The Fuzzy Wuzzies

From JOHN FOWKE

 

Forget about them helping to save Australia- these men saved Papua New Guinea- and young Papua New Guineans should be told about this.

It is salutary that Australia’s High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea has given recognition of service to the tiny handful of remaining wartime carrier-conscripts who became known as the Fuzzy-Wuzzies.

But it is sad that PNG itself has nothing to say or to give in honour of these old men.

For they and the forces they served with saved PNG for its ultimate emergence as an independent democracy.

If Japan had been allowed to overrun and entrench itself in PNG and Australia, we would not be reading this English-language newspaper today.

Nor would Papua New Guineans be free citizens in our own free, democratic nation.

The invasion by the Japanese in what is now PNG was one prong of the overall policy of subjugation to the will of the Japanese under the Emperor and his proposed Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

We know just how prosperous and well-treated the other invaded countries - Burma, Malaya, Indonesia, Timor and so on - became under the new military regime. So it is unfortunate that the myth that PNG was "forced into a war not of its own making" is widespread today.

PNG was in effect, even if not widely aware of it, defending itself as much as Australia from a fate very different from that which awaited it under the League of Nations Mandate- ( later United nations)- administered by Australia.

The labour force we call the Angels - courtesy of a famous poem in The Australian Women’s Weekly at the time - were conscripts taken from villages all over coastal and inland Papua; not simply from the villages along the famed Kokoda Track and surrounding district.

Men aged between 18 and 40 were  taken from their villages and placed with the Army in areas of need from the Gulf through Central, on the Track itself, later at Kokoda, and in Milne Bay.

One old Fuzzy conscript, who lives near Malalaua in Gulf Province, being the father of a friend of mine, carried and laboured for four years on the Bulldog Track to Wau, supplying the Allied forward push from Wau towards the Markham Valley and Japanese-occupied Lae.

Every now and again, whenever yet another story about medals and rewards for Fuzzies was featured in the news of the day the old man would collect enough for the return bus-fare to Moresby and go to the big city.

All his trips, needless to say, were fruitless.

Until last week, when with five others, the last of the last, he finally received recognition from Australia, if not from his own nation.

In 1942, the Australian Army Command in Port Moresby instructed its agents, the civilian Resident Magistrates in charge of each of the administrative Districts to send Patrol Officers to forcefully recruit, under threat of sentence of imprisonment, all able-bodied males of ages judged by the recruiting officer as between 18 and 40 years.

These recruits were medically checked and all those who passed were then signed for service and sent to Port Moresby.

Men from west of Daru right around through Goaribari and Purari, Orokolo, Kerema, Moresby, Abau, on through Mailu, Milne Bay, East Cape, Gosiago,the islands and Northern District were conscripted at the will of the Army.

These men were conscripts, like the young Australian militiamen they initially carried for and supported. And, unknowingly, and importantly for today’s generation of Papua New Guineans, they were serving the interest of their own land and people in this arduous and dangerous work.

Now that Australia has recognised and honoured the contribution of all the Fuzzy-Wuzzies by making a presentation to the last, frail representatives of a generation who knew the reality of  warfare between modern, industrialized nations, is it not time that the people of PNG also paid honour to the contribution of these men?

The truth of the emergence into independent statehood by PNG is that the founders and pioneers of this nation are not the politicians who in the mid-sixties obtained independence from a willing colonial government; not the men who founded the two original political parties.

No. The true pioneers of modern PNG are the Fuzzies together with the hard-fighting soldiers of the Pacific Islands Battalion, and equally-brave and willing men of the Royal Papua Constabulary and the New Guinea Police, all of whom served, shoulder to shoulder with the Allied forces, in opposition to the aggressive Japanese invasion of this land.

The Nation owes it to itself- to the younger generation particularly- to recognise these facts by bestowing a suitable honour upon these few old survivors before it is too late.

Tolukuma Gold Mine supports health and education in Goilala district

Students using the oven

High school teachers' computer laboratory

Male boarding students of Sacred Heart

Students using the computer laboratory

The Tolukuma Gold Mine, a subsidiary of Papua New Guinea’s national oil, gas and mineral company, Petromin, has increased its community support budget to improve the lives of the isolated communities in the Goilala district.

The company is concentrating its assistance on water and sanitation projects as well as education of the next generation of Goilala leaders.

The company’s programme is consistent with the Petromin Group’s policy of investing part of their minerals revenue into socially-responsible investments.

TGM general manager John Moore said the mine had been constructing public toilets in the villages close to the mine site and water reticulation systems at Mondo to improve the health and hygiene of the population near the mine.

“Health conditions are difficult due to a lack of infrastructure and TGM is working to improve health and hygiene around Tolukuma where many of TGM’s workers from the mine area live,” he said.

