Preston Campbell has been hailed as a unifying voice for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, an inspiration for players to make a difference off the field and a trailblazer on it after being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. Campbell, who was the driving force behind the All Stars concept in 2010, was recognised in the 2023 Australia Day honours with an OAM for service to Indigenous youth and rugby league. The 2001 Dally M Medallist and 2003 premiership winner overcame concerns about his size from some within the game, while working tirelessly in the community since his playing days with Cronulla, Penrith and Gold Coast. “I don’t think people realise that his whole life - seven days a week - is dedicated to young people in communities, and how much he actually gives of himself to make even the littlest difference in someone’s day, so it is awesome to see that he has got this recognition,” Australian Rugby League Indigenous Council chair Katrina Fanning said. Campbell, who was the first player signed by the Titans when they joined the NRL in 2007, convinced officials to back the introduction of an Indigenous All Stars team after witnessing first-hand the reaction to the Aboriginal Dreamtime team which played before the 2008 World Cup opener. The annual fixture has been a vehicle to promote education and health to Indigenous youth while educating the broader community about issues confronting First Nations people. Many of those issues are now at the centre of discussions about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. “Preston has always been a unifying voice,” said Dean Widders, the NRL Indigenous pathways manager, Eels NRLW coach and man responsible for the creation of the Unity Dance performed by the Indigenous All Stars. “You have other people who will be more confrontational and combative about issues with strong opinions and fiery, aggressive tones but he has always been the voice that brings everyone together and that is how he has been able to do a lot of his work. “That is what All Stars was about. He set it up to bring people together – not us against them. It was not about our culture to be showcased; it was about our culture to be shared. That is an important message as we keep progressing All Stars.” The 45-year-old has also been a role model and mentor for other NRL stars, including Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and his son Jayden Campbell, who has inherited the No.1 Titans jersey that Preston wore in most of his 103 matches for the club. "The Indigenous All Stars is his baby and since that started there are a lot of boys that are finding out about their family history and their culture - myself included," said Thurston, whose academy provides employment initiatives and community programs across Australia. That was a really big moment in my life. If the All Stars wasn't around I wouldn't be able to do what I have ended up doing. "I know there are other players who have been able to do that too so he has been a huge role model for not only our nation's youth but also the players at the highest level now because of what he has been able to achieve and give back to the game." After retiring in 2011, Campbell founded the Preston Campbell Foundation, which operates Presto’s Training Café at Dreamworld to help school leavers gain experience and qualifications in hospitality. “He has definitely influenced me to take on this road with what he does so I am glad he has received this recognition because it is thoroughly deserved,” said Inglis, who has established the Goanna Academy to help end the stigma about mental health. “What he has taught me through footy and what I am doing now have been exactly the same. "He has had his own issues [with mental health] and he wasn’t shy to speak about it. He said, ‘just be honest with yourself’ and that is what I have been doing. “There are no secrets about me when I go out and talk about my struggles. It’s out there and he just really taught me, ‘don’t hide anything’ if you are going to do community work. If you stay true to yourself, the better it is going to be in the long run.” Both Fanning and Widders used anecdotes to explain the impact Campbell has in the community and across the game. “There’s not too many players who still pull a crowd like he does so many years after playing,” said Fanning, who was awarded an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the Indigenous community through education, health initiatives, and to sport. “I remember Arthur Beetson was doing some work with Centrelink with us not long before he passed away and he had that impact. Preston is the same. “With All Stars, his emphasis has been on making sure the week and other activities across the year are more meaningful than just the game, and those things started to teach people outside of Indigenous communities. “Over time, they have learned more that have enabled other things [like the Voice to Parliament] to gain momentum. “He is just able to bring people along and they feel comfortable, especially on issues that many people - because of their discomfort – usually shy away from.” Widders said wherever he went with Campbell, people wanted to talk with him and he always made time for them. ‘When I played Country with him at Dubbo I got up in the morning and he was sitting outside the hotel on the street with a group of people around him talking. He was having a coffee and he spoke with them for about 45 minutes. “After the people left I said, ‘who is that bra, your family?’