Climate change adviser Ross Garnaut resigns from PNG company

Ross Garnaut: Photo credit: yahoo

Climate change adviser Ross Garnaut has resigned as chairman of Ok Tedi Mining Ltd after being banned from Papua New Guinea by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd, who is the majority owner of Ok Tedi with a 63 per cent stake, said in a statement on Friday it has nominated its own chairman, Sir Mekere Morauta, to succeed Professor Garnaut.

Sir Mekere, who took over from Professor Garnaut as chairman of PNGSDP in October 2012, asked him at the time to stay on as chairman of OK Tedi to oversee a succession plan for a Papua New Guinean replacement, and to see a number of very important projects through to completion.

In November 2012, the PNG foreign affairs department was instructed to prevent Professor Garnaut entering the country after the prime minister said the Australian was no longer welcome and accused him of insulting to the nation's leaders.

During a grievance debate in parliament a few days before the November decision, Mr O'Neill referred to a report in The Australian newspaper quoting Prof Garnaut as saying that with such an accumulation of wealth in PNG, it was "tempting for political figures to think of better ways of using it right now rather than putting it into long-term development".

Sir Mekere said the decision to not allow Professor Garnaut to travel to the country meant the appointment of a new chairman had to be brought forward.

Sir Mekere said while the PNGSDP and Ok Tedi Mining Boards would miss the contribution of Prof Garnaut at OTML, he was confident Ok Tedi would remain a major contributor to the PNG economy.

"I believe Papua New Guineans will look back on his contribution with a sense of gratitude. I would like to publicly thank him for all he has done at PNGSDP and OTML," Sir Mekere said.

"Ross Garnaut's connection with Papua New Guinea goes back 47 years.

"I can think of no other person, Papua New Guinean or expatriate, who has contributed more to the making of good policies, outcomes and organisations in modern Papua New Guinea." NINES News