Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) members of the National Capital District and Central Provincial Police Command, hosted the Divisional Commander’s Parade today at the Gerehu Sports Center in Port Moresby city.Members from NCD and Central Command turned up well-groomed and well-dressed and their police uniforms marched into the arena with precision and professionalism, to the amusement of the public in the Gerehu suburb and the invited dignitaries that were present to witness the occasion.The Parade was conducted to celebrate and acknowledge the recent appointment and confirmation of Benjamin Turi as the Assistant Commissioner of Police – NCD/Central Divisional Command.Provincial Police Commander of Central – Joseph Salle and NCD Metropolitan Superintendent – Warrick Simatab were present, to accompany ACP Turi for the Inspection of the Parade, which had the parade host impressed with the professionalism showed by the members.In his address, ACP Turi reminded the members of the theme of today’s parade, which is ‘Reset, Focus on the Next Generation Officers for this Constabulary’.He told the officers that, for thirty years he served the RPNGC with commitment, pride and dignity. And he will be leaving the force in the next five to six years, as well as the other senior ranked officers that are currently serving in their respective positions.“We must now prepare you the young officers standing here. As all of us commanders, we must prepare you for the future moving forward, and you officers will be the next group taking the constabulary forward. The parade is a lesson to you all, that you will learn what it's like as an officer, you feel the pride marching on.”“Remember that you officers in NCD and Central are the face of Papua New Guinea. NCD is a Mini version of Papua New Guinea. We are handling and dealing with people from different tribes, cultures, even Foreigners here. This is a mini–Papua New Guinea and you are the face of Papua New Guinea,” said Turi.His added that, as the Commander of parade like this, it is his duty to stress out the duties and responsibilities of every policeman and policewoman under this command. As there is a code of ethics that every officer has to follow while serving their time as police officers of the RPNGC.Turi challenged the officers to take time to reflect on their duties and ask themselves about their roles as police officers. He urged them to identify their weaknesses and start improving their performances, by maintaining punctuality, be responsible and attentive to cases and situations that need police assistance.He further stressed the importance on the role of a police officer is to always remain neutral in their investigations, while strongly discourage the practice of nepotism, bribery and other illegal practices within the police force.“All handling of cases must be treated as per our directive that we know in the Standing Order of the Constabulary. If you need to improve in your performance, then do so and don’t be complacent and lazy. If you know you’re one of these officers, you need to start doing something or you will end up finding yourself in trouble,” emphasized Turi.Apart from the other issues highlighted by ACP Turi in his speech, he mainly emphasized on discipline and professionalism in the Police force.He concluded by elaborating to the officers that the Constabulary has regulations, rules and standing orders that follow the chain of command. And they have to abide by these regulations and laws to maintain order, discipline and professionalism for the good name of the RPNGC.

Dr. Nicole Haley has officially assumed office as Papua New Guinea's Electoral Commissioner after signing her four-year contract and taking the oath of office at Government House on Thursday.Dr. Haley presented herself before the Governor-General, Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae, where she formally signed her contract during a ceremony witnessed by Chief Secretary Ivan Pomaleu.Following the contract signing, Dr. Haley appeared before the Chief Justice to take the official oath of office and was formally sworn into office, completing all constitutional and administrative requirements to assume the role of Electoral Commissioner.With the completion of these formalities, Dr. Haley now holds the full powers and responsibilities of the Electoral Commissioner and will lead the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission over the next four years.Her appointment comes at a crucial time as the Electoral Commission accelerates preparations for the 2027 National General Election.Key activities are already underway, including the nationwide electoral roll update, voter enrolment, and other electoral preparations aimed at ensuring a credible and transparent election.As Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Haley will oversee the administration of the country's electoral processes and provide strategic leadership in delivering free, fair, and inclusive elections across Papua New Guinea.Meanwhile, Prime Minister James Marape has extended his highest commendations and congratulations to Dr Nicole Haley following her swearing-in today as Papua New Guinea’s Electoral Commissioner, describing her appointment as a victory for merit, professionalism and the nation’s democracy.Prime Minister Marape said Dr Haley’s appointment followed a rigorous and transparent selection process in which she emerged as the top-ranked candidate on merit.“Dr Haley is one of Papua New Guinea’s foremost scholars and experts on elections. She put her hand up for this important national responsibility, went through the full appointment process, ranked number one on merit, and today assumes one of the country’s most important constitutional offices.“I offer my highest commendations and congratulations to Dr. Haley. She has demonstrated a deep understanding of our electoral system, its strengths, its shortcomings and the reforms required to strengthen public confidence in our democracy.”Prime Minister Marape then called on every officer within the Electoral Commission—from the national headquarters through provincial and district offices—to unite behind the new Commissioner and faithfully discharge their constitutional responsibilities.