TGM also supports the Yulai sub-clinic.

Additional mobile medical clinics travel out on the newly-created Tolukuma to Mondo Road and many emergency medical evacuations have occurred using the TGM-contracted helicopters to enable critically-ill Goilalans to reach hospital care in Port Moresby. 

On education, the mine provides K10, 000 per month to the Sacred Heart High School in Tapini for food and other materials to support the education of the students who attend this important high school.

In 2004, The Sacred Heart High School  was on the verge of closing down due to shortage of rations which were flown in from Port Moresby when the High School Board Chairman, Catholic Fr Brian Cahill msc made a call to Tolukuma management for assistance.

Tolukuma Gold Mines responded positively and began donating to Sacred Heart High School.

An annual acquittal report received from Fr Brian shows that the money is put in good use.

At the same time, TGM has supported the high school’s programmes which include the maintenance to school buildings, staff and student accommodations, an installation of the computer lab, music department, cooking oven and mixer as well as clinic and ward.

The Blessed Peter ToRot Primary School at Tapini has also benefited from TGM’s assistance, with part of the monthly donation to the high school spent on improving the primary school including the purchase of a computer pack, new classroom buildings and maintenance done to school building and staff accommodation. 

Finally and from community relations perspectives, the staff and students of both the Sacred Heart High School and Blessed PeterToRot Primary School are much delighted with the support that Tolukuma Mine is putting into the sustainability of these schools.

UNRE Vudal campus cleanup

From UNRE

 

Students of the University of Natural Resources & Environment’s Vudal campus have formed a group to promote the sustainable use and conservation of Papua New Guinea’s natural environment.

The environmentalist group will conduct its first awareness this Friday with a major clean-up of the campus. 

As part of this initiative they will also be putting up signs to discourage people from littering and spitting betelnut; and will be installing new garbage bins.

Group chairman, third-year agricultural student, Robert Martin, said the bins would be marked for different types of garbage - organic, plastics, tins and paper.

He said this would help slow down the rate which the university garbage landfill is filling up.

“Recycling rubbish is one way of protecting the environment and we want campus residents and visitors to be mindful of how they dispose their garbage,” he added.

After the clean-up, the group will travel to Rabaul to look for plants to beautify the campus.

Mr Martin said a public awareness on the El-Nino induced drought that had been predicted to hit Papua New Guinea in 2012, would be carried out by the group next month in conjunction with officers of the National Agricultural Research Institute’s wet lowlands’ programme in Kerevat.

“Being students of an environmental university, we are concerned about the future of our natural environment because we know that much of its destruction is due to the influence of humans.

“Forming this group and collaborating with likeminded individuals, organisations and stakeholders to promote its sustainable use is our contribution towards educating the people of Papua New Guinea on the value of our natural environment and why it is important to take care of it,” he said.

University vice chancellor Prof Philip Siaguru, who is a strong advocate of protecting the environment, commended the students for their initiative.

“I commend the students for looking beyond today, as the environment they are helping to protect today will support them when they are employed, have families and live in tomorrow with their children. I am firm in my commitment to the environment and it is pleasing that students see the need to give such attention to the environment,” he said.

Prof Siaguru said the environment we live in today had changed dramatically.

“We hear stories from our parents who speak of the gud taim long bipo when their catch was big and plentiful, whether they went fishing or hunting. Sadly, this has now changed with population increase and disturbances to the natural environment. Land and sea life food sources are either chased away or have simply declined due to human consumption needs,” he said.

“Such student groups will not only educate students in secondary and primary schools but our students themselves because there is still a lot to learn about the environment. I commend them for their initiative.”

This is the second student group that has been formed at the university this year.

The first group, Katalyst, consists of students who promote the concept of being employers, not employees, after they graduate.

Nape's undemocratic parliament equals Somare's absolute power.

From SAM BASIL

BULOLO MP

 

The National Parliament Speaker Hon. Jeffery Nape has eroded the spirit of democracy for three consecutive years as the Speaker of this eighth parliament and continues to do.

Since becoming a member of this eighth parliament I was given a copy of the constitution, the edited version July, 2007 and started browsing through the speaker’s role and responsibilities when I first started to realise the unprofessional and undemocratic conducts that he possesses.

The constitution stated clearly in Section 108 (1) that, The Speaker is responsible, subject to and in accordance with the Constitutional Laws, the Acts of Parliament and the Standing Orders of the Parliament, for upholding the dignity of the Parliament, maintaining order in it, regulating its proceedings and administering its affairs, and for controlling the precincts of the Parliament as defined by or under an Act of the Parliament.

The Speaker Hon. Jeffery Nape’s decisions and actions so far on the floor of Parliament have clearly shown that he is irresponsible and his conducts were not subjected to as in accordance with the Constitutional Laws, the Act of Parliament and the Standing Orders of the Parliament.

