Dept to proceed with identifying landowners

THE Waigani National Court has lifted interim orders made to restrain the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE) from acting on a landowner beneficiary identification exercise due to change in circumstances from the time the order was passed.
Justice Nicholas Miviri found that the plaintiff association, Umbrella Hides PDL Seven Association Incorporated, was not a landowner represented association nor a representative of the clans but individual clan members who did not have the consent of each respective clan to bring the action before the court.
The association and six other clan representatives were plaintiffs in the proceedings.
“By order 5 rule 13 of the rules, the action is not properly before the court and, therefore, any consequences of the action will not entail the parties named in the proceeding,” Justice Miviri said.
“Representative actions in law means the plaintiff’s named must have standing to bring the cause of action here.
“It would amount to an abuse of process where that is not the case.
“The evidence that has come out here shows that the plaintiffs are not properly before the court.”
He found that the subject order covered areas which did not have any dispute with the defendants.
The entire area is made of six regions and five out of the six are not in dispute.
Justice Miviri said these regions should be released from the tentacles of the restraint to get what is due to them, which is royalties and equity benefits.
“Underlying is that this is a major project of prominence to the State and to all immediately within the vicinity of Hides PDL 7,” he said.
“Because the economic benefits due from it all is such that actions at law instituted must comply with the laws and rules.”