENT) ACT AND THE BOUGAINVILLE PUBLIC FINANCE
(MANAGEMENT) ACT IN JANUARY 2014 ARE AIMED AT INSTITUTING MEASURES
THAT WILL RESULT IN A MORE EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESS AS
WELL AS STRENGTHENING GOOD GOVERNANCE.
MR SPEAKER, PEACE AND RECONCILIATON, AND WEAPONS DISPOSAL
CONTINUE TO BE MAJOR CHALLENGES FOR THE GOVERNMENT. THESE ARE
ISSUES THAT MUST BE DEALT WITH COLLECTIVELY BUT DECISIVELY IF WE
ARE GOING TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS TOWARD CREATING THE NEW
BOUGAINVILLE THAT OUR LEADERS ASPIRED TO WHEN WE SIGNED THE
BOUGAINVILLE PEACE AGREEMENT. WEAPONS DISPOSAL IS ESPECIALLY
CRUCIAL TO OUR JOURNEY AND ONE WHICH MUST BE ADDRESSED
IMMEDIATELY AS WE APPROACH THE REFERENDUM ON OUR ULTIMATE
POLITICAL FUTURE. I AM HAPPY THAT A SIZABLE AMOUNT HAS BEEN
ALLOCATED TO THESE PROGRAMS IN 2014.
MR SPEAKER, THE BUDGET IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE NEED FUNDS TO
IMPLEMENT GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS THAT WILL IMPROVE THE WELFARE OF
THE 'MAJORITY OF BOUGAINVILEANS WHO ARE STILL RURAL BASED. BUT
RIGHT NOW WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF HOW MUCH WE CAN SPEND
BECAUSE WE STILL RELY ON SOMEONE ELSE TO GIVE US THE MONEY TO
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FINANCE OUR BUDGET. MORE THAN 85% OF THE ABG'S 2014 BUDGET STILL
COMES FROM THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. UNTIL THE ABG CAN RAISE MORE
OF ITS REVENUE INTERNALLY, WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE DICTATED TO BY
OTHERS, NOT, ONLY ON THE PROGRAMS THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT, BUT
PERHAPS MORE SO, ON THE LEVEL OF RESOURCES THAT WE CAN ALLOCATE
TO PROGRAMS THAT WE BELIEVE WILL ALSO MAKE THE HIGHEST IMPACT IN
THE LIVES OF OUR PEOPLE.
MR SPEAKER, IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT MY GOVERNMENT IN 2010 NOT
ONLY ENDORSED THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS DECISION TO NEGOTIATE
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THE REOPENING OF THE PANGUNA MINE, BUT ALSO ACCELLERATED IN THE
LAST THREE YEARS, PREPATIONS BY ABG AND PANGUNA MINE AFFECTED
LANDOWNERS TO NEGOTIATE ITS REOPENING. MY GOVERNMENT BELIEVES
THAT AN OPERATING PANGUNA MINE WILL BE CATAL YCTICAL TO
BOUGAINVILLE'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, GENERATING MUCH NEEDED
REVENUE TO SUPPORT OTHER SECTORS OF OUR ECONOMY.
MR SPEAKER, HOWEVER, THERE IS A DISTINCTION THAT NEEDS TO BE
EMPHASISED BETWEEN THE PROCESS OF PREPARATIONS FOR, AND
CONDUCT OF NEGOTIATIONS TO REOPEN THE PANGUNA MINE AND THE
DRAFT BOUGAINVILLE MINING (TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS) BILL
CURRETLY AT CONSULTATION STAGE. THE BOUGAINVILLE MINING BILL IS TO
REGULATE ALL MINING ACTIVITIES IN THE REGION; ITS OBJECTIVE IS NOT
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ABOUT PANGUNA MINE, ALTHOUGH A REOPENED PANGUNA MINE WILL BE
REQUIRED TO OPERATE AND BE REGULATED UNDER THIS AND FUTURE
BOUGAINVILLE MINING LAWS. TO CONTINUE TO MAKE BLANKET STATEMENTS
THAT THE PROPOSED BOUGAINVILLE MINING BILL OR SECTIONS OF THE BILL
PROTECTS BOUGAINVILLE COPPER LIMITED, AS SOME PEOPLE CONTINUE TO
ASSERT IS NOT TRUE.
MR SPEAKER, THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT BEHOLDEN TO BOUGAINVILLE
COPPER LIMITED (BCL); IT IS THE LANDDOWNERS WHO SPECIFICALLY
WANTED BCL. THEY ARGUED THEN AND NOW THAT IT IS BETTER TO DEAL
WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, AND THE DEVIL THAT KNOWS US THAN A
COMPLETELY NEW DEVIL. SO ANY ASSERTION THAT WE ARE PROTECTING
BCL IS NOT TRUE.
