While many throughout the nation take this time to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ this long Easter weekend, Saint John Ambulance (SJA) will be at service throughout the Easter period to provide emergency services for those in need. SJA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Matt Cannon said his team will be on the road twenty-four-seven to provide emergency services to those in need. He is also appealing to the general public to keep safe and healthy at this time, especially during this time of heavy rains experienced in parts of the country. "Recent rains have brought with them many hazards from floods to the potential of water borne diseases." His is also encouraging people especially children to never play in flood waters as it can have dangerous objects that can hurt them. [audio mp3="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SJA-CEO-EASTER-MESSAGE_.mp3"][/audio]

"We have to create this type of panel discussion so that we give them (the people) factual and substantial information so that they may be aware and conscious about the things that are going on in the country.” That’s from the University of Papua New Guinea President of the 2023 Student Representative Council Luther Kising during the opening of the important dialogue and panel discussion between Prime Minister James Marape and Opposition Leader Joseph Lelang, who were in the hot seats to discuss important issues affecting the country. Presidents from Tertiary institutions in the country joined in on the discussion at the UPNG’s New Lecture Theatre mainly from the University of Divine Word, University of Technology, University of Goroka, Pacific Adventist University, Institute of Business Studies University and of course the host of the dialogue, the University of Papua New Guinea. PM James Marape and Opposition Leader Joseph Lelang were questioned on pressing issues affecting the country and gave some feedback mainly about the lawlessness in the country, inflation, unemployment issues, IMF Loan, reform policies, revive of the constitution and the economy at hand. Marape said that he has heard the voice of the people through these young exceptional leaders but all this point questions fired at both leaders will not bring change automatically, it will take time and it will not be a rushed job. "The best contribution of every citizen can give to this country is respecting the rule of law.” PM Marape added, “On the unemployment issues in the country; the employment space is very limited and only up to 10-15 thousand people get employed.” Though Mr Lelang was quiet at his post, he was very open about the issues raised to him and the PM further stated that he would be happy to come back later to present their policies and ways forward. Meanwhile UOT President Jezi Walipi presented 3 petitions to the government side regarding the issues outlined by himself and the other SRC presidents on the amended Mining Act and other issues. Marape also appealed to all universities to not only teach the applied courses to students but to also teach business as our country has more opportunities with business. He left the students a parting remark stating, " Think about business and not just sitting behind a desk."

The nib Newcastle Knights, in conjunction with independent concussion consultants, have reviewed all available information and have approved for Kalyn Ponga to return to rugby league. Ponga recently flew to Vancouver, Canada for additional clinical and advanced neurophysiological assessment, with the results indicating the Knights co-captain is ready to resume his return to performance program. “We are comfortable with the objective evidence from our independent testing, indicating normalisation of his cognitive function,” nib Newcastle Knights Director of Football Peter Parr said. “Kalyn has recovered well from his recent concussion, however he has had limited specific training due toO the amount of travel he has had to undertake in recent weeks. “We will now focus on building his physical and tactical performance, with an aim to return in Round 8 against the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville.” The Knights wish to thank the many people who have shown care and support for Kalyn throughout this period. Kalyn will speak to club members and media, in the near future about his return to play. Source:NRL.Com

