Montage ~ Mountain/Faces

Music

00:00

Kabui in water taxi

MARSHALL: Joseph Kabui was a President under pressure. Just over a week ago he died of a heart attack at the age of fifty-four.

00:10

Kabui on phone on beach

This was the last journey President Kabui made into the heart of his homeland. He had grand plans for his so-called “treasure island” with its wealth of precious metals.

00:24

Kabui

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: I’d like to see Bougainville become a Kuwait of the Pacific. That’s my dream.

00:35

Four wheel drive across lagoon

Music

00:42

Kabui in car/Semple

MARSHALL: Only weeks before his death, the President gave this Australian businessman rights to much of the island’s mineral riches.

00:46

Semple

LINDSAY SEMPLE: In terms of integrity, in terms of character, he was a giant amongst men.

00:53

Open cut mine

Music

00:58

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MARSHALL: But who will get Bougainville’s billions, now the President’s gone?

01:05

Semoso

FRANCESCA SEMOSO: And for those that are trying to sell Bougainville in that deal, you might has well pack up and go.

01:09

Island scenery

Music

01:17

Rain on abandoned mine equipment

MARSHALL: Deep in the heart of the Bougainville jungle, lie reminders of a painful past. In its day, the huge Australian owned Panguna copper mine was one of the richest in the world. It accounted for nearly half of PNG’s export earnings until civil war destroyed it.

01:39

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PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: I mean we slaughtered one another,

02:01

Kabui. Super:
President Joseph Kabui
Autonomous Bougainville Govt.

a mother against mother, a father-in-law against son-in-law, a brother against brother, a sister against sister – that’s what we went through.

02:05

Archive footage, Four Corners 1991

Music

02:13

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MARSHALL: Joseph Kabui was the political mastermind behind the independence movement.

02:17

Archive Kabui

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: [Archive footage, Four Corners 1991] Ever since God created the universe, Bougainville has been separate.

02:23

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MARSHALL: More than ten thousand lives were lost in the civil war, sparked by landowners after a bigger share of the mining company’s profits.

02:31

Kabui

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: I mean had they done simple things like providing roads into villages, providing electricity into the villages,

02:40

Village buildings

providing, you know, educational facilities you know for landowners, those sort of things had they done that, could have led to avoiding the sort of problems that we went through. So I think that was the biggest mistake.

02:48

Kabui out of car

MARSHALL: As part of the peace process, the PNG Government gave Bougainville limited powers to govern itself. Three years ago, Joseph Kabui was elected President of Bougainville but the region remains financially dependent on Port Moresby.

03:05

Kabui

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: Funding has been our biggest enemy, you know, number one enemy all along.

03:24

Truck outside store

MARSHALL: Two months ago President Kabui pulled off his greatest achievement in office,

03:32

People on street

persuading the PNG Government to give Bougainville control over its own resources.

03:35

Kabui

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: You got the money, you got the funds, the sky is the limit.

03:42

Marshall on boat to Panguna

MARSHALL: Bougainville is open for business, so we head out to see the once mighty Panguna copper mine.

03:56

Driving  to Panguna

The journey takes us south where rebel fighters refuse to join the peace process, an obstacle in the President’s plans for progress.

04:04

Uma

GENERAL CHRIS UMA: If anybody crosses this river just shoot it, and report it to me what you’ve done.

04:13

Uma and others cross river

MARSHALL: Chris Uma made a name for himself as a rebel who chased the Australian miners out of town nearly twenty years ago.

04:20

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The self-styled ‘General’ Uma, now heads up what he calls the Royal Kingdom of Meekamui.

04:29

Uma’s HQ

His officials work out of a ransacked mining company house.

04:38

Uma in meeting

General Uma believes his people should govern Bougainville, not the autonomous Bougainville Government, the ABG.

04:45

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GENERAL UMA: That government called ABG belongs to a small group of people

04:55

Uma

who are influenced by white men. They have formed the ABG government. All people with tradition and culture, they support Meekamui.