MR SPEAKER, THERE IS ANOTHER ISSUE THAT BOUGAINVILLEANS NEED TO
UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE; THIS CONCERNS THE ENGAGEMENT OF
FOREIGN ADVISORS. EVERY LEADER IN THE WORLD HAS ADVISORS WORKING
FOR THEM; THE ROLE OF AN ADVISOR IS TO ADVISE, BUT THE BULK STOPS
WITH THE LEADER. WE SHOULD NOT LET MERE SUSPICION CLOUD OUR OWN
INDEPENDENT AND INTELLIGENT THINKING OR BE INFLUENCED BY THOSE
WHOM WE PERCIEVE ARE STRONGER THAN US.
MR SPEAKER, WITH REGARD TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THE
GOVERNMENT IS NOT PUTTING ALL ITS EGGS INTO ONE BASKET; THE
GOVERNMENT IS SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
FISHERIES AND TOURISM SECTORS TO GROW THE ECONOMY IN 2014. WITH
REGARD TO MINING, THE GOVERNMENT WILL SOON BE CONSIDERING OTHER
OPTIONS, SHOULD PANGUNA NOT GO AHEAD AS EXPECTED.MR SPEAKER, CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS IN THE
EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY WILL FOLLOW THE PASSAGE OF BOUGAINVILLE'S
OWN MINING LAW IN 2014 AFTER THE PEOPLE HAVE HAD AN OPORTUNITY TO
GIVE THEIR VIEWS. THE PASSAGE OF 0 R OWN MINING LAW WILL ENABLE
THE GOVERNMENT TO CONSIDER OPTIONS TO ALLOW MINERAL
EXPLORATIONS TO COMMENCE. CONTRARY TO WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING
ABOUT THE BILL, IT IS STILL AT CONSULTATION STAGE.
MR SPEAKER, WITH REGARD TO REOPENING PANGUNA, THE GOVERNMENT
HAS INVESTED MUCH FROM ITS OWN MEAGRE RESOURCES TO ENSURE THAT
PANGUNA MINE AFFECTED LANDOWNERS PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN ANY
DECISONS CONCERNING THE MINE AND THAT THE WIDER BOUGAINVILE
COMMUNITY ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS ON THE
FUTURE OF PANGUNA MINE. REGIONAL PUBLIC FORUMS HAVE BEEN
CONDUCTED THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH AND BREATH OF BOUGAINVILLE TO
GAUGE THE VIEWS OF BOUGAINVILLEANS INCLUDING WORKSHOPS WITH EX-
COMBATANTS ON THE REOPENING OF PANGUNA MINE. ENGAGEMENTS WITH
LANDOWNERS THROUGH THE 9 ESTABLISHED LANDOWNER ASSOCIATIONS
ARE CONTINUING ON A BY-MONTHLY BASIS.
MR SPEAKER, WHILST THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE A COMMITMENT TO
SUPPORT THE PROCESS IN 2014 AND BEYOND, THE MINE AFFECTED
LANDOWNERS MUST DECIDE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER WHETHER OR
NOT THEY STILL SUPPORT THE ABG IN THIS ENDEAVOUR. THIS WILL ENABLE
THE GOVERNMENT TO CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS TO REOPENING PANGUNA.
WE CANNOT PROCASTINATE FOR EVER.
•
MR SPEAKER, 2014 IS A CRUCIAL YEAR FOR THIS GOVERNMENT; NOT ONLY IS
IT LIKELY THAT THE DATE FOR THE REFERENDUM WILL BE SET, BUT THIS
GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE LESS THAN 15 MONTHS BEFORE THE ISSUE OF
WRITS FOR THE NEXT ABG GENERAL ELECTIONS. OUR CRITICS WILL SAY
THAT WE HAVE NOT ACHIEVED MUCH; BUT ONLY A BLIND FOOL WILL NOT SEE
THE PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE MADE SINCE 2010. NOT ONLY HAVE WE
ACHIEVED A LOT, BUT WE HAVE ALSO MADE MUCH PROGRESS IN OUR
EFFORTS TO CREATE A HARMONIOUS, PEACEFULL AND PROSPEROUS
SOCIETY FOR OUR PEOPLE.
,
MR SPEAKER, IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTING AUTONOMY, THIS GOVERNMENT
HAS PASSED A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT LEGILATIONS BOTH IN RESPONSE TO
CONCERNS BY OUR PEOPLE AS WELL AS IN RESPONSE TO THE CHANGING
CONTEXT OF OUR AUTNOMOUS ARRANGEMET. IN ORDER TO PROTECT OUR
PEOPLE FROM DOMINATION BY UNSCRUPULOUS FOREIGN BUSINESSES, WE
RECENTLY PASSED THE INWARD INVESTMENT LAW.
MR SPEAKER, IN ADDITION, ANOTHER IMPORTANT PIECE OF LEGISLATION
THAT WAS RECENTLY PASSED BY THE GOVERNMENT IS THE BOUGAINVILLE
EDUCATION LAW; THIS WILL ENABLE THE ABG TO MANAGE ITS OWN
EDUCATION SYSTEM, QUITE SEPARATE FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA. THE
BOUGAINVILLE PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT ACT AND THE BOUGAINVILE
PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT ACT ARE TWO VERY IMPORTANT PIECES OF

LEGISLATION THAT ARE EXPECTED TO COME INTO FORCE IN THE NEW YEAR.
