Landowner’s application ‘premature’

A JUDGE has advised a landowner of the Porgera mining area that the application he filed to restrain the State from conducting any public awareness, campaign or forum is premature.
National Court judge Justice Collin Makail told Ruben Nalepe through his lawyer that the application would likely fail because the process of landowner validation for the new Porgera special mining lease was still in progress.
He also advised that the application could be seen as interfering in that process.
Justice Makail adjourned the application to Aug 10 to allow Nalepe’s lawyer to seek instructions.
It is understood that the adjournment of the application is to allow the process sanction by the court through consent orders to take place first.
Solicitor-general Tauvasa Tanuvasa, in opposing the application, told the court that the consent orders for the validation of landowner identification for the new mining lease had been sanctioned by the court.
He said Nalepe seemed to be abusing the court process.
Tanuvasa said the validation process should be completed first.
On July 2, Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi had issued consent orders for the Porgera landowner validation regarding the new mining lease.