I have just been on a short visit to Tabubil - a mining company town established and largely run by OK Tedi Mining Ltd. The town is clean, tidy, safe, well run and a very peasant place to be. You can walk around any time day or night with no problems. There are excellent schools, a hospital, fire station, sporting facilities, clubs, swimming pool etc. open to everyone. There are no buai stains or rubbish in the street - rangers make spot fines for anyone caught littering. The roads are kerbed and guttered with no potholes. Rubbish is collected regularly, there are no street vendors spreading their filth, houses and cars don't need security screens as there is virtually no crime. The gardens are lovely with many flowers and trees. It is a very impressive town - the best I have seen in PNG.

Why can't other towns be as clean, safe and lovely as Tabubil? Does it take a private company to run things as efficiently as this? Maybe we should ditch politicians and Governments and outsource running our towns and cities to private companies. They are certainly doing a better job in Tabubil.

Because other towns are run by public servants with little or no thought about anythinG else apart from the paycheck and their miserable, pathetic little lives.

How about the big village (HB) next dooor to down town and Harbour City Port Moresby? It is dirty but one of the safest places in Port Moresby. Go too and see for yourself.

They are not mining gold at OK Tedi, but copper.

The mine is due to close in 2012. Between now and then all profits are going into the Sustainable Development Fund - a trust established to benefit the people of Western Province. This is pouring millions into community support and economic development projects, so that when the mine closes there will be significant resources available to the people.

Also there are major other copper deposits in the vicinity of Tabubil - some estimated to have over 30 years life of high-grade ore. So mining will probably continue. However they need to sort out the environmental issues, as the tailings dumped into the OK Tedi and Fly river systems are a disgrace.

Once the mining finishes, Tabubil will go the way of similar Aussie towns that totally collapsed and everyone left after the minerals were finished.

Why then is Tabubil an example of anything good? Maybe an example of our typical fast money, short term development, collapsed everything mentality, that would fit Tabubil as it will become.

Tabubil will always exist to some extend, because of all the villages surrounding the town. There will always be a need for additional food, petrol, banks and post offices as additional services as the airport. May not exist in it's present form , but will be there.

Ok Tedi does mine gold, in 2006 550,000 oz where mined.

Tabubil is also not without it's crime, there are security screens on the windows and doors.

Loved Tabubil, lived there for 2 years, never locked the doors and the locals were great.

Tabubil may exit for years to come servicing other big projects like Fredda Copper when OK Tedi closes.

Here's what I know ab out all this. That's not what the reports on the long term assessment of the area say. They say Tabubil will collapse.

Remember, businesses stay only as long as there is money in the area. Once the Ok Tedi mine closes, no more money in the area and all the businesses leave. Moro underwent a rapid transition as the oil was declining first there was an Ela Motors up in Moro so I'm told as well as post office and other businesses, now ALL GONE. Only the oil camps up there, zero long term development.

Freida won't be so foolish as to connect to Tabubil, they'll connect straight to a larger commercial centre.

Tabubil long term future is that of a dead duck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

.........just love the place (Tabubil), so beautiful with all the surrounding scenery and Lihir is the best because it sits on an island paradise but talk about Porgera, you'd think you are living in a squatter in Soweto - a shanty grimy town!

Well, the foolish papa graun said they wanted a town at Pogera and so eventually they got their town. But since it was never in the plans, look what you get. Tell me: Do the expats live in that fine Pogera town?