Group welcomes court’s stay order over land case

A landowner group in Port Moresby has welcomed a Supreme Court order which stayed a National Court decision that set aside an urban development lease (UDL) over a piece of land which they claimed as customary land.
The higher court, presided by Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, was satisfied that the trial judge had erred in his findings and ordered a stay on June 20 to the National Court decision made on May 19 which set aside the UDL issued to Pacific Network Services Limited (PNSL) by the State over a piece of land known as Portion 2813, Nigibata, Milinch of Granville in Port Moresby.
Sir Salamo further ordered that PNSL would continue to maintain the land but not to carry out any work on it pending the outcome of an appeal it had filed challenging the National Court decision.
The Ogoni Dabunari Incorporated Land Group of Baruni village in the Motu-Koitabu area, through its chairman Heni Samban, told The National yesterday that the landowners have accepted the higher court’s orders.
Samban said the landowners and the company must remain calm and let the court deal with the matter and not to say anything that could affect the parties involved.
“The matter is before the court and we must let the court deal with it,” Samban said.
He said the landowners would never give up and would challenge the appeal.
The appeal stemmed from a the National Court decision on May 19 in which Justice Sir Bernard Sakora set aside the UDL issued to PNSL by the State over
the 85.9 hectares piece of land.
PNSL was aggrieved by the National Court decision and appealed to the Supreme Court to review the decision.