Simply there is no more democratic process in the proceedings of parliament.

In the last sitting of Parliament the Speaker:

 

A) Failed to entertain the motion of no confidence notice which was officially handed to the speaker’s office at 0930hrs on the 21.07.10. 

 

B) Failed to entertain the Noes call by the opposition followed by division call which was seconded against the leader of government business who proposed that the parliament at its rising be adjourned till November 16, 2010.

 

C) Failed yet again to entertain the Noes call by the opposition followed by division call which was seconded against the leader of government business who proposed again that the parliament is now adjourned until November 16, 2010.

 

Surprisingly the parliament clerk Mr Don Pandan has excluded the division calls from the copies of Hansard distributed a week after the session.

The National Parliament clerk has also failed his constitutional duties to properly advice the speaker to act in accordance with the constitutional laws, the Acts of Parliament and the Standing Orders of the Parliament and he must also be referred to the Ombudsman Commission.

We have heard that during the intense lobbying two very influential government MPs spent three hours with the Speaker. 

The Speaker’s undemocratic rulings on the floor that week also raise many questions regarding the integrity of the chair.

Is the Speaker above the law?

Why haven’t the relevant authorities stepped in to address all the corruption claims against the Speaker including his undemocratic conduct on the chair beginning from the 7th and into this 8th Parliament?

 If the Speaker is clearly above the law then he can be termed as the most powerful MP on the floor which means that if he decides to market his rulings to the highest bidder then he can break all the laws under the sun to do so.

Last week’s denial of the opposition’s rights to call for the division has seen the Speaker’s office denying the rights of almost three million people that those 45 members of parliament represent in the opposition.

If the Speaker of the National Parliament is marketing his rulings on the floor then he must come clear to the 6.5m people of this nation.

Maybe it is time now for the ordinary people to directly vote a Speaker of Parliament into office who can be independent from political influences.

 The candidates must go through a series of stringent screening processes and criteria with educational qualifications and most importantly ex convict and criminals should be excluded from day one.

I will also take to the ordinary grassroots people to explain the Speaker’s conducts on the floor while he will be called to open forums to explain his undemocratic conducts.

There is no hope anymore for us the elected MPs to exercise our rights and freedom on the floor on behalf of our people.

 

Advice from the Bard

From PAUL OATES

 

Advice from the Bard. Bill Shakespeare offers some advice from the grave to today's Papua New Guinea politicians.IT IS SAID that there is nothing new under the sun. So, that being the case, history must have some lessons to teach.

The emergence in PNG of what appears to be a nascent dictatorship seems similar to many other events in history.

Human history appears as the ebb and flow of the tides. In Julius Caesar, that most-perceptive of social observers, William Shakespeare wrote of that famous Roman dictator, who some felt needed to be brought down before he took over completely:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries"

Those PNG parliamentarians who might be wondering what they can do about their situation should perhaps be considering their position. These members

have been elected to represent their people and yet they have now been effectively sidelined.

Representative parliamentary government in PNG has now been suspended a second time and in what appears to be an unconstitutional manner. But what might happen if members of the PNG parliament convened somewhere outside the Haus Tambaran and discussed their virtual dismissal.

Surely there is a legal right to meet and discuss the issues affecting their country. If the Speaker's actions are unconstitutional, then perhaps parliament has not yet officially been dissolved.

One wonders what PM Somare would or could do if members did meet and discuss their situation and if the results of these deliberations were reported in the PNG media.

Finally, in what seems like an appropriate quote in regard to MP Sam Basil, the one elected voice who has spoken out publicly against the 'sacking' of his parliament, Shakespeare also wrote:"There is a time in the tide of a man's life, if taken at the ebb, leads on to better things." - John o' Gaunt in Richard II

 

UK launches interactive map warning of climate change effects

The UK government has launched a new interactive Google Earth map showing how the world will change if global average temperature rose by 4°C 

Pushing the barriers with Google Earth technology, the multi-platform and interactive map shows some of the changes that might occur and highlights the UK Government’s commitment to keeping global temperatures low to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.

The map was developed using peer-reviewed science from the UK Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists.

At the London launch, UK Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham said the threat of climate change had not diminished and the new UK government was committed to taking action to address the issue.  

“We are committed to being the 'greenest' government ever and engage with new audiences.

“This Google Earth map supports that commitment to tackling climate change and will hopefully communicate with a bigger audience globally about why the UK Government is being activist in championing the transition to a low carbon economy,” he added.

According to Google’s Ed Parson, the map was an example of the benefits of using the latest web technology to visualise scientific information and promote better understanding of the potential impacts of climate change.

“Allowing scientists to talk about their research to the general public is a way to enable the public to fully understand how the process of scientific investigation works,” he said. 

