Ben Hakalitz drums in final chapter for Yothu Yindi

by ADAM VAI DELANEY

This Thursday, a man from Papua New Guinea, with his ‘sticks,’ will grace Australia’s world-class musical stage in Sydney to perform with Yothu Yindi for its final curtain in front of a world-wide audience and amongst Australia’s recent successful artists including, Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, the Jezzabels, and Miss Higgins.

 That man is none other than legendary PNG traditional instrument percussionist and contemporary drummer, Ben Hakalitz. 

Hakalitz (second from left, back row) with Tribe of Jubal in Cairns, Australia

The event - the 26th annual Australian Recording Industry Association's (ARIA) awards. 

This ARIA event will be a particularly special night, when the indigenous band, Yothu Yindi, is to be inducted into the much acclaimed ARIA Hall of Fame.

 Yothu Yindi, (Yolngu for "child and mother” will then join an exclusive club of Artists that includes the Bee Gees, Australian Crawl, the Seekers, Slim Dusty, INXS, the Saints,Men at Work, Little River Band,Midnight Oil, Kylie Minogue and Mental as Anything.

 Yothu Yindi’s induction will cement its remarkable place for indigenous Australian artists and in Sydney, the audience can expect to dance to its number one global success track: “Treaty”.

 “All Artists aspire to one day perform at the ARIAs. 

"It’s even sweeter to be in a keynote performing act that night. 

"There’s many great bands lining up, so you need to take the chance and give it your best shot. "Global super-star, Taylor Swift, will also be there as a special guest. 

"I am thankful for the privilege and journey that I have had with my brothers and sisters from Northern Territory.

" Yothu Yindi deserves to be in the ARIA Hall of Fame. 

"I can’t express the amount of hard work and commitment that goes into achieving this level of recognition."

 Originally from Bougainville, Ben was recruited by Yothu Yindi soon-after the band toured Papua New Guinea in early 1990s. 

Back then Yothu Yindi was a non-mainstream band by Australian standards and seeking its rightful place amongst Australia’s music icons. 

Ben’s natural, musical talent and local experiences, grabbed the attention of the band’s management during a performance with Sanguma in Port Moresby. 

With him joining Yothu Yindi for four years was fellow PNG keyboard maestro, Buruka Tau, from Tubusereia village.

 It seemed surreal, but being recruited was no small feat then. 

Ben was expected to step into the shoes of his predecessor - international drummer of Village People fame and get ready for Europe. 

Buruka and Ben did it, and more, touring Europe and then USA.

 I was privileged to have seen them play in Manhattan, New York City, with. 

“That was an incredible tour. 32 shows in seven weeks!” exclaimed Ben.

Adam Vai Delaney said: “This ARIA awards is going to be a remarkable and memorable moment for Yothu Yindi and, I believe, for Ben. 

"It’s a shame that Buruka isn’t able to join them. 

"To be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame is truly invaluable and superb.

" It means that the band has, for the last 20 years prior, achieved significant prominence in its work and has had a cultural impact and recognition within the world marketplace. 

"For Ben to play amongst the musical elite is an awesomeness that we should all be proud of."

 Adam said: “I stress the cliché; PNG is dripping of creative talent, and a wealth of cultural diversity to draw from and compose musical arrangements from, but the opportunities for standing on the world stage can only be realised if there are progressive leaders to support an industry beyond what is being churned out for radio and bars.

" It’s not about being bureaucratic, or giving seminars about copyright to“Rice imo ianinia”, and blah blah, which is rhetorical. 

"Melanesian musicians and performers do aspire for grand things, but sadly, it’s fruitless, if there’s no financial incentives, no proper stages, and mentors in their market to develop an industry for world-class acts. 

"Sports is the big thing in PNG for sponsorships and tireless government bid for a team in the NRL. "You would think those interested in the ‘industry’ at home would learn a few things from it’s developed neighbour and promotion of artists.

 “I wish Ben the very best as he gets up on Thursday with Yothu Yindi to celebrate this moment. 

"He stood by them during some difficult times, sacrificed family time, and this is where the rubber has met the road on the way to the largest Hall of Fame in our Pacific."

Adam Vai Delaney is Motu and an independent International Development and Marketing Consultant who coined the term “Arc of Opportunity” to describe the Melanesian countries. He had managed the Melanesian funk bank, Tribe of Jubal, that was founded by Ben, Pius Wasi, Airileke Ingram and Richard Mogu and featured Vanessa Quai.

adamvai@bigpond.net.au

A ride into paradise

By MALUM NALU

My good mate in Lae, PETER BOYD, just sent me this picture of a motorbike ride past Lake Wanam on Sunday. 

