2008 Port Moresby Rugby League Grand Final

Caption 1: An Inter-Territory game in Port Moresby 1970

Caption 2: The Port Moresby Rugby League Ground in 1969

Papua New Guinea’s oldest Rugby League competition – SP Port Moresby Rugby League – winds down with the Grand Final on Sunday, October 05th, 2008 between ADBL Broadband Paga Panthers and TSCL Magani.

It will be the culmination another season of top-class rugby league and will be even more special in that these two clubs are the pioneers of Port Moresby Rugby League,

The game of Rugby League was first played in Papua New Guinea in 1949 by Australian soldiers.

However, it wasn't until the late 1960's when the game was regularly played by locals.

In the 1950's, there were regular matches between Australian soldiers in New Guinea and fellow Australian soldiers in Papua New Guinea.

There were also many other regional events taking place which often attracted large crowds, mainly watched by other soldiers and natives from local villages.

Rugby League grew very quickly indeed, and although the game was only a popular spectator sport, mainly played by Australians and New Zealanders, it was clear that Rugby League was their national sport by the 1960's.

SUB-REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON SPECIAL MEASURES FOR WOMEN 25-26 SEPTEMBER 2008 PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES

 

Background

 

In 2004 the Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum called for action to address the low levels of women in decision-making, within the framework of the Forum’s Pacific Plan and consistent with the Pacific Platform for Action on gender equality.  In April 2006 a “Pacific Regional Workshop on Advancing Women’s Representation in Parliament” was held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.  One outcome of that workshop was agreement that the Forum Secretariat, with international and regional partners, would initiate and coordinate sub-regional workshops on special measures and electoral reforms to promote the political representation of women.

 

2.         The first such sub-regional workshop, focused on Melanesian countries, was convened in Port Moresby from 25-26 September 2008.  The Workshop was convened by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in partnership with the Department of Community Development, Government of Papua New Guinea, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Development Programme Pacific Centre (UNDP PC), the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and with support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (PNGSDP).

 

3.         The Workshop was opened by the Right Honourable Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, and was attended by the Honourable Dame Carol Kidu, Minister for Community Development from Papua New Guinea, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Francesca Semoso and Minister the Honourable Laura Ampa from the Autonomous Bougainville Government, along with current and former parliamentarians, senior officials and civil society representatives from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.  Supporting partners, international organisations and selected experts also participated in the workshop.

 

The Workshop

 

4.         Opening the Workshop, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare voiced his strong support for the advancement of women in public life, including increasing women’s representation in parliament.  The Prime Minister emphasised the shared responsibility of men, women, members of the legislature and voters in working together to change perceptions and recognise the need for both genders to be represented in parliament and public life, in order for Pacific nations to realise their full potential in the global environment.  He said that custom could no longer be used as an excuse to justify the exclusion of women from politics, when Pacific countries aspired to embrace many western ideals and concepts.  The Prime Minister noted options currently under discussion in Papua New Guinea for increasing the low representation of women in parliament, including activation of the provisions in PNG’s Constitution for appointed seats, and/or introducing reserved seats for women; and expressed his support for continued work toward the implementation of such measures.

 

5.         Participants considered and discussed the low level of women’s representation in Parliaments in the Pacific region by global standards, and analysis of the reasons for women’s lack of success in recent Melanesian elections.  The Workshop noted a large number of factors including institutional, cultural and financial, which constrain women from political success.  The Workshop discussed the reasons why special measures were needed and justified, noting in particular participating countries’ international and regional commitments to gender equality, as well as the very practical reasons women should be proportionally represented in parliaments, including fair representation, and the valuable perspectives and priorities on crucial social issues offered by women.

 

6.         The Workshop examined the technical and legal options available for special measures to increase women’s representation.  Participants recognised that differences between countries such as their respective electoral systems and the strength of their political parties, have an effect on the choice and potential effectiveness of special measures.

 

7.         During the Workshop, each delegation provided information on the situation in its country, actions presently underway to increase women’s political participation, and remaining challenges.  Examples of special measures already in place in the region were examined, including reserved seats for women in the Motu-Koita Assembly in Central Province and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, and party quotas in Australia.  Participants were also advised about special measures presently under consideration in Melanesia, including utilising constitutional provisions allowing for nominated seats in the national parliament in PNG, and a submission to introduce reserved seats for women as part of the constitutional reform process in Solomon Islands.

 

Key Outcomes

 

8.         In discussing special measures in their countries, Workshop participants recognised that it is essential that such measures be owned, led, and supported by the women and men of each country, drawing on regional and international assistance where needed.

