Australian cricket has paid tribute to the late Andrew Symonds at the one-day international against Zimbabwe in Townsville with many of the things he loved in life. The popular all-rounder died in a car accident in May. With his nickname, "Roy", and test number emblazoned on the field, the Australian side, fans and Symonds's loved ones remembered him in the city he settled down in after retirement from the game. Symonds's children, Will and Chloe, acted as drinks carriers during the match, after lining up with the teams prior to the start for a minute's silence. At the innings break, the children, along with his wife Laura Vidmar, sister Louise, mother Barbara and dogs Woody and Buzz gathered at the pitch for the service. His best friend, former cricketer Jimmy Maher, carried out Symonds' baggy green cap and bat, while a handful of items that summed up the laconic outdoorsman were placed near the pitch: his crab pot, Akubra hat and fishing rod. John Williamson's Hey True Blue was played over stadium loudspeakers, before everyone present gave a final round of applause for one of cricket's great entertainers. Symonds played 26 tests for Australia and won two one-day World Cups.

With just one full round of the NRL Telstra Premiership ahead of us, the race for spots in the top eight has well and truly heated up. Penrith have clinched the minor Premiership... but other than that, every other position in the finals is still capable of facing some changes with spots in the top four and top eight still undecided heading into the final round. Best and worst case finishes Penrith Panthers (1st, 42 points) Best case: 1st Worst case: 1st Round 25 game: v Cowboys (A), Saturday, 7.35pm. Penrith have wrapped up another minor premiership, and were presented with the JJ Giltinan Shield by NRL CEO Andrew Abdo at the conclusion of their Round 24 match. Coach Ivan Cleary may choose to rest a handful of players in Round 25 as they travel north to face the Cowboys in Townsville. Cronulla Sharks (2nd, 36 points) Best case: 2nd Worst case: 3rd Round 25 game: v Knights (A), Sunday, 2.00pm. With a straightforward win over the Bulldogs and the Cowboys going down to the Rabbitohs, the Sharks are now in the box seat to secure a home final in week one of the finals. Simply, if Cronulla beat Newcastle in the final round they will finish second. The only way the Sharks can fall to third is if they lose to the Knights and the Cowboys beat the Panthers in their final game of the regular season. North Queensland Cowboys (3rd, 34 points) Best case: 2nd Worst case: 5th Round 25 game: v Panthers (H), Saturday, 7.35pm. To finish second, the Cowboys will need to beat the Panthers in Round 25 and hope that the Knights can upset the Sharks in their final game, with the two results needing a 15-point differential swing in the Cowboys' favour. If Todd Payten's side do beat the undermanned Panthers, then they will likely finish third — assuming the Sharks beat the Knights — or they could drop to fourth if they lose to Penrith and the Storm beat the Eels. While technically possible they could fall to fifth, it is highly unlikely given the drastic points differential they would need to overcome — meaning the Cowboys will likely finish either third or fourth. Melbourne Storm (4th, 32 points) Best case: 3rd Worst case: 6th Round 25 game: v Eels (A), Thursday, 7.50pm. After falling just short against the Roosters, the Storm find themselves needing to win in Round 25 in order to secure a top four spot. While technically possible they could fall to sixth if the Roosters beat the Rabbitohs and the Storm lose to the Eels (plus a 64-point differential swing), it is really just a shootout between Melbourne and Parramatta this week to see who finishes fourth and who finishes fifth. If the Storm do win, and the Cowboys lose to the Panthers, they will finish third. Parramatta Eels (5th, 32 points) Best case: 3rd Worst case: 6th Round 25 game: v Storm (H), Thursday, 7.50pm. Similar to the above, if Parramatta beat Melbourne in Round 25 they will finish fourth. If they can win by 100 and the Cowboys lose to the Panthers then they can finish third, but let's file that under "highly unlikely" for now. Instead, the bigger concern for the blue and gold will be what happens if they can't triumph over the Storm — potentially falling as far as sixth after sitting third earlier this year. Sydney Roosters (6th, 30 points) Best case: 4th Worst case: 9th Round 25 game: v Rabbitohs (H), Friday, 7.55pm. A big win over the Storm in Melbourne in Round 24 has set the Roosters up for a thrilling end to the regular season as they take on the Rabbitohs at the opening of the redesigned Allianz Stadium. A win would lock the Tricolours into sixth while a win coupled with an Eels loss to the Storm would see the Roosters move up the ladder and earn a home final in fifth position. A loss — depending on the margin — could potentially see them fall to seventh with the Rabbitohs needing to overcome a 41-point difference in for-and-against that is currently in place between the two. South Sydney Rabbitohs (7th, 30 points) Best case: 4th Worst case: 9th Round 25 game: v Roosters (A), Friday, 7.55pm. Needed to win against the Cowboys to lock themselves into the finals and they have seemingly done so despite the technical possibility of finishing in ninth. With a huge rivalry game against the Roosters on the schedule to end the regular season, Jason Demetriou's side will know that a win will probably guarantee them a home Elimination Final the following week, while a loss will likely see them remain in seventh and head on the road to face either the Roosters or Eels in the finals. Canberra Raiders (8th, 28 points) Best case: 6th Worst case: 9th Round 25 game: v Wests Tigers (A), Sunday, 4.05pm. With Brisbane going down to Parramatta in heavy fashion and the Raiders piling on the points against the Knights, Ricky Stuart's side now find themselves in a strong position to make the finals.. but the job isn't done yet. A win over Wests Tigers in the final game of the regular season will secure eighth spot for the Raiders, while an upset win for the Dragons over the Broncos the day before will also likely do the same given Canberra now host a 43-point for-and-against advantage over Brisbane. Brisbane Broncos (9th, 28 points) Best case: 6th Worst case: 9th Round 25 game: v Dragons (A), Saturday, 5.30pm. A disastrous defeat to Parramatta leaves Brisbane on the outside of the eight now, looking in and needing results to go their way in order to make the finals. First things first: the Broncos need to beat the Dragons on Saturday afternoon in order to make themselves relevant on Sunday when the Green Machine visit Leichhardt Oval to face a Wests Tigers side who will be playing to avoid the wooden spoon. Source: NRL.com

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape Papua New Guinea spends a massive K2 billion-plus on importing food every year, some of which can be easily grown and produced in the country. He said this today (August 28 2022) when announcing that the two major focuses of his Government were internal security and growing the economy “More control of the prevailing law-and-order situation will lead to increased business, especially in agriculture, to bring down the country’s huge food import bill,” PM Marape said. He said it would also lead to more benefits from the mining and petroleum sectors. “I’m very strong in my push for development of our sustainable natural resources like agriculture, forestry and fisheries,” PM Marape said. “We want to ramp up production in these sectors and get more of our people, 80 per cent of whom are involved with land and sea, to migrate from subsistent into the cash economy. “ My Government already has in place price support and freight subsidy mechanisms for agriculture, and partnerships with major banks and lending agencies for support to our SMEs, to ensure that our citizens are active participants in the economy. “Therein lies the greatest potential and my Government is putting money where our mouth is. “ Agriculture will be our major export earner going forward and will also replace food imports. “At the moment, we are spending more than K2 billion on food imports alone, which is not good enough for a country with massive land which can be used for agriculture.” PM Marape also looks forward to more benefits to the country from the extractive industries, “We will be working to ensure that Porgera Mine reopens at the earliest,” he said. “Papua and P’nyang LNG projects are both progressing well, and should soon move into Final Investment Decision (FID), with construction to run from 2023 to 2032. “We also will be working to ensure that Wafi-Golpu, Pasca, Pandora, Frieda River and various other projects progress.

