PNG Gossip Newsletter - 16 June 2006

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Welcome to the
Newsletter

 

 



Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"

Tok Pisin English
rausim / autim get rid of / throw away
rausim / troimweim throw away
rausim bel / kilim pikinini long bel abort / have abortion
rot road / street
rot way / choice
rot bilong blut circulatory system
sampela several / some
samting thing
sanwis sandwich
sap / sappela sharp
skel weigh
skelim share out
skelim weigh out
skelim / lusim slacken
 
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Remember that this mailing list is meant (mainly) for people who have an interest and already know a little bit about the people and geography of Papua New Guinea. The PNG Kina, which is mentioned from time to time in this newsletter, is currently worth around

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but varies on a daily basis.

If you are really keen on finding out what the Kina is worth a currency converter for most world currencies can be located at -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/moni.html -- The PNG Business Directory also has daily rates based from a PNG perspective

Want to find out more about Papua New Guinea? Try searching at -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo -- and -- http://www.michie.net/png_faqs or try the PNG Business Directory located at -- http://www.pngbd.com -- and the PNG Tourism Directory -- http://www.pngtd.com. Both are excellent places to look for information about the country.
For those who are not so familiar with the geography of Papua New Guinea I suggest taking a look -- http://maps.google.com -- and then click on the find a map option. Go to this link for a quick start to a link to a map of Port Moresby. -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pom-map.html

 

A very special welcome is extended to any new readers. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please use the contact form

Articles for this newsletter

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- please use the contact form

Warning: PNG web sites seem to come and go. The fact of life is that it costs money to host a web site and there is not much return on the outlay to most businesses in PNG. If you do click on a link and use the services or even have some comments to make then please contact the people at the relevant web site and let them know so they at least know that someone has gained some value from their efforts. If you are so inclined then mention that you heard about them from this web site. -- The PNG Gossip Newsletter.

 


Roadside Stall near Goroka,
Eastern Highlands Province

 

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Also remember that the accuracy of the information in this newsletter should not be relied upon - it is, after all, a gossip newsletter.

External links - while PNG Gossip Newsletter will not sell your email address to others many links on this web site lead to other sites that may not have the same policy regarding your valuable email address. Be careful when handing over your email address to others.


 


Links

Misc Links

ASOPA People -- http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/



Rotary PNG Web Site

Rotary Clubs of Papua New Guinea - District 9600 -- http://www.rotary.org.pg

Rotary has branches in Boroko, Bulolo-Wau, Mount Hagen, Goroka, Huon Gulf, Madang, Kavieng, Kokopo, Kimbe, Lae, Port Moresby, Rabaul, Wewak and the Interact Club of Port Moresby International School



Rimbunan Hijau

Rimbunan Hijau with core business interests including Timber Processing, Media and Information Technology has established a web presence at -- http://www.rhpng.com.pg. -- The company is often criticised for its logging operations in PNG.



Miscellaneous Web Sites

Telikom PNG -- http://www.telikompng.com.pg

Moore Printing -- http://www.moore.com.pg

PNG Incentive Fund -- http://www.incentivefund.com.pg

PNG Advisory Support Facility -- http://www.asf.sagric.com/

UNDP Papua New Guinea -- http://www.undp.org.pg/

Binatang Research Centre -- http://www.entu.cas.cz/png/index.html

Maps of Milne Bay -- http://uk.multimap.com/index/PP68.htm

National Capital District Commission -- http://www.ncdc,gov.pg

Pacific Dream -- German Language Web Site -- http://www.pacificdream.de/index_ger.html

Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research -- http://www.pngimr.org.pg

Daru Research -- http://fp.involved.com/methodsman/Daru%20research.htm

DIVErsion Dive -- http://www.diversionoz.com/en/png.htm

Community Development Scheme -- http://www.cds.org.pg

Melanesian Institute -- http://www.mi.org.pg



Kabaira Dive - Rabaul

NEW -- Kabaira Dive website -- http://www.kabairadive.com.pg -- Check the site out and discover the once renowned dive location of the New Guinea Islands.



Superannuation Funds

The Association of Superannuation Funds PNG (ASFPNG) has a website located at -- http://www.asfpng.org.pg -- ASFPNG is an industry body established in 2002 by interested industry participants with the common goal to protect superannuants retirement savings within a regulated environment whilst fostering a competitive industry.



Kokoda Cycling

http://www.cyclinghomefromsiberia.com -- earlier this year this crazy cyclist from North East Siberia carried his bike across the Kokoda Trail on his trip almost around the world by land and sea. Read about his adventure at -- http://tblogs.bootsnall.com/rob/ -- Or if you are only interested in the PNG section jump straight in at -- http://tblogs.bootsnall.com/rob//archives/016327.shtml -- here is a quote from his exploits whilst in PNG

"thus I think that PNG's dangerous reputation is based on just a small proportion of the population. The people I actually met took great care of me, without exception".

What do other readers think about that statement?


