PM Marape applauds PNG seasonal workers in New Zealand

Prime Minister James Marape has applauded the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, where over 30 young Papua New Guineans have been given an opportunity of employment in New Zealand.

During his visit to the T&G Apple Orchard in Evenden yesterday , he commended the PNG  fruit-pickers on the outstanding report he received from their employer.

PM Marape and his delegation were given the opportunity to see and participate in the fruit-picking process of the T&G Apple Orchard in Evenden.

PM Marape picking apples at the T&G Apple Orchard

PM Marape, wife Rachael and the delegation which visited the T&G Apple Ochard in Hawke's Bay, with the PNG seasonal workers.

He assured the students that he would return to PNG and get the Labour Department and the NID Office to speed up their processes, so that more PNG students can come to New Zealand and Australia and find employment through our labour mobility program with New Zealand.

“My delegation has taken note of the issues hindering the process of engaging more of our people in this labour mobility programme, and we look forward to rectifying this matter, " PM Marape said.

“Our Government aims to promote this programmw with New Zealand and Australia, where our people can save some of the money they earn and engage in starting up SMEs when they return home to PNG after they retire."

He said the Government not only looks to having Papua New Guineans to join the RSE scheme as fruit-pickers, but aims to increase this programme in the technical avenues as well.

“It is obvious Australia and New Zealand will require our skilled labour in the not-too-distant future; hence, we have to prepare our young people for this, and in the SME secter as well," PM Marape said.

“With this, our delegation will return home and ensure our Labour Department and NID processes are streamlined to quickly send more people over to work in New Zealand, and Australia for that matter."

Whilst visiting the orchard, PM Marape participated in the fruit-picking process and was able to taste freshly-grown apples  nurtured by our very own Papua New Guineans at the orchard.

He later visited the geothermal plant and hotsping in Rotorua, saying PNG could gain a lot in terms of electrification programmes from New Zealand.
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PM Marape thanks New Zealand for assisting in evacuating PNG students from Wuhan

AUCKLAND: Prime Minister James Marape, MP, has expressed utmost gratitude to New Zealand for its assistance in evacuating the 17 Papua New Guinean students from Wuhan in China and for housing and treating them in New Zealand, during the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus.

He began his official visit to New Zealand last Friday, starting with him meeting with his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, in Auckland.

Leading a high level delegation of parliamentarians and senior Government officials, PM Marape said: “Papua New Guinea and New Zealand continue to maintain a warm and pleasant relationship, spanning well over four decades. 

“I am humbled by the warm welcome and reception Prime Minister Arden has given my delegation and I, and I look forward to further strengthening the cordial relationship between our two countries.

In support of PM Ardern’s welcoming remarks, PM Marape acknowledged that PNG’s close relationship with NZ is of great importance during a time of global change and turbulence.

"First and foremost, let me on behalf of the people of Papua New Guinea thank New Zealand for its most recent effort and assistance in working together on aspects of our response to the Coronavirus outbreak, including the safe evacuation, treatment and the return of a number of Papua New Guinean students from Wuhan in China.

”My visit is certainly an opportunity to increase engagement with NZ as part of PNG’s bilateral cooperation as well as to discuss shared regional interests and New Zealand’s support to the Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership. "

PM Marape said New Zealand’s humanitarian gesture in assisting our students by bringing them home during the Coronavirus outbreak, goes to show that New Zealand and PNG share robust and strong relations.

“Also, New Zealand’s efforts in ensuring the Bougainville Peace Agreement was upheld in Bougainville from 2001 till the Referendum in 2019, through its deployment of New Zealand  police personnel throughout the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, is a clear demonstration that NZ has played a vital role in the peace process and is clearly a sigmificant partner in the Pacific region,” PM Marape said.

He said PNG also looks forward to  adopting the New Zealand public service model - as it has one of the best public services in the world.

The PNG delegation then visited PNG fruit pickers engaged throught the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme at Hawke's Bay, in New Zealand

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PM Marape receives a New Zealand welcome

Prime Minister James Marape and wife Rachael are greeted by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Government House in Auckland this morning.

