Politician Mek Teine and administrator Dorpar die
By ANCILLA WRAKUALE
CHIMBU suffered a double tragedy over the Easter weekend with the deaths of Kundiawa-Gembogl MP Joe Mek Teine and senior public servant Joseph Dorpar, The National reports.
Both deaths occurred yesterday at the Port Moresby Pacific International Hospital.
Teine collapsed at 10pm last Saturday night and was rushed to the hospital where he was admitted at the intensive care unit where attempts were made to revive him from an apparent heart attack. He died at 11am yesterday at the hospital.
Dorpar, from Boko Kawa in Kerowagi, was staying at the Aku Lodge at Boroko when he suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital at about 4am yesterday. A relative said he was pronounced dead on arrival.
He said Dorpar came to Port Moresby last Saturday for a business trip and was to return yesterday afternoon to Madang, but died in the morning.
Dorpar was a senior public servant in Southern Highlands and was administrator of Chimbu and Madang provinces.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
Teine will be missed by the National Party of which he was parliamentary leader, by the PNG Law Reform Commission which he had served as chairman since September 2007 and by the people of Kundiawa-Gembogl, his Enduka tribe and his family.
Teine embarked this month on an extensive nationwide tour to gauge the views on sorcery with a view to drafting new legislation for it.
A relative said he had just returned from leading a delegation to Chimbu for two weeks and had been scheduled to go to Morobe on Friday but decided to stay with his family over Easter.
Teine was appointed to the post after Dr Allan Marat was elevated and appointed the minister for justice and attorney-general.
He was a lawyer by profession and a first-time politician although he had contested in many previous elections.
NCD governor and fellow lawyer Powes Parkop last night offered his condolences and sympathy to the family and relatives of the late Mek Teine.
Parkop said: “His death is a great loss to his family and relatives, to the people of Kundiawa-Gembogl and to the nation.
“In his life as a lawyer, he served our people well and, in his short term as an MP, he proved that he could also equally serve our nation as a politician.
“National Party has lost a good leader and the nation is poorer without the likes of the late MP who has had a great passion for our people and our nation.”
Teine was preparing his party policy statement to deli¬ver at a National Party meeting this Saturday.
His son Johnny will be graduating from the University of PNG this Friday.
Teine is survived by wife Dala and children Emmanuel, Julianne, Johnny, Quina and three grandchildren.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Need for farm mechanisation in Papua New Guinea
By SURYA NATH of NARI
Agriculture is an energy conversion system in which food, fibre, biomass for fuel and processing by-products are produced for consumption and use by human society.
A sufficient supply level of consumable products is necessary for the desired development and it can be achieved through enough supply of energy input and skilled man-power.
The agriculture sector which is the most important sector in Papua New Guinea has neither enough skilled man power nor energy input to realise the full potential of land and labour. Traditional method of farming using hand tools like bush knives, digging stick, axe and spade are common amongst rural population engaged in subsistence farming.
This practice has not been able to supply sufficient food in order to meet the growing food demand by an increasing population.
The energy input through tractor and other motorised source is unlikely to meet the demand in the near future because such machines are out of reach of subsistence farmers.
The utilisation of human energy in farming with improved appropriate technologies can provide partial solution; however, it is becoming clear that the rural population have given up toiling their land because of lack of support from the government.
This in turn has caused migration of rural people to urban centres and projects sites with the hope getting paid employment.
The energy input is estimated to be only 0.1hp/ha/yr (horse power per hectare per year) in the South Pacific including PNG.
The energy input in agriculture in other developing countries like India and China is 0.7hp/ha/yr which clearly demonstrates that agriculture sector in PNG is not getting its due attention.
There are some major constraints to effective mechanisation at subsistence level in PNG agriculture including: lack of credit, proper extension and appropriate technologies; lack of knowledge and skills in use, repair and maintenance of machines; lack of research and development on farm-mechanisation suitable for subsistence farmers; land being hilly and sloppy; and poor quality of imported machines.
It will be wise to tackle some of the constraints in order to realise meaningful mechanisation. Focus should be on the development of appropriate technologies which could make multiple cropping feasible, generate interest for labourers in producing, harvesting, processing, storing, transporting, and marketing.
