National Pledge

We, the people of Papua New Guinea,

pledge ourselves united in one nation.

We pay homage to our cultural heritage,

the source of our strength.

We pledge to build a democratic

society, based on justice, equality,

respect and prosperity for our people.

We pledge to stand together as One People, One Nation, One Country

God bless Papua New Guinea

 

 

 

National Emblem

The National Emblem or Crest adorns all official documents, stationery and even buildings.

 

It features a Raggiana Bird of Paradise, perhaps the most popular and distinctive bird of paradise known with its plumes in full display.

 

The Raggiana holds a kundu drum and a ceremonial spear.

 

The words Papua New Guinea are often inscribed in a shallow arc immediately below the emblem.

 

The emblem is described in the National Identity Ordinance of 1971.

 

The emblem is representative of all parts of the country since the symbols on it are well known throughout all regions of Papua New Guinea.

 

The emblem was designed under the direction of Hal Halmann, who was a senior designer for the Office of Information during the years leading to Independence.

 

Mr Holman’s more recent works include the busts of Sir Michael Somare outside the entrance to Parliament and the metal sculpture of the Raggiana on Waigani Drive in the centre of the Holiday Inn Roundabout.

 

 

Singing Of Joy to Be Free

The national song calling the sons (and daughters) of Papua New Guinea to arise and to “sing of our joy to be free” was adopted by the Constituent Assembly to be sung on Independence Day.

 

Unlike the National Flag and Emblem which were adopted four years earlier, the National Anthem was not decided until just a week before Independence Day.

 

It was even mooted that there would be no national song until after Independence, even though this song and others had been submitted in a nationwide competition well ahead of Independence Day.

 

The National Executive Council decided only on September 10, 1975, to adopt the song whose words and music were composed by Chief Inspector Thomas Shacklady, the then bandmaster of the ever-popular Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Band.

 

The words are:

 

O arise all you sons of this land

Let us sing of our joy to be free

Praising God and rejoicing to bee

Papua New Guinea

 

Shout our name from the mountains to sea

Papua New Guinea

Let us raise our voices and proclaim

Papua New Guinea

 

Now give thanks to the good Lord above

For His kindness, His wisdom and love

For this land of our fathers so free

Papua New Guinea

 

Shout again for the whole world to hear

Papua New Guinea

We’re Independent and we’re free

Papua New Guinea

 

 

 

Late Christopher Kaines was an experienced pilot

Christopher Kaines...an experienced pilot

Chris Karma Kaines, from Gassam village on Siassi Island, Morobe province, died in a mysterious Cessna 206 plane crash in the mountains of Myola, along the Kokoda Trail, on Thursday, August 7, this year, on his return from Goilala.

There are several unanswered questions as to the flight plan given to the Civil Aviation Authority, the air worthiness of the Cessna, why the operator has disappeared since the death of Chris, is there any truth that Chris was carrying mercury and a large amount of money when he crashed, and many more, including questions on the involvement of certain groups and individuals.

Reporters probing the crash been hitting a brick wall at CAA when trying to get information on the crash.

Chris was a very experienced aviator, whose feats are the stuff of legend, including busting gun smuggling operations in Western province with police, once landing on the Hiritano Highway when his engine failed, who in 2006 year flew a private plane from the USA to PNG, and whose ambition in life was to buy his own plane and run a charter operation.

His best friends were from Butibum village in Lae, and he grew up with us, played with us, and drank with us as we were all one family until his tragic passing.

We will always remember this athletic, handsome and easy-going young man who had a huge passion for life.

Chris Kaines was born at Minj in the Western Highlands province but grew up at Mendi in Southern Highlands,

His father was a police sergent from Siassi while his mother was from Iokea village in the Gulf province,

Chris was a very experienced aviator.

After his training in a private flying school in Australia, self-sponsored, he flew crop dusters.

He flew for various charter operators in PNG.

Once, he ran into engine trouble and landed somewhere near Yule Island, on the Hiritano Highway, and after repairs, took off again.

When police needed an aircraft and a pilot to bust a gun-smuggling operation in the Western province side of the border, they were recommended Chris as the pilot and they still speak highly of that operation and the skills of the pilot.

“Chris was a very adventurous person,” said his brother-in-law and Post-Courier journalist Newman Cuthbert, who delivered the eulogy at his funeral service in Port Moresby last week, before the body was taken home to Siassi,

“He never joined Air Niugini or a commercial airline because he wanted to be in command of his own aircraft.