Operation ‘Sentinel High Visibility’ is currently underway in Port Moresby as police ramp up their presence across the capital city.This is visible right across the city in recent times as seen with the street vendors are no longer doing business in public places like the roadsides, bus stop areas, shop fronts and other usual hot spots around the city.According to the National Capital District (NCD) Metropolitan Superintendent, Warrick Simatab, Operation ‘Sentinel High Visibility’ commenced on the 20th of July 2026, and it is currently being enforced everywhere across the city.“This operation is about taking policing to the people through increased foot patrols, vehicle patrols, traffic enforcement, and a stronger policing presence in our communities, markets, bus stops, shopping centres, schools and crime hotspots,” said Simatab.He is urging the public to support and cooperate with police in fighting law and order problems in the city.“Law and order are not the police business alone. A safe city can only be achieved when citizens, businesses, churches, community leaders, government agencies and our development partners work together with the police.”The NCD Metropolitan Superintendent is calling on all city residents in Port Moresby to support Operation Sentinel High Visibility by reporting crime, respecting the law, cooperating with police officers, and standing together against criminal activities.“Together we can build a safer, stronger, and more peaceful Port Moresby for our families and future generations."Meanwhile, the operation has been very effective as public places, bus stops, shop fronts and other hot spots that entertain illegal vending and other illegal businesses, have been cleaned. This, all thanks to the police being visible in the public daily.   

Competing on the world stage against world-class international athletes can be frightening but also an overwhelming achievement for athletes, especially young and in-experienced athletes.This is where all those hours of training, hard work, sweat and commitment of every athlete, and the dream of representing their country is tested.Team PNG was made up of a mixture of young aspiring athletes and experienced athletes, that took part at the recently concluded 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland, which concluded on Sunday 02nd August 2026.The rest of the Team PNG athletes led by the Chef De Mission – Elaine Iorive, arrived back in the country yesterday, at the 7mile Jackson’s International Airport, Port Moresby.PNG took part at the Glasgow Games in Swimming, Boxing, 3x3 Basketball, Athletics and weightlifting.Speaking to the Media after their arrival back home, Ms. Iorive said, she was quite pleased with the performances of the whole team, as that showed with some of the young athletes recording Personal Bests in their respective events.“With this team we have, they’ve done extremely well with most of them are first timers, but they’ve grown from strength to strength, and most of them recorded personal bests which is a big achievement for them,” said Iorive.She said probably the highlight of the team was Weightlifter Morea Baru grabbing a Bronze Medal for PNG and the first of the Pacific Islands countries at the games.The Chef De Mission emphasized that most of these athletes are very young, competing against some of the worlds big-name athletes, who have or are competing on world events, representing their countries at the games. And for our athletes to be competing alongside side them is a good experience for them and a personal achievement for them as well.However, serious questions were raised on the current group of athletes’ performances at the games, with most not been able to make it into medal contentions in their respective events.Iorive said that the PNG Olympic Committee and the Athletes Justification Committee were responsible for the final selections of these athletes based on merit, and only PNGOC can make further deliberation on the selection process of the athletes. She further stated that her role in the team is only as the Chef De Mission.She extended her appreciation to the PNG Olympics Committee for giving her the opportunity to lead Team PNG athletes and wished the athletes all the best in their next chapter of their respective sporting careers.She encouraged the athletes to keep training hard, do their best, and try to aim for the best. And come the next international event they are prepared and ready make PNG proud.

