UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS AND DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS REGARDING MINISTERIAL CONDUCT AND DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE

 Formal Response to Mr. Eoin Vladmir Quai

I refer to the series of public statements you have recently published on Facebook. These posts contain serious allegations aimed at discrediting my professional reputation and my performance as a State Minister. While I understand you have announced your intention to contest the Yangoru-Saussia seat in 2027, political ambition does not grant you the license to publish falsehoods.

My response to your specific allegations and critiques is detailed below, structured by subject matter to ensure absolute clarity.

1. Allegations Regarding State Equity Funds

You have alleged that State Equity Funds allocated to my Ministry were utilized to build roads and other infrastructure projects. This statement is demonstrably false.

I categorically state that no State Equity Funds held by my Department have been misappropriated or misapplied for such projects during my tenure. By implying that I have misappropriated funds, you are directly accusing me of criminal conduct. This constitutes a grave defamation of my character.

I challenge you to provide immediate public evidence to support your claim. You must detail exactly when my Department released State Equity Funds for these specific road projects and provide the payment details for the years 2024 and 2025. As a lawyer, you are well aware that publishing non-factual statements that damage a reputation constitutes defamation. If you cannot provide this evidence, you have committed a serious legal transgression.

2. The East New Britain Oil Palm Investigation

Your criticism regarding the recent investigation and Court-mediated agreement in East New Britain is perplexing. This agreement resulted in a historic victory for our farmers, securing a 7,000 percent price increase after a decade of negligence, alongside a K30 million payout for underpayments, subject to court-verified claims.

This decision is transformational for the industry. By attacking this outcome, you raise serious questions about your own motives. I must ask:

●Are you suggesting the farmers did not deserve this justice?

●Are you undermining the competence of the two Senior Judges who presided over this matter?

●Are you implying that the senior counsel

representing all parties were incompetent?

I intervened in this matter because complaints to OPIC and the Provincial Government had gone unanswered. I was duty-bound to act on behalf of 15,000 farmers to ensure the industry’s expansion through fair pricing. To dismiss this legal victory suggests a lack of understanding regarding the gravity of the Court's decision.

3. Policy Reform and Legislative Gaps (OPIC)

You have criticized the state of the industry without acknowledging the root cause: a legislative vacuum. Currently, the industry is governed solely by the OPIC Act, which is wholly insufficient. This gap has led to disparities in regions like Vanimo, Pomio, and Turubu, where investors operate without paying the prices enjoyed by farmers in West New Britain.

My criticism of the industry is both valid and necessary. I have submitted a report to the Cabinet outlining crucial reforms for a new Act to prevent a repeat of the East New Britain experience. Furthermore, the Minister for Oil Palm has successfully introduced an Oil Palm Policy, and we are awaiting the accompanying legislation to close these loopholes.

4. Progress on Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Your commentary on the development of SEZs betrays a fundamental lack of experience regarding high-level investment negotiation and infrastructure development. Creating SEZs is a complex, multi-year undertaking, particularly given the challenges of land mobilization and the investment climate in Papua New Guinea.

Despite these challenges, under my leadership, we have successfully licensed four Special Economic Zones:

● Pacific Cement and Lime SEZ: Project Development Agreement expected imminently.

●Page Hill SEZ: Currently under construction.

●Sea Park SEZ: Currently under construction.

●PNG Trade Centre (5 Mile): Provisional License issued; construction has commenced.

These four zones alone represent K12 billion in new investments and will create thousands of jobs upon completion.

Furthermore, we have five additional SEZs in the pipeline.

5. Status of Specific Major Projects

●Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ)

The Government owns 225 hectares, but land alone does not create a zone. We require wharves, power, and water. Consequently, we have spent twelve months negotiating a Joint Venture with RD, who own adjacent land, a wharf, cold storage, and a cannery. This partnership aims to build a new cannery creating 5,000 jobs—a strategic move to localize key industries.

●Abau

There is no State Land available in Abau. We are partnering with NBPOL to utilize their 5,000 hectares at Ramu Agri Industries to bypass immediate land mobilization delays.