 This is a shot of local rider DANIEL HARGREAVES as the bikers attempted to ride around Lake Wanam on the Lae - Bulolo Highway.-Picture by PETER BOYD

 Makes me homesick for all the fun and outdoor life we had in Lae!

Passing of Rhonda Holzknecht

 Rhonda Holzknecht nee Dieckmann : 3.1.1945 - 27.11.2012

Family and friends in Butibam Village, Lae; Salamaua; Markham Valley and Morobe Province are advised of the passing of RHONDA HOLZKNECHT (, wife of our good friend and brother, Philip Holzknecht, early this morning, at Ipswich outside Brisbane.
Philip would be grateful if this information could be passed on to the elders of Butibam, especially Mesach and Bart Philemon, and also at Situm in the Adzera resettlement areas.
He would also be grateful if this message could be passed on to Andrew Baing, wife Sue and daughter Jennifer Baing-Waiko, who live on the right side of the Highlands Highway after the Umi Bridge.

Philip Holzknecht's direct contact is [614] 382 6 1030 and email is sampai2610@gmail.com
Other details will be advised in due course.

He writes: Rhonda passed away in the early minutes off this morning of sepsis,respiratory failure and the effects of scleroderma. 

She had been ill for a short time, was admitted to Ipswich General Hospital two weeks ago, and into Intensive Care last Thursday. 

Her illness progressed very quickly and she was placed in an induced coma last Friday morning
from which she never recovered. 

The illness progressed much quicker than any had anticipated and the last couple of days saw quick trips into the hospitals as doctors requested us.
The final call came at 10.30 pm Monday [last] night as Rhonda became more and more distressed with organ failure.
She will be remembered as a loving and incredibly supportive mother, a breeder of fine chickens, a friend in need, an incredible family day care mum to many children and families in need of care, a mean and competitive card player, a generally wonderful individual who made the world a better place, and for many many other things. 

She will be sorely missed by all who knew her and were touched by her. 

Sleep in Peace, my beloved.

Artist Larry Santana to present first solo exhibition since 1983

By AMANDA ADAMS

Art Stret is very proud to be able to present the first solo exhibition at home for Larry Santana since 1983. 
Larry has travelled extensively representing PNG contemporary art internationally and is one of our great art ‘rock’ stars. 

Larry Santana in Madang in 2006.-Picture by MALUM NALU

Usually based at the University of Goroka he will be in Moresby this week for the opening of the show and will be available all of Wednesday for press if you are free.
 I’ve attached the link to his exhibition on our website here so you can get an idea of his work.
http://www.artstret.com/Papua-New-Guinea-Art-Gallery/27/
He consistently presents works discussing the environment and his traditional heritage and is a fascinating man to talk to.
I do hope you can find time to come and meet him and see the exhibition in the flesh.
Take care and talk soon,
Amanda
Art Stret Ltd
PO Box 720,
Gordons, NCD,
Papua New Guinea
www.artstret.com
Tel: (+675) 325 4199
Fax: (+675) 325 0640
Gallery: Steamships Hardware Compound, Waigani
Production Haus: Ago Street, Gordons

Rent Papua New Guinea Art on www.artstret.com | PNG Art Gallery

www.artstret.com

Papua New Guinea art collection | Rent Papua New Guinea Art | Rent art on www.artstret.com | Rent art of artists from Papua New Guinea

Puggle births a boon for rare PNG echidnas

ByJoanna Egan of Australian Geographic 

Puggle at two months of age. (Photo: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary)

FOUR BABY ECHIDNAS, or puggles, born in Queensland are being hailed as a lifeline for their critically endangered cousins in Papua New Guinea.
The Australian native short-beaked echidna puggles were born over the past two months at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) on the Gold Coast, as part of a research program run in conjunction with the University of Queensland (UQ).
Through the study, researchers aim to learn more about the physiology and mating behaviour of the short-beaked echidna, common throughout Australia but notoriously difficult to breed, in an effort to save the long-beaked echidna, which is endemic to PNG.
The long-beaked echidna is fighting a losing battle against habitat loss and overhunting.