 

9.  The Workshop further emphasised that strategies to increase women’s representation in parliaments must be holistic and comprehensive.  As such, participants identified some key considerations relevant to all four countries in developing strategies for special measures, including:

·      The importance of increasing knowledge about political, electoral, parliamentary and legal issues among those working towards women’s representation, in order to develop and implement fully informed and effective strategies, and participate in political discussions on an equal level with their male counterparts;

·      The importance of working with men and including men in advocacy, education and strategy to increase women’s representation;

·      The need for a united purpose and strategy among woman candidates, national women’s machineries, women’s groups and NGOs, in order to maximise impact;

·      The need for greater attention to education of voters at the community level, both women and men, to raise understanding of political issues in general, gender issues, and the importance and value of women’s participation in public life;

·      The need for further study of the psychology of voting and voting patterns in Melanesian countries in order to comprehensively understand voter behaviour and inform strategy;

·      The great importance of mobilising financial resources to enable women to campaign effectively for election;

·      The relevance of broader measures to combat corruption in politics and elections, in order to ensure that electoral competition is fair and transparent.

 

10.       With these considerations in mind, each delegation commenced work to develop a national strategy for identifying and implementing appropriate special measures to increase the representation of women in Parliament:

 

Ø      Fiji identified that a coalition of government agencies, women’s machinery and NGOs should work together on both short- and long-term strategies to achieve the goal of a minimum of 30% of women in Parliament:

-         In the short term, working towards making quotas mandatory through legislation, while at the same time lobbying political parties to adopt and implement voluntary quotas for women in their party manifestos, and lobbying for the appointment of more women to the upper house of Parliament;

-         implementing the “gender elections cycle” presently being developed in cooperation with the Office of the Supervisor of Elections;

-         a long-term approach to promote constitutional amendments to entrench party quotas in the lower house of the Parliament, as appropriate to the electoral system.

 

Ø      Papua New Guinea also identified short- and longer-term approaches:

-         In the short term, working to implement the existing NEC (Cabinet) decisions on special measures.  This means promoting amendment to the Organic Law on Integrity of Political Parties, to remove the ability of members in nominated seats to participate in motions of no confidence to block budget bills.  This would remove a present blockage to NEC endorsing the activation of constitutional provisions to appoint women to 3 seats in Parliament;

-         Working to put in place an Organic Law on Gender Equity, or reserved seats legislation of some sort to provide for the election of women to reserved seats in parliament, ready for the 2012 elections.  The number and distribution of such reserved seats would require further consideration and discussion;

-         As a longer term goal, encouraging a broader review of the electoral and political system in PNG;

-         In addition, PNG proposed that a study be conducted to document the establishment of reserved seats for women and the experiences of women in the Autonomous Bougainville Government, for the information and reference of others in PNG and the region.

 

Ø      Solomon Islands noted its present circumstances including the Constitutional and electoral reform processes underway.  In that context, Solomon Islands identified a series of actions to be taken following the Workshop, including reporting back to the Office of the Prime Minister, head of the National Peace Council, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Electoral Commission, and the general public through forums and media awareness, involving RAMSI where appropriate.  Solomon Islands proposed the production of a simple report on options for special measures in Solomon Islands, which could be translated into the main languages of Solomon Islands for wide consultation.  Possibilities to be canvassed may include the ten reserved seats to be elected by both women and men already proposed, split constituencies and other options.

 

Ø      Vanuatu favoured the introduction of reserved seats in parliament for women, to be elected by both women and men.  Options include introducing a reserved seat for women for each province and municipality, or reserving a set number of seats for women in each multi-member constituency: the specifics of the number of such seats and their distribution should be a matter for further public consultation.  Vanuatu emphasised the importance of educating ni-Vanuatu voters to fully understand and support such measures, through mass media and voter education programmes by Government and NGOs. Other key elements of Vanuatu’s strategy included building networks, identifying and working with male champions, lobbying and working through political parties and members of parliament, research, and obtaining technical assistance where necessary.  Once public support was secured, necessary constitutional and/or legislative amendments should be clarified and pursued. 

Finally, Vanuatu noted that each of its provincial governments included 4 appointed seats, one of which was for women, and these should be filled immediately following the November 2008 provincial government elections.

 

11.       Participants expressed their appreciation for the support from regional and international partners for the Workshop and the ongoing efforts to increase women’s political participation in Melanesia.  The Workshop requested that donors and partners continue to provide technical and other assistance as appropriate for the further development and implementation of their strategies.