05:00

Meekamui villagers

MARSHALL: The Meekamui people live in poverty. There’s been no progress since the crisis ended. No money to even remove the ruins.

05:19

Uma and rebels with guns

Chris Uma’s ambition to rule Bougainville might be hard to take seriously, but the same can’t be said for his guns. He controls the Panguna mine site.

05:31

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Music

05:43

Marshall at checkpoint

We’re now heading up to the checkpoint, which stops outsiders going through to the Panguna Mine. Basically, since the crisis happened, very few people have been allowed past this point - PNG Government officials, Bougainville Government Officials, police, soldiers and especially the mining company.

0447

Car through checkpoint

We have permission from the General of the Meekamui Defence Force to pass through, so we’re on the last leg to the Panguna Mine.

06:18

Climbing down rock face  to mine

During eighteen years of operation, the Australian Mining company now called Bougainville Copper Limited or BCL and owned by Rio Tinto, dug its way to more than three million tonnes of copper and gold. It was an around the clock operation, employing three thousand locals and hundreds of ex-pats.

06:37

Mine face

The riches that are still buried in the soil have not been forgotten by the outside world. The mine could have at least twenty years of life left in it.

07:00

Taylor

PETER TAYLOR: Yes I’d love to get back and have a look, very fond memories for me Bougainville and working at the mine.

07:10

Taylor and Marshall in office

MARSHALL: Based in Sydney, BCL’s Chairman, Peter Taylor, hasn’t set foot at the mine since the crisis, but with today’s copper prices at a high, he wants back in.

07:17

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PETER TAYLOR: [BCL Chairman] If you assume that we were producing about a hundred and seventy thousand

07:28

Taylor. Super: 
Peter Taylor
BCL Chairman

tonnes of copper a year and about half a million ounces of gold, you’re talking probably a billion and a half dollars.

07:32

Uma

GENERAL UMA: I think development can come first then mining can come later.

07:39

Marshall at mine

MARSHALL: Chris Uma and his people are prepared to have BCL back as long as their living conditions improve. But President Kabui had other plans. He told BCL’s major shareholder, Rio Tinto, the company wasn’t welcome.

PRESIDENT KABUI: The best way for Rio Tinto with a big trouble of what we went through

07:49

Kabui

is perhaps for Rio Tinto to withdraw or BCL to withdraw and allow new players to come in.

08:13

Marshall helps push boat into water

Music

08:22

Kaouna in boat

MARSHALL: To find out who these new players are, you need to talk to this man.

KAOUNA:  This hill, small knoll here, became a strategic location.

08:30

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MARSHALL: In the space of a few years, Sam Kaouna went from rebel army commander to President Kabui’s key financial adviser and he’s not even on the government payroll.

08:48

Kaouna. Super:
Sam Kaouna
Former rebel soldier

SAM KAOUNA: We have to, as Bougainvilleans, take full control of that resource, and that is why I am, I have come up with an arrangement which I’m very special, very genuine interested persons from abroad.

09:00

Semple opens door

MARSHALL: This is one of them, Lindsay Semple, an Australian based in Canada.

09:22

Kaouna

SAM KAOUNA: Lindsay Semple out of hundreds of interested investors that came into Bougainville turns out to be that person, that special person who is genuine, who is able to listen to the way people think. Look, although hundreds, I have chosen Lindsay because in my heart I feel that he’s the person Bougainville needs.

09:33

Kaouna in boat

Music

10:00

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MARSHALL: Sam Kaouna and Lindsay Semple created a company called Invincible Resources, and offered the President a deal he couldn’t resist.

10:04

Kaouna

SAM KAOUNA: It’s the best arrangement ever.

MARSHALL: It’s free money.

SAM KAOUNA: It’s free money! That’s why Invincible is top!

10:13

Sam on boat

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10:21

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MARSHALL: What he’s talking about is an eight million dollar payment made from Invincible to the Bougainville Government.

10:24

Kabui. Super:
President Joseph Kabui
Autonomous Bougainville Govt.

