Links
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 them mention that you heard about them from this web site.
-- The PNG Gossip Newsletter.
PNG Missions
Here are a few of the websites run by PNG Missions overseas. If you
know of any other sites please send an email to this newsletter so the
list can be updated.
The Official web site of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) High Commission
in Australia can be found at -- http://www.pngcanberra.org
http://www.pngembassy.org --
Embassy of Papua New Guinea to the Americas, Washington, DC
PNG Recipes
Learn to make dishes from Papua New Guinea featuring coconut, fruit,
vegetables, and fish.
http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/recipe1.html
http://www.anahitagallery.com/ahrecipe04.html
http://www.pngbuai.com/600technology/cookery/
Taklam Guest House
The Guest House, actually it is now called Taklam Lodge and Tours,
was originally located in Rabaul but was relocated to Kokopo after the
twin volcanic eruptions destroyed Rabaul in 1994. They commenced operations
in 1990 offering a home away from home service. A web site is located
at -- http://www.taklam.com.pg/
Miscellaneous Sites
Port Moresby Rotary -- http://www.pomrotary.org.pg
Rotary adopt a village -- http://www.ram.com.pg/adopt.htm
Satellite Image of PNG -- http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/Australia/satellite_image.html
PNG Department of Health -- http://www.health.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
PNG Orchids
If you are interested in PNG Orchids then I suggest visiting -- http://www.orchidspng.com
-- this is another web site with layout and design by Wolfgang H. Bandisch.
Internet Service Providers
Daltron -- http://www.daltron.com.pg
Data Nets -- http://www.datanets.com.pg
Datec -- http://www.datec.net.pg
Global Technologies -- http://www.global.net.pg
Rumour has it that Tiare, the organisation that hands out bandwidth,
at a price, to the ISP's listed above are about to increase bandwidth
into the country by upgrading the link from Australia as well as having
a dedicated amount of bandwidth back to the United States. A large proportion
of the traffic over the already existing and terribly clogged 8 Megabit
link down to Australia is to the United States. Just for those readers
that are not aware of how bad Internet capacity is into PNG take note
that 8 Megabit is available into domestic residences in Australia -
that is it is available to an individuals house!
News Items
Police Brawl
Some things never change. There has been a report of police fighting
with security guards outside a supermarket in Wewak and later police
ransacked the office of the security firm. It is believed that the police
incited the incident by telling one of the security men that his job
was rubbish. Another reports has said that a security guard carried
out an inappropriate search of a policeman's wife and when she told
her husband about the incident the fireworks happened from that.
Police Task Force
The Internal Security Minister, Bire Kimisopa, has come under fire
in Parliament over plans to disband police mobile units and task forces,
tactical and rapid response units set up to respond to serious crimes
and armed conflicts in the country. He was also taken to task over the
inadequacy of the number of police personnel in the country, and the
low morale they were suffering from due to low wages and poor working
conditions. The money situation is so bad that the police have had rationed
fuel to 20 litres per day, which was not enough. Mr Kimisopa said the
units were being disbanded due to an erosion of discipline within these
units.
Magistrate Conditions
The Chief Magistrate, John Numapo, has called on the Government to
improve working conditions for magistrates in the country by providing
housing and improving their salaries and other conditions. There is
a huge disparity in salary and other terms and conditions for employment
between judges and magistrates. Many of our magistrates are still living
in villages or living with relatives and coming to work. The last review
of the terms and conditions for magistrates was done in 1993, nearly
12 years ago.
Chemotherapy
Despite numerous pleas to have the chemotherapy machine fixed or replaced
at the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae the machine is still nowhere being
fixed yet cancer is now one of the top five killer diseases in the country
according to the National Cancer Foundation. This increase can be attributed
to the fact that the only machine that can help to treat the disease
is not working and therefore unless patients can afford their own treatment
overseas they are being given a life sentence. Other reasons behind
the increase have been attributed to a change in the lifestyle of the
PNG population, especially the diet of people being changed from fresh
food to processed food. The PNG Defence Force Engineer Battalion has
donated K800 to the Foundation. It has been estimated that a total of
K12 million is required to bring back the treatment of cancer patients
to PNG.