The total area cultivated in PNG stands at 11.7858 million hectares accounting for cash crops (cocoa, coconut, oil palm, coffee, sugarcane) and food crops.
Banana, taro, sweet potato, yam and cassava are the major staple crops.
Production of rice is also picking up in many parts of the country.
Farm machineries available in the country are imported.
Tractors, soil preparation equipment, and harvesting and threshing equipment are reported to be the major equipments imported. Most of these machineries are destined to plantations and commercial farmers.
Subsistence farmers are completely left out from the use of machines.
This situation is largely due to lack of mechanisation policy on the part of the government.
It is recorded that about 5,000 tractors, 7,600 soil preparation equipments, and 6,000 harvesting and threshing equipments have been imported during 1996 – 2002.
This clearly indicates that machinery input is very low for crop production in PNG.
On the assumption that 4,000 tractors are working at any given time, the total power available will be only 240,000 kilowatt (Kw), given each tractor is of 60 Kw.
If 20 % of the land is to be made optimally productive, it comes to about 2.6 million ha.
A human being is rated at about 0.1 horse power (hp) and the minimum power requirement for an effective agriculture has to be 0.5hp per hectare per year.
Thus the required energy is about 1.3 million hp, which is equal to 1 million Kw.
Assuming that two million people are always busy in farming, the energy input from manual labor will be equal to 0.2 million hp which is equal to 0.154 million Kw.
The combined energy available from the tractors and human power is only 0.394 million Kw leaving a deficit of 0.706 million Kw.
The remedy of energy deficit of such magnitude is very difficult and it should be of concern to planners and implementers.
It is advisable that animal traction and two wheel tractors are in corporated in agriculture production system with appropriate technologies in order to boost the production to feed the increasing population.
The following are some of the areas that could be considered to improve farm mechanisation in the country: establishment of animal traction centre, establishment of agro-service centers throughout the country, establishment of curriculum in agricultural engineering and technology at tertiary level, establishment of division of agricultural mechanisation at national level, inclusion of agricultural machines related information in agricultural extension programmes, and exemption of tax on imported agriculture machines for subsistence farmers.
The above suggestions necessary to ensure agriculture production is maximised, and realise the agriculture potential that we have.
Improved farm mechanisation can result into:
• Increased productivity of land and labor
• Increased income to farmers
• Reduction in post –harvest losses
• Reduction in drudgery and back-breaking farm work
• Timeliness in field preparation and subsequent operations
• Precision in agricultural operation
• Improvement of safety of farm workers
• Improvement in working environment
• Respect to human dignity
• Increase in agricultural labor efficiency
• Intensive farming for all the cultivable land
• Creation of rural employment, and
• Availability of improved housing and sanitation
It can be concluded that farm mechanisation in PNG must be introduced at a pace that the farmers can use appropriate technology and simultaneously training and education is also pursued.
This way not only the productivity of land and labor will increase but will also provide employment in rural areas.
Agriculture is an energy conversion system in which food, fibre, biomass for fuel and processing by-products are produced for consumption and use by human society.
A sufficient supply level of consumable products is necessary for the desired development and it can be achieved through enough supply of energy input and skilled man-power.
The agriculture sector which is the most important sector in Papua New Guinea has neither enough skilled man power nor energy input to realise the full potential of land and labour. Traditional method of farming using hand tools like bush knives, digging stick, axe and spade are common amongst rural population engaged in subsistence farming.
This practice has not been able to supply sufficient food in order to meet the growing food demand by an increasing population.
The energy input through tractor and other motorised source is unlikely to meet the demand in the near future because such machines are out of reach of subsistence farmers.
The utilisation of human energy in farming with improved appropriate technologies can provide partial solution; however, it is becoming clear that the rural population have given up toiling their land because of lack of support from the government.
This in turn has caused migration of rural people to urban centres and projects sites with the hope getting paid employment.
The energy input is estimated to be only 0.1hp/ha/yr (horse power per hectare per year) in the South Pacific including PNG.
