Comments

I thank the authors for their blog posts on the subject of the ‘New Porgera’. In Part 2 the authors refer to the Free Prior and Informed Consent legal doctrine (FPIC) as relevant in the context of PNG and Porgera. This is both wrong and highly misleading. The FPIC doctrine is derived from the 'Awas Tingni'decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The FPIC doctrine was taken up by a UN Rapporteur and incorporated within the UNDRIP, a non-legally binding agreement signed by 143 countries. Non-voting countries to the UNDRIP, neither voting against nor abstaining from voting, but absent from the vote included the Pacific island countries with traditional land tenure systems and laws; Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Samoa abstained. While the FPIC doctrine has some significance in Latin American legal context, it is generally thought to have no relevance or significance in the legal systems of many Pacific island countries. The issues encompassed by the doctrine are more than adequately covered by local statutory, common and customary law. Banks and Burton appear to not understand the significance of the change in the legal arrangements and management structure for the Porgera mine. The previous Porgera mine arrangement took the form of an unincorporated joint venture (UJV – not a legal entity). The UJV subsisted in the agreements made between the parties and is not, in and of itself, capable of being owned. What is owned are the Licence concession shares. The UJV arrangement was created by those parties holding a share of the Porgera mining exploration concession. This is a State administered concession scheme that may lead to the creation and issuance of a special mining development licence. Such a Licence is awarded on the basis of proposals put forward by the concession-holders' nominated operator. The UJV has been a favoured vehicle in the mineral extraction industries for a very long time, perhaps centuries. The UJV parties, or co-venturers, contract not to be partners and to stand at arms length from each other. The elected, or nominated operator is chosen on the basis of technical expertise and is required to justify its mine operating costs to its co-venturers. Operating cost shares are deducted from the production share of each co-venturer. This structure guarantees transparency of mining costs. Where the government is a co-venturer and holds a share of the mining licence it gains not only revenue but also a transparent insight into the mine operating costs, and profits. This form of UJV has great flexibility. It enables mining companies who might be competing in one jurisdiction to cooperate in another and to meet or decline further calls for capital as the mine continues to develop. A UJV agreement typically provides that the licence parties owe no fiduciary duties to each other, liability is only ever several, never joint. The change to the New Porgera structure reverses many of the features of the UJV. The New Porgera arrangement takes the form of an incorporated joint venture (a legal entity). By making this arrangement the parties enter into a form of partnership. Liabilities become joint. Previously, under the UJV arrangements, if social issues impacted mine operations, Barrick as operator, had to petition the State. In the absence of a coherent State response Barrick was pressured by many of its critics to act as if it were the State. An incorporated joint venture, as a legal entity, may be answerable to a court. I expect that Barrick is hopeful that the new and transparent Porgera arrangements with the State as the dominant partner, will, over time, bring into being for Porgera a measure of the tranquility enjoyed by the Ok Tedi mine. It is odd that the blog authors reference the New Porgera arrangements to a New Caledonia example. The obvious comparisons are to be found with the successful Barrick mines in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Barrick has re-started The Reko Diq mining development in Pakistan. The proposed Reko Diq mining structure and arrangements are the same as for Porgera. Mark Bristow has a long history, beginning in Ghana, of promoting this form of state/miner arrangement. Barrick intends that the New Porgera mine will ramp up to become a Tier 1 mine. This is based on a detailed assessment and modelling of the mine and adjacent sites prospectivity. Previous production figures have no role to play in this assessment and for the blog authors to cite them as meaningful in this context is absurd. A 2023 study by K C Hill (et al), ‘Structural and Tectonic Evolution of the Porgera Gold Mine; Highlands of Papua New Guinea’ (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/13/8/234) determined that- “[t]he Porgera deposit is a 974-metric ton Au, low sulfidation, alkali epithermal gold deposit ... the Porgera deposit is exceptional in containing a large zone of very high-grade, fault-controlled gold mineralization caused by efficient channelling of fluids up the fault zone that combined via flash-boiling during seismic fault events over an extended vertical range”. The study was funded by Barrick. Vailala

What an excellent story. I was a teacher in PNG in the days just before and after Independence, teaching in New Ireland, Manus, at Sogeri National High School and Popondetta. I have just retired after a long separate career in Community Engagement. I have maintained my interest in PNG through the years. I know the difficulties faced by sumatin from deep rural areas. It is heartening to hear Kerobin’s story. I wish him all success in his career.

