The future prosperity of the Solomons is being frittered away by poor governance

The future prosperity of the Solomons is being frittered away by poor governance

I write to support and verify Ryan Mount of Axiom’s comments regarding corruption in the Solomon Islands (“Miner warned of China land grab in Solomons”, 28/4).

I am the chairman of Australian mining company Pacific Bauxite, which has a very significant Bauxite deposit on Nendo in the Solomons. Our company spent millions by the book only to get a “show cause” out of nowhere about two years ago. Strong legal advice was that the reasons given by the mines minister were bogus.

Alas, there was no option but to go to court, which we did. Local courts sided with the minister, predictably, so off to the appeals court with three foreign judges where we won hands down.

Two hundred thousand-plus Australian dollars in legal fees and about two years lost. The decision was to refer the case back to the minister who had acted wrongly in the first place.

Outcome: I put the company into administration 18 months ago.

I’m pretty sure if you check there is not one Australian miner active in the Solomons; they have all been forced out by the government. I believe there is only one active mine, owned by the Chinese.

We and Axiom had to lay off, collectively, some 200 Solomon Islanders from well-paid jobs.

The situation is tragic for the lovely Solomon Islanders who are crying out for genuine opportunities to advance.

As for our government, they knew what was going on and did nothing.

Peter Lewis, chairman, Pacific Bauxite Ltd, Brisbane, Qld

The article “IBAC ‘chased publicity at expense of witnesses’” (23/4) incorrectly inferred that a submission by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission to a parliamentary committee supports such a proposition.

Neither the referenced IBAC submission, or the inquiry, were about witness welfare. Witness welfare is the subject of a current parliamentary inquiry with hearings to take place next month.

We welcome the opportunity to inform our parliamentary committee, and the community, of our approach in the management of witness wellbeing. We also look forward to hearing from others on best practice in the management of witness wellbeing so we can continue to improve our practices.

IBAC’s purpose is to expose and prevent serious and systemic corrupt conduct. These purposes must be balanced with the welfare of disclosers, persons of interest and witnesses involved in its investigations.

IBAC investigations educate the public sector and community about the nature and harms of corruption, and how it might be prevented. Investigations can be enhanced by the judicious use of public examinations.

The IBAC Act mandates that a public examination of a witness cannot occur if it would cause unreasonable damage to witness safety and wellbeing. Their wellbeing and safety is always a primary consideration and we have a range of measures in place to support witnesses.

Robert Redlich, IBAC Commissioner, Melbourne, Vic

I’m confused. Why all the hoo-hah about Climate 200 boss Simon Holmes a Court getting a business boost if the country honours its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 (“Come clean on interests, climate chief told”, 27/4).

Isn’t this exactly the can-do capitalism that Prime Minister Morrison promised would be the way forward? It’s not just Simon Holmes a Court who is going to gain. Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and mining magnate Twiggy Forrest have thrown their weight behind the move to sustainable energy, as has the Business Council of Australia.

All have business acumen and all can see the huge future in a renewables bonanza.

John Mosig, Kew, Vic

Barry Murphy (Letters, 28/4) promotes nuclear energy, but it has to be recognised that the more solar and wind energy is added to the grid, the less viable and economic nuclear and coal-fired power stations become.

The output from wind and solar facilities can change rapidly, so the rest of the grid has to be capable of changing rapidly to compensate. Nuclear reactors and high efficiency, low emissions coal-fired stations are designed for steady-state running and cannot react quickly.

Batteries are impractical and uneconomic. The only hydro station under consideration is Snowy2.0, but it’s 2GW capacity is well below what is required, and it is unlikely to be available before the mid-2030s. The economics of hydrogen have still to be proven and don’t look good.

The only viable option is gas turbines. Smart investors will see gas as the future.

R. Watson, Sunnybank Hills, Qld