The New Ireland Governor is calling on the National Government to immediately release the development grants under the Lihir Gold Mining Agreement, to the provincial government.Governor Byron Chan in a press conference this afternoon in Port Moresby city, called for the release of the K300 million and paid immediately to the New Ireland Provincial Government and the people of New Ireland.Governor Chan said the Prime Minister, Treasurer and the Finance Minister must fulfil the States commitment by releasing this outstanding development grants, or what the governor stated as ‘credit money’ owed to the people of New Ireland.The governor made this call following the announcement by Newmont Lihir and the Internal Revenue Commission on the 30th of July, of the K633 million second corporate income tax installment.This brings Newmont’s corporate income tax contribution across the first two quarters, up to approximately K1.484 billion. This is way better than Newmont’s expected contribution in the order of K1.5 billion to K2.0 billion in corporate income tax for the full year.“I just want to remind the Government and MRA that these are commitments owed to the people of New Ireland. This is not a new project, these are monies, calculated on productions by the company, and for the people of new Ireland province that needs to be paid.Governor Chan strongly emphasized that the state has failed to honor its commitment to settle the province’s Special Support Grants (SSG) and Infrastructure Development Grants (IDG), totaling K219.04 million, which is captured in the provincial government’s 2026 approved budget. He adds that, with the other outstanding MoA development grants, the outstanding development grants owed by the State to the people of New Ireland stands at K300 million in total.“We just want what is owed to us must be paid. We still have outstanding projects that need to be worked on. We want to fix our roads, we want to fix our bridges, we want to fix our transport infrastructure, and we want to fix our building infrastructure for our schools, colleges, and tertiary institutions. We want to rehabilitate our agriculture and also fund our SME programs. All these are captured under our approved budget,” said Governor Chan.According to Governor Chan, the outstanding SSG’s and IDG’s stands at a whooping K1.4 billion that dates back to 2010. However, he is asking for only K300 million in outstanding grants to be released back to the New Ireland Provincial Government.

Communities in Hanuabada village in Port Moresby city turned up in numbers yesterday (Saturday) at the four stations set up by the National Capital District (NCD) Electoral Officers to take part in the Photo Roll and Biometric Enrolment Exercise.Most of the villagers expressed their approval and satisfaction of the photo roll and biometric enrolment exercise. They said that it was about time these systems are used during the National General Elections to eradicate multiple voting and other corrupt practices during elections.NCD Election Manager – Mr. Roney Hawengao thanked the people of Motu-Koita Electorate for the support by turning up in person to ensure they are captured in the Electoral rolls to exercise their right to vote in the 2027 National General Elections.The Photo Roll and Biometric Enrolment exercise continued today with the NCD Electoral team doing enrolment for Elevala Mirigini, Elevala Lahara, Eleval Laurabada, Poreporena Lahara and Poreporena Laurabada villagers.According to Mr. Hawengao, the enrolment exercise is expected to wind down by mid-week, to bring a close to Motu-Koita Electorate Photo Roll and Biometric Enrolment Exercise.With the conclusion of Motu-Koita, the NCD Electoral Team will now undergo preparations to commence the Electoral Roll enrolment exercise for Moresby South, Moresby North-West and Moresby North-East.Meanwhile, Mr. Hawengao emphasized that those eligible and potential voters for Motu-Koita that missed out in the exercises carried out over the past weeks, will have to visit the NCD Electoral Office and get themselves enrolled.So far, there have not been any incidents encountered or reported for the Motu-Koita Electorate, and the NCD Election Manager wants the same for the other three NCD Electorates.

The National Capital District Electoral Office has just completed the Photo Roll Enrolment Exercise for three Motu-Koita West villages and are now looking at covering the remaining villages by the end of next week.The NCD electoral team started with the Photo Roll exercise last week Friday covering Baruni,Tatana, Araira and Ranuhedadi, and ended it on Wednesday 26th July 2026 this week. NCD Election Manager - Mr. Roney Hawengao expressed his gratitude to the Motu-Koita West people for their commitment and effort to ensure they are enrolled and ready to vote in the coming 2027 National General Elections. "The people's perception was very good. The villages of Motu-Koita West really supported the Photo Roll exercise.""They even said it was about time such systems were implemented so that it can give a clear picture of the real voting population in the 2027 National General Elections in NCD," said Mr. Hawengao.Hawengao further explained that those eligible voters that missed out on the Photo Roll Enrolment, need not worry, as the NCD Electoral office will make available a scheduled time for those that missed out to go and enroll at their office.That's for a later time, for now they will continue with the exercise to ensure they complete other NCD electorates before the end of the year 2026.Meanwhile, Mr. Hawengao said, Photo Roll Enrolment at Hanuabada villages is to be completed today .They are expecting to complete Motu-Koita West at the end of next week before they move into Moresby South, followed by Moresby North-West and Moresby North-East.