Fight for the long-beaked echidna

Lead researcher Dr Steve Johnston, a UQ reproductive biologist, has been involved in the program since it began six years ago. “The short-beaked echidna is common but cryptic and up until a few years ago, it was thought to be almost impossible to breed in captivity,” he says.
The new arrivals bring the program’s total births to six, following the birth of two puggles at Currumbin last year. “Producing four puggles out of about five attempts this year was a big surprise,” Steve says. “The success has changed our expectations and we’re now looking at getting a baby nearly every time we try.”
Already, the program has led to significant discoveries about the mating behaviour and reproductive cycles of echidnas.
“It was thought that females could only have one puggle every three years, but we have now had a female produce a puggle two years in a row,” says Andrea Wallage, a UQ PhD student involved in the breeding program. “We also discovered that females can go through multiple oestrus cycles each season.”

Puggle breeding caught on video

The echidnas at CWS are monitored around the clock via a series of video cameras. “We’ve been able to capture footage of some of the matings,” says Steve. “That’s been really helpful in giving us the fine detail we need to properly understand their biology and it is one of the secrets of our success.”
Using the cameras, researchers have detected a probable link between an echidna’s body temperature and its breeding rate. Prior to breeding, echidnas put on significant amounts of weight. As a result, their metabolism increases, helping to sustain thermoregulation, which encourages reproduction. By placing infrared lamps in the breeding enclosures, the researchers have seen an increase in breeding rates.
Steve and his team hope that, in the long-term, their discoveries will help bring the long-beaked echidna back from the brink.
“We’re very keen to develop our skill base with breeding short-beaks so that ultimately we can get directly involved in a captive breeding program in Papua New Guinea, or potentially even create an insurance population of long-beaks here in Australia,” says Steve.
In the meantime, Steve has invited staff from Port Moresby Nature Park, PNG, to train with him in Queensland. “The long-beaked is a different animal,” he says. “There are going to be changes that we’ll need to make, but in terms of its reproductive biology, there are certainly lessons we can learn from the short-beaked.”

Drug-resistant tuberculosis in PNG and Torres Strait islands

Most Australians hear only periodic news items about outbreaks of tuberculosis, but globally the disease remains a top killer. And the emergence of drug-resistant strains pose a major challenge to tuberculosis control programs. One recent news story documented the life of a young woman from Daru Island…

 The Conversation

A Treaty Protection Zone allows Papua New Guinea inhabitants and Australian nationals to mix freely on the outer Torres Strait islands. Cam Pervan

 

Most Australians hear only periodic news items about outbreaks of tuberculosis, but globally the disease remains a top killer. And the emergence of drug-resistant strains pose a major challenge to tuberculosis control programs.
One recent news story documented the life of a young woman from Daru Island who has become a medical refugee in Cairns after contracting a highly drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, known as XDR-TB (extensively drug resistant TB).
Such personal stories (of which there are many) emphasise the human tragedy interwoven with health challenges at multiple levels. They also capture anxiety about the possibility that multi-drug resistant (MDR) forms of tuberculosis may spread and pose a risk to the Australian population.

Arbitrary borders

A Treaty Protection Zone allows Papua New Guinea inhabitants and Australian nationals to mix freely on the outer Torres Strait islands. And due to the difficulty of health-care access as well as a poorly functional tuberculosis control program, Papua New Guinea nationals in the adjacent South Fly district frequently used Torres Strait Island services to access Australian care.
During 2012, the Queensland government shut down health clinics on Boigu and Saibai islands and returned 92 PNG nationals from Cairns to Daru Island for completion of their tuberculosis treatment. Amid concern that these patients were unlikely to receive adequate treatment support, the Federal Government committed $8.5 million via AusAid to improve services at the regional hospital on Daru Island and to support tuberculosis services throughout the Western Province (including the South Fly district) between 2011 and 2015.
The impact of the initial “Stop TB in the Western Province” program is yet to be scrutinised.

A local focus

Ensuring access to high-quality services within Papua New Guinea is the preferred and most effective intervention to assist local communities. It will also reduce their need to seek health care in Australia.
Ironically, the visible epidemic is likely to get worse before getting better, since better functioning diagnostic systems will identify MDR- and extremely drug-resistant (XDR)-TB cases that previously went undetected. This may seem alarming, but it allows for better assessment of the problem and should facilitate improved patient care and better protective strategies.
In reality, health-care services are poorly functional throughout Papua New Guinea and careful consideration should be given to the most cost-effective and sustainable strategies. The situation requires a strong and coordinated cross-border approach that includes all parts of the Australian government to work with central and provincial administrations in Papua New Guinea.
Unfortunately, this important issue has become a political ball being kicked around between the federal and state governments and between political parties.