PRESIDENT KABUI: Invincible is a company that was prepared to risk itself. It is a company that took -- in fact, it gambled when they decided to come to help Bougainville with the initial 20 million to assist us, at the time when Bougainville, ABG for that matter, was really, you know, cash strapped.

10:33

Marshall walks on beach with Kabui

MARSHALL: Overweight and suffering from heart disease, the President dipped in to the Invincible payment to keep himself alive. He spent well over a hundred thousand dollars on medical treatment, including a heart bypass operation in Cairns.

11:04

Assay plant

Invincible got its quid pro quo and then some. It set up this gold processing lab and got the President’s approval to export sixteen million dollars worth of Bougainville’s alluvial gold, doubling its initial eight million dollar up front payment.

11:20

Worker

MARSHALL:  And how much gold do you think you’ve collected so far since you’ve been over here?

WORKER: We’ve made two exports already.

11:42

Still. Kabui and Semple/ Election day

MARSHALL: President Kabui’s courtship with Invincible goes back more than three years. The company donated eight thousand dollars to Mr Kabui’s election campaign, even though it’s illegal for candidates to accept donations from foreigners.

11:56

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Six weeks ago they went public with their secret business arrangement. They took out a full page in PNG’s main paper to announce a new deal, effectively giving Invincible a 70% share of the island’s resources for up to five years. The agreement excludes the Panguna Mine.

12:13

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FRANCESCA SEMOSO: [ABG Deputy Speaker] It’s just a deal that’s unconstitutional. It was not voted by the House.

12:34

Semoso. Super:
Francesca Semoso
ABG Deputy Speaker

What person in his or her right frame of mind, would go along with that, with a deal like that? It’s like you have somebody from Mars who comes here and says hey Bougainville, I want 70% and you get 30%.

MARSHALL: Francesca Semoso

12:39

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is the Deputy Speaker of the Bougainville Government. Her interest is more than political. On Bougainville, the land is passed down through the women.

FRANCESCA SEMOSO: If it was a good deal,

12:54

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why wasn’t there any transparency when it was handled from the very beginning? There are Bougainvillean women, there are Bougainvillean men and you that are asking the same question.

13:05

Kabui in car

MARSHALL: Amid growing outrage, President Kabui was forced to head out and sell Invincible to the people. He told us he hated these road trips as the bumpy ride caused him pain.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: I believe the decision

13:17

Kabui addresses landowners

will provide the medicine which will really heal our people in all corners of Bougainville.

13:34

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MARSHALL: The local landowners weren’t buying it, calling Invincible, Invisible.

13:48

Landowner on microphone

LANDOWNER: Can you come out clear, and tell the people of Bougainville, especially the people of Timputz and Wakanei, who are the foreign investors?

13:54

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MARSHALL: No wonder Bougainvilleans are angry, they’ve already had one war over foreign investment, and now they feel their land has been sold from under them again.

14:03

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LANDOWNER: You’re wasting money of the people of Bougainville.

FRANCESCA SEMOSO: So much lives has been lost

14:14

Landowners at window of meeting hall

over this issue that we are trying to repeat again. Is history going to repeat itself? And again.

14:18

Semoso. Super:
Francesca Semoso
ABG Deputy Speaker

We let this company from nowhere, that doesn’t even feel Bougainville, that doesn’t look Bougainville, that doesn’t smell Bougainville, that doesn’t believe Bougainville, they come into Bougainville and they say we are the white people for you. Mr President, we’ll give it, we’ll give you the best. There’s the best deal for the people of Bougainville. Who the hell are they? You tell me.

14:25

Kabui. Super:
President Joseph Kabui
Autonomous Bougainville Govt.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: We’re dealing with people that are very successful businessmen, not only successful, but we’ve seen them to be good people. I mean you can have a, you can be in a position to see from their body language, just maybe can have a, a general idea of what sort of a man you are dealing with. You know, somebody that is not honest and somebody that is not genuine, you can have a fair idea of him.

14:47

Kabui at landowner meeting

MARSHALL: For a man who’d been revered as an astute leader, the people started to question the President’s state of mind.