“He was not cut out to cart passengers but was attracted by the prospect of flying into remote locations and challenged the dangers of the weather and dangerous terrain of PNG head on.

“Chris always told my missus - his sister - when she told him time and time again of her concern of him operating small aircraft in remote locations: ‘Big sis I know what I am doing’.

“Danger and death was the most remote thing on all our minds for Chris.

“He had a lot of friends - those he grew up with and kept close to his roots.

“When logging was introduced to Siassi and as part of a family of principal land owners, Chris expressed concern about illegal logging and made it known at family discussions that the family members at home should never be manipulated by foreign logging companies but should benefit.

“‘We must receive our share of royalties but our old people must benefit before their time is up’ he used to tell missus.

“Chris left his first wife Betty and married her cousin also called Betty from whom he had three children.

“The father passed away two years ago and Chris flew his body home to Siassi.

“As a child he loved adventure movies like cowboys and Indians, and if there was something that looked complicated, he wanted to know what made it work.

“Recently, with another pilot friend, he took delivery of an aircraft from the USA and flew it home to PNG.

“His ambition was to buy his own plane and operate a charter company.

“He wanted the family and clan involved and we were all in the process of looking at that prospect.

“His best friends came from Butibum.

“He grew up with them, played with them drank with them and it was his other family.”

Unanswered questions surround death of pilot

Unanswered questions surround death of Chris Kaines

Several unanswered questions surround the death of pilot Chris Kaines, from Gassam village on Siassi Island, Morobe province, who died in a mysterious Cessna 206 plane crash in the mountains of Myola, along the Kokoda Trail, on Thursday, August 7, this year, on the way to Yongai in Goilala.

Local Myola villagers may now hold the key to this plane crash which has been shrouded in mystery until Kaines’s body was taken home to his beloved Siassi Island last week.

There are several unanswered questions as to the flight plan given to the Civil Aviation Authority, the air worthiness of the Cessna, why the operator has disappeared since the death of Kaines, is there any truth that he was carrying mercury and a large amount of money when he crashed, and many more, including questions on the involvement of certain groups and individuals.

Reporters probing the crash been hitting a brick wall at CAA when trying to get information on the crash.

Kaines was a very experienced aviator, whose feats are the stuff of legend, including busting gun smuggling operations in Western province with police, once landing on the Hiritano Highway when his engine failed, who in 2006 year flew a private plane from the USA to PNG, and whose ambition in life was to buy his own plane and run a charter operation.

The procedure for a flight plan is:
· Each aircraft prior to departure to a destination needs to produce a flight
plan to flight services of the Civil Aviation Agency for approval.
· The flight plan states the flight, pilot, and all relevant details like
destination.
· The control tower is responsible for clearing the aircraft for take off and monitors its flight to and from its destination.
· If the aircraft fails to report, the tower raises the alarm and Civil Aviation
organises the rescue.


In the case of Kaines:

. He himself did not produce the flight plan but somebody may have and deliberately changed details so as to have Civil Aviation approve the flight.
. The aircraft used was one that was used by trainee pilots.
. The operator (named) did have an airworthy certificate issued against the particular aircraft.
. It was to train pilots in so whoever produced the flight plan stated himself as the flight instructor and Kaines as trainee in order to get approval.
. No aircraft and pilot under instruction is authorised to carry passenger and cargo.

“(Named operator) was to have flown the aircraft himself as per the flight plan,” a source told me.

“His name may have appeared as the pilot but let Chris (Kaines) on this flight alone.

“That is why when the aircraft crashed, information out of Civil Aviation stated that the aircraft had as flight instructor an expatriate and a PNG trainee pilot.

“Chris spells his name as Chris Kaines, which is very foreign indeed

“”But (named operator) never took that flight and according to the flight plan he was supposed to do so.

“We learnt this from Chris’s wife”

“The bottom line is that (named operator) deceived Chris and deliberately misled Civil Aviation into approving the flight plan and get clearance to make the flight.

“We now know Chris had already made several flights into the area before the crash.

“On the one before the crash, he reported a faulty radio.

“This was brought to the attention of a particular engineer with Heavy Lift who questioned this aircraft to which he was to install the radio.