. He said, ‘I don’t know, I’m not sure who they are. They were just driving past, and they pulled over and wanted to have a yarn'. Every day with him is the same. “We would visit remote communities in Queensland when we were working together at the Gold Coast and when we got back Preston could remember the name of every kid that we visited. “It just shows that he sees everyone as important. If you meet the boss of a big company, you remember his name, but Preston remembered all the kids and all the teachers that we came across. Everyone is important enough for him to treat them with respect.” Source: NRL.Com

Police Commissioner David Manning said the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary recruitment process has been privatized and middlemen, nepotism and bribery will be the thing of the past. Mr Manning said, “The Police force is on a mission to restore the public trust and confidence and to achieve a professional and trusted community-oriented police service by 2030. “So far 20,000 online applications have been received as of Friday 20th of January, and the number is expected to increase when applications from other centres are brought in. “We successfully tried the recruitment process during the 2022 national general election reservist training and I have no doubt the current constable and officer cadet recruitment will be no different. “Since taking up office in 2019, I have instituted many reforms within the Constabulary and the recruitment process is amongst the key focus areas. “Let me remind all parents, guardians, and the applicants that the executive management have engaged a reputable foreign firm to spear-head this recruitment process. “Any opportunists or agents going around soliciting bribes must be reported to the nearest police station for appropriate action to be taken against them. The successful applicants will be selected purely based on merit.”

52 boys from NCD, Central, Western Highlands, West New Britain, Lae and Milne Bay Provinces are currently in Port Moresby for a camp facilitated by Cricket PNG. The National Talent Manager for Cricket PNG, Rodney Maha said the main purpose of the camp is to select players to be part of the Under 19 Garamuts Cricket Team. “A few of the existing members from the previous under 19 are moving to the Barramundis.” “The boys were divided into 4 groups to play each other before the final selection is done.” “The selectors are meeting now to select the final 18 boys who will join the others who remain in the U19s side.” Maha said that once the final train on squad is selected they will start training immediately starting next week at Amini Park. He added that the final train on squad will be preparing for their high performance camp in Darwin, Australia. Meanwhile, 43 girls took part in a similar camp last week for a spot on the squad for the Under 19 Siales Cricket Team. 18 girls will also be selected to be part of the final train on squad. Selection will be done at the same meeting where the selection is done for the Garamuts.

Police in the Simbu province will launch a campaign on today to “take back Kundiawa” from illegal drugs (marijuana) and home brews within the streets and corridors of main supermarkets in Kundiawa town. Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Superintendent Epenes Nili said the street sellers have been selling these dangerous drugs (marijuana) and home-brew in the pretext of selling betel nuts and store goods along footpaths of main supermarkets. Mr Nili said the sellers know who their customers are. He said they have been doing this and the police are taking this initiative to stop this illegal activity. “The impression of town does not look good when thugs are selling and trading illegal drugs within the town premises. I am initiating this to do away with the street sellers who are selling store goods on the footpaths of the main supermarkets as they are becoming a cover for these illegal activities. “We will clean Kundiawa town and further into the districts as well. I also told the people of Kundiawa that this is what I am going to do, I have declared war on dangerous drugs and home brew in the province,” Mr Nili said. Mr Nili said police in the province do not experience tribal fights and armed robberies. He said Simbu is a very peaceful province with peace-loving people, but only few are involved in selling and consuming drugs (marijuana) and home-brew.