News Items

Prehistoric Geology

Before the arrival of European traders and the introduction of steel the New Guinea region was full of geologists. For the first 50,000 years of the region's prehistory students of geology did not study at the University of Papua New Guinea. Instead, they studied under the tutelage of their fathers and grandfathers in all the Men's Houses. They were not in search of gas, gold or oil. They were in search of the raw materials to make the perfect stone tool. For the rest of the article by Dr Matthew G. Leavesley -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/061306/w1.htm



Elections

The Electoral Commissioner, Andrew Trawen, has warned all candidates contesting the elections to strictly adhere to election rules or face severe penalties for their ignorance. He added that he expected candidates to know the election laws before they contest elections and that such offences carry a fine not exceeding K500.



Preferential Voting

Arthur Williams from Cardiff has written the follow regarding preferential voting in PNG --

Hi,

See from the most recent Gossip letter that you have reported: "2007 will be 1st Time for preferential voting to be used in General election."

In 1972 it was tried and only failed because Electoral Commission insisted on having every preference shown if 21 candidates nominated each voter had to show his/her choice from 1 through to 21.

Many weren't concerned with more than one or two or three choices so after that they failed to mark their ballot papers.

The result was that were very many 'SPOILT' papers and the idea was dropped for the next General Election.

Arthur Williams


Thanks for the information / contribution Arthur. Your input is appreciated and I would like to say that they have learnt from the mistakes made in 1972 but I don't think that is the case.



Huge Morobeen Rental Bill

It has been reported that the Morobe provincial administration has built up a massive rental bill of more than K500,000 since 2001 for housing eight officers - one of them a non-public servant. This is far in excess of what they are entitled to. For example a deputy administrator is entitled to only K9,100 a year, but documents showed that one was receiving K12,200. Another officer was entitled to only K4,500 a year but received a total of K30,000 between 2004 and last year. In another example a programme advisor, who was entitled to K1,138 a year, had his accommodation bill totalling K112,900 all paid by the provincial administration since 2001. To make matters worse a non-public servant's bill of more than K42,000 was also settled by the provincial administration.



Ombudsman Commission

Concerned community leaders have come out against moves to alter the laws surrounding the operation of the Ombudsman Commission. The PNG Council of Churches and the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce have said that existing laws should not be weakened but should be strengthened. Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce president David Conn said the commission's work should not be hobbled by proposed law changes requiring it to follow strict rules of evidence. PNG Council of Churches spokesman Lawrence Stephens also urged a strengthening of the commission and an increase in penalties. The Catholic Archbishop, Brian Barnes, has also said the commission needed strengthening in its role as watchdog over government.



Radio Southern Highlands

The only radio station that can be heard easily in the Southern Highlands by the majority of the people in the province has gone off the air. Villagers at the edge of Mendi town shut down the transmitter and demanded compensation for the land the transmitter is located on. The station has been in operation for 34 years.



University of Goroka

The University of Goroka (UOG) Council has removed the existing Vice Chancellor, Dr David Rawlence, and appointed Dr Arnold Kukari in his place as acting Vice Chancellor. It has been reported that Dr Rawlence's three-year employment contract had expired.

The Higher Education Minister, Don Polye, instructed police to arrest Dr Arnold Kukari and prevent him from taking office as vice-chancellor of the UOG describing the actions of Dr Kukari and other purported council members that had supported him as illegal and unwarranted. Mr Polye maintains that Dr Rawlence is still the Vice Chancellor at the UOG.



PNG Power CEO

The new PNG Power Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Mara, has been welcomed with a poolside function at the Holiday Inn in Port Moresby. Mr Mara, originally from New Zealand, commenced work last week. Streamlining the power operation will be one of the main priorities for the new CEO.



Mining Mishap

Two employees, working underground at the Tolukuma mine in Central province, were injured over the long weekend Medical when their vehicle rolled over them and injured their limbs, causing vascular problems. There has been a build-up of tension amongst villages surrounding the mine site due to this accident and the fact that another man was found dead under a bridge at the mine.



Foreign Reserves

The Governor of the Central Bank Wilson Kamit has revealed that PNG foreign reserves have almost reached the K3-billion mark. This is considered to be a record for the country. Foreign reserves now stand at K2,990 million. He also said that the exchange rate is expected to remain stable given the favourable international prices for mineral and non-mineral export commodities. In previous years before the current Somare government came to power the country was spending K1.75 billion more than it was generating and was borrowing more to pay for consumption. Despite the present trend much more remains to be done.



Orchid Show

The 2006 International Orchid Show will be held in the grounds of National Parliament on the 5th and 6th of August. PNG has 3,000 known orchid species, unique only to Papua New Guinea. For more info email -- info@pngtourism.org.pg



Garden City

Residents of Garden City in Boroko, Port Moresby are currently tripping over painters who have the enormous task of giving the place a fresh coat of paint. The new look Garden City was planned and budgeted for a few years ago and finally the project has come together. If you are in Moresby take a look and see what you think. I think the new colour scheme looks really good and I have not heard one bad remark about the new scheme.



Airlines of PNG

Airlines of PNG has launched the airline's first in-flight magazine called "Discover" recently. Discover is a joint venture with PNG based printing house South Pacific Post with any excess funds derived from revenue to be put into worthy community projects.



