Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance Bob McMullan is here to discuss Australia’s election pledge of $50 million, to help Pacific nations improve their land policies.
He said governments in the region are under pressure because of new and competing interests relating to land ownership which may conflict with old customs that have been in place for generations.
“All the propositions that are in discussion are that customary land ownership will be retained — we are just trying to find ways that the customary land owners can get extra income and enhance livelihood from the land by cooperating with commercial development of some or all of it, which would be good for all of them and good for the national economy,” he said.