 Marape and his PNG delegation were welcomed by the NZ traditional ceremony - Powhiri.
He also inspected a guard-of-honour.

PM Marape arrives in New Zealand for official visit

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister  James Marape has just touched down in New Zealand for his official visit.

Upon arriving in Auckland from Fiji, PM Marape is scheduled to meet his New Zealand  counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, at Government House.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern at  Government House in Auckland, New Zealand, this morning.

There, PM Marape and his counterpart will hold a one-on-one prime ministerial discussion, followed by bilateral discussion with the PNG-NZ delegations.

Points of discussion include our diplomatic relations and political representation, immigration and consular relations, high level bilateral consultations, defence and security cooperation, trade and investment cooperation; development and technical cooperation, the Bougainville Referendum 2019; new areas of future cooperation  between PNG and New Zealand; along with selected regional and international issues.

After the bilateral discussions, both prime ministers will hold a joint media conference, followed by a courtesy call paid to PM Marape by New Zealand’s Leader of Opposition, Simon Bridges.

Prime Minister Marape is accompanied by Minister for National Planning Sam Basil, Oro Governor Gary Juffa, West New Britain Governor Francis Maneke and Tewai-Siassi MP Kobby Bomareo. 

PM Marape attends roundtable discussions at the Israel-Pacific Island Leaders’ Summit

Prime Minister James Marape, MP, attended roundtable discussions at the Israel-Pacific Island Leaders’ Summit in Nadi yesterday.

PM Marape (left) in talks with the Israelis 

In his intervention points, he acknowledged the Government of Fiji through the Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama for hosting the first meeting.

Prime Minister Marape thanked the people and Government of Israel for the initiative to have discussions on issues of mutual concern with leaders of 16 Pacific Island countries who are all members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

He said although there were 16 countries, when there are issues of common interest, their voices are combined as one through the PIF.

"And some of the common issues that we face every day include climate change and rising sea levels," Prime Minister Marape said.

“We may be small in land mass but the entire Pacific put together, is a big space that we occupy on planet earth.

"In the ocean that we share, we also have vast resources.

“Possibly 50% of the world’s tuna supply are caught in our waters."

The Prime Minister said Papua New Guineans were also known to be the first people to go into agriculture 10, 000 years ago and today, with Israel having advanced in agricultural technologies," we would like to embrace those technologies as well".

“PNG values the agricultural expertise and support from Israel and will continue to work together in this sector,” he said.

"We also welcome Israel scholarship programmes in the field of agriculture.

Prime Minister Marape is very appreciative of the Government of Israel's offer to train 100 professionals in Israel in areas of agriculture, technology and security.

Papua New Guinea established relations with Israel in May 1978 and Papua New Guinea has benefited from Israeli expertise in the field of agriculture, including citrus farming.

Bogia Coconut Syndrome workshop held in Madang

A two-day workshop on the Bogia Coconut Syndrome (BCS) and Related Phytoplasma Syndromes in Papua New Guinea was held in Madang on Feb 12-13.

It brought together scientists from Australia, PNG and other stakeholders to discuss BCS, a plant disease that has caused severe losses to coconut palms in the Bogia, Sumkar and Madang districts of Madang Province.

Workshop participants seeing coconut palms affected by Bogia Coconut Syndrome at Kananam along the North Coast Road of Madang.~Pictures by JAMES KILA

The BCS spread has now been reported on Karkar Island also in Sumakar district.

Many thousands of palms have been killed since it was first detected in Bogia in the late 1970s, where it wiped out coconut plantations at Yaro.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has funded a project over the last five years with a multi-national team to undertake more in-depth studies to fill important knowledge gaps and to develop a clear understanding of the biology of BCS and related phytoplasmas in PNG.

Key partners included Ramu Agri-Industries (New Britain Palm Oil Ltd), Oil Palm Research Association (OPRA), National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA), National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), University of Southern Queensland, Charles Sturt University and Kokonas Indastri Koporesen (KIK).

