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Four Nations a good learning curve for Papua New Guinea

By REG RENAGI

 

The Four Nations rugby league tournament is all but over for Papua New Guinea. 

But it’s still a good learning curve for PNG’s pride: the ‘Kumuls’. 

The Kumuls must from here on drastically lift up their game standards if PNG expects to do far better than at present in future international league competition.

With a 42 – 0 beating by the Aussie Kangaroos in their first match of the tournament, and last weekend’s canning by the New Zealand Kiwis with a record breaking 76 – 12 score, the Kumuls have no other choice but must beat the ‘Poms’ this weekend. 

After the Kumuls’ loss to the Kiwis, PNG captain Paul Aiton said: "We're very disappointed. We just missed something that makes us PNG." 

But whatever it is, that ‘elusive something’ better be found quickly if PNG don’t want to end up as “wooden - spooners” against an expected spirited English side.

Like PNG, the Poms lost their last two tough encounters with the Aussies and Kiwis and are expecting a very physical battle in ‘a do or die’ match, with their respective country’s pride riding on their big shoulders.   

However, coach and former Hull KR star in England, Stanley Gene is more upbeat about the Kumul’s chances in the next match. 

Stanley should know very well how the English side’s main tactics are going to be, so there is some slight chance there if our Kumuls can come up with a very good game plan. 

PNG fans also share some of Stanley’s recent sentiments in the media, but know full well that they also harbour a secret fear of losing again.  This will be too painful even for this writer to admit. 

But fingers crossed, we all are quietly confident for PNG to beat England in a tight finish.  But even if we did lose this game, let’s hope the Kumuls try to keep the final score low and as close to our opponents, after the savage mauling by two of the strongest teams in this four nation competition. 

So with just a few days to go before playing this weekend, many upset fans in recent days are now calling for the sacking of the entire management team, including coach; Gene. 

I don’t blame them.  Die-hard fans in league-crazy PNG are understandably upset over the last two straight losses.

These are still early days. But after the tournament we must do a good ‘post-mortem’ and no doubt critics here and abroad will have their say.  This will be good for the code.

PNG league management must find out what we did wrong, and what we can do now to either avoid; or minimise similar mistakes in future.  

The four nation rugby league competition provides many good lessons for the PNG Kumuls and its management; and those who administer the code back home.

The two-year tournament will be a regular international meet.  It’s an important opportunity where PNG’s rugby league reputation and credibility will always be tested for the world to see. 

Here is what we must do from here on:   Firstly, regardless of our loss this time, PNG must now plan better for the future. 

This is important if we are to fare a little better than in the previous two weekends playing against league’s two best teams in the Southern Hemisphere.

Secondly, the Kumuls management must now treat all future international matches as an occasion not to be missed. 

Thirdly, PNG will not only be pitted against some of the best teams from strong rugby league playing nations, but learn valuable lessons required to improve future Kumuls performance standards. 

Fourthly, the Kumul management team must also closely observe and cleverly use new game tricks against countries like Australia, New Zealand and England. 

This may be one good way to see some big improvements in the Kumuls’ overall match-performance to be potential “giant killers” in future. 

So with the exception of the Poms, the ‘Kangaroos’ and ‘Kiwis’ can one day be beaten like any other team.

This will only happen if the Kumuls can work out both the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents well before playing them.

PNG league strategic planners must work hard to capitalise on them and in particular develop special tactics for playing each of the other three countries, with their own distinct styles of play. 

The Kumuls management has no real excuses here.  Rugby League has been played in PNG for some half century.

PNG league administration by now should develop a good capacity, and depth of managing and playing the code at somewhat similar levels as Australia, NZ and England.

The Admirals’ money is on the Kumuls.  Go Kumuls! 

 

Encouraging special and inclusive education

The University of Goroka last Friday opened its first special and inclusive play area for students with special educational needs at Okiufa Primary School in Eastern Highlands province.

The facilities were officially opened by the acting vice chancellor of UOG Dr Sam Najike.

 “This is a special occasion as we are embarking on something crucial for integral, holistic education in PNG,” he said.

"We must create opportunities for these special groups of children.”

Chair of the PNG Disabled Persons Association, Ipul Powaseu, thanked UOG staff for recognising that inclusivity was important.

 “Children with disabilities still have the right to go to school,” she said.

 Powaseu also encouraged all present to fight for those with disabilities and to help children with disabilities to go to school.

The cutting of the ribbon to formally open the special and inclusive play area was performed by Dr Najike, dean of the faculty of education Dr Kapa Kelep-Malpo and Powaseu.

Head of the special and inclusive education strand at UOG, Donna Mailil, said: “The real point of the project was to help the school to develop an environment for effective learning so schools can continue to further develop inclusive education.”

The project undertaken by UOG focused on students majoring in special and inclusive education working to better implement the policy of inclusive education in 6 schools around Goroka, and to promote and support inclusive learning and teaching.

 The inclusive play environment opened at Okiufa Primary School was designed to assist children with special educational needs to equally participate in all activities whilst attending school. 

 

Update on the oilfields

Grades 3 and 4 children of Ted Diro Primary School in Port Moresby getting straight into The Oilfield books donated by Oil Search Ltd. Similar donations have been made to other schools in the city, The National reports.
The books give an insight on the petroleum industry in Papua New Guinea. – Picture courtesy of Oil Search

Landowners' initiative needed to win LNG contracts

RESOURCE landowners must take the initiative instead of waiting for government to help them participate in the country’s resource development projects, The National reports.