“When he did he was told it was the one sitting at Nadzab because of some legal complication.

“But than he was also told that it belonged to Northwest Air.

The source said several questions arose including:
. How close was the operator to Kaines?
. What was the arrangement between the two men?
. How much did Kaine’s wife know of this arrangement?
. Was there money involved or a commitment made?
. What was the cargo?
. How many previous flights to the area?
. Who in Civil Aviation knew of this flight and yet approved the flight plan?
. Why did the operator mislead Civil Aviation in stating that it was a training flight?
. Was the rescue authorised by CAA or did the operator take it upon himself to carry out the rescue?
. Why did the crash occur at 11am and the wife was told at midnight?
. What is the interest of police and did CAA authorize police into the rescue operation?
. Why the special attention of police in the crash of this aircraft??
. Why was the pilot’s body not retrieved?
. When Airlines PNG flew into Maiola to take Kaine’s body, police also accompanied that flight. Why?

“Chris (Kaines) became State property but Civil Aviation gave all of us the run around,” the source said.

“No funds to send him to Sydney and even up until the final hour, funds were not available to release the body.

“(Named operator) has suddenly gone into hiding.”

WWII pilot's skeleton found hanging in Kokoda Track tree

The tree where what is believed to be the body of a WWII pilot has been found on the Kokoda Track in papua New Guinea.

THE skeleton of a World War II pilot is thought to have been discovered hanging in a tree on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Herald Sun reports.

A group of hikers lead by Melbourne man David Collins, of No Roads Expeditions, made the astonishing find on Thursday August 21.

"We had just left Templeton’s Crossing and had walked up over the top of Mt Bellamy and were coming back down to the next camp ground when some of the hikers stopped to take photos of the natural canopy above the trail.

"One of them zoomed in on what appeared to be a body. He had zoomed in on it and when the wind blew you could see what looked like a body, and it appeared to be hanging by a cable.’’

Mr Collins said the body was covered in moss and almost impossible to distinguish initially.

"I couldn’t make it out at first. It was quite high up, about 12 to 15 metres. Then the wind blew again and I saw it move.

"It appears to be sitting in an aluminium harness and hanging from a cable, which leads us to believe it could be an airman.’’

Mr Collins, who was walking the historic track for the seventh time when the discovery was made, said it could be a significant find.

"If it is a body, then it’s a very significant find. There will be a family somewhere who had a family member missing in action who might be able to put that person to rest.’’

"There were a lot of missing soldiers in that area. You know you are walking past the graves of many people.’’

Authorities are now investigating.

Cheaper Fuel “Good News” for Papua New Guinea

Domestic fuel prices have fallen for the first time in six months in Papua New Guinea in August.

The reduction is across the board and covers kerosene, diesel and gasoline as well as jet fuel and zoom.

InterOil President Bill Jasper has described it as “good news for the entire nation”.

Mr Jasper said all of InterOil customers will benefit from the August fuel price structure.

“Our government, business and aviation clients will breathe a little easier today”.

“Motorists and domestic users, the backbone of our business, will also receive a welcome respite from the price hikes of recent months”.

“For people trying to balance the family budget, it’s like a breath of fresh air”, Mr Jasper said.

“Finally, a touch of sanity has returned to the international market place”.

A combination of powerful forces has exerted downward pressure on crude oil and oil product prices in recent weeks.

Mr Jasper said among the main contributing factors was a slight easing in demand internationally and increased output by OPEC countries.

A slightly weaker US dollar has also benefited local consumers.

“None of these factors are internal (to the PNG economy), they are all external”.

“As I have always said, the international crude oil market is determined by the worldwide forces of supply and demand”.

“This time, those forces are working for us rather than against us”.

“After months of hardship, the pendulum has swung back in favor of consumers”.

Mr Jasper said the effects of reduced crude oil prices were being felt throughout the world.

“Consumers in every nation have been hard hit in recent months and now, this month, everyone is having some relief”.

“Again we see evidence that fuel prices are a wild roller coaster ride that is subject to rapid and dramatic change”, he said.

Mr Jasper said that while prices for all fuels had fallen this month they will continue to rise and fall in line with international demand and supply in the future.

For further in formation and to arrange media interviews contact:

Susuve Laumaea
Senior Manager Media Relations InterOil Corporation
Ph: (675) 321 7040
Mobile: (675) 684 5168
Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com