PNG villagers threaten to block Kokoda Track
Updated
It has emerged that a deal by the PNG and Australian governments to protect the Kokoda track from mining has had an adverse effect on people living away from the trail.
Landholders in other areas say the decision not to renew the contract of an Australian mining company has hurt them financially.
Our PNG correspondent, Steve Marshall, says Western Australian company Frontier Resources had its eye on other potential mining spots, including Mount Victoria, some three kilometres to the west of the Kokoda Track.
Mount Victoria local Kenny Abau says the PNG government's decision not to renew Frontiers exploration licence to protect the Kokoda track, means his people and thousands more have been penalised.
"We've lost millions of Kina in terms of economic benefits for the closure of our five major mines in the area," he said.
Mr Abau and other land owners want a similar infrastructure and development package offered to the Kokoda track people by the PNG and Australian governments.
They say if their demands are not met, they will block the historic path to tourists in early July.
The Kokoda track runs for nearly 100 kilometres through the Owen Stanley Mountain Range in Papua New Guinea.
It is renowned as the location of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942.