As of the close of Police recruitment last Friday, 20,000 online applications were received for both Constable recruit and Officer Cadet training, says Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Administration Joanne Clarkson. She said the hard copy applications from those that applied in the provinces have not been received hence the number of applications is expected to increase once all applications arrive in Port Moresby. The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) advertised a total of 576 positions in November and December of 2022 respectively of which 16 were civilian positions for the Administration Wing, 60 Officer Cadet positions and 500 Regular Police Constable recruit places. DCP Clarkson said interviews for the 16 civilian positions commenced on Monday 23rd January 2023 and will continue for two weeks. “The sixteen positions were advertised externally from the Constabulary including senior positions such as the First Assistant Secretary Finance & Administration and Director Supplies. We have received a total of 601 applications for the 16 positions,” DCP Clarkson said. DCP Clarkson said a recruiting company known as Head Hunters was contracted to do the short listing for all the applications of the 576 positions received. “The reason why Head Hunters was contracted is because we had issues in the past with managing recruitment internally and so we have outsourced to improve governance and accountability. “At some point we hope that we can lift the standard of our own recruitment process and system within the constabulary. So, outsourcing to private and learning from them as well helps us to build our own capacity internally,” she said She said once all applications for the 560 police recruitment are brought in from outside provinces, the recruitment agent will take about two to three weeks to complete the screening process of all the applications received and those short listed will be informed. “The next step is to run recruitment centers. This step involves verification of certificates, conducting tests, assessments, as well as physical tests will be done,” says DCP Clarkson. She said the application and recruitment process is free of charge as clearly spelt out in the advertisement and no member of the RPNGC should obtain any form of payment from those that applied. “You are to submit your applications online and if you could not then your point of contact is your Provincial Training Officer. That is the only person that you give your applications to but if any member of RPNGC had obtained money from you, I encourage you to report that person. We have Internal Investigation Units in each of the provinces, and in Port Moresby we have the Internal Affairs Directorate Head office, so I’d encourage you to report these officers so we can deal with them,” DCP Clarkson said. She said it is very disappointing to hear members of the Constabulary soliciting money from innocent fellow citizens who genuinely want to join the RPNGC. Clarkson said RPNGC intends to make the recruitment process an annual process going forward. “Twenty thousand applications is the largest that I’ve heard of in my career in the RPNGC and this is not counting the hard copies that’s still coming in from the outside centers,” DCP Clarkson said. She said that a steering committee will be meeting to address the challenges, one of which is to consider the inclusion of the applicants who cannot meet the current 560 quota to be included in the next batch. But she said this is still a decision the RPNGC will have to make. In conclusion Clarkson said the RPNGC is an equal opportunity employer and she is keen to see how many women have applied.

The New Ireland Government passed its 2023 budget on Wednesday the 25th of January under the theme “Challenges in Changing Times.” The budget was handed down by Deputy Governor and Chairman of Natural Resources Hon. Sammy Missen. He said, “Budget estimates for 2023 is at K211,367,700 compared to K178,545,622 in 2022. Which is an increase of K32,822,078 (18%).” Missen said revenue estimates is at K211,367,700 while expenditure estimates is also at K211,367,700 where Revenue is equal to expenditure and that is an equilibrium budget with no budget surplus or deficit. “In the 2023 National Government budget the New Ireland Provincial Government was allocated total budget funding of K166,344,810 compared to K108,037,100 in 2022, an increase of K58,307,710 ( 35%). The budget listings include K86,647,810 for recurrent grants, K78,000,000 for Public Investment Program and K1,697,000 for grants to Local Level Governments,” said Missen. He said from the National Government Grants, K67 million is being allocated to the New Ireland Provincial Government. K2 million will go towards Public Servants Leave Fares, K1 million for Teachers Leave Fares , K5 million for Functional Grants, K3 million for the Nimamar SSG, K2 