SUCH LEGISLATIONS ARE PART OF THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING
AUTONOMY THROUGH THE ENACTMENT OF BOUGAINVILLE LAWS TO
GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED UNDER NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT LAWS.
MR SPEAKER, THESE TWO LEGISLATIONS ARE ALSO PART OF THE PUBLIC
SECTOR REFORMS BEING UNDERTAKEN IN THE ADMINISTRATION TO MAKE
THE NEW BOUGAINVILLE PUBLIC SERVICE MORE EFFECTIVE AS WELL AS TO
STRENGHTEN GOOD GOVERNANCE.
MR SPEAKER, THE MUCH PUBLICISED BOUGAINVILLE MINING (TRANSTIONAL
ARANGEMENTS) BILL WILL ASO BE DELIBERATED ON BY THIS HOUSE IN THE
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NEW YEAR AFTER THE PEOPLE OF BOUGANVILLE HAVE HAD THE
OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS. UP UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, THE
GOVERNMENT WAS CONSULTING ONLY WITH A VERY SMALL SECTION OF THE
COMMUNITY, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY WANT THE LAW TO BE TAILORED IN A
CERTAIN WAY. BUT LAWS ARE MADE FOR EVERY CITIZEN AND IT IS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENTS TO ENSURE THAT LAWS ARE FAIR, JUST
AND APPLY EQUALLY TO EVERYONE.
MR SPEAKER, AS LEGISLATORS, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO MAKE LAWS; WE
IN BOUGAINVILLE NEED TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE PERCEPTION AT NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT LEVEL THAT POLITICIANS SHOULD MANAGE PROJECTS. THIS IS
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE. OUR JOB IS TO MAKE LAWS
AND POLICIES THAT WILL ENABLE SUCH DEVELOPMENTS TO BE UNDERTAKEN
IN A CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT.
MR SPI;:AKER, THROUGHOUT OUR POLICITAL HISTORY, BOUGAINVILLEANS
HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO MANAGE THEIR OWN AFFAIRS. I BELIEVE THAT
THE BOUGAINVILLE PEACE AGREEMENT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO
JUST THAT. WE HAVE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE SOMETHING
COMPLETELY NEW AND BETTER FOR OUR PEOPLE - A HARMONIOUS,
,
PEACEFULL AND PROSPEROUS SOCIETYY FOR OUR PEOPLE; SOMETING THAT
CAN BE THE ENVY OF OUR FRIENDS AND OTHERS BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE
BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO IT.
MR SPEAKER, HOWEVER IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO FIRST HAVE FAITH IN
OURSELVES. WITHOUT FAITH, WE CANNOT REALISE THE HUMAN POTENTIAL
TO SUCCEED IN OUR COMMON ENDEAVOUR TO CREATE THE KIND OF
SOCIETY THAT WE WANT FOR OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
MR SPEAKER, BUT CREATING A HARMONIOUS, PEACEFULL AND PROSPEROUS
SOCIETY, IS NOT THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY ALONE. THIS MUST BE
THE COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL BOUGAINVILLEANS. THIS IS
BECAUSE WE CHOSE TO BE IN THIS SITUATION, AND ONLY WE CAN GET
OURSELVES OUT OF IT. AS PRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF OF LIBERIA
SAID DURING HER INNAUGURATION AS AFRICA'S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT IN
FEBRUARY 2006, "THE FUTURE BELONGS TO US, BECAUSE WE HAVE TAKEN
CHARGE OF IT".
MR SPEAKER, BOUGAINVILLE'S FUTURE BELONGS TO BOUGAINVILEANS,
BECAUSE ONLY BOUGAINVILLEANS CAN HONESTLY CALL BOUGAINVILLE
HOME AND HAVE A FUTURE IN BOUGAINVILLE. BUT WE SHOULD LEARN TO
TRUST EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF FOREVER BEING SUSPICOUS OF EACH
OTHER. LET US ALL UNITE AS A NATION TO MAKE THE FUTURE A BETTER AND
BRIGHTER ONE FOR us ALL.
MR SPEAKER, I WISH TO CONCLUDE BY THANKING ALL BOUGAINVILLEANS
~
THROUGH YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF THIS HOUSE, FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN
2013 AND I LOOK FORWARD WITH EXCITEMENT TO ANOTHER BUSY YEAR FOR
ALL OF US. I WISH YOU A BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, SAFE,
PEACEFULL AND PROSPEROOUS NEW YEAR 2014. MAY YOU ALL HAVE A
PLEASANT NEW YEAR BREAK, RE-ENERGISED TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN IN
2014.
GOD BLESS BOUGAINVILLE
HON DR CHIEF JOHN l MOMIS GCl, MHR
PRESIDENT