Storm hooker Harry Grant says Roosters counterpart Brandon Smith was uncharacteristically quiet all week ahead of his former teammate’s return to AAMI Park on Thursday night. The former AAMI Park crowd favourite copped boos and jeers from Storm fans – none bigger than when he knocked it on out of dummy-half during the second half – in his first visit to AAMI Park as a Rooster as the Tricolours went down to Melbourne. Grant revealed to newspapers this week that Smith – when still at Melbourne – used to send fired-up photos of man-mountain teammate Nelson Asofa-Solomona to opponents he counted as friends in the week their teams would face off. The Storm rake kept expecting to see his phone light up this week with a photo of Roosters front-rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, but one never arrived. “He (Smith) didn’t send me any of Jared, I think he was playing hard ball this week,” Grant said after his side’s 28-8 victory. “He was a bit serious, he wasn’t texting or anything. “It was good to catch up with him and he’s done a lot for the club and won a grand final here, so he’s always welcome back.” Grant, who is close to Smith, said he didn’t want to “put any energy” into treating Smith as anything other than just another opponent on Thursday night. That was obvious in his deadly performance, with the Queensland State of Origin rake steering Storm to their best win of the season to date over a long-time rival. His highlight of the night was a dazzling 40-20, which gave Storm the perfect field position to set up winger Xavier Coates’ third try that sealed the win. Grant said he enjoyed the battle with Smith, but added that was never the main focus on Thursday night. “He (Smith) wasn’t too chirpy, he was pretty quiet but it was still good fun and it’s always fun playing against people you know,” Grant said. “I think we had a couple of losses there where we were playing some pretty ordinary footy, so to turn that around and to come away with a couple of good wins where we’ve just built each week is really pleasing. “In saying that, it’s a long season so we’ve got to keep doing it.” Storm coach Craig Bellamy praised Grant’s performance post-game, acknowledging it was the first time this season his No.9 hadn’t played the full 80 minutes. “I thought he overplayed his hand a couple of times, but I’d rather have him do that than underplay because he’s a very talented player and a very talented dummy-half,” Bellamy said. “We always look a little bit better when he’s up and running. “I thought the Cheese (Smith) played pretty good too…(and) I thought Harry was great. “It’s also the first time we’ve given him a rest this year as we got him off with six or seven minutes to go.” Fullback Nick Meaney, playmakers Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster and Grant regularly combined to cut open the Roosters on Thursday night. Grant believed that combination would only continue to grow and flourish this year. “It was really good to have Hughesy back on deck tonight and to build our combination as a spine,” he said. “We had the first opportunity last year with Paps (injured fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen) and then we had a couple of injuries, which disrupted us a little bit. “But we did some work in the pre-season, so it’s time to now put it into play. It's really pleasing how that’s coming on, but we have a fair way to go too.” The performance of Storm centre Reimis Smith, who went toe to toe with Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaali'i and held his own, was also not lost on Grant. “Reimis has come into some real good form and I thought he was outstanding tonight,” Grant said. “He was one on one with Suaalii many times and his defence was really good. “To be playing the footy he is six rounds in after some major injuries with his pec, and also Will Warbrick coming in after playing only a handful of games means they’re only going to get better as they go.” Source: NRL.com

The University of Papua New Guinea will host the much-anticipated panel discussion on the rising issues affecting the country today Wednesday 5th of April at the UPNG main campus New Lecture Theater. The program will start today at 3pm to 6pm. UPNG SRC President Luther Kising said, the Prime Minister James Marape and the Opposition leader Joseph Lelang have approved to be on the hot seats for the panel discussion. They already have the SRC presidents from the other universities on ground which includes the University of Technology, Divine Word University, Western Pacific University, University of Goroka, Institute of Business Studies University and the Pacific Adventist University on ground. The main issues they will cover are lawlessness in the country (Law & Order issues), inflation rates and unemployment rates. This is strictly for the students and not open to the public. “We are going to basically provide some of the information of the issues that are currently affecting the country and the people to the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader and ask them to give some feedback on that.” “And from there we will make recommendations and ask the government to to provide some of the information or steps that they are taking into place to look into the problems. ” Kising said this is a very important event and he is looking forward to it because this will provide information to the country and also educate and inform our people of what’s going on in the country. “Some people do not know what’s going on in the country so through this platform, we hope that we get the people who are running the country and managing the economy as well as the opposition side to come and discuss so that we inform and educate our people on what’s going on."