●Sepik Plains

The Sepik Fresh Farm is operational but cannot meet demand. We are finalizing a K30 million investment for Stage 2 to double capacity, supported by Government infrastructure upgrades including sealed roads and new generators.

●Wafi-Golpu Project

As of December 2025, the Wafi-Golpu project is in the final stages of the regulatory process. The Government and the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (WGJV) participants (Harmony Gold and Newmont) have been working concurrently to finalize the Mine Development Contract (MDC) and the Special Mining Lease (SML 10). We expect to make a major announcement regarding these agreements at the Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney this month. It is crucial to understand that I view Wafi-Golpu as the necessary "anchor project" required to kickstart the proposed Labu Special Economic Zone (SEZ). While the mine itself is not an SEZ, it is essential to justify the construction of major infrastructure, such as new power generation and port facilities in Lae, which the Labu SEZ requires to succeed.

●Fisheries Joint Venture – Madang

The State of Papua New Guinea and RD Corporation have entered a historic 50/50 Joint Venture to domesticate the fishing industry, shifting the nation from a passive license collector to an active commercial fleet owner. This venture serves as the critical anchor project for the newly rebranded Madang Integrated Special Economic Zone.

I have acted as the primary political architect of this deal, aggressively driving the negotiations to structure the business terms and investment policy. While the National Fisheries Authority manages regulatory quotas, I oversee the SEZ framework that provides the necessary commercial ecosystem for the project to succeed. Under my leadership, a decisive Memorandum of Understanding was signed in May 2025, unifying the State, the Madang Provincial Government, and RD Tuna. We are currently concluding the final shareholder agreement to operationalize the company.

6. The Ultimatum

I have dedicated over 40 years to building a reputation based on professional delivery and political integrity. I will not permit an aspiring candidate to use defamation as a campaign tool. Your attempt to critique complex technical matters, such as land mobilization and international investment protocols, without a track record or technical competence in these areas is misguided.

I hereby demand that you retract your defamatory statements and publish a full apology on social media within seven (7) days of this notice.

Failure to do so will result in the commencement of legal proceedings against you for defamation and a criminal complaint pursuant to the Cybercrime Code Act 2016. You will then be compelled to prove your allegations in a Court of Law.

If you wish to challenge me, do so at the ballot box in 2027 based on policy and merit, not through libelous conduct.

________________________

Hon. Richard Maru, MP

Minister for International Trade and Investment

Logging in Solomon Islands sees women 'sold' into relationships with foreign workers

By Solomon Islands reporter Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong in Makira, with Gabriella Marchant and Nick Sas Topic:Forestry, Logging and Timber Industry

Flying across the hundreds of islands that make up Solomon Islands, it's almost impossible not to see them.  

Patches of muddy and desolate ground in an otherwise lush and pristine green forest.

They are logging zones, and in Solomon Islands they are everywhere.

For the developing country, it is a catch 22: Logging is its lifeblood; the country's biggest export and a source of income for thousands.

But it is destroying the unique forest environment, with recent reports suggesting if logging continues in Solomon Islands at the same rates as late last decade all forest will be "gone" from Solomon Islands by mid-2030.      

As well as the obvious environmental impact, on the ground in logging camps across the country major social impacts are playing out.

And it comes in the form of relationships at the logging camps, or what are known locally as "log marriages". 

"There's a saying we joke about out here," Angelline Maekasia, a long-time worker at one of the camps, told the ABC   

"We say 'log marriages are like instant coffee and noodles', which literally means the girls are so young [when they get married] they still can't cook a meal." 

'Sale' of girls in logging camps

Ms Maekasia works at a camp in Makira province, an island in the south-east of Solomon Islands. 

The logging staff she services are a mix of locals and international workers, who are brought in by foreign-owned logging companies. She said local women were often coerced into relationships or marrying foreign loggers "only for the money". 

She said when the foreign workers left to return to their home countries the problems started. 

"Women, some as young as [13], are left behind in the villages with the children," she said. 

The topic is a sensitive one in Solomon Islands, where marriage is a sacred custom and connection to "bride price" — a practice where families offer compensation often in the form of land, pigs or shell money for the marriage.

