Over 20 Papua New Guineans are part of a group of 50 scientists, explorers and TV presenters on a BBC expedition to one of
The team, who are part of the world-renown BBC Natural History Unit, are filming a major TV documentary series entitled ‘Expedition New Guinea’ which will be aired in the UK and around the world towards the end of the year.
Daniel Huertas, a British researcher with the group, highlighted the international composition of the expedition team and in particular the pivotal role played by the PNG participants.
“We have a number of PNG scientists and local community members assisting and advising the international team in species recognition and location finding. The project would not be possible without the support and amazing knowledge of our colleagues from
British High Commissioner to PNG, David Dunn, welcomed the team to PNG and highlighted that the shooting of such a major documentary series reinforced the special relationship between the BBC Natural History Unit and PNG, which started more than 50 years ago by British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
“Sir David's ‘Zoo Guest’ series, which heralded his entry into wildlife television documentaries and 50 years of broadcasting, brought him to PNG in 1957. That much remembered pioneering series changed the way broadcasters filmed natural history forever and opened the wonders and beauty of the planet and in particular PNG to the world. Although the technology has changed dramatically since those early days the warmth of the welcome and generous support given to the numerous and regular visiting BBC teams by the people of PNG has not. I would like to thank the Government of PNG and all those associated for their continued help, support and collaboration and I look forward to PNG showcasing to the world its amazing beauty and bio-diversity through the Expedition
Mt Bosavi, a dormant volcano endemically rich in flora and fauna, has been the subject of various studies by international research and conservation groups in recent years.
Mr Huertas said the mountain’s isolation and the enthusiasm of the local communities for their forest to be part of the documentary series made it the first choice for the BBC.
· The expedition team’s adventures can be tracked through the BBC Science and Nature News website http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature and a Blog by expedition member and the University of California’s curator and department chair for ornithology and mammalogy, Dr John Dumbacher http://www.calacademy.org/blogs/jdumbacher/
By IAN TAUKURO
I'm on a roll today, lads...
Today marks the 200th birthday of two great men of history.
The first devised a theory that still causes much debate and controversy
among scientists and is a constant irritation to the church, although,
atheist's rejoice in the theory's teachings.
Let us all stand and offer a round of applause for the late but great,
Charles Darwin, who was born on February 12, 1809.
His theory of Natural Selection, which promoted the idea of evolution,
when first put forward, represented a great challenge to the teachings
of the church which, based on the bible, said all living things on the
planet are the result of Intelligent Design.
The other great man whose birthday was on February 12, 1809 is Abraham
Lincoln, who was the 16th
A great monument in his honour stands there in
a token of appreciation by the American people for what he did to save
the
If a lesser man had been president during those tumultuous years of the
American Civil War, the
separate nations, North and South. It would never have grown into the
powerful nation that it is today.
shed to protect the ideals of freedom and democracy and, on the fateful
day in 1860, made the decision to send in supplies to
the rival government to the
the fort. So began the Civil War, which went on for 5 years, ending soon
after
battle bloodied and weary but re-born nonetheless.
Aside from the Lincoln Memorial, there is even a powerful warship, the
USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that patrols the high seas,
protecting the interests of the
was alive.
What's common to Lincoln and Darwin? Well, aside from being full of
character and virtue they both had that unshakable belief in themselves
and the decisions they made and they never gave up as a result.
That's a good lesson for us all to learn ... whatever you do, don't
quit!
By IAN TAUKURO
Morning All,
What is it with women's magazines that they always have to publish some article about how to keep track of the man?
For instance, In the Post Courier's New Age Woman today there is an article about how to 'See if your man is cheating you'. What the author of the article perhaps doesn't realise is that women who live in safe and secure relationships with a man who loves them dearly will read this story and, voila, the first seeds of doubt will be planted in their heads.
After reading the article, the woman, who suddenly feels very insecure because of what she has just read, will start to observe her partner, who oblivious to the 'cheaters' advice in the magazine, greets his wife with a kiss and a warm hug, then goes about his business of helping/playing with the children, helping with the dishes, etc, while the woman watches, like a hawk, with a calm but very suspicious eye.
Over the course of time, the poor man does something that causes the woman to believe that he is, yes, really, really, cheating, when he suddenly becomes withdrawn and distant, all because that particular day he privately mourned the loss of his favourite NRL team!
So the arguments start, the furniture gets broken as the war rages, the love nest, their home, becomes a battleground, the children are neglected, the neighbours gossip, etc, etc, etc ... and all because of a silly article in a magazine!
Is it any wonder that there is so much misery and heartache in relationships today because of SUSPICION of cheating when the aggrieved party (i.e. the woman) has really no need to feel threatened at all?
Where have trust, loyalty and faith gone these days? We seem so keen on looking for fault in each other rather than being thankful for what our partner contributes to the relationship.
An interesting article by NAW and great timing too, don't you think?
Right on the eve of Valentines Day, a day when couples should be relaxed and joyous as they celebrate the warmth and clarity of their love – not being suspicious of each other.
By SAMSON KENDEMAN
National Capital District police are working to arrest the suspects who robbed
NCD superintendent of operations Chief Insp Andy Bawa last night said the suspects, two of whose identities were known to the police, were still at large.