Papua New Guinea has expended a whopping K341 million in 2019 alone to overseas countries for imported meat products while its nine cattle ranches, five abattoirs, and various piggeries lie in ruins and face the threat of being overtaken by squatters. Quoting the 2019 figure as an example, Prime Minister Hon. James Marape said if Papua New Guineans can spend this kind of money buying meat from overseas, they most certainly can inject similar amounts back into their own economy if there was a full-time livestock market available in the country that supplied this perpetual need. Meat consumption is estimated to be increasing at 5 percent per annum but livestock production has not increased over the last three decades in PNG, government data has indicated. Prime Minister Marape said the creation of a separate ministry dedicated to the rehabilitation of livestock in the country and the recent appointment of South Fly MP Hon. Seki Agisa as Minister is to address this neglected area. Under the rearrangements, the former Department of Agriculture & Livestock is now separated into four ministries - Agriculture, Livestock, Oil Palm, and Coffee. While announcing his Cabinet and these changes on Tuesday 23/08/22, PM Marape explained: “We want to see import replacement and more exports happening within the Agriculture sector which is why we have allocated four separate ministries in Agriculture.” Import substitution and focus on export and downstream processing are at the heart of these continuing changes which began in 2019 when Marape took over as Prime Minister. In Goroka in 2019, he announced that he wanted to see PNG become self-sufficient in livestock production by the Year 2025. Following this in 2021, PM Marape directed the Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) to reclaim all State land that is cattle ranches, abattoirs and piggeries lost to settlers. This has led to the State Reclamation Project headed by former Agriculture & Livestock Minister Hon. John Simon that began at Corn Farm on the border of Western Highlands and Jiwaka provinces at the end of last year. The new Minister Agisa will continue and expand this work further, PM Marape said this recently. Terry Koim, Managing Director for LDC, last week (25/08/22) described the Prime Minister’s bold move as “taking the bull by the horns”, in light of the absolute lack of attention successive governments have given to livestock management and development over the years that has led to the closure of nearly all of its ranches and abattoirs. Koim says a total of 23,700 hectares of land is the sum of the State’s livestock fields, much of it lost to squatters but now being reclaimed gradually. Koim adds the benefit of a separate ministry gives strategic focus and concentrated work on reclaiming and rehabilitating these fields and facilities, restocking and breeding, processing the livestock, and, in the immediate future, exporting. Legislative and structural changes also need to be made to empower and strengthen the LDC to take this work to the next level, he says. The LDC was established under the initial Pangu Government in 1983 to take over the responsibilities and operations of the various ranches, abattoirs, and piggeries in the country, in an effort to commercialize the successful livestock division of the old Department of Primary Industry. It was incorporated as a 100 percent National Government entity and operates under the Companies Act 1997 yet is not declared as a ‘regulatory statutory authority. In its early days, LDC was successful financially but was grossly mismanaged and over time left to deteriorate.  Without sustainable programs in place and good leadership, LDC was forced to close most of its facilities, in turn forcing Papua New Guineans to turn to overseas markets especially Australia and New Zealand to buy their livestock supply in quantities. With the return of attention to Livestock in this major way, PNG can now produce and supply its own livestock and look at exporting this to nearby markets in the near future. Prime Minister Marape said he was very keen on capitalizing on the existing bilateral arrangements PNG has with its neighbor Indonesia to export PNG beef there. Indonesia has a population of nearly 280 million people and has an increasing market for beef.

Film-BRO, in cooperation with the Paradise Private Hospital, has launched on Tuesday 23rd of August, the 4th episode of “Life in the Ward”, a series of documentaries on health care in Papua New Guinea. This latest episode centered on the threat of infectious diseases, especially among the young generations. The screening, attended by over 100 people, was hosted at the Lamana Hotel in Port Moresby and it was sponsored by the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce, Digicel Foundation and the UNFPA. “We are proud to support this series of documentaries,” said Rio Fiocco, the President of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce, who has supported this initiative right from the start. Prof. Mola, has also stressed his commitment as the series’ scientific advisor and a recurrent protagonist for every new episode. Marco Venditti, Film-BRO’s Managing Director and producer of the documentary, acknowledged the support of all the institutions that made this work possible, especially the Paradise Private Hospital, a private institution that has co-produced the project right from the get-go. The series is now showing on the Digicel PNG Foundation's educational block, BeLit on TVWAN. Future episodes of the series will cover Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Rural Health.