million for NIPG SSG, K2 million for Namatanai SSG, K1 million for Simberi SSG, K10 million for NIPG Provincial Support Improvement Program, K20 million for Infrastructure Development Grants, K5 million for Kavieng District Infrastructure Development program, K5 million for Namatanai District Infrastructure development program, K10 million for NIPG Infrastructure Program and K500,000 for Provincial Support Grant. Missen said with the gloomy and uncertainty due to raising inflation and falling growth rates in the country's economy, New Ireland Government has set its direction for socio economic growth in this budget by setting focus on Revenue Generation, Free Primary Health Care and continuation of Free & Subsidized Education for all New Irelanders. He said the New Ireland Government has prioritized infrastructure as the pillar in previous budgets and continues in this budget with the total budget allocation of K113,700,000, an increased funding of K28,282,412 compared to K85,417,588 funding allocation in 2022 Budget. That is Sixty Nine percent of the total Development Budget. “Our focus now is the transformation of West Coast Highway to have a better sealed road from where we have started with 5km sealing from Para Junction at Lamusmus to Panameko and will continue sealing for another 10km with total funding of K15 million in this budget. “We would like to see Mining Operators of Lihir and Simberi Gold Mining to play more major roles in Infrastructure development for our New Ireland People under the Tax Credit Scheme to complete the sealing of the West Coast Road from Kavieng District all the way to Namatanai District.” For the Economic Sector, with Wealth Creation and Revenue Generation as one of the pillars enshrined in the New Ireland Declaration K12.75 million has been allocated to grow the sector. “We are allocating K5 million to acquire the 102 run down plantations in partnership with landowners and other stakeholders, starting with four plantations (2 in Namatanai and 2 in Kavieng) this year. We are also putting K500,000 under Sweat Equity for Women in the province to access it. We are allocating K5.3 million into Economic Development programs, including Cocoa and Coconut rehabilitation program, Commercial Food Production, Fisheries, Coffee, Rubber and Livestock Projects, including setting aside of K1 million for SME Credit Guarantee Scheme and K100,000 for Micro to Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Training in the Economic Sector.” He said K3 million has been allocated for Power Lines through the Rural Electrification Program to reach Madina and continue to Konos and K2 million to reclaim land from Kavieng wharf to Malagan Hotel for the Kavieng Foreshore development. While K3 million has been allocated to upgrade and build Kavieng and Namatanai Markets. For the Education sector Missen said K12.695 million has been allocated. Though funding had been an issue due to the cut in the Lihir Mining Royalty, K3 million will be put towards the Free and Subsidized Education program this year on top of National Government allocations. Another K3 million has been allocated for School Rations for all Boarding High and Secondary Schools and Vocational Schools . While the Governor's School of Excellence program will be funded with K600,000 and International Training Institute (ITI) with K250,000. “For Education Infrastructure, K3 million will be put into improving all of our Primary and Secondary Schools Infrastructure and K500,000 into the first stages of a new West Coast High School at Kulube,” said Missen. He said the New Ireland Government will continue to work on establishing the New Ireland University, upgrading of Namatanai and Fissoa Technical Colleges to Polytec and to work to establish New Ireland Teachers College and New Ireland Nursing College in partnership with mainline churches in the province. For Health, Free Primary Health Care is a commitment by NIPG so K3 million has been allocated to kick start the process. “We will continue to fund Tinkoris Hospital to bring it to world-class health care to our forgotten people in Matalai and Konoagil with funding of K7.6 million to finish and fully equip Tinkoris Hospital that had cost us more than K30 million which includes Doctor's houses and Nurses quarters.” Missen said K1 million has been allocated to introduce the Mobile Clinic for the people on mainland while another K1 million for a Floating Clinic to serve our islands and remote areas. “This Government cares for the sick and disabled and we are continuing our support for wheelchairs, crutches and delivery beds with funding of K300,000 in this year’s budget. And we continue to work on improving water supply and clean toilets for remote areas, with funding of K200,000 going to water and sanitation upgrading for rural areas. Our partnership program with the Australian Doctors International (ADI) continuous with