Baisu Jail
Over 120 remandees at the Baisu jail outside Mt Hagen have expressed
their frustration at the failure of the District Court to hear their
cases promptly. The Mt Hagen District Court has been closed since the
14th of March due to a lack of housing for magistrates and there are
more than 500 cases pending action by the court. The court shut its
doors after the National Housing Commission sold one the houses occupied
by a magistrate to a local pastor in the province in December 2003.
HIV Estimate
It has been claimed that HIV could claim 38 percent of the PNG workforce
over the next 15 years if the incidence of HIV/AIDS continues to claim
the young in the population.
New Magistrates
Chief Justice Sir Mari Kapi has sworn in five new magistrates. They
are Martin Ipang, Cosmos Inkisopa, Paul N'Ddranoh, Tera Dawai and Sinclaire
Gora. At present there are 104 district court magistrates in the country
and that figure is 56 short of the maximum allowed. The figure of 104
has declined from a total of 122 magistrates in 2002. Some magistrates
resigned to contest the 2002 general elections.
Air Niugini Airbus
For those of you who are interested in aviation here is a picture of
one of the old Air Niugini Airbuses taken in very unfamiliar territory
for a plane from the tropics. -- http://www.airliners.net/open.file/791474/M/
PNG Citizenship
How long does it take to get citizenship of PNG? Paul Schwarz, a German
volunteer, has waited nearly 20 years for the Government to grant him
citizenship after applying in 1986. He has spent the last 40 years of
his life in PNG with 20 of those waiting for the Government to grant
him citizenship in the country he has grown to love. Mr Schwarz runs
the PNG Diabetic Centre, a non-government organisation dealing with
the country's growing problem of obesity and diabetes. The centre is
the only organisation in the country where the medication is free and
a small fee is charged for sugar level tests. It is one of a couple
of charity organisations he has worked for. He has gone for interviews
and paid fees but he still waits.
Melanesian Lotu
Melanesian Lotu Australia Inc. is hosting an "Island Celebration
Night"
Date: Saturday 14 May 2005
Time: 7.00pm til 12.30am
Venue: Sydney Markets Industries Club, Flemington Rd (Entry off Parramatta
Rd)
ALL WELCOME!! PLENTY KAIKAI!! ENTERTAINMENT & DJ PROVIDED!! BRING
YOUR DANCING SHOES!!
Adults: $20 each
Children: $10 each (8-16yrs)
Ticket entry only
Call 0413 703 226 or -- E: bacardi_bruja@yahoo.com
-- FOR TICKETS
All proceeds help the Melanesian Lotu Aust. inc. purchase a community
bus.
Aid Agencies
A government minister has slammed international donor agencies for
continuing to "blackmail" the country by demanding certain
conditions be met before they release money for important projects.
The Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, Don Polye, said that demands
by the World Bank that the PNG Government meet conditions of its Forest
Conservation Program (FCP) before it released $US30 million (about K100
million) to rehabilitate the Highlands Highway were unwarranted. He
went on to describe the Bank's demands as blackmail and expressed confidence
that between K200 and K300 million that was needed to fix the highway
could be raised from domestic financial markets instead of going offshore
to get a loan.
Bougainville Copper
Judge Justice Gibbs Salika has ordered that Bougainville Copper Limited
(BCL) pay backdated taxes to the PNG Internal Revenue Commission (IRC).
BCL owes over K28 million to the IRC for taxes accrued between 1998
and 2001. BCL operated the Panguna mine, which was one of the largest
open cut copper mines in the world until it was forcefully closed by
the Bougainville rebellion in 1990. BCL has refused to pay any income
tax since the mine was closed.
Airport Security
Passengers at the domestic airport terminal in Port Moresby have had
to suffer due to a lack of x-ray scanning equipment. Bits and pieces
of the equipment have been used to keep similar equipment at the International
terminal going. A long queue of frustrated passengers at the domestic
terminal rushing to catch flights doesn't seem to worry the Civil Aviation
Authority.