The energy input in agriculture in other developing countries like India and China is 0.7hp/ha/yr which clearly demonstrates that agriculture sector in PNG is not getting its due attention.
There are some major constraints to effective mechanisation at subsistence level in PNG agriculture including: lack of credit, proper extension and appropriate technologies; lack of knowledge and skills in use, repair and maintenance of machines; lack of research and development on farm-mechanisation suitable for subsistence farmers; land being hilly and sloppy; and poor quality of imported machines.
It will be wise to tackle some of the constraints in order to realise meaningful mechanisation. Focus should be on the development of appropriate technologies which could make multiple cropping feasible, generate interest for labourers in producing, harvesting, processing, storing, transporting, and marketing.
The total area cultivated in PNG stands at 11.7858 million hectares accounting for cash crops (cocoa, coconut, oil palm, coffee, sugarcane) and food crops.
Banana, taro, sweet potato, yam and cassava are the major staple crops.
Production of rice is also picking up in many parts of the country.
Farm machineries available in the country are imported.
Tractors, soil preparation equipment, and harvesting and threshing equipment are reported to be the major equipments imported. Most of these machineries are destined to plantations and commercial farmers.
Subsistence farmers are completely left out from the use of machines.
This situation is largely due to lack of mechanisation policy on the part of the government.
It is recorded that about 5,000 tractors, 7,600 soil preparation equipments, and 6,000 harvesting and threshing equipments have been imported during 1996 – 2002.
This clearly indicates that machinery input is very low for crop production in PNG.
On the assumption that 4,000 tractors are working at any given time, the total power available will be only 240,000 kilowatt (Kw), given each tractor is of 60 Kw.
If 20 % of the land is to be made optimally productive, it comes to about 2.6 million ha.
A human being is rated at about 0.1 horse power (hp) and the minimum power requirement for an effective agriculture has to be 0.5hp per hectare per year.
Thus the required energy is about 1.3 million hp, which is equal to 1 million Kw.
Assuming that two million people are always busy in farming, the energy input from manual labor will be equal to 0.2 million hp which is equal to 0.154 million Kw.
The combined energy available from the tractors and human power is only 0.394 million Kw leaving a deficit of 0.706 million Kw.
The remedy of energy deficit of such magnitude is very difficult and it should be of concern to planners and implementers.
It is advisable that animal traction and two wheel tractors are in corporated in agriculture production system with appropriate technologies in order to boost the production to feed the increasing population.
The following are some of the areas that could be considered to improve farm mechanisation in the country: establishment of animal traction centre, establishment of agro-service centers throughout the country, establishment of curriculum in agricultural engineering and technology at tertiary level, establishment of division of agricultural mechanisation at national level, inclusion of agricultural machines related information in agricultural extension programmes, and exemption of tax on imported agriculture machines for subsistence farmers.
The above suggestions necessary to ensure agriculture production is maximised, and realise the agriculture potential that we have.
Improved farm mechanisation can result into:
• Increased productivity of land and labor
• Increased income to farmers
• Reduction in post –harvest losses
• Reduction in drudgery and back-breaking farm work
• Timeliness in field preparation and subsequent operations
• Precision in agricultural operation
• Improvement of safety of farm workers
• Improvement in working environment
• Respect to human dignity
• Increase in agricultural labor efficiency
• Intensive farming for all the cultivable land
• Creation of rural employment, and
• Availability of improved housing and sanitation
It can be concluded that farm mechanisation in PNG must be introduced at a pace that the farmers can use appropriate technology and simultaneously training and education is also pursued.
This way not only the productivity of land and labor will increase but will also provide employment in rural areas.
ANZAC Day in Madang
By PETER MEMAFU
ANZAC DAY in Madang commenced with a large turnout of more than 500 plus people despite an earlier freak storm and two heavy downpours.
People converged onto the Coast Watchers Memorial Lighthouse (otherwise known as Madang’s Kalibobo Lighthouse), including visiting Australians, New Zealanders and Papua New Guineans.
“Madang ANZAC Days are always the biggest gathering throughout Papua New Guinea"
These were the remarks of the acting chairman of the organising committee, Richard Coleman.