another funding of K400,000 in 2023.” Missen said altogether more than K12.75 million has been allocated to improve health care and health facilities in New Ireland in 2023 Budget. In the community development sector the Government Subsidy Policy Initiatives are the trademark policies of NIPG. The Old aged and Disabled policy will continue with funding allocation of K4 million. For Youth, Sport and Women in the province K2.15 million has been allocated. K2 million for the Lightning New Ireland policy. K3 million for the State/Church Partnership program and K1 million to continue for the Roof over heads program. Ward level grants will also be allocated. The Deputy Governor admitted that Law & Order is now an issue in the province. Thus an allocation of K3.917 million to address it. “We are putting K1.25 million for policing and to implement the resettlement and enforcement of Vagrancy Act, K1 million for Police/CIS, K500,000 for Provincial Law Enforcement and K1.017 million for Village Court and Land Mediation Officers.” For the Local Level Government level he said K5.5 million has been allocated to build LLG staff houses for the Ten LLGs which will complement the Council Chambers already built at the LLG’s. K4 million will be allocated for ward level projects. Operational funding of K714,000 for Namatanai District and the Six LLGs and K572,500 for Kavieng District and the Four LLGs. Missen said the budget is 75% Development and made a call for Lihir and Simberi MOA’s to be reviewed. “New Ireland Provincial Government as the host province "MUST" be respected and consulted in the dealings with Lihir and Simberi Gold Mines in MOA reviews or in the selling of the Mines. We strongly recommend that Kumul Mineral Holdings to fully participate in the negotiations of acquiring an interest in the sales of Simberi and Lihir Gold Mines on behalf of the Provincial Government and the Landowners. That is our position.” He said since the split in Lihir Mining Royalty on February 2021 to December 2022 in a period of Twenty Three Months, the total royalty paid by Newcrest Mining Limited was K82,262,851, Kavieng and Namatanai DDA received K33,305,140 each while New Ireland Provincial Government only received K16,652,570. “And in 2022 alone, total of K44,532,708 was paid as royalty but New Ireland Government only received K8,906,542 while the two DDAS received K17,813,083. This trend may continue and will have major impact on our 2023 Budget Implementation. Our destination is set but our journey seems tough and stormy. But this house, this Assembly must all unite to overcome it and reset our destiny of Autonomy which is the only way to get to our destination.” The Deputy Governor then called on the Treassurer and Kavieng MP Ian Ling Stuckey who was not present during the passing of the 2023 New Ireland appropriation bill to ensure all monies due to New Ireland were released in a timely manner instead of being politicized.

Dr. Philemon Yalamu, Lecturer for Arts and Design at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), believes obtaining a PhD is a rewarding journey requiring perseverance and commitment. He published four journals while studying and established a virtual creative space for Papua New Guineans, after receiving a PhD in Computer Science and Software Engineering through Australia Awards PNG. He further created a website and blog, to share tutorials and articles on various Communications Technology fields. Upon returning to PNG, Philemon and his peer network organised a group of artists from Australia and the UK to collaborate with the UPNG staff and students in a mini arts festival. He also established connections with organisers of TOM Melbourne, a tec-innovative organisation specialising in developing assistive technologies for people with disabilities. Philemon asked to replicate this technology in PNG and the organisation has offered to provide mentoring sessions to make this happen. Source: Australia High Commissioner Papua New Guinea

The Māori All Stars will head into the 2023 NRL Harvey Norman All Stars without an established NRL half in their squad and with seven players set to play in the showpiece event for the first time. Halfback and 2022 co-captain Kodi Nikorima is among the big names missing from the squad named today, with his omission, alongside that of Chanel Harris-Tavita who stepped away from the game at the end of last year, leaving new coach Ben Gardiner light on options in the No.6 and No.7 jerseys. It means Roosters superstar Joey Manu will likely shoulder much of the responsibility when it comes to organising the side and coming up with plays on attack, with new Eels signing Daejarn Asi his likely starting halves partner. The pair are dwarfed in experienced by an Indigenous side who boast reigning Dally M Medal winner Nicho Hynes, veterans Cody Walker and Jack Wighton, plus Broncos youngster Ezra Mam as