PNG Folktales
One Thousand One Papua New Guinean Nights:
Folktales from Wantok Newspaper
Translated and Edited by Thomas H. Slone
One Thousand One Papua New Guinean Nights is a two-volume collection
of folktales that were originally published in Papua New Guinea's Wantok
newspaper. The folktales were in Tok Pisin, the Pidgin English language
of Papua New Guinea. The two-volume collection presents the complete
set of over 1000 folktales published between 1972 and 1997. The book
represents one of the largest general collections of Papua New Guinean
folktales and it is worthwhile getting a copy. All of Papua New Guinea's
provinces and approximately 35 percent of Papua New Guinea's 800 language/culture
groups are represented. The first volume includes the introduction and
550 folktales; the second volume includes the remaining folktales, indices,
a glossary, a set of maps and a gazetteer. The folktales have been extensively
indexed by author, village, original language (or culture group), province,
flora and fauna, and folklore motif.
The book is available directly from the publisher at -- http://THSlone.tripod.com/masalaipress.html
And from Amazon.com -- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=abibliogrofmelan&keyword=slone+papua&mode=books
barnesandnoble.com -- http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=slone+papua
and bamm.com -- http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?type=keyword&find=slone+papua&x=6&y=6
Further information about the book and a couple of sample stories can
be found at -- http://THSlone.tripod.com/1001PNGnights.html
A different sample story, this time from Milne Bay, reprinted with
permission of the author, can also be found at -- http://michie.net/pnginfo/1001.html
Thomas H. Slone is a staff scientist at the University of California
at Berkeley.
ECP Bashing
It seems that the media has been having a field day bashing the Enhanced
Co-operation Program over recent weeks. There have been various claims
one of which is that the Australian Police at Boroko have a direct satellite
link back to Australia and that confidential PNG information is being
sent over the link daily. A shame that a visual inspection of the satellite
dish by my son, un-educated in the art of satellite dishes, wondered
why it was not pointing skyward towards the satellites. Other bashing
has been that a great deal of money is being spent on paying the Aussie
police and other staff. This is probably true but isn't that the cost
of doing business? By the way has any one looked at the roof of Garden
City or the Hitron building and noticed all those dishes pointing skywards?
Maybe there is a rumour to be made out of those antennas?
Rumours
Talking about rumours of satellite dishes has reminded me of the following
-- does anyone have information about either of the following rumours?
The siege of consular officials at a local, almost private, watering
hole or the pressure that the liquidator of a certain institution had
to put up with when an angry mob were axing the door to his office?
Telephone Management
If anyone is in PNG and looking for a good telephone management system
for their Ericsson, Telikom Oki, Panasonic, NEC or possibly other PABX
then I suggest taking a visit to MATRYX -- http://www.matryx.com.pg.
-- This PNG system boasts over 100 customers within PNG. The company
can also offer web development and various IT services. It is also associated
with the PNG Business and Tourism Directory located at -- http://www.pngbd.com
Road Maintenance
The Minister for Works has said that the amount of money allocated
towards maintaining roads in the country for 2005 was inadequate. The
Works Department initially applied for K60 million to maintain roads
but was only allocated K40 million by the government. Many roads around
the country are gradually reverting to being little more than bush tracks
and not highways.
Coca Cola
The price of a litre of Coca Cola is now over K3.00 a bottle in most
shops. It was not so long ago that Coke was a kina a litre. Coca Cola
are also responsible for the distribution of Schweppes products in PNG
giving them a virtual monopoly in the soft drink market. Since they
have had this virtual monopoly the prices have increased many times
in a short space of time.
Coming Events
The University of Goroka is holding its 8th Annual Graduation Ceremony
on the 13th of May. The previous ceremony was put on hold due to the
uncertainty about the quality of fuel provided to airlines in the country.
East New Britain Warwagira and Mask Festival. The Warwagira will be
held on the 6th to the 12th of July followed by the Mask Festival on
the 13th to the 16th of July. Both events will be held at the Queen
Elizabeth Park.
PNG 30th Independence Day Celebrations -- 16th September 2005.
Hiri Moale Festival -- the week leading up to Independence Day
Goroka Show -- Independence Weekend
Mining Conference -- to be held in Lae between the 23rd and 25th of
May.
Fly The Flag
Sir Peter Barter has said that the whole of PNG should be flying the
PNG flag as the 30th anniversary of Independence approaches to display
the pride and patriotism of the country. He has urged the population
to celebrate Independence with their hearts and not their pockets. It
has been reported that each province will receive K20,000 from the National
Events Council to help celebrate the day. The council has also ordered
10,000 PNG flags.
PNG Media
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