Air Niugini

Air Niugini, currently flying two Fokker F100's is rumoured to be almost ready to take delivery of another F100 to help with the replacement of the aging Fokker F28 4000 series fleet. Air Niugini has already pensioned off the 1000 series Fokker F28's. The airline currently uses the F100 to fly to Cairns daily and airstrips within PNG capable of taking the aircraft. It is anticipated that the flag carrier will get another one possibly two aircraft on top of the one coming soon.



Whooping Cough

The Health Minister, Sir Peter Barter, using his own helicopter has discovered although the official toll is just a bit more than 30 that there may be over 60 children who have died from whooping cough in East Sepik Province but this could increase even further as more information flows in to the provincial capital of Wewak. Sir Peter rescued 26 health workers stranded in a remote village due to the lack of money to pay for a commercial helicopter. It is very difficult to reach many of the villages and that is one of the reasons the figures are expected to rise dramatically.



PNG Air Tour

Heron Airlines -- http://www.heronair.com.au -- from Australia will be bringing a jet with 14 passengers on board for an eleven-day trip around PNG starting on the 21st of June. The passengers will visit remote parts of the Highlands, Madang, the Huon Gulf and a walk at the Lae War Cemetery, the active volcanoes of Rabaul, and walk part of the famous Kokoda Track.



Morobe Fishing

Currently there are 13 fishing boats operating in the Morobe province and each catches a tonne of reef fish each week valued at approx K5,000 (for reef fish). This could increase to as much as 39 tonnes per week for the 13 boats. Each boat has the capacity to supply three tons per week for a price of K15,000. Another 22 boats are expected to join the fleet this year.



Autonomous Region of Bougainville

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville has celebrated its first anniversary of autonomy on the 15th of June. The event was celebrated with a big sporting carnival in Arawa and a ceremonial dinner in the town of Buka.



PNG FAQ's

What is the land area of the provinces in PNG?

Autonomous Region of Bougainville, 9400 sq kms
National Capital and Central, 29940 sq kms
Oro Province, 19827 sq kms
Milne Bay Province, 14000 sq kms
Morobe Province, 34,500 sq kms
Madang Province, 28000 sq kms
Eastern Highlands, 11706 sq kms
Simbu Province, 8476 sq kms
Western Highlands, 8288 sq kms
Southern Highlands, 25988 sq kms
East Sepik, 43000 sq kms
West Sepik (Sandaun), 36000 sq kms
East New Britain, 15500 sq kms
West New Britain, 21000 sq kms
New Ireland, 9500 sq kms
Manus Province, 2100 sq kms
Enga Province, 10790 sq kms
Western and Gulf Province, 135,000 sq kms

More PNG Frequently Asked Question can be found at -- http://www.michie.net/png_faqs



Tourism Survey

The Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) is conducting a survey for non-PNG residents. The survey will help the Authority better understand the perception and knowledge of PNG as a preferable tourist destination. The TPA would appreciate if international visitors and friends can assist them by taking some of their precious time to complete the survey / questionnaire. All information will be kept confidential and used only for research purposes. The survey can be found at -- http://www.pngtourism.org.pg



Fuel Prices

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) recently announced yet another increase in fuel prices for the country. Prices for petrol at Port Moresby service stations is now K3.22 a litre, K2.64 for a litre of diesel and K2.57 for a litre of kerosene. In the city of Lae petrol will cost K3.31 a litre, K2.74 for a litre of diesel and K2.65 for a litre of kerosene. Due to the increase in local road cartage and shipping freight rates for other locations price will be higher.



Coming Events

Lukim PNG Nau Expo -- From the today (16th) to the 18th of June at the Holiday Inn in Port Moresby. Entry is K2 per adult. Free for children 12 and under.

National Tourism Conference to be held at the Holiday Inn -- 19th of June 2006

Tolai Warwagira -- from the 5th to the 11th of July

International Orchid Spectacular - Parliament House, Port Moresby 5th and 6th of August 2006

42nd PNG Medical Symposium will be held in Madang from the 4th to the 8th of September 2006 -- http://www.medsymp.org.pg

PNG 31st Independence Anniversary - 16th September 2006

Annual Hiri Hanenamo Quest and Hiri Moale Festival - 16th September 2006

Goroka Show -- 16th and 17th of September 2007

Kiwi Ball - The fabulous ball held by the Kiwi's will be held on the 28th October this year. This year the New Zealanders hope to have a five-piece band to entertain the crowd

Morobe Show -- November 4th and 5th

Milne Bay Kundu and Canoe Festival -- 6th to the 12th of November 2006






PNG Media


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-- THE END --

In Tok Pisin - em tasol

For other ways of saying the end please pay a visit to -- ../emtasol

Some of the ways of saying "that's all" are courtesy of Liz and her friends at the University of Technology in Lae. -- http://www.unitech.ac.pg

If you can add to this list then please send email to -- PNG-News@pnggossip.com

 






Created 16 Jun 2006
Updated 26 Jun 2006

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