 

 

 

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

26 September 2008

 

Dead fish a cause of concern for Western province villagers

The Kura River is a major source of fish for the Iruupi villagers of Western province. Picture by MALUM NALU.

Villagers from remote Iruupi village in the Western province have complained to Governor Bob Danaya about dead fish being found in the Kura River.

They raised their concern in a letter to Mr Danaya last Thursday (September 25) and asked the Governor to send in experts to ascertain the exact cause of the fish dying.

They believe that the fish could be dying because of oil or petroleum substances in the river.

“We wish to make known to you sightings of dead fish numbering up to 200-plus dying nearly everyday and floating in the river system of Kura,” said ward 14 council member in the Oriomo-Bituri rural local level government Goba Biange, acting chairman/treasurer of Naga Bewani Resource Association Siwida Rumi and association secretary Kapena Memafu.

“The sightings of these dead fish began last month and are getting worse nearly everyday.

“We have made requests to the administration several times to send an assessment team to assess the dying garden crops but nothing has since been done.

“It has now happened to the river system.

“We are suspecting leakages of oil or petroleum substance in the river system that is killing the fish.

“The tide in the river has been normal and there has been no flooding since the beginning of this year.

“We are very worried because our livelihood has been taken away by this unknown mystery.

“Please send us experts in the field of petroleum to investigate and report accurately the findings.”

Copies of the letter were also sent to South Fly MP Sali Subam and the Departments of Petroleum and Energy and Environment and Conservation.

UNICEF Announces Nominees for This Year's International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Awards

NEW YORK, 16 September 2008 – UNICEF today announced the nominees for the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Awards.  The awards are given by UNICEF for outstanding commitment to the ICDB by television and radio broadcasters. The winner of the 2008 ICDB Awards will be announced in at an awards ceremony dinner on 10 November 2008 in New York.   

The International Children’s Day of Broadcasting is celebrated by hundreds of broadcasters around the world.  The next ICDB will take place on 1 March 2009 with the theme “Unite for Children: Tune in to Kids!”

This year, the nominees each won a regional competition and now go on to compete for global honours. The nominees come from Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru and the United Arab Emirates. They represent the best work produced in 2007 for the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting, as well as a commitment to youth participation in media.

“These visionary broadcasters have demonstrated creativity in their programming as concrete evidence of their commitment to getting young people’s voices heard,” says Stephen Cassidy, Chief of UNICEF’s Internet, Broadcast and Image Section.  “We are happy to see the increase in radio broadcasters this year, as we strive to recognize the audio medium with the same respect television has received, especially given the importance of radio in many of the world’s developing countries.”

Regional judging took place between June and August and entries were evaluated by teams of broadcasters, radio and television experts and communications specialists. The judges looked at content, execution and year-round youth participation.

The ICDB was launched in 1991 to encourage broadcasters worldwide to create awareness for children’s issues. Each December, these youth write, report, produce and present programs that allow them to reach a wide audience with their thoughts on the issues that affect them.

The ICDB Regional Prizes for television went to Channel I (Bangladesh, “The Winner”), CCTV (China, “On the Road”), KI.KA (Germany, “TRICKBOXX in Arabia”), Channels TV (Nigeria, “ICDB 2007 – The World We Want”), Asociacion Nacional de Television Red TV (Peru, “Napa”) and Spacetoons (UAE, “The World We Want”). The ICDB Regional Prizes for radio went to Angola National Radio (Angola, “The World We Want”), Radio MEC AM (Brazil, “Radio MEC no Dia Internacional da Crianca no Radio e na TV”), Radio Beijing Corp. (China, “Listen to Children, Listen to Nature”), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (Ghana, “Curious Minds”), IRIB – Tehran Radio (Iran, “Hi Children.  Hi Tinv.”) and Equal Access Nepal (Nepal, “Chatting with my Best Friend”),

The 2007 ICDB Awards went to National Broadcasting of Thailand (NBT), ONUCI FM and Radio Mozambique.  NBT won for their program “From South to North, From East to West, Thailand ICDB-Unite for Children, Unite Against Aids” produced by Thai Youth News Center Association. ONUCI FM and Radio Mozambique shared the first ICDB Award for Radio Excellence for their programs “ICDB Special” and “Child to Child Radio Programme” respectively.

###

About UNICEF

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.  UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For further information, please contact:

Karen Cirillo, UNICEF IBIS, 212 326 7506 kcirillo@unicef.org

 

 

PNGRL FUNDRAISER AT AVIAT CLUB

Dear Corporate Citizen and Aviat Member;

This Sunday 28^th September the PNG Kumuls take on an Australian Prime Ministers XIII in an important rugby league match, leading up to the coming World Cup.