During the ABC's visit to the logging camp in Makira, the topic of forced or arranged relationships was not spoken about freely in the community for fear of retribution.  

However a 2023 UN report, found the "sale" of girls to foreign workers in Solomon Islands logging sector for the purpose of sex and marriage was often arranged by parents, other family members and young male peers.

The report said the social acceptance of "bride price" was being distorted to facilitate what it called "commercial child sexual exploitation and human trafficking".

The report also said the relationships were linked to high rates of domestic violence and women were also disempowered financially through their reliance on their partner, with little chance of employment in the male-dominated logging industry. 

For Jenny Nasihaa, her relationship to Johnny Kaya, a worker originally from Malaysia, has been both joyous and incredibly hard. 

The two celebrated the birth of their first child, Priscilla, and then Johnny returned home — what she described as "his holiday".   

"She was six months old when Johnny left," she said. 

"When he left he was away for a very long time, I thought he wouldn't return. 

"So when arrived in Honiara and phoned me, I was so happy because he'd returned for us." 

Priscilla is now two-years-old. 

Ms Nasihaa said despite the prospects of her partner being away for long stretches, she said the marriage was what was "best for her". 

And Johnny told the ABC he planned to bring back his partner and baby to his home when his work stint ended.   

When contacted, the Solomon Islands Forestry Department did not point the ABC to any initiatives it had for protecting women associated with the industry. 

Environment vs development

Arguments over the benefits and negative impacts of large-scale commercial logging have been a topic of heated discussion in Solomon Islands since companies began widespread commercial operations in the 1980s.     

For Paul Waisi, a church leader of a logging community of Arohane in Makira, the industry has brought many benefits. 

"One positive is we've been able to build our own church," he said. 

"Other families have been able to build their own houses. Logging companies have also helped us get access to running water."

But with the benefits he said there have been a multitude of issues he's had to deal with as a result of the industry dominating its community. 

"It causes lots of disputes in the community, even between brothers in the same clan, there’s arguments about logs and land," he said. 

"And now lots of young boys don’t attend church or church activities in the community. So logging brings social changes."

For community leader Salome Tauni, the logging company working in the Arohane community has been associated with broken promises.

"They said they would help with the school, help the church, housing but all that, you can see, nothing’s happened.

"The logging company said they would build a community hall. They started with iron posts, then stopped building."

But she said she was more worried about the long-term environmental impacts. 

Logging has long-been associated with an increase in clay and silt in the natural water, affecting runoff and accelerating soil erosion.  

In the river surrounding Arohane, the results of logging are obvious with a constant brown runoff into the ocean.    

"After logging began, there's been a decline in fishing because I think there's fewer fish," she said. 

"I think it's due to the effect of logging and oil and pollution to the river, so there's not so much for the people to use anymore."

The company logging directly at Arohane community left in 2022. It has been contacted for comment. 

The Solomon Islands Forestry Department said it was drafting a new bill to broaden regulations to "protect the beneficial interest of the indigenous people". 

It also said it had revised the logging code of practice to minimise environmental impacts. 

Saying 'no' to logging

Some communities have fought back, resisting the urge to give in to logging.    

In Solomon Islands Western Province, which is the opposite end of the county from Makira, the community people of Zaira on Vangunu Island have fought for years, with the help of scientists, to protect areas described as a "precious relic" of untouched biodiversity.

Back in Makira, one community has taken inspiration from the people of Zaira and gone on a different path, only allowing a tiny parcel of land to be logged in its community. 

But for village leader Paul Taeniara it hasn't been easy. 

"Ever since logging came to this region, [resisting] has been our main challenge," he said. 

"We've had a land surveyor and a licensee director approach us [wanting to log].

"They try to get permission from our village elders but luckily, we've already educated them to resist."

He said he believed the choices now would pay off in the future. 

"Though conservation takes patience, we’ll wait, one day we’ll reap the benefits," he said. 

"Even though other tribes have money from logging, we're all the same. 

"I haven't seen any tribe better off than we are."

Posted Sat 19 Oct 2024 at 3:49amSaturday 19 Oct 2024 at 3:49am

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/