LINDSAY BOND
BRISBANE – Just a few days ago, an important tweet appeared in my Twitter timeline from Governor Gary Juffa of Oro Province in Papua New Guinea.
"Today completed inspection of ongoing operations at Collingwood, Oro Province,” the tweet read. “All equipment and logs impounded. Illegal logging operations stopped. Addressed community to inform them of actions taken on their behalf including engagement of lawyer to commence civil proceedings."
These were Governor Juffa’s words and they were said after his decisive actions. A leader by tradition is one who goes ahead into the fray, giving full measure to being the first and being seen to do that by his followers.
Governor Juffa also tweeted: "It is very worrying that PNG Forest Authority are now so silent and not acting against illegal loggers in Oro. This is totally hypocritical of the govts claim that it is taking stringent steps against illegal logging."
The leadership that he exemplifies is precisely the lead that ought to have come from PNG Forest Authority. And he rightfully decries the silence from PNGFA.
“Public servants in provinces corroborate with PNGFA officials and dubious ‘landowners’ to award permits via the PNGFA Board to log chunks of land of 500 hectares to logging pirates on the pretext of ‘tree growing’ and ‘agricultural projects’,” Governor Juffa wrote on Facebook.
“These are the same plunderers who pay no taxes and have planted no trees or a single agricultural species of plant or animal life for the last 20–30 years,” he said.
“My inspection [see top photo] in reaction to landowner petitions revealed massive breaches of various laws including environmental, trespassing, labour, transport, migration and others.
“Administration officials confessed giving approvals without first bringing them to my attention. The officials were shown the various areas of concern that the company blatantly logged in breach of various laws and they were instructed to act immediately and impose penalties,” Governor Juffa said
Meanwhile, here’s a contribution from me to the beauty of Collingwood Bay in the hope it will never be surrendered:
Swallow-wood Bay
Of Collingwood Bay
marine peeks abound
mounted peaks surround
Of gorgon’an bay
shallows below
shadows belay
Of gorgeous bay
canoe craft thrive
able folk strive
Of colon’al bay
Money* prayed
Monckton sprayed
Of current at bay
hallowed shafts felling
tallow stacks shipping
Of gorblimey bade
salient inroad spit
serves for loading hit
Of gobblewood bay
allowed and preyed
concealed and delayed
Of gotten wood bay
currency courts
legality discounts
Of Governor’s bay
crime not to pay
invokes folk to say
Of correcting bay
severed sans feist
nation to halt heist
Of would nought be got
words note expense
wood’s recompense
*Percy Money was a missionary