More from John Momis (Hansard Draft 7th of September) -
"Mr Speaker, RTG has been raising capital in the ASX through false pretence, misleading statements and outright lies by claiming that it has been given rights over the Panguna tenement by the Meékamui tribal government. Firstly, there is no other government in Bougainville except the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG). Secondly, no other government, tribal or otherwise, has the authority to grant exploration license over any tenements in Bougainville, except the ABG's Ministry and Department of Mineral & Energy Resources."
And then -
"Mr Speaker, because RTG is an exploration company and a relatively junior in mining exploration it does not necessarily mean that it is capable of developing and operating a mine the size of Panguna. It will most likely do what its peers have done in the exploration sector do or what its peers do in exploration sector; it would use the license to raise capital and after recouping its costs, sell to a mining company, pocket the profits and leave the landowners high and dry. As the custodian of the Bougainville Mining Law, we have a duty to protect the landowners from exploitation in line with the law which gives recognition to landowners as landowners of minerals, oil, and gas under the ground and in our seas and oceans."
"Mr Speaker, at the same time the ABG will never accept RTG in Panguna. Both investors are interested only in the profits that they can make out of our resources. They both belong to the colonial mining regime where landowners are mere recipients of royalties. We want to develop a mining regime that is aligned with our mining law, which recognises landowners as the owners of minerals in the ground. A mining regime where the ABG and landowners are equal partners in the development and operations of any mine."
And -
"Mr Speaker, therefore, I challenge the Panguna landowners to get rid of RTG. Let us rid ourselves of these companies and collaborate to collectively develop a mining regime based on equal partnership; a regime where the ABG and the landowners not only own the resources, but also the company that develops and operates the Panguna mine."