"ANZAC day commemorates both WW1 and WW2 and it is a time when we remember those of our loved ones who fought in the war,” he said.
Rev Joseph Toua of the United Church in Madang opened the ANZAC Dawn Service with a prayer while Divine Word University's Fr Philip Smith did the Bible reading quoting the Book of Isaiah 49:1-6 and shared a beautiful sermon of our purposes in life and he made references to the earlier French explorers who thought PNG was the ends of the earth and named some of the famous landmarks called the Finnisterre Range (meaning the ends of the earth) and the Kalibobo Lighthouse
Br Andrew Simpson, who represented Australia, spoke of peace with direct references made to a song called “A Note to God” that was performed by Emamnuella Memafu before his brief remarks
“I’d ask for wars to end and for peace to mend this world," we part of the words of the song.
Maureen Hill, who is a longtime resident of Madang, represented New Zealand and was honored to speak about her heritage and continuous involvements with ANZAC and Remembrance Days over the years.
She also made references to the significance of Madang’s Kalibobo Lighthouse as well.
All ANZAC Days in Madang are usually hosted by the Melanesian Foundation and the Madang Resort Hotel and also with the help of other private sector groups that help provide the famous ANZAC Day Gunfire Breakfast.
ANZAC DAY in Madang commenced with a large turnout of more than 500 plus people despite an earlier freak storm and two heavy downpours.
 |
| ANZAC Day in Madang |
“Madang ANZAC Days are always the biggest gathering throughout Papua New Guinea"
These were the remarks of the acting chairman of the organising committee, Richard Coleman.
"ANZAC day commemorates both WW1 and WW2 and it is a time when we remember those of our loved ones who fought in the war,” he said.
Rev Joseph Toua of the United Church in Madang opened the ANZAC Dawn Service with a prayer while Divine Word University's Fr Philip Smith did the Bible reading quoting the Book of Isaiah 49:1-6 and shared a beautiful sermon of our purposes in life and he made references to the earlier French explorers who thought PNG was the ends of the earth and named some of the famous landmarks called the Finnisterre Range (meaning the ends of the earth) and the Kalibobo Lighthouse
Br Andrew Simpson, who represented Australia, spoke of peace with direct references made to a song called “A Note to God” that was performed by Emamnuella Memafu before his brief remarks
“I’d ask for wars to end and for peace to mend this world," we part of the words of the song.
Maureen Hill, who is a longtime resident of Madang, represented New Zealand and was honored to speak about her heritage and continuous involvements with ANZAC and Remembrance Days over the years.
She also made references to the significance of Madang’s Kalibobo Lighthouse as well.
All ANZAC Days in Madang are usually hosted by the Melanesian Foundation and the Madang Resort Hotel and also with the help of other private sector groups that help provide the famous ANZAC Day Gunfire Breakfast.
ANZAC Day at Bomana War Cemetery
More than 1,000 people - one of the biggest-ever crowds seen in recent years, packed Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby today for an emotional and moving ANZAC Day Dawn Service.
There were prayers, Bible radings, poem reading, ANZAC Day addres by the New Zealand High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, wreath-laying, Ode, Last Post, Two Minutes Silence, Lament, and the National Anthems of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.
Port Moresby Returned Services League Port Moresby sub-branch president, Mick Pye, estimated a crowd of 11,000 people, many of them trekkers of the Kokoda Trail.
"The occasion was very good," he said.
"It's a fantastic event that happens once a year and brings the bonds between Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea even closer."
 |
| Papua New Guinea Defence Force soldiers at the Dawn Service |
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| Australian school students among those present at Bomana today |
 |
| Rest In Peace |
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| Magical sunrise over Bomana |
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| Picture-perfect settings at Bomana War Cemetery |
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sogeri, like every place you’ve never left
By MALUM NALU
Tanja Meijer travelled halfway around the world from Ireland to revisit her beloved childhood home at Itikinumu rubber plantation at Sogeri, Central province, only to find her dream shattered.
It’s heartbreaking and paradoxical, to say the least, to be so near to Itikinumu at Sogeri, and yet so far away, as a heavy downpour on Good Friday turns the Sogeri-Itikinumu stretch into an impassable quagmire.
