Key Nauru hotel might be forced to close by protest

Transcript

Landowners on Nauru are threatening to shut down a main hotel on their land if the government continues to ignore their concerns.

The people of Meneng district were at the centre of this week's protests over the exclusion of their two MPs from parliament for more than 13 months.

Squire Jeremiah and Sprent Dabwido are among a group of five who have been shut out of parliament since May last year.

A Meneng businessman, Lockley Denuga, told Don Wiseman the landowners in the district are increasingly concerned at their lack of representation in the parliament.

He says this inspired the protest and the subsequent sacking of workers in the district is the final straw.

LOCKLEY DENUGA: Because the two days of protest none of the representatives of todays government, they did not come out to talk to us. And we assure us and them that our voice will be heard in the household if we are let back into the house. So now because some of their installations are on our land, on our district we are going to use that as our next plan of action for our voice to be heard. So we, and besides during the protest they sacked a lot of our boys from work in a lot of government entities. Like the Menen Hotel, Fisheries other governmental agencies. So now we are using plan B and use our land the installation on our land that belongs to our landowners and that is what we are going to keep on saying our boys and that's what we are going to say.

DON WISEMAN: So not having MPs for the last thirteen months how has that impacted on the district?

LD: A lot of people are said that they don't get anything from this one sided government it is like if you are not friends with David Adeang or this government you don't get anything.

DW: The land owners will withdraw the right of the government to have an installation on their land. Is that the plan?

LD: For starters we have not signed the renewable agreement and they have not been honoring the new land lease rates. So now we can still use that as one of the issues. But the main issue is the first two as to why our MPs are not in the house and to reinstate those people that have been terminated from their services there.

DW: But will you for instance not let the Menen hotel function because its on your land and you are not being properly paid?

LD: If the government still refuse to listen or negotiate with us then we will have to do that. And that is the Menen Hotel is even holding most of the RPC workers some of the IPD workers and a lot of the officials from during RPC. So really this is going to affect the government of Australia's RPC project as well.

DW: So you would shut it down?

LD: We will shut it down if the government of Nauru doesn't talk to us.