Chhairman of the Hides Gas Resources Ltd (HGRL), the licenced-based landowner company in petroleum development licence 1 (PDL1) area of Hides in Southern Highlands province, Willy Wandiya said this to landowners.

Citing their  struggles to get a contract in the K40 billion LNG project, he said it was time landowners looked beyond PNG government.

Recently, HGRL signed a deal with an international human resource company Brunel International to supply LNG project with its labour and human resource needs.

“The more we rely on the government, the more our chances are of missing out on lucrative business opportunities,” Wandiya said.

“The government does not have the money … it is incapacitated,” he said.

Wandiya said  the government did  not have the capacity and the technical know-how for such project like the PNG LNG.

“The government is only there to facilitate,” he said, adding that the   government   is financially inadequate to finance its own equity share in the gas project.

“The government will also have to borrow to finance its equity share in the project.”

Because of this, Wandiya has urged landowners to have foresight.

“We must look beyond the early works, beyond the first LNG shipment, the first royalties, the first spin-off benefits to see ourselves after the project and what our children and grandchildren would say about how we handled their future,” he said.

 

Ban phone lottery

 ‘Means of bringing gambling right into the homes of Papua New Guineans’

 

By ALISON ANIS

 

THE national government has come under pressure to stop the recently launched mobile phone lottery, and to audit the books of regulator National Gaming Control Board, The National reports.

Since the newest way of gambling, using the mobile phone, was launched two weeks ago, there had been widespread debate about how this would be regulated, and whether minors were being exposed in the same way as they were to the illegal horserace machines.

Women and church groups were adding to the growing voice to stop this gambling and its threat to children.

President of the National Council of Women (NCW) Scholar Kakas and the president of the Catholic Bishop Conference (CBC) in PNG and the Solomon Islands, Archbishop Francesco Panfilo, yesterday spoke out against mobile phone lottery.

They said the claim that this form of gambling would “make millionaires out of everyone in a transparent and accountable way” was nonsense.

They said the lottery concept, supervised by the National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) and played using Digicel PNG network, would bring more poverty in families and communities.

PNG is the first country in the South Pacific to launch mobile lottery even ahead of its developed neighbours, Australia and New Zealand.

“This is dangerous nonsense.

“Even our developed neighbours, Australia and New Zealand, do not permit mobile phone lotteries because they are so hard to regulate,” Panfilo said in statement.

He said gambling, through mobile phone networks, had opened up gates for simple and poor people in the villages to spend their money on gambling.

“There will be less money for food and other necessities and more family problems as the punters would be tempted to spend their earnings in pursuit of a hopeless dream,” he added.

Kakas, in support, said: “There is definitely no way that the lottery would make millionaires out of everybody in a transparent and accountable way.

“This is all a big lie because there will be no control or proper monitoring in place of people gambling on phone.

“We have enough problems with pokies and horse-racing and are sure to experience more problems with the introduction of mobile lottery.

“How will we know if our children below the age of 18 are not involved?” Kakas asked.

She said the voice prompt on customer service number (150), which says: “Elders will have to control this” was not an effective regulatory method.

Panfilo argued there was no way to keep track of the age of those playing.

“This means that a child who wins will not get his prize

unless they lie and give their phone to an older person.

“From what we know of the youth of PNG, students and children will spend their own and their parents’ money on gambling.

“Employers who provide mobile phone credits to their employees will face the same problems,” Panfilo said.

According to media reports, 10% of the profits raised through mobile phone gambling would go towards developing youth and sports programmes in the communities. 

“Similar promises in the past were not fulfilled.

“As far as we know, NGCB has never presented a financial report to parliament as required under its relevant act. We simply do not know where the money goes to,” a Catholic Bishop’s Conference media statement said yesterday.

“On Saturday, we might see a few poor people win a lot of money and rise out of poverty, at least, temporarily.

“Everyone else who participates will be worse off and there will be an increase in the number of people addicted to gambling.”

The Catholic bishops also called on the public to send the mobile phone company a message: “To leave their phones at home for a day.”

They warned that if the scheme continues, the churches of PNG may organise something more drastic.

About a fortnight ago, Anglimp-South Waghi MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham called on Digicel PNG to abandon its

plan to introduce lotto on its network.

He said the last thing this country needed was easy access to affordable gambling avenue.

 

 

Opposition highlights policies

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

A GOVERNMENT led by Abau MP Sir Puka Temu will invest heavily in education, The National reports.

Sir Puka said yesterday the opposition was confident of moving a successful vote of no-confidence against the government when parliament resumes in two weeks, and he felt the need to go ahead and outline some of the opposition’s major policies as an alternative government.

He said they would focus on the education sector to address the needs of more than 50% of school-age children in the country who had missed out on basic education every year.

“A government that invests in its human resource is a good government and, therefore, PNG must invest in its human resource to compete in the region and on the international arena,” he said.

Sir Puka said another key policy would be to revive the public service machinery for the good of the nation.

He said those who had not performed would go and allow for competent and committed officers to serve the people through the implementation of effective policies and a change in attitudes and work commitments.

He said transparency and accountability among all public office holders would be a major focus of the alternate government to effect public service functions and processes and allow for services to trickle down to the people.

“We will also make sure that financial management procedures are resurrected to ensure all public funds are channelled in a transparent and accountable manner,” Sir Puka said.

He said the alternate government would make sure that the functions and roles of the Ombudsman Commission were reviewed to give it greater powers and autonomy in dealing with corrupt leadership.