“It’s emotional and disappointing, as I came so close to Itiki (Itikinumu) and didn’t get there,” she laments.
“It’s very disappointing to be 15, 20 minutes away, but these things happen.”
Meijer, you see, spent the dream years of her childhood from 1962-1968 at Itikinumu, and has always wanted to follow the yellow brick road back to a place she calls home.
Itikinumu, in those far-off days, was part of the Burns Philps’ plantation empire, which spread all over the then Territory of Papua and New Guinea, including Sogeri.
Rubber, for those who came in late, was king in those days, especially in the Papuan provinces, particularly places like Sogeri, which had plantations like Koitaki, Javere and Itikinumu.
With Meijer on the 4WD Toyota Landcruiser belonging to Theodist owner, Kevin Pini, was Australian Alan Cullen, another child of the colonial era, who grew up in Port Moresby from 1950-1970 and has always wanted to come back to a place he calls home.
Pini and Cullen grew up together in Port Moresby, and while Cullen went finish to Australia, Pini stayed back and built a successful business which has become a household name in PNG, just like the late Sir Brian Bell.
Meijer and Cullen had been planning this trip for some time and to be turned away so close to Itikinumu, blame it on the rain, was most-disheartening not only for themselves but also those of us who accompanied them, Pini’s driver Hubert Begada, my son Malum Jr and me.
They had been in touch with me about their trip, through social networking site Facebook, so when we met each other for the first time over dinner at Ela Beach Hotel last Thursday evening, it was like we’d known each other for ages.
There was a heavy downpour in the city that morning; however, as we drove out of town, the sun appeared in a rainbow of hope, only to disappear again as we neared Sogeri.
All the way from Port Moresby to Sogeri, Cullen, 60, and Meijer, 51, point out their old stomping grounds like excited children.
One of the most-touching moments is when Meijer sees her former primary “A” school classroom at Sogeri – which catered for children of expatriate planters - still pretty in pink after more than 40 years, and she cannot help but tell the driver to stop as she rushes out for a picture.
“All the classes were done in one room, because of four or five students in each class,” she remembers.
“That was the school.”
As we reluctantly turn back from the stretch to Itikinumu, the swollen Laloki River pours over the bridge leading to Sogeri, as we stand and wonder what might have been.
Over coffee and a sumptuous Good Friday lunch at Kokoda Trail Motel, Meijer pours her heart out to me, of a perennially-happy and romantic childhood beneath the rubber trees of Itikinumu and the Koiari mountains.
Cullen also chips in with his anecdotes of daring from then-sleepy, colonial Moresby, to a boys’ own adventure in the mountains of Sogeri.
Meijer’s father Bill Meijer was a section manager at Itikinumu from 1962-1928, starting from when she was a tiny tot at age two to a lively young girl of eight.
Her two sisters after her were born here.
“I lived up at the rubber plantation,” she tells me.
“That’s what I grew up with at Itiki.
“There was a complete factory at Itiki that did all the processing.
“We only came to Port Moresby to do our shopping, as well as go to the drive-in (theatre).
“Going to the drive-in was very much part of our lives then, as well as the Koitaki Country Club (at Sogeri), which is no longer there, and at which there was a swimming pool.
“I remember the rubber trees, getting up early in the morning and tapping rubber, how cool it was under the trees.
“There was polo cross and things like that, colonialist stuff.
“At that time, it seemed very normal.
“It’s only when you get back to Europe that you realise how different your life was!
“It’s (Itikinumu) a brilliant place to grow up.”
The young Meiyjr family left Sogeri, a place they had come to love and call home, in 1968 for Rabaul, where they spent a year, before returning to Europe.
“I always said I would be back,” Meijer says.
“After New Guinea, we went to Holland.
“In 1970, we went to Ireland.
“I went to school there, got married, and had three boys.”
The years rolled past, she found herself growing older, but the yearning for Itikinumu never quite left her.
“I can’t let go,” Meijer admits.
“It’s too good.
“That was the reason for coming here.
