Court to set system for LNG matters

 By SAMUEL RAITANO

THE National Court announced last Friday that it would develop a system of conflict management to address all matters in court relating to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.

The idea was to have all parties involved to be properly identified so that the matters were dealt with by the court with the correct parties and that problems were solved amicably.

Justice Ambeng Kandakasi made the announcement at Waigani while presiding over several cases relating to the LNG project, which he deferred to this week.

The system of conflict management was to ensure every party came to a roundtable discussion in front of the court to identify themselves and the causes of conflicts in order to deal with the issues once and for all transparently.

Kandakasi said in the LNG cases, he was skeptical of the representation in court by people in Port Moresby when the people affected were back in the villages.

He said he would be pleased to address landowner complaints on the ground even if it meant committing judicial time to travel to the areas affected or mentioned in conflicts.

Kandakasi was referring to cases in which arguments arose on matters like procurement and use of grants, tussles within landowner companies, and dissatisfaction with actions by the state, contractors and other entities affecting landowners.

He stressed that the system would have all parties involved on an open playground where they would be examined and the matters would be heard in a transparent manner while ensuring certainty in representation.