Australia and tuberculosis

Thankfully, the intended closure of Queensland’s Tuberculosis Control Centre, which would have been a disaster at this crucial time, has been narrowly averted. This should enable the continuation of vital surveillance and control functions within Queensland and the provision of guidance and support to Papua New Guinea colleagues on Daru Island and in the South Fly district.
In general, excellent socioeconomic conditions and effective infection control measures within Australia reduce the risk of local tuberculosis outbreaks. But poor and marginalised populations are at risk, as are immune-compromised people and the rapidly growing portion of the population that is of an advanced age.
Immune senescence associated with old age is a well-characterised risk factor and several tuberculosis outbreaks have taken place in aged-care facilities. The introduction of highly drug-resistant tuberculosis into any of these vulnerable communities would pose a major challenge, since treatment requires two years of multiple drugs that have numerous side effects.

Finding the way forward

Recent evidence suggests that MDR-TB, contrary to previous belief, is often highly transmissible and protection against infections that spread via the air (such as measles and tuberculosis) is notoriously difficult.
Given the health challenges posed at multiple levels and the complexity of the issues involved, careful and objective assessment should guide the assignment of clear roles and responsibilities to the Papua New Guinea and Australian governments involved, as well as to international health agencies.
AusAID has published an expert report on the tuberculosis control situation in the Western Province, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is conducting an independent review of the same.
Insight from these fact-finding missions is vital for understanding the complexities of the situation and ensuring bipartisan support for workable solutions.

Authors

1. 

   Ben Marais

   Associate Professor in Paediatrics & Child Health at University of Sydney
   
2. 

   Tania Sorrell

   Professor of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Director Sydney Institute for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity at University of Sydney
   
3. 

   Warwick Britton

   Professor of Medicine and Professor of Immunology at University of Sydney
   

Disclosure Statement

Warwick Britton receives funding from the NHMRC.
Ben Marais and Tania Sorrell do not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article. They also have no relevant affiliations.

The Conversation provides independent analysis and commentary from academics and researchers.
We are funded by CSIRO, Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, UTS, UWA, Canberra, CDU, Deakin, Flinders, Griffith, La Trobe, Murdoch, QUT, Swinburne, UniSA, UTAS, UWS and VU.

Manus refugee facility faces power threat

By Eoin Blackwell, 

AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

Manus Island landowners have threatened to shut down power after the arrival of asylum seekers. Source: AAP

LANDOWNERS on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island have threatened to shut down electricity to parts of the province, less than a week after Australia's first batch of asylum seekers arrived.

The 19 Sri Lankan and Iranian asylum seekers, including four children, were flown to Manus on Wednesday.
They are currently being housed in "G camp" within the temporary tent facility on Lombrum naval base, the same site as the Howard-era detention facility.
Now known as "Newtown" to locals and the G4S security guards running the site, the facility will house up to 600 asylum seekers in the coming months.
Local MP Ronnie Knight says landowner groups on Saturday threatened to shut down power to parts of the province over demands for compensation from Australia to use the site.
"I had to break the news to them that they were not going to get what they want," Mr Knight said.

"They did not take it well. I told them I would do my best to see they get something.
"(If they cut the power) the people of Manus will rise up and chase them out."
The facility itself is powered by four large generators and is not expected to be affected by loss of power to Manus proper.
The Australian and PNG governments have sent a joint task force to Manus to assess what infrastructure projects need assistance, while the Australian High Commission has said it cannot hand out money to landowner groups.
A group involved in blockading Manus airport on November 12 gave the PNG government a two-week deadline to meet with them.
That deadline ends on Tuesday.
The PNG government has sent 64 mobile riot-squad police to Manus, a move Mr Knight said should keep the landowners from following through on their most recent threat.
The landowners, who represent as many as five different clans around Lombrum, were angered after it was announced controversial security firm G4S was given contracts to run the site.
Since Australia announced in August it planned to send asylum seekers to the island the groups have separately made demands for compensation totalling $45 million, security contracts for running the site as well as building contracts.
"I want development and funds so I can start my business," said John Lou, who leads the Lombrum clan living just outside the base.
He says he will not resort to aggressive action such as blockading goods and services to the facility, but he is considering legal action.
"The PNG government didn't give us a chance to get in on this project," he said.
It is unclear when the next batch of asylum seekers are due to arrive on Manus.
The Australian government announced in August that it would process asylum seekers on offshore facilities in Nauru and Manus Island.
Nauru eventually will have space for 1500 people.
AAP and PNG'S The Post Courier were denied access to the site on Friday by G4S and PNG Immigration, who told reporters they were following orders from Canberra.