Police personnel were deployed to the settlements near the Golf Club, including Morata, on Monday to meet with the community leaders and urge them to surrender the suspects promptly.
“I call on the community leaders living around the Golf Club area to fully cooperate with police to ensure all suspects are handed over to police.
“I will not tolerate such things done to diplomats working in the country,” Chief Insp Bawa said.
The community leaders assured police that the suspects would be handed over since their identities were known to them.
According to initial reports, eight men ran out from behind the utilities shed and robbed Mr Holm and three of his golfing partners.
Mr Holm is the second
The NZ High Commission, when contacted yesterday, said it had not yet seen the police report.
In an email, the High Commission noted that it was grateful for the prompt response of the police immediately after the incident, and would now wait for the law to take its course.
By CHEY SCOVELL
CEO
PNG Manufacturers Council
In early April last year the Treasury Department, made publically available the “Review of the Tariff Reduction Program July 2007”, a document that had only just been endorsed by the NEC.
But what is this document and what exactly does the NEC’s endorsement of it mean?
This report, often referred to as the Scollay Report, is a review of the Tariff Reduction Program, prepared by Associate Professor Robert Scollay of the
The report was prepared for and presented to the Department of Treasury in July 2007.
For reasons unknown the Government of PNG did not allow the public to assess the report until after the NEC endorsed it.
In only what can be seen as a stark contradiction to the government’s intention to entice investment and private sector support as well as provide stability, the government did not allow for any private sector consultation on the proposed final report and in the months since the NEC endorsed the report there have been no calls for community consultations on the matter.
As a background, there were two papers on tariff reform in PNG: the Brogan Tariff Review in 1986; and the World Bank Tariff Review in 1995.
Cabinet in 1995 (NEC Decision No 196/95) endorsed a tariff reform program that culminated in a White Paper on the Tariff Reform Program (TRP).
The intention of the TRP was to encourage the development of a more-efficient and more -roductive private sector being more exposed to competition.
The TRP removed many tariffs all together, saw the introduction of VAT (or GST) and proposed an eight-year tariff reduction program from 1999 to 2006.
With the TRP coming to an end in 2006, the government contracted the services of Scollay to review the TRP and provide some recommendations on the next steps and his report contains 14 such recommendations.
Without discrediting Scollay, his 2007 report is somewhat of a back flip on a report he earlier prepared for the Manufacturers Council in October 2005 on Proposals for the Future of the Tariff Reform Program.
His latest work seemingly encouraging changes to public policy that will effectively throw wounded PNG manufacturers amongst the wolves.
Perhaps unfortunately, in the climate of considerable increases to living costs especially over the past 12 months, local manufacturers stand to be big losers as politicians scramble to gain applause for reducing the cost of living under the guise of tariff reform.
It must be noted that local manufacturers losing equates to the people losing.
In any of the tariff reform reviews, in so far as the manufacturing sector is concerned, the intention has been to enhance the sector either by protection or exposure.
A commonality in each review was the high cost of doing business in PNG as a direct result of inadequate infrastructure and support services.
It was indeed the expectation of PNG manufacturers, the public and the architects of the White Paper for the Government of PNG to make continuous and substantial improvements to infrastructure and support services.
The 2007 report by Scollay notes that impediments caused by these failures are adversely affecting private sector performance, in fact in Scollays third recommendation makes clear that there should be tangible results on improvements to infrastructure and support services before the 2009 Budget.
Yet the report recommends the introduction of further tariff reductions in line with the handing down of the 2009 budget.
A major concern of the Council and its members is the stark reality that very little to no improvements can be made to infrastructure and support services by the end of 2008.
One should ask who is asking for further tariff reductions and why PNG should be making moves to move closer to zero tariffs.
Presently PNG rates in the top 10% worldwide for low tariffs, in fact we are an anomaly being ranked as such considering our state of development.
In an environment of high inflationary pressures it’s understood that consumers are searching for cheaper goods, and certainly in PNG retailers would prefer access to cheaply made foreign goods without tariffs.
There is no hiding behind PNG Manufacturers striving to be profitable, there is also no evidence that retailers would pass on the benefits of cheaper goods to consumers.
The IRC confirms that duty avoidance is a problem in PNG, goods are being imported without duties paid and benefits are not being passed onto consumers.
Taxpayers and the wider community should not finance ineffective businesses, the private sector should target its efforts in areas in which PNG has a comparative advantage for production.
If we accept the current level of infrastructure and support services (education, health, law and order) as adequate and not requiring improvement, academics could argue that those industries that fail if tariffs are reduced should fail.
If however, existing infrastructure and support services are regarded as inadequate, why not offer temporary relief?
In consultations with Scollay, the Manufacturers Council and its members proposed that further reforms should be linked to improvements in infrastructure and support services.
Perhaps the most important matter to consider when calling for further tariff reductions is its implications on PNG manufacturers.
In the absence of any real improvements to infrastructure and support services, the high cost of doing business means that manufacturers will cease to trade and this will result in massive job losses in urban areas.
The question rolling around in my mind is what will be the real outcome from removing another 5 to 10% off the price of imported consumer goods for Papua New Guineans?