The Aviat Club has been lucky enough to have our venue host the post match function, where both teams will be present. This is also doubling as a fund raising event for the PNG RFL.

Tickets are K200, which will include a BBQ dinner, entry in the lucky door prizes and your opportunity to mix with all the players. An auction of some football items will also take place on the night. All monies raised from this event go directly to PNGRFL.

Tickets can only be purchased from the Aviat Club reception, and are available now. This is open to all members and non-members.

Don’t miss out on this evening, and support PNG Rugby League.

 

Congratulations to Goroka Base Hospital

Dear Nalu,

I am Lucy (student) doing my final year in Master of Health Sciences at Canterbury University, Christchurch NZ.

I read your article today on "Goroka Base Hospital (GBH) being the first hospital in the country to go online".

I am so impressed and want to take this time to congratulate Robert Schilt, Dr Apa and other hospital management and the hospital board for taking this initiative in introducing Information Technology as part of the hospital's strategies to improve delivery of health services to the population of Eastern Highlands Province.

It takes time and resources to establish the foundation, however, it' usage and benefits are essential for the patients, services and staff.

Keep up the good work and may Goroka Base Hospital be a model to other 19 hospitals in the country.

My thesis is on "Telehealth or Telemedicine in PNG" and I really support what GBH is doing.

Because 85% of people in rural areas are underserved due to many factors.

One of the reasons is the country's geographical barriers, less skilled health professionals, and etc, so with the use of Information and Communication Technology, the service it provides would be accessible, affordable and efficient to staff, patient and the community.

Thanks Goroka Base Hospital.

Lucy Au

(MHS)

UC, Christchurch NZ

Pacific needs men and women leaders

The nations of the Pacific need to have both genders represented in parliament if they are to realise their full potential in the global environment.

Opening the two-day sub-regional workshop on special measures for advancing women’s representation in legislatures in Port Moresby today, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare  said: “We can no longer argue that custom stops us from recognising women as equal partners in our development when our aspirations are to embrace many western ideals and concepts.”

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is organising the workshop in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), AusAID, UNDP Pacific Centre, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and PNG Sustainable Development Programme Ltd (PNGDSP). Participating in the workshop are Ministers, current and former parliamentarians, officials and key representatives from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Against the world average of 16 percent women parliamentarians, the Pacific countries have the lowest average by region of 3.1 percent (excluding Australia and New Zealand). The Pacific region has five out of the seven countries in the world without any women in parliament. The five countries are Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

“This fact is no more pronounced than in PNG where our population is around 6.1 million yet we have had in the last 15 years (come 2012) only one woman representative in parliament,” Sir Michael said.

“While these are decisions made by the voters of Papua New Guinea, we as the members of the legislature should be doing much more to change the mindset of our voters to give women equal consideration when polling time comes around.

“I personally as you may know have continually supported the advancement of women since Independence.”

Sir Michael added: “I realise that not all my colleagues are keen to positively discriminate in favour of women or to even recognise the value that both genders can add to the development process. Sadly there are some whose minds are already made up on the rightful place of women in our Pacific Island societies.

“But I am confident that with the new generation of leadership in the region today and persistent lobbying and awareness we can overcome some of these hurdles. As members of the legislature we too have our part to play in increasing the representation of women in our parliaments.”

Sir Michael told the participants that there is already provision in the PNG constitution for nominated members of parliament and Dame Carol Kidu (the only woman MP in PNG) has been actively encouraging its implementation.  Sir Michael also mentioned the possibility of creating reserved seats for women in Parliament, saying he personally favoured this as a longer term measure.

“Apart from legislation there are other little steps that can be taken to ensure women candidates are not forced out of the race through intimidation and harassment and that woman voters equally are not pushed to vote for candidates selected by their male relatives. One of the simple ways forward is to have separate polling booths; one for women and one for men. The electoral Commission has a large role to play in providing an environment that encourages free choice by women voters,” said Sir Michael

He added: “My personal thoughts are that it is also up to women to be a little more assertive. Nobody likes a person male or female who is too aggressive but everyone admires strength of character, integrity and most of all performance. I think women are blessed with feminine attributes of gentleness, empathy and a nurturing spirit. I believe women must take advantage of these traits to offer a leadership that is different to men but at the same time complimentary in all aspects of nation building.”

Sir Michael welcomed and acknowledged the support of the region’s development partners towards achieving the objective of increasing women’s representation in Parliament. He also thanked the organisers of the workshop.

For more information contact, Dr Henry Ivarature on phone (675) 323 2333 or email henryi@forumsec.org.fj