Call for Australia to act over illegal PNG logging

A Papua New Guinea NGO is accusing Australia of being the largest beneficiary of illegal logging and exploitation of PNG's rainforests.

Act Now's comments come as Australia prepares to host an Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit in Sydney this week.

The summit's aim is to bring together forest nations, donor countries, corporate leaders and NGOs to focus on practical steps to reduce forest loss.

A spokesperson for Act Now, Eddie Tanago Paine, says the group is calling on Australia to proactively help the PNG Government stop unlawful logging and land grabs.

The group also wants Australia to help stop the flow of money from political corruption and illegal activities in PNG to Australia.

Eddie Paine says Australia is doing little to address underlying issues in PNG because it is also the largest beneficiary of PNG's corruption.

Source: Radio New Zealand International