“Those were really good memories.
“It was a very different way of life.
“It was a very easy, laid-back lifestyle.”
For Moresby boy, Cullen, Sogeri was a frontier of adventure.
“We often came up here,” he recalls.
“It was always a good drive to get out of Port Moresby, and just muck around for the day.
“A lot of times, you’d come up to Crystal Rapids, Sirinumu Dam, along the dirt road from Moresby.
“This is very surreal.
“It’s like you’ve never left.”
All is not lost, however, and the Itikinumu dream may still come true for Meijer.
She flew with Cullen to idyllic Alotau, Milne Bay province, yesterday where they celebrate Anzac Day tomorrow as well as visit the historic Samarai Island.
They will return to Port Moresby on Thursday, and either that day or Friday, they are hoping for second time lucky at Itikinumu.
They have invited me to accompany them again, and so, I hope to be a bearer of good news from Itikinumu.
 |
Many rivers to cross…Tanja Meijer and Alan Cullen at the washed-out Laloki Bridge at Sogeri on Good Friday.-Picture by MALUM NALU
|
It’s heartbreaking and paradoxical, to say the least, to be so near to Itikinumu at Sogeri, and yet so far away, as a heavy downpour on Good Friday turns the Sogeri-Itikinumu stretch into an impassable quagmire.
“It’s emotional and disappointing, as I came so close to Itiki (Itikinumu) and didn’t get there,” she laments.
“It’s very disappointing to be 15, 20 minutes away, but these things happen.”
Meijer, you see, spent the dream years of her childhood from 1962-1968 at Itikinumu, and has always wanted to follow the yellow brick road back to a place she calls home.
Itikinumu, in those far-off days, was part of the Burns Philps’ plantation empire, which spread all over the then Territory of Papua and New Guinea, including Sogeri.
Rubber, for those who came in late, was king in those days, especially in the Papuan provinces, particularly places like Sogeri, which had plantations like Koitaki, Javere and Itikinumu.
With Meijer on the 4WD Toyota Landcruiser belonging to Theodist owner, Kevin Pini, was Australian Alan Cullen, another child of the colonial era, who grew up in Port Moresby from 1950-1970 and has always wanted to come back to a place he calls home.
Pini and Cullen grew up together in Port Moresby, and while Cullen went finish to Australia, Pini stayed back and built a successful business which has become a household name in PNG, just like the late Sir Brian Bell.
Meijer and Cullen had been planning this trip for some time and to be turned away so close to Itikinumu, blame it on the rain, was most-disheartening not only for themselves but also those of us who accompanied them, Pini’s driver Hubert Begada, my son Malum Jr and me.
 |
Tanja Meijer with (from left) driver Hubert Begada, Malum Nalu Jr and me overlooking the Laloki river from Kokoda Trail Motel.
|
There was a heavy downpour in the city that morning; however, as we drove out of town, the sun appeared in a rainbow of hope, only to disappear again as we neared Sogeri.
All the way from Port Moresby to Sogeri, Cullen, 60, and Meijer, 51, point out their old stomping grounds like excited children.
One of the most-touching moments is when Meijer sees her former primary “A” school classroom at Sogeri – which catered for children of expatriate planters - still pretty in pink after more than 40 years, and she cannot help but tell the driver to stop as she rushes out for a picture.
“All the classes were done in one room, because of four or five students in each class,” she remembers.
“That was the school.”
As we reluctantly turn back from the stretch to Itikinumu, the swollen Laloki River pours over the bridge leading to Sogeri, as we stand and wonder what might have been.
Over coffee and a sumptuous Good Friday lunch at Kokoda Trail Motel, Meijer pours her heart out to me, of a perennially-happy and romantic childhood beneath the rubber trees of Itikinumu and the Koiari mountains.
Cullen also chips in with his anecdotes of daring from then-sleepy, colonial Moresby, to a boys’ own adventure in the mountains of Sogeri.
Meijer’s father Bill Meijer was a section manager at Itikinumu from 1962-1928, starting from when she was a tiny tot at age two to a lively young girl of eight.
Her two sisters after her were born here.