Thank you Anderson for your comment. Indeed, safety is a serious concern in Port Moresby currently and needs collective actions from everyone (communities and the government)

Very informative articles published. I propose this article is useful for any research done so far on alarming rate of petty crime in the Nation's capital and other centers. This article should be collaborated for policy recommendations on combating crimes in cities and towns because the case is synonymous to other centers of the country.

Thanks Stephen That's been a useful summary from both your professional perspective elsewhere and your pertinent observations since the Office for Development Effectiveness was abolished. As a former federal public servant and also deeply interested in practical bureaucratic influence within the senior levels of Canberra, may I offer three comments on the Australian Centre for Evaluation. (1) It has been placed as a Branch at the lowest level of an SES 1, in the Macroeconomic Policy and Analysis Division of Treasury- not kept separate and reporting to Parliament (as suggested by Nicholas Gruen years ago). (2) It seems that this would mean being subject to the priorities of either (a) the Division Head, or (b) the Deputy Secretary, or (c) the Secretary. It is not a separate branch reporting directly to the Secretary. (3) I understand that the Branch head will be located in Melbourne. This is likely to reduce the impact of influencing those senior levels located in Canberra. One of the downfalls of the of the earlier APS "Managing for Results" era was the indifference of Secretaries to acting on the results of the evaluations of those times. Dr Mike Keating, Secretary first at Finance then at PM&C, deserves credit for the impetus behind that "Managing for Results" era. Especially as Head of the APS, at PM&C.

A timely and thoughtful piece that offers a way forward. The article in the sourcing of weapons from PNG's security services on ABC news today is also well worth a look: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-01/png-weapons-aid-australia-united-states-used-in-tribal-fight/103505728

Mega construction projects have aways been a route to big money. A government's worth is generally rated by how well it looks after its people. I would advise you to not look too hard.

The only route to repaying political corner posts of Pangu I guess. The route leading to fueled corruption and glitch.

The Taliban didn't ban girls from school. They just banned liberal schools and now they are learning in madrassa (means school in arabic) where they teach religion with modern subjects and you know how the madrassa school is. The US propaganda media itself reported it here: https://archive.ph/limCg. They separate male and female, this is really good and safe for women while liberal school is mixed gender.

An informative article on continuous progress and reforms in the tiny island republic. Having worked on the island as a contract officer, we were able to reform the education system to cater for their older cohort population who never attended school during the phosphate boom. The Republic needs to build and develop its human resource, through the basic education system on the island. Post secondary education should be completed outside of the island. The health sector needs to be continuously developed as awareness is now serious business in personal health and hygiene. Nauru needs a smart, wise and healthy population to provide the continuous manpower needs in its public and private sector of employment. That is the only way they can sustain their daily living. Reasons being the island has no land sufficient for expansion and agriculture.

Vinaka Stephen - one observation to share - one positive in the Australian government's pursuit of the aid/development effectiveness agenda in the Pacific, was their advocacy for the subsequent endorsement of the 2009 Cairns Compact for Strengthening Development Coordination (Forum Compact) by the Pacific Islands Forum - several deliverables elicited "recipient" country perspectives and action across internationally endorsed measures for development effectiveness. From 2009 - 2017, Pacific country perspectives on what effectiveness changes needed to be made in the delivery, management, and programming of aid in the Pacific were put to Forum leaders, donor partners (bilateral, multilateral) annually. Perhaps, a resurgence of instruments to elicit and place the voices of Pacific countries at the heart of measuring the effectiveness of "aid," let alone partnerships, might be what's needed in the face of the growing geo-political interest in our region.

very good article thanks