Workshop participants at Kokonas Indastri Koporesen’s Stewart Research Station at Murnas along the North Coast of Madang.

Phytoplasmas are bacteria with no cell-wall that live in the vascular bundle of plant tissue blocking off water and nutrients that the plants need for normal growth and in severe cases can lead to death of the plants and in this case coconut palms. 

Insect vectors having fed on infected host plants can transmit the phytoplasma through their salivary glands in to healthy plants and cause them to become sick and died, something similar to mosquitoes when transmitting malaria.

An ACIAR Technical Report presented at the meeting said plant tissues of BCS symptomatic palms were found to contain the BCS phytoplasma and when its DNA was sequenced using the LAMP technology this closely matched a group of phytoplasmas that were responsible for Coconut Lethal Yellowing Disease.

“Coconut lethal yellowing-like diseases have been responsible for repeatedly devastating coconut industries around the world since the early 1900s,” it said.

A house at Kananam outside Madang surrounded by Bogia Coconut Syndrome-affected palms.

“This was the first time a coconut lethal yellowing disease has been found in the Oceania region and concerns were raised for the PNG coconut industry.

“Previous outbreaks of this disease in other parts of the world caused widespread death of millions of coconut and other closely-related palm trees.

“A molecular study also found banana plants with similar yellowing symptoms contain a closely-related phytoplasma which was called Banana Wilt-Associated Phytoplasma (BWAP) now widespread in Madang, Morobe, East Sepik, Western and North Solomon provinces.”

A banana tree affected by Banana Wilt-Associated Phytoplasma (BWAP) in Madang.

Early responses to the discovery of this disease included a road block preventing the movement of coconuts that has not been de-husked and any planting materials going out from the Madang Province.

An extensive awareness programme was also initiated in the affected areas.

Workshop participants also saw for themselves palms affected by BCS at Kananam along the North Coast of Madang, and visited the International Coconut Gene Bank at Murnas Plantation.

PM Marape reveals next step after P’nyang stalemate

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has informed the nation and all stakeholders what happens after the stalemate between the State Negotiating Team (SNT) and ExxonMobil over P’nyang LNG Project.

Prime Minister Marape

 “It is no secret that I am not pleased with the lack of interest shown by ExxonMobil to migrate towards a mid-point,” Prime Minister Marape said.
“A mid-point in which the State takes home a better deal, instead of terms similar to concession-based gas agreements Papua New Guinea has signed with ExxonMobil and partners of PNG LNG, and Total and partners of Papua LNG.
“I am satisfied that our SNT has subscribed to the mandate bestowed upon Petroleum Minister, Hon. Kerenga Kua.
“ExxonMobil has been told what our intentions are.
“In the interests of fairness, a Ministerial Gas Committee (MGC) will request both the SNT and ExxonMobil to present their positions for the State - through a committee of leaders - to decide what is the best outcome for PNG.”
Prime Minister Marape said he had indicated on all levels of discussions that fundamental policy principles that influenced his Government’s mindset would not change.
“These include no fiscal concessions in P’nyang, treating P’nyang as separate from both PNG and Papua LNG projects, increase in Domestic Market Obligations (DMOs) and local content participation,” he said.
“These will be fundamental in progressing P’nyang.
“In the meantime, I call upon ExxonMobil and Oil Search not to hold the Total project in Gulf to ransom.
“I call upon these two multi-nationals to work with Total to deliver Papua LNG.
“You are beneficiaries of concessions previous Governments have given.
“If you model the project to be uneconomical, then don’t push it: let’s leave the gas in my land and you develop Papua plus further work in PNG LNG.
“After SNT and ExxonMobil present to the MGC, Cabinet will decide on P’nyang.
“We will shift focus to Wafi-Golpu and Porgera mines, Pascal LNG plus other resources sectors so life in PNG is not only dependent on P’nyang and other LNG projects.”
Prime Minister Marape assured the nation that the Mining and Petroleum Ministers would bring in reforms to the Mining and Oil and Gas Acts through enabling Organic Laws this year.