"It is important for the 22 provinces in Papua New Guinea to have a Provincial Climate Change Committee within the respective provinces. This is from a team from the Climate Change and Development Authority who recently visited the Gulf Province to discuss with the Provincial Administration a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the establishment of Provincial Climate Change Office and Committee. That's according to CCDA national communication officer Ms Jacinta Kull. Ms Kull said the purpose of the visit was to strengthen the establishment of the Provincial Climate Change Office in the Provincial Administration, support the Gulf Provincial Climate Change Committee’s plan and activities, and the Provincial Administration in climate change activities and programs within the Provincial Development Plan and CCDA’s Corporate Plan, and further to ensure CCDA and Gulf Provincial Government has effective collaboration. “Once the establishment is in place and the MoU to strengthen this process, it allows an effective means of disseminating climate change information throughout the provinces in PNG.” Meanwhile Ms Priscilla Pep who is also a National Communication Officer added that the Provincial Administrations will play a significant role in implementing the government policies like: Climate Change Management Act, National Climate Change Policy, National REDD+ Strategy, REDD+ Safe Guard Information System, PNG’s Enhanced National Determined Contribution, 2020; and National Adaptation Plan. “Capacity programs will soon follow after the MoU signing." Ms Pep further stated, "One of the first programs to be rolled out is the Satellite Land Monitoring System." "The training will go through overview of PNG near Real-time Deforestation Alerts and Monitoring System and Hands-on demonstration of PNG near Real-time Deforestation Alerts and Monitoring System.” "This will be the monitoring system to be used at both the National and sub-national level to monitor REDD+." Pep added that the CCDA will support at the initial stage in the setting up of the Committee and the Office. After that Provincial Administrations will continue with the funding of the Committee and the Office though the formal establishment process. She added that the Provincial Administration in consultation with Department of Personal Management will recruit staff strength. “The establishment of the Provincial Climate Change Committee and Office is in line with CCDA’s Corporate Plan and Climate Change Management Act.”  

Students from Kerema Coronation Secondary and Malalaua Provincial High School were privileged to learn more about climate change from officers from Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) who carried out awareness on Climate Change on the 29th and 30th of March 2023. The awareness carried out was on the Science of Climate Change and the nine (9) priority areas for adaption. National Communication Officer from CCDA Pricilla Pep explained the Science of Climate Change in saying that Climate Change wasreferred to an increase in the average global temperatures, natural events and human actives which are believed to be contributing to an increase in average global temperature causing alterations in the earth’s climate at an unprecedented rate.  She said this was primarily caused by the increase insuch as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other gases posing a grave threat to the environment, people and economies. “The earth is warmed by these gases in our atmosphere that traps heat escaping from the earth’s surface. The greenhouse gases have increased significantly especially over the last 50 years due to human activities such as deforestation, agriculture and the burning of fossil fuels for power. "The increasing concentration of GHG in the atmosphere is trapping more heat, raising the average temperature of the planet’s air and oceans and so altering the climate patterns.” Fellow colleague from CCDA Jacinta Kull added that the effects of Climate Change have already been seen in PNG especially those of coastal flooding, inland flooding, drought, increased prevalence of malaria, damage to coral reefs and the migration of people who are fleeing serious effects. Students were educated on how to address climate change in their homes and communities.

The Member for Namatanai and Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Walter Schnaubelt, has concluded a weeklong electoral visit in his electorate with the grand opening of the Halis Primary School’s new 6-in-1 model classroom building on Friday, March 31st. The school with a vivid history dating back almost 114 years to the time of early missionaries, is located few kilometers outside of Namatanai town in the New Ireland province and sits beautifully on a plateau overlooking the Namatanai Harbour in ward 12 of the Namatanai Local Level Government (LLG). As a United Church agency school, it is one of the oldest schools in New Ireland Province established in 1909 by early Methodist Missionaries. In the early days it was known as ‘Lukbuk’ or reading school. Gradually the school grew and changed overtime to a primary school status in 1997. During the official launch of the 6-in-1 classroom Mr. Schnaubelt commended the church and the school board for the partnership in making education a priority. “The education sector in any government system or community is vital enabler for development. Without education, we will lack the knowledge to prosper and develop further. And as your leader, it is my responsibility to make education priority for all. “With the new classroom building, I also urge the teaching faculty to lift your standard in educating our future leaders of tomorrow. Look after the school building and make the most out of it,” he said. The member said he is keen in building two each of the 6-in-1 model classrooms for the six LLGs of the Namatanai district including Sentral Niu Ailan, Namatanai, Nimamar, Matalai, Konoagil and Tanir. Schnaubelt named the new 6-in-1 classroom building as Butut Building in honour of the late Reverend Robinson Butut. Namatanai LLG President Joshua Soi, in the presence of the member and New Ireland regional Bishop Stanley Lavoi, was given the honour to cut the ribbon to officially open the new 6-in-1 classroom building, which was solely funded by the Namatanai District Development Authority at the cost of K1.5 million. Meanwhile, prior to the opening of the Halis Primary School’s new 6-in-1 classroom, Minister Schnaubelt accompanied by Konoagil President, Mr. Isaac Tosel, was in ward 2 of Konoagil LLG on April 26, where he officially launched musical instruments for Amalgamated Local Church (ALC) at Rei village. Schnaubelt further committed K20, 000 towards the building of the ALC church while president Tosel committed K5, 000 as well. He also officially opened a new double classroom and a teacher’s house at Dr. George Brown Primary School – Kudukudu, Matalai LLG on March 27. Matalai LLG president Augustine Topi and Namatanai LLG president Joshua Takin Soi were also present to witness the event.