Over 300 building and industrial professionals who attended the 2026 NCDC Building Authority Seminar on Wednesday 29th July, at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby, left with a whole lot of information on technical and regulatory requirements needed in the industry to further development and growth for Port Moresby city.The Seminar had industrial professionals doing presentations and open conversations on various technical and regulatory aspects focused around three main topics; Common Submissions and Ignored Compliance Codes/Standards, Enhancing Standard and Compliance, and Mandatory Permit Approving Authorities.Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Department of Works & Highway Secretary – Mr. Gibson Holemba told the participating industrial professionals to be creative with their building products, particularly the architectural designs and models. He encouraged architectural professionals to always have in mind that they are designing for the people that they are serving.“We have got to change the way the buildings are being designed. Most of our institutional buildings and those amenities need to change and feed the current demand. Our collective efforts should be focused on long-term outcomes rather than short-term gains. It needs to support the economic competitiveness, investor confidence, environmental stewardship and social inclusion,” said Secretary Holemba.However, every building design and development plans have to go before the Building Council to ensure compliance with the Building Act and Regulations before construction takes place.“As the Secretary for the Department of Works, administering the Building Act and the regulations, it is my responsibility to see that every development that takes place in our towns and cities, are in compliance with the building Act, and it’s transforming the lives of our people,” said Secretary Holemba.The Secretary highlighted the importance of having such seminars, as it provides another avenue that can help to build a system that is practical, workable, and is efficient between the regulators, developers and investors.“We should continue to educate. The Industry has to know what the requirements are, the regulatory requirements, the environment they are creating. And so, they will continue to comply. And that is why through partnership and innovation, professional excellence, we can become a regional leader in engineering and construction, and in development,” said the Secretary.Meanwhile, Holemba also revealed that the Department is currently doing amendments on the Building Act, following recommendations received from consultations with the NCDC Building Board and other stakeholders. Once the amendments are completed, the building act will come into revision.In order for PNG to lead the region in innovation and engineering, it is vital to improve the regulatory references and frameworks heading into the future."And with a lot of investor confidence coming into PNG, we are developing big investment programs at a larger scale."

The RPNGC Forensic Pathologist has commenced autopsy of the 13 victims of the boat mishap in the East New Britain province.East New Britain Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Chief Superintendent – Amanda Kates, confirmed to PNG Hausbung in an interview that the Coronial Investigations commenced on Wednesday 29th July.Prior to the commencement of the autopsy, a special meeting was convened on Tuesday by the authorities for the family members of the victims. The family members met with East New Britain Governor – Michael Marum, Provincial Administrator – Mr. Levi Mano, ENB PPC, Provincial Disaster Coordinator – Mr. Donald Tokunai, the RPNGC Coroner, Police Investigators and other senior officials of the ENB Provincial Administration.  Chief Superintendent Kates told PNG Hausbung that the meeting was on the request of the Police Forensic Pathologist and the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) Specialist to have the families of the victims in one room and educate them on where they were with the process of the coronial investigation and the time frame involved in the process of the coronial investigation, so that everybody gets the same information.“We were very clear (to the families) that it is a coronial investigation, and that we are bound by the Coroner’s Act, and that all 13 bodies brought into the morgue has to undergo autopsies and identified by specific means,” said PPC Kates.Chief Superintendent Kates has also confirmed that the coroner has completed autopsies of two bodies in the morning, with the possible of maybe three or four bodies to be completed soon. She added that they are looking at completing another three bodies by today and hopefully complete all 13 bodies by Sunday 2nd August.The PPC further appealed to the families to be open minded and keep away from the reports and information going around, especially on social media, and allow the process to take its cause, until the coroner completes the process. Only then and there, the coroner based on the findings, can a decision be made, should there be a homicide investigation.PPC Kates, has thanked the families of the victims for their understanding and patience, by allowing the authorities to allow the process to fully identifying their loved ones so that they are able to take their loved one’s home, and put them to proper rest.

