Abstract
The land belongs to the customary landowners before the colonial time in Papua New Guinea. But since the colonial time the land was given to the state. The land has portion numbers. We are applying for the portions. We have the documents and we’ve written a letter to the lands department and the former governor of NCD. We expected something from the government but nothing has been done. It is for the improvement of this community that we secure land to settle (resident of ATS settlement, January 2013).1 In the year 2000, the United Nations General Assembly with all the world governments’ representatives agreed that by the year 2015 poverty levels must be decreased to the lowest levels. How do you achieve that with people who cannot afford to make their own living? To equip them to achieve this goal, there is nothing better than land itself. Once you get land and the title, they can mortgage it to get loans from the bank and do something to start building their level up (resident of ATS settlement, January 2013).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Kastom, Property and Ideology: Land Transformations in Melanesia |
| Editors | Siobhan McDonnell, Matthew G. Allen, Colin Filer |
| Place of Publication | Canberra |
| Publisher | ANU ePress |
| Pages | 111-143pp |
| Volume | 1 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781760461058 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |