The Catholic archbishop of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, Archbishop Francesco Panfilo, says he is facing an application for a restraining order from three landowners in Pomio. The restraining order application also applies to a New Zealand lawyer working for the church, Doug Tennent. It comes after Panfilo and Tennent tried to assist other landowners at Read more
The country is not ready for mining, says Anglican Church of Melanesia’s Bishop and Isabel Paramount Chief James Mason. He made the observation during last week’s National Conference on Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. “I felt that there’s no justification for the poor land owning tribes who were always the losers in their own lands. “The Read more
A nun from the Philippines known for her anti-mining advocacy is to receive a German human rights award. Sr Stella Matutina is this year’s recipient of the Weimar Award for Human Rights. The Benedictine nun will receive 2,500 euros [US$2,730], which she said will help support the advocacy of her organisation. She is secretary-general of the Read more
Book Review: This Changes Everything, Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein. This is a comprehensive and timely book. Klein says in part one, “If there has ever been a moment to advance a plan to heal the planet that also heals our broken economies and our shattered communities, this is it.” In the introduction Read more
The Pacific Conference of Churches, at the end of its tenth Assembly has passed resolutions about the following topics: Tahiti independence West Papua independence Freedom Sunday Nuclear testing Seabed mining Solidarity on mining Tourism, fishing and forestry Facilitating the concerns of members by engaging on the issue with agencies such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Read more
It is important to take into consideration the impact that activities such as mining could have on the environment and the people. Churches must take a strong, united stand on the responsible use of natural resources says Fiji Catholic priest, Father Kevin Barr. He was speaking at Pacific Conference of Churches Assembly. More than 200 delegates representing 34 Read more
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has withdrawn its investment of $1 million in Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold over allegations of human rights offences committed by security forces around the company’s controversial Grasberg mine in Papua. According to Papua New Guinea Mine Watch (PNMW) Freeport has been directly or indirectly responsible for gross human rights abuses Read more
An industrial dispute at Freeport, the world’s biggest gold mine in Indonesia’s Papua province, has turned ugly, after a striking worker was shot dead by police. Seven others were critically wounded when officers tried to stop striking workers from going into a facility at the mining complex on Monday. About 8,000 workers have been on Read more
“Groups should consider the ethics around accepting money from gaming trusts”, says captain Gerry Walker, head of Salvation Army Addiction Services. The Salvation Army will not accept money from poker machines. The Maori Party and the Greens are also sending the money back. They have rejected donations from the Todd Corporation. Todd Corporation owns Todd Energy and Todd Read more
A group of landowners in Papua New Guinea say they will appeal against a court’s decision not to ban a nickel mine from dumping mining waste into the sea. Papua New Guinea’s National Court has rejected an application for a permanent halt to the use of deep sea waste disposal by the 1.5 billion dollar Read more