Several Executive Management staff of the National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) recently attended the Regulating the Game Conference in Sydney, Australia with the aim to upskill and broaden their knowledge. NGCB Chief Executive Officer Ms. Imelda Agon said this was part of upskilling the Executive Management of the NGCB. The decision to send these officers came about after she and her two other staff members attended the same conference for the first time last year and decided that the management team should attend this year. “As a regulatory body, we are committed to staying at the forefront of the gaming industry and attending events like the Regulating the Game 2023 conference helps us to achieve that goal.” “We were able to learn from some of the best and brightest minds in the industry, and we are excited to bring those insights back to our organization and apply them to our work,” Agon said. The conference that was held from March 4th to March 10th, brought together industry experts, gaming regulators, and other stakeholders to discuss the latest trends and challenges facing the gaming industry. The conference provided a platform for attendees to share their experiences and insights on topics such as responsible gambling, fraud detection, cybersecurity in the gaming industry. There were also discussions on the latest innovations in gaming technology such as cashless gambling, particularly emphasis on cryptocurrency involvement. NGCB staff members who attended the conference found it to be an informative and engaging event. They were able to network with industry peers and gain valuable insights into the latest trends and challenges facing the gaming industry. The team included; Chief Operating Officer - Mr. Paul Ketombing, Director Operations – Mr. Jeffrey Yalakun, Acting Director Corporate Affairs – Ms. Roshinah Wari, Manager Investigation & Enforcement – Mr. Linus Paraka, Manager License & Registration – Mr. Sebastian Niggins, Executive Officer – Mr. Emmanuel Kada, Senior Training & Development Officer – Ms. Angela Teine Ellington. NGCB is committed to promoting responsible gambling practices and providing a safe and enjoyable gaming experience for its customers. Attending events like the Regulating the Game 2023 conference helps NGCB to stay informed and up to date on the latest trends and best practices in the industry. Regulating the Game was a prestigious 5-day education program structured to build individual and organization capability, deepen sector knowledge, and advance thinking and discussion about contemporary best practice gambling regulation.