Port Moresby city is undergoing rapid urban expansion, driven by population increase, infrastructure development, formal and informal construction, national and international development programs, and corporations.To maintain standards and create a workable structured urban planning effort to the city’s long-term development objectives, the National Capital District (NCD) hosted the NCDC Building Authority Seminar 2026 today at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby.The seminar drew in a little over 300 professionals from the building and infrastructure sector, particularly, architectures, civil engineers, building contractors, building consultants, engineering consultants, and other professionals involved in building constructions and infrastructure development.Delivering the official opening remark, NCD City Manager Ravu Frank noted that the seminar comes at a crucial time as the country recently celebrated 50 years of independence.He said that as the country ventures into the next fifty years, he believes this seminar is strategically held at the right time for both the public and private sectors.“In our pursuit to maintain standards, some of the activities that are conducted, unfortunately, are unregulated.”“Hence, undermining the structured urban planning efforts and compromising the city’s long-term development objectives.”The City Manager highlighted that the seminar’s theme, ‘Transformation through Building Compliance and City Development,’ is aligned with the NCD Urban Development Plan 2020 to 2030 together with the Governor’s Proposed Vision 2040, that calls for a total transformation of Port Moresby city.In addition, he stated that this seminar also provides the platform for the building professionals to speak out on their concerns on areas that need improvement as development is moving at a quicker pace, leaving more room for improvement.This provides the investors with confidence to invest, secure local job creation, and gives NCDC the opportunity as the City Regulator to grow revenue.“We as professionals, both at the development perspective and the regulators perspective must ensure that effective, consistent standard that protects both investors and public interest as per the building code, and other associated building regulations and laws.”“When we as regulators and redevelopers get it right, we create an environment where business can grow and communities can thrive.”Moreover, he also highlighted that Settlement to Buburb program as a development vision that plays a significant part of the transformation and development of the city.While the vision 2040 includes infrastructure upgrades, sustainable landings, and improved services to recreate safer, and more organized communities, he urged investors to open new opportunities for development.Though the Settlement to Suburb program does present foreseeable constraints and challenges, the regulators, developers and investors must provide suitable and sustainable solutions for now and the future.“We cannot ignore these challenges; we must address it. This Settlement to Suburb program is one of the Governors’ key development strategies for the city.”“We must give prominence to it, resource it and address it.”“Guided by the Amazing Port Moresby 2040 Vision, the city is on course to become a resilient, sustainable, liveable, and inclusive capital city that embodies the proud spirit of Papua New Guinea.”Mr. Frank elaborated on the need for collaboration between the regulators, developers and investors as paramount for one attending to demands of our citizens and more importantly, maintaining compliance.“Collaboration is compliance. And compliance means delivering projects on time and meeting other needs of the project.”“The commitment to properly planned modern city has never been abundant but meets proper coordination. And we as professionals are continually reminded of that commitment.”Meanwhile, he challenged the building professionals to have one common requirement and that is to build a city that is safe for families with clean public spaces, healthy places for the residents, be inclusive in its opportunities, and creating a liveable neighborhood that is well planned for the future.   This requirement clearly calls for a full and complete compliance to the city’s building and urban development regulations.

A team consisting of four Senior Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Officers (RPNGC), three Disaster Victims Identification Specialist and a Forensic Pathologist has been flown into East New Britain Province to help with the recovery and identification process for the recovered bodies of the recent boating incident.East New Britain Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Chief Superintendent Amanda Kates told PNG HAUSBUNG in an interview this morning that they are there to conduct a Coronial Investigation rather than a homicide investigation as speculated on other media platforms, especially social media.She explained that the forensic specialists are on site to assist in identifying victims, particularly those with decomposed remains that family members cannot easily recognize. A team of CID officers will be conducting part of the coronial investigation by covering the scene of the incident, the departure point, the area where the survivors were found, and the recovery sites in New Ireland province.  Those findings will then be complied into a report for the Coroner to establish a clear picture of what really happened.PPC Kates confirmed that the 13 bodies of the victims have now been identified, with the full details expected to be released soon.She stated that the family members of the victims were able to identify six bodies flown into Nonga General Hospital from Kavieng, bringing the total bodies to 13 bodies that are currently in Nonga.One additional body remains in Kavieng Hospital morgue, awaiting to be transport to Nonga.This brings the total number of recovered bodies to 14 after more than a week of searching, while 13 is still missing.The initial seven recovered bodies were identified as one male, two teenage females, and four adult females.The six bodies recently transported to Kavieng comprised an adult male, one young boy, a young girl, and three adult females.Further updates from the Coronial Brief will be released once the investigations are completed by the forensic experts.

It's official, Zac Lomax is PNG Chiefs number 005, following Sunday afternoon's announcement and signing at the Santos National Football stadium in Port Moresby city.Chiefs General Manager, Michael Chammas welcome Lomax and said the Chiefs are quite excited to secure his signature, and the wealth of experience he brings with him about the game.Lomax was eagerly excited and equally impressed with the franchise's set up, especially with the facilities, system and the culture the Chiefs are building here.He said been part of a team that is so love by the nation and seeing how the system has been set up by just been involved in the growth and development of the country was one major part in his decision to sign with Chiefs.