their playmaking options. Along with his star halves, new Indigenous coach Ronald Griffiths has named big-name representative players Josh Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell and Selwyn Cobbo, in what looks set to be a lethal backline. After missing out on last year's match, Latrell Mitchell will have the chance to take the field with his brother and Rabbitohs teammate Shaquai for the first time as an Indigenous All Star. Addo-Carr, who captained the side last year, is joined by vastly experienced NRL players Ryan James and Tyrone Peachey. Up front for the Māori the addition of Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargeaves, who has been named alongside fellow representative forwards Joseph Tapine and James Fisher-Harris, who both played last year, goes some way to offsetting the loss of Dolphins forward Kenny Bromwich and Warriors utility Jazz Tevaga. Source: NRL.Com  

Digicel is pleased to announce the opening a new, state of the art, corporate gymnasium at the Digicel Head Office in Port Moresby. The delivery of this new fitness center furthers the company’s commitment to create and sustain a healthy work-life balance for its employees. Digicel Senior Vice President, Lorna McPherson said, “At Digicel, maintaining a good work-life balance for our employees is important, and over the years, we have provided health and fitness programs for our staff so they can lead a healthy lifestyle.  However, achieving a work-life balance can be challenging, as often seen, individuals put more of their time and focus, into work and very little priority is given to their physical well beings”. “Thus, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Colin Stone had a vision to improve and sustain a healthy workforce and one of the initiatives includes, providing a fully equipped gym to our doorstep. I am therefore pleased to represent Mr. Stone and the management of Digicel today, to officially open this new corporate gymnasium. I encourage all our employees to take advantage of the fitness classes and utilize the gym facilities which are free for use daily,” Ms McPherson said. Digicel employees now have the opportunity to either start or continue their fitness journey which is significant in reducing health risks and illnesses, in turn boosting a healthy and positive workplace environment. Increased productivity, performance and morale is also an expected outcome that is beneficial to both the staff and the business holistically. The gymnasium is available to all Digicel employees for use from 8am to 7pm daily. A variety of gym equipment, training and fitness sessions are also available to all Digicel staff.

The PNG NRLC announced that the appointment of Mr. Leith Isaac as General Manager and Mr. Paul Joseph as Competitions Manager. The term of the appointment is for a period of two years. The nation’s premier rugby league competition in 2023, is seeing the adoption of a new structure with the aim to create and improve the standard of the competition and its delivery. PNG NRLC Director, Lorna McPherson said in announcing the two new appointments, “We are fortunate to have such experienced and qualified personnel leading the competition as we go into the 2023 Season. As the team continues to be assembled and with a new strategic approach, we are optimistic about the impact of having the right human resource to drive the vision.” Mr. Isaac has over 10 year’s work experience both in the public and private sector, including the international development space. He joins us with experience in the sporting space as well, having worked with Team PNG in the 2015 Pacific Games. Joseph who joins as the newly appointed Competitions Manager, brings experience from an extensive background as a well-respected figure in the sport of rugby union, from being a player to coaching and being an administrator of the sport. Former Competitions Manager and CEO of the PNGRFL, Stanley Hondina spoke on the alignment of the PNG NRLC to the greater plans and vision for rugby league going forward, “We here at the PNGRFL always want to be the best in the sporting space and for us to realize that we only need good people around the organization. I congratulate these two gentlemen and welcome them to the PNG NRLC which is an important tier in the whole of the games PNGRFL six (6) tier structure. It will be new and exciting as well as challenging for him but PNGRFL is committed to assisting wherever needed and possible. They bring in a new set of experience and dynamics to the organization and we look forward to working with them going forward.” PNG NRLC will be launching its first ever five (5) year strategic plan 2023- 2027 in March and the General Manager will be expected to lead his team to implement this strategic plan. The announcement comes as the first of several strategic changes for the competition this year, prior to kick off in April.