The National Netball team, the PNG Pepes team is on the road to attend the 3rd Pacific Netball Series (PNS) in Gold Coast, Australia. The Board of PNG Netball endorsed a team comprising of youth and experience. All these girls, both in Port Moresby and Brisbane have been consistently playing good competitions and featured netballers in their domestic clubs. Inclusion of more Brisbane based players instills confidence for a promising campaign in the series. The original long list of players went through a very stringent selection process. They were assessed on their Technical Skill, Tactical and Game Sense including Fitness and were rated accordingly. Going through this diligent process identified their strengths and weaknesses. So far, our Pepes recorded its first win against Singapore in Sydney, Australia in 2022 when this Series was first introduced. The second series was held in Sunshine Coast in October 2022, unfortunately, Pepes didn’t record a win. This time, Pepes is ready to take on the challenge to record some win/s. The Board of PNG Netball would like to thank all stakeholders mainly, Netball Australia for partnering with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to build capacity and help deliver sports-based programs that achieve social development objectives for netball federations in the Pacific. The Board of Netball PNG is pleased to announce the final team for the series. SHOOTERS • Goloa Ovoa - ABAU • Lesieli Taviri – POMNA • Nancy Alu – Brisbane • Rayleen Andrew - POMNA DEFENDERS • Natalie Onno – Brisbane • Shannaz Apelis – POMNA • Jade Pitt – Brisbane Alu Irau - POMNA MIDCOURTS • Michaela Kadlecek – Cairns • Yves Chee – Brisbane • Waisame Andrew – POMNA • Tikimai Vele – Brisbane • Milly Chee – Brisbane • Jacklyn Lahari – POMNA • Neritha Adula - POMNA This team will travel under the leadership of Head Coach, Gimanama Crowdy, Assistant Coach, Margaret Opina and Team Manager, Dianne Lahari. Crowdy said, "I am looking forward to taking this team to compete in the PacificAusSports series from the 24th-29th April. We have a good mix of young and experienced players. We are taking a 15- member squad with 12 to be named on match day so there will be considerable internal competition amongst the players for a spot. Our round matches will be vs Samoa (ranked 18th), Malawi (6th) and Fiji (19th)”. “For the players, this exposure will be excellent for their own growth and learning. We also have our internal goals that we want to achieve and this will be a great opportunity to test our abilities against these teams”. Pepes depart 19th April 2023 for lead up matches in Brisbane before heading into Gold Coast for the series.

With regards to a circular circulating on social media about the protest set for the 30th of March, the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) has made it clear that they will not take part in any sort of protest. UPNG SRC President Luther Kising said, the public is aware of the matter and many people are expecting UPNG and other tertiary institutions to step in and protest regarding the matters that are affecting the country but they have no intentions to take part in any protest this week. “The UPNG SRC made a consideration and decided not to participate in the movement but is more patriotic in undertaking a professional approach to address the opposing issues.” They are in preparations to create a dialogue to have a session with the Prime Minister, former Prime Minister (Peter O’Neil) and other prominent leaders to discusses and get answers on pressing issues such as unemployment rates, law and order issues, the economic turbulence were in (inflation) and other confronting issues affecting the country. “We are going to create a dialogue instead of protesting." "Protesting is not the way forward to get an answer from the government because we want to uphold professionalism and diplomatic approach towards the matter.” “We do not want to repeat the same history about students involving in chaotic activities like the 2016 incident.” Kising said, once they get the dialogue program in order they will put out an announcement for interested individuals, organizations and the media also to participate.

In recognition to World Surveyor’s Day held on the 21st of March, students and staff from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNG UOT) in Lae marked the importance of a surveyor, their job, and the work field. UOT Lecturer, Surveying Section Head Mr. Navua Allen Kapi said the day signifies how surveyors contribute to the development of this nation. “Most of the development takes place on the surveyor’s contribution.” “Surveyors play an important role especially in rural areas to collect data, mainly in road constructions, building boundary definitions which are then assembled and then sent over to the engineers and designers.” Mr. Kapi said that the surveying course itself is the oldest profession in the country and the department was very proud to host the day because UOT is the only university in the country that provides the surveyor’s course and produces a lot of surveyor’s in the industry. The course itself has diploma and a degree course, but the diploma course was phased out in 2014. The degree course is 4 years and is accredited to a global standard. So, most of the students that are produced out from this course can be engaged to international survey companies as well. “The course itself is unique because it deals with the Earth’s measurement, and it is of importance because we build up students from their moto skills. Surveying is not a just a plain surveying that we do, we have other branches of surveying that makes up the main surveying which is engineering, mining, hypo graphic surveying and many more which contributes to the students learning.” Mr. Kapi said, the surveying course itself produces and average of 25 graduands and sometimes it drops down to 20 based on the intakes and the re-intake of students. However, the major problem that these graduating students face is employment. “Employment is one of the challenges that these students face after completing their studies and the government seriously needs to look into the surveying profession. We see that mainly the construction and mining companies are the ones that put out their GDP’s to take up the graduands that we produce every year. ” Mr. Kapi said that they marked the day to mainly share the importance of surveying in the country.