rudd says png can decide re mining issue, page-3

Seems positive...... the first little backdown I have heard from Rudd.....


PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd and his Papua New Guinea counterpart Michael Somare have signed a pact to protect forests and reduce carbon emissions.

The agreement was signed at talks involving the two leaders in Port Moresby today.

Mr Rudd flew in to the PNG capital this morning for his first visit to the nation as prime minister.

Following the talks, Mr Rudd and Mr Somare said the PNG-Australia forest carbon partnership would address greenhouse emissions and deforestation.

Under the pact, a carbon trading scheme will be developed that can be linked to international markets.

The agreement follows the United Nations climate change conference in Bali late last year, at which the two leaders met for the first time.

Mr Rudd announced the partnership as part of a Port Moresby ``declaration'', which aims to strengthen relations between the two nations.

"I believe the time has come for us to turn over a new page and write a new chapter in Australia-PNG relations,'' Mr Rudd told reporters.

He described PNG as a "significant power within the South Pacific region''.


Welcoming Mr Rudd, Mr Somare said his was the first official state visit by an Australian prime minister since PNG's independence in 1975.

"It's a very important milestone in our history to be working very closely in partnership with you,'' Mr Somare told Mr Rudd.

Mr Somare stressed his country's commitment to reducing deforestation and other climate change issues.

The two prime ministers also discussed the row over mining near the Kokoda Track, but said it would be dealt with at a ministerial meeting next month.

Earlier today, landowners staged a protest outside Port Moresby airport as Mr Rudd flew in, calling for Australian mining company Frontier Resources to be granted a mining exploration licence renewal on a site near the track.

The group opposes an Australian proposal to add Kokoda Track to the World Heritage list, saying it will prevent the mining operation and keep them in poverty.

Mr Rudd said PNG would make its own decision about the mining issue near the Kokoda Track, where Australian and Japanese troops fought during World war II.

"We are confident our officials will arrive at a good outcome which deals with the challenges of land use, the challenges with landowners and their communities,'' he said.

Mr Rudd will tomorrow lay a wreath at Bomana War Cemetery before flying to Goroka, in the Eastern Highlands Province, to inspect AusAID-funded projects.