“I lived up at the rubber plantation,” she tells me.
“That’s what I grew up with at Itiki.
“There was a complete factory at Itiki that did all the processing.
“We only came to Port Moresby to do our shopping, as well as go to the drive-in (theatre).
“Going to the drive-in was very much part of our lives then, as well as the Koitaki Country Club (at Sogeri), which is no longer there, and at which there was a swimming pool.
“I remember the rubber trees, getting up early in the morning and tapping rubber, how cool it was under the trees.
“There was polo cross and things like that, colonialist stuff.
“At that time, it seemed very normal.
“It’s only when you get back to Europe that you realise how different your life was!
“It’s (Itikinumu) a brilliant place to grow up.”
The young Meiyjr family left Sogeri, a place they had come to love and call home, in 1968 for Rabaul, where they spent a year, before returning to Europe.
“I always said I would be back,” Meijer says.
“After New Guinea, we went to Holland.
“In 1970, we went to Ireland.
“I went to school there, got married, and had three boys.”
The years rolled past, she found herself growing older, but the yearning for Itikinumu never quite left her.
“I can’t let go,” Meijer admits.
“It’s too good.
“That was the reason for coming here.
“Those were really good memories.
“It was a very different way of life.
“It was a very easy, laid-back lifestyle.”
For Moresby boy, Cullen, Sogeri was a frontier of adventure.
“We often came up here,” he recalls.
“It was always a good drive to get out of Port Moresby, and just muck around for the day.
“A lot of times, you’d come up to Crystal Rapids, Sirinumu Dam, along the dirt road from Moresby.
“This is very surreal.
“It’s like you’ve never left.”
All is not lost, however, and the Itikinumu dream may still come true for Meijer.
She flew with Cullen to idyllic Alotau, Milne Bay province, yesterday where they celebrate Anzac Day tomorrow as well as visit the historic Samarai Island.
They will return to Port Moresby on Thursday, and either that day or Friday, they are hoping for second time lucky at Itikinumu.
They have invited me to accompany them again, and so, I hope to be a bearer of good news from Itikinumu.
Squabble over funds tangles up sick people from Papua New Guinea
By Mark Metherell of Sydney Morning Herald
April 23, 2011
April 23, 2011
SERIOUSLY ill patients from Papua New Guinea, often with family links to Australians, have become the latest category of boat people facing official rejection from Australia.
The rising number of PNG nationals sailing to nearby Australian islands in the Torres Strait to receive medical treatment has generated a dispute between the federal and Queensland governments over who is ultimately responsible for the cost of their care.
Medical experts have warned that a failure to ensure proper treatment for the PNG patients risks leading to the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis to Australia.
The number of medical evacuations of PNG nationals from Australian islands in the Torres Strait to Queensland hospitals more than doubled to 172 last financial year compared with the previous year, and the pressure on services has spurred a backlash from Australian citizens in the Torres Strait.
Following an ABC report about the planned shutdown of TB clinics in the islands, the federal and Queensland governments are denying responsibility for services. Each side has said in statements to the Herald that the other administration is responsible.
A spokeswoman for the federal Health Department said the Commonwealth ''does not direct Queensland in providing these services''. The extent of services ''has been a decision by Queensland Health''.
But Queensland Health says the federal Department of Health and Ageing had advised it ''to reduce services because it [the federal department] is unlikely to provide additional funds to cover the cost of full services''.
In a statement, Queensland Health said ''the provision and scope of health services for PNG nationals are Commonwealth government responsibilities''.
It provided the services to PNG nationals ''under the direction of the Commonwealth'', which contributed $4 million a year of the total $18 million cost of the services. These include a clinic on nearby islands such as Saibai, about 20 minutes' ride in a boat from the impoverished Western Province of PNG.
Dr Justin Waring, of the national tuberculosis advisory committee, has warned: ''In the short term, not treating these people who come across the water to Australia runs the risk of transition and escalation of the drug resistance and ultimately potentially putting Australian residents at risk.''