Prime Minister James Marape announced yesterday(Wednesday, January 25, 2023) that Papua New Guinea will host the World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) in October this year, 2023. The WIBF is a forum where indigenous people from all over the world like the New Zealand Maoris, American Indians and Australian Aborigines converge for face-to-face conversations, envisioning, shared learning, mutual opportunity, investment possibilities and a social and economic purpose. I t is a forum that specifically promotes indigenous businesses from all around the world. WIBF provides a platform for exchange of ideas, creation of partnerships and bringing investment to communities, entrepreneurs, and organisations. “I am happy to announce that the National Executive Council has approved for Papua New Guinea to host and co-fund WIBF this year. This will be the biggest event that we will host as a country after APEC 2018,” PM Marape said, “We have been supporting our local SMEs as a core policy of this Government and hosting of this event will not only highlight our support for the world indigenous business, but it will also provide an opportunity for our local business to build international networks, create partnerships and also look for markets among all the countries that will attend the forum. Our local entrepreneurs and SMEs will have the opportunity to showcase their products, share experiences, best practices and inspiration from successful businesses across the globe. “We want to use the opportunity to promote Papua New Guinea as an investment destination, a tourist destination, as a safe place to do business, open up opportunities for us to build networks to find export markets for our products to the world, and also help us to encourage indigenous businesses from all around the world to come and invest in PNG.” Over 600 indigenous businesses from all over the world and at least 400 indigenous Papua New Guinean businesses are expected to be part of WIBF 2023. “My Government plans to have a big indigenous business expo to run concurrently with the WIBF so that our indigenous businesses in Papua New Guinea can use the opportunity to promote their indigenous goods and services to the world. Our delegates to this forum will only be indigenous Papua New Guineans as that is the nature of WIBF. We expect this forum to also bring in up to K10 million into the country,” PM Marape said. The Ministry for International Trade & Investment will be the lead partner and a National Steering Committee that will be chaired by Vice-Minister for International Trade and Investment, Hon. Kessy Sawang, will be set up. The committee will comprise of relevant Government agencies and private sector including Tourism Promotion Authority, Department of Agriculture, Department of Foreign Affairs, Cocoa Board, Coffee Industry Corporation, SME Corporation and MSME Council. “I call on all our indigenous SMEs and large companies to prepare well and take full advantage of this one-off opportunity to market your products and services and our country to the delegations from around the world who will be coming to attend this forum. You must also canvas new business opportunities and forge partnerships to grow your businesses with new indigenous partners from around the world,” PM Marape said.

Nine members of the PNG Athletics distance squad have been on the Gold Coast since mid December preparing for the World Cross Country Championships which will be held in Bathurst NSW on February 18. Finding affordable accommodation during the Christmas holiday period was a challenge and Athletics PNG is grateful for the support of Oceania Athletic Association and the City of Gold Coast through its Gold Coast Attract Programme, without which this extended period of final preparations would not have been possible. The six male athletes (Siune Kagl , Israel Takap , Aquila Turalom , Abel Siune , Dilu Goiye and James Kuadua) are based at Varsity Lakes and the three females (Scholastica Herman , Ongan Awa and Mary Tenge) are at the Gold Coast Performance Centre at Runaway Bay. APNG has yet to finalise its line up for the three events which are 10km Open races for Men Women10km races and an 8Km mixed relay where two male and two female athletes will each run 2km. Athletics PNG President Tony Green said that Aina Goir and Mary Kua will fly in from the USA to join the team,but it seems unlikely that any other athletes will be able to join them. He said that there were one or two athletes identified at the PNG Air National Championships early in December who could have added value to the team,however the process of getting a Birth Certificate through the NID office was a major challenge. The participation of the PNG Team at the World Cross Country Championships will be the culmination of a World Athletics Funded 27 month project that started in Kerowagi in December 2020 with the aim of developing distance running in PNG and fielding both men's and women's teams at this event. APNG also acknowledged the support of the PNG Olympic Committee through its Team PNG preparation budget, and its own sponsors PNG Air and Prima Smallgoods for the part they have played in the programme. President Green said that APNG saw the staging of the WXC Championships in NSW as a unique opportunity for its athletes to attend a world championships. These events are normally held in Europe and this is the first time Australia has ever hosted the World XC. “We know that we are not going to be competitive with the world best, but sometimes these things are not just about performance. Its about the athletes putting in their best effort and enjoying the experience of being part of a wonderful event” The improvement in the performance of the athletes over the past two years will be evident at other events later this year such as the PNG Air National Championships and of course the Pacific Games in Honiara.” Green accompanied PNG mens teams to the World XC in 1996 in Stellenbosch, South Africa where the athletes had the privilege of meeting the late Nelson Mandela at the Opening Ceremony, and again to Marrakesh , Morocco in 1998.