15:17

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FRANCESCA SEMOSO: That is not good leadership. That is not good decision making. You cannot judge a company by the vibes they bring across to you.

15:28

Semoso

That is totally no, no, no, no, no – no!

15:37

Semple at café/Semple photo

MARSHALL: Lindsay Semple promotes himself as a financial facilitator based in Vancouver. His relationship with the Papuan New Guineans began during his Rock Hampton Grammar School days. To find out more about Mr Semple’s past business dealings, we tracked down landowners just outside Port Moresby.

15:44

Marshall walks with Horavay

EUGENE HORAVAY: We’re in the land where Lindsay came in with his operations – took out all the round logs for export…

16:06

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MARSHALL: Eugene Horavay’s people signed a logging deal with Lindsay Semple and his foreign backers eight years ago and claim they were offered an upfront payment.

16:13

Horavay

EUGENE HORAVAY: Lindsay came in holding some money in a briefcase, tried to hand it over to the directors to get them to go back to the city to sign the agreement.

16:21

Log pile

MARSHALL: It was meant to last ten years but the project turned soured after just a few months. The landowners claim they were owed royalties and the promised community developments never came.

16:35

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The company contracted to remove the logs, says it was left almost half a million dollars out of pocket.

LUKE FALLON: Well it cost us a lot of money and also made us look stupid, 

16:51

Fallon. Super:
Luke Fallon
Logging contractor

which in this country is a big issue. You know, we had a lot of egg on our face, you know? We pride ourselves on our reputation.

17:02

Luke on site

MARSHALL: Luke Fallon’s attempt to track down the money proved fruitless.

17:11

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LUKE FALLON: We pursued it was much as we could I’m sure, but they disappeared very quickly from the country and

17:16

Fallon

one of the Canadian backer’s sons actually ran an offshore bank, and they had you know, set this up as a professional distant sort of business thing isolating themselves, and we’d be chasing them all over the place. It would cost us too much money.

17:22

Semple in office

MARSHALL: Lindsay Semple refused to speak on camera about the allegations, but vehemently denies them. He said he left the company before its demise and even brought the landowners a new car.

17:37

PNG Parliament/ Letter overlay

The National PNG Government is now demanding answers about Bougainville’s deal with Lindsay Semple. A leaked draft audit into what happened to Invincible’s eight million dollar up front payment is damning. Cash payments of more than a million dollars to individuals and almost fifty thousand dollars spent on repatriating the President’s brother back from overseas.

17:53

Kabui

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABUI: I mean if people are worrying about corruption, there’s other places far more corrupt and I think in Bougainville you don’t see any real corruptions here in Bougainville. There are probably some elements of it, you know, we’re trying to get rid of those sort of things in here, but it’s nothing compared to what is happening in Port Moresby, what is happening in other Third World countries.

18:14

Kabui meets with men

MARSHALL: In the face of growing opposition from his people, President Kabui refused to back down on the Invincible deal. He sacked key critics including a Cabinet Minister and was preparing to fight off a motion of no confidence when he died.

18:33

Kabui on boat

In the hours leading up to his death, President Kabui received a letter from the PNG Prime Minister asking for an explanation.

18:56

Kabui’s funeral

Bougainvilleans are deeply shocked over the loss of their President. They describe him as a ‘true son of the island’ who led them through difficult times.

19:16

Mourners file past casket

The President may have gone but the Invincible deal remains alive. It’s impossible to say how much support there really is, speaking before Mr Kabui’s death at least one of the deal’s critics was determined that Bougainville wouldn’t once again be sold out to foreigners.

19:33

Ext. Church

FRANCESCA SEMOSO: If ever it gets passed in Parliament,

19:58

Semoso

I will question and I will say what’s happened to Bougainville? Have we sold ourselves to the dogs?

20:01

Island scenery

Singing

20:10

Kabui slow motion shots

MARSHALL: Right up until his death, President Kabui was adamant he only wanted the best for his people.

20:26