British High Commissioner to PNG, David Dunn, said the map reinforced the UK Government’s determination to act against dangerous man-made climate change.

“We know the stakes are high and that’s why we want to help secure an ambitious global climate change deal,” he said and added that PNG’s role – as the custodian of the third largest rainforest on the planet - was pivotal to the overall goal set by the international community.  

A continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions could trigger global average temperatures to increase by 4°C by the end of the century or as early as 2060.

The map uses latest climate and impacts science and illustrates some of the potential impacts of such a rise.

 

Noni - emerging cash crop for Papua New Guinea

Share of noni market value by smaller Pacific Island countries

Ripe noni fruits

 By BELINDA YAWANIES of NARI

Papua New Guinea has a wealth of unique plant genetic diversity that exhibits a great potential for economic growth.

Noni (Morinda citrifolia L) is one such potential plant specie that is indigenous to PNG and grows extensively throughout the Pacific.

 Not only has it been used as a traditional or bush medicine in PNG but also a source of antioxidants and medicine for today’s contemporary world.  

The worldwide market for noni products is growing with most productions coming from the Pacific.

 However, PNG has not produced noni commercially even through it is rated as one of the top 10 Pacific Island countries with potential for noni production.

But the interest for noni in the country is evidenced with the informal sector producing noni products for local markets despite unavailability of standards to monitor and safe guard the quality aspects of the products for improved markets.

Noni grows prolifically anywhere even under very harsh conditions such as the coral atolls, providing it a good crop for populace in disadvantaged or marginalised regions of PNG.

 The medicinal properties of Noni were discovered more than 2000 years ago, by the Polynesians, who imported the fruit from Southeast Asia.

Today the noni fruits are eaten in many parts of the world, mainly in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Though the ripe noni fruit has a not so pleasant taste and odour, all parts of the noni plant can be used: roots, stems, bark, leaves, and flowers and of course the fruits.

Noni has been reported to have a range of health benefits for colds, cancer, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, pain, skin infection, high blood pressure, mental depression, atherosclerosis and arthritis.

Those who recovered from illness after eating the noni fruit called it “the fruit of God”.

In 2003, noni juice was approved by the European Commission as a novel food and was allowed to be commercialised in the EU.

At the global market, a 2008 joint report by FAO/WHO on food standards programme indicated that the noni market was estimated to be a US$ 400 million in 2001 to a US$ 2 billion industry in 2006.

This is a huge market, providing an opportunity for PNG to explore and benefit.

PNG can learn from other smaller Pacific Island countries that are currently successful in this venture.

A 2009 Samoa Morinda Citrifolia (nonu) Case study report on Samoa noni indicates that the Tahitian Noni International (TNI), a US-based company operating in Tahiti, which is currently one of the leading producers of noni, has  made US$ 33 million in 1997, the first year of its operation, US$ 2 billion in 2003 and over 4 billion by 2008.

Captivated by this meteoric growth of TNI and the high prices being paid for noni products (particularly juice), several countries in the Pacific have commenced their own commercial production and export to large number of countries like Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan and Europe.

Amongst these were Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa and several others, but overall Samoa achieved the greatest success in terms of sustained export value and volume.

The drive in this industry especially in Samoa is through the private sector.

The growing use and consumption of noni cosmetics and food supplements present a good opportunity for development in PNG.

However, even with the informal sector interest, there are key issues that need to be addressed for this industry to take off.

A collaborative effort is required from different parties along the value chain.

There is need for collaboration and partnership between research and development organisations, extension agencies, processors or marketers (private sector), smallholder farmers, and policy makers for this development.

Thorough research is needed into post-harvest (processing and quality control), markets, and product development issues as these are the very important links to development.

The findings will help scope out the feasibility of this crop as a new industry with the development of standards enabling quality assured noni production for both the domestic and export markets.

Current research at NARI involves the collection and assembling of a number of noni varieties that exist in different costal forests of PNG.

Propagation techniques have been identified through research for mass propagation and production of crops true-to-type for commercial development.

Research into components of the value chains is vital as recognised by NARI and will be pursued to create information needed for the establishment of this industry.

Other organisations like Ramu Agri-Business (RAI) and the Department of Agriculture and Livestock are also recognising the importance of this crop with RAI incorporating it in its diversification programme.

Noni is a potential cash crop for PNG and stakeholders need to collaborate and encourage partnership for its development for revenue generation and growth.

With the current market opportunities, noni is sure to have a good future market prospect.

This is a huge potential to value adding and linking farmers to markets.

 It also offers alternatives in light of emerging challenges such as climate change and pest and disease outbreak (eg.cocoa pod borer).

 The development of this crop to industry level will contribute to creating employment and improving income for the rural population, and contribute to improved and sustained economic growth.