A Queensland Liberal senator, Russell Trood, who chaired an extensive inquiry into the Torres Strait Islands, said Australia faced a challenging dilemma in humanely treating the large numbers of sick PNG citizens who had few or no health services in their own country but were so near the medical services of Australia. Often these people have customary right-of-entry because of family links.
Senator Trood's committee was told that none of PNG's health sector indicators had improved since 2002.
The federal government had failed to take up the committee's recommendation that it ensure its funding to meet the costs incurred by Queensland Health.
''The Commonwealth seems to be turning its face away from a clear responsibility,'' Senator Trood said. ''We are talking about a relatively small amount of money to deal with a potential threat to Torres Strait Islanders.''
A federal Health Department spokeswoman said Australian state and federal governments, in consultation with PNG, were considering services being provided to PNG nationals ''due to mounting costs and concerns about the increasing impact on access to health services being voiced by Torres Strait communities''.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Unity festival to run alongside 2011 Goroka Show
Goroka Show committee has indicated that it will host a national unity festival to coincide with the 55th annual Goroka Show in September this year.
After the success of the 54th show last year, and with overwhelming record number of bona fide tourists numbering up to 830, which came without much advertising and publicity, committee has indicated its intention to host the national unity show to showcase the strength and resilience of the people of Papua New Guinea as a nation and country which has been “United in Diversity” since Independence.
The theme also reflects the united nation that PNG is as we progress into the 2012 national elections.
Gideon Samuel, chairman of Goroka Show, said this concept had been discussed with the Minister for Arts, Culture & Tourism, Guma Wau, and a submission had been made to seek the endorsement and support of the ministry and the national government.
“The concept has been circulated to concerned agencies such as Office of Prime Minister, Chief Secretary, Treasurer and the concerned departments,” he said.
Committee thanked the government for committing K200, 000 to assist in the 2010 Goroka Show.
“The money will be used to offset bills and make strategic plans to ensure that the show is a permanent feature in the country, as the only and biggest agricultural and cultural show in the country,” Samuel said.
“At present it has been operating on ad hoc basis with generous support from various private sector partners.
“In line with the national unity festival concept, invitations have been sent to all provincial governments and all MPs of Eastern Highlands to organise and nominate a cultural contingent of no more than 30 persons to the national unity festival in 2011.
“This will feature the concept of national unity in PNG and will feature participation of all disciplined services, PNG Fire Service and the agricultural sector.
“It is proposed that the Prime Minister of PNG will be the guest of honor.
“ Past Guests and overseas dignitaries have included include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, various Governors General from Australia and PNG, and prime ministers Sir Julius Chan, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Sir William Skate and Paias Wingti”.
After the success of the 54th show last year, and with overwhelming record number of bona fide tourists numbering up to 830, which came without much advertising and publicity, committee has indicated its intention to host the national unity show to showcase the strength and resilience of the people of Papua New Guinea as a nation and country which has been “United in Diversity” since Independence.
The theme also reflects the united nation that PNG is as we progress into the 2012 national elections.
Gideon Samuel, chairman of Goroka Show, said this concept had been discussed with the Minister for Arts, Culture & Tourism, Guma Wau, and a submission had been made to seek the endorsement and support of the ministry and the national government.
“The concept has been circulated to concerned agencies such as Office of Prime Minister, Chief Secretary, Treasurer and the concerned departments,” he said.
Committee thanked the government for committing K200, 000 to assist in the 2010 Goroka Show.
“The money will be used to offset bills and make strategic plans to ensure that the show is a permanent feature in the country, as the only and biggest agricultural and cultural show in the country,” Samuel said.
“At present it has been operating on ad hoc basis with generous support from various private sector partners.
“In line with the national unity festival concept, invitations have been sent to all provincial governments and all MPs of Eastern Highlands to organise and nominate a cultural contingent of no more than 30 persons to the national unity festival in 2011.
“This will feature the concept of national unity in PNG and will feature participation of all disciplined services, PNG Fire Service and the agricultural sector.
“It is proposed that the Prime Minister of PNG will be the guest of honor.
“ Past Guests and overseas dignitaries have included include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, various Governors General from Australia and PNG, and prime ministers Sir Julius Chan, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Sir William Skate and Paias Wingti”.
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