The footy gods were smiling down on the Santos National Football Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the SP PNG Hunters pulled off a fairy-tale finish in their homecoming match with the Mackay Cutters in Round 20 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. Trailing by four points with seconds remaining, the Hunters produced a miracle play with their final possession to beat the Cutters in front of a joyous crowd in Port Moresby to round out their 2022 season. The 78 minutes prior was a seesawing affair as both sides struggled with their ball security in the humid conditions. The Cutters were first to trouble the scoreboard when prop Jayden Morgan barged his way over in the 16th minute thanks to a clever switch play from behind the ruck. Mackay then went over again just three minutes later when Kyle Krisanski-Kennedy took possession out the back of a questionable decoy line to score down the Cutters’ left edge. Far from going into their shells though, the Hunters quickly responded. In true PNG fashion, the Hunters frontloaded their defence to batter and bruise the Mackay forwards and quickly gain momentum through the middle of the field. A clever fifth tackle kick then pinned the Cutters in a corner and the defensive pressure PNG applied forced an error in yardage from Mackay which Hunters’ centre Rodrick Tai punished to score in the 27th minute. Benji Kot followed in his centre partner's footsteps not long after, finishing off a slick left edge movement to latch onto a Judah Rimbu cut-out pass and score in the 34th minute. With halftime looming, the Hunters then produced some enterprising play down their right edge when five-eighth Kingstimer Paraia ran it on the last to beat the rushing defence before offloading to Sherwin Tanabi in support. Two more clever offloads followed when Tanabi linked with Tai and Tai then found winger Liam Joseph back on the inside who scored in the right-hand corner to give PNG a 14-12 lead at the break. The Cutters were first to score again in the second half when Luke Wembley crossed in the 44th minute before centre-turned fullback Gehamat Shibisaki exploded with an energetic 15-minute display. Shibasaki was everywhere for the Cutters midway through the second half; scoring one himself, setting up another for Laetitia Moceidreke and denying a third for the Hunters when he intercepted a PNG pass on his own try line. For all of Shibisaki’s efforts though, the resilience and bravery of this Hunter's side – who have not been home since November 2021 and had not played a Cup game on home soil since 2019 – was the difference. A sin-binning for PNG prop Dilbert Issac with 10 minutes remaining only added to the narrative as the Hunters chased a four-point deficit with the clock winding down and a key player on the sidelines. As the PNG faithful know all too well though, you can never count out the Hunters. With just seconds remaining, hooker Wartovo Puara Jnr – the most capped player in the club’s proud history – positioned himself at halfback on Hunter's right edge and orchestrated what can only be described as a rugby league miracle. A two-pass shift through Puara Jnr got Rodrick Tai at a retreating defence despite Mackay’s numbers advantage and the centre put on a specialist move to beat his opposite man and pass winger Liam Joseph down the touchline. In just his fourth Cup game, the 20-year-old Joseph then beat no less than four Cutters defenders to get the ball free and flick a one-handed offload back inside to Puara Jnr in support. With the fullback still to beat, Puara Jnr sold him a dummy for the ages to skip back in towards the posts and dive over as the locals erupted with excitement. It was a poetic end to both a challenging season and an even more challenging three-year relocation period for the Hunters, who demonstrated that Papua New Guinea is well and truly ready to regain its status as a rugby league heartland in 2023. Head Coach Matt Church was emotional after full-time. “It’s a great exclamation point on the back of almost three years being away from home,” said Church. “I’m just incredibly proud. No other group could have done what this group has done and endured what they’ve endured and still never, ever give up.” SP PNG Hunters 30 def. Mackay Cutters 28

Prime Minister James Marape has used the occasion of the National Day of Prayer & Repentance on Friday (26/08/22) to bring the spotlight on the plight of Papua New Guinea’s women by calling on the men to take stock of their actions against women. He made the appeal while holding the men to account for many of the difficulties and problems PNG women have been experiencing and continue to face today. The Prime Minister was speaking at the Sir John Guise Stadium at the event jointly organized by the Government and churches to mark the occasion. The event involved the offering of prayers for various aspects of life and nation, singing, delivery of sermon and speeches, and has been included in the national calendar to return attention to our Christian Faith. PM Marape said: “I repent on behalf of all the men of our country, past and present. I am sorry for the wrongs we have done to our wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters. “Today on this Repentance Day, 20 days before our nation passes through 47 years of nationhood, I ask all sons of PNG to join me and say sorry to all daughters of the country. “Sons of Papua New Guinea must repent for all wrongs we have done to our daughters and sisters.” The Prime Minister said men must be the first to be held accountable as the greater responsibility falls on the man more than the woman being the leader of the family unit and the physically stronger of the two genders. “Christians, it was Eve who first sinned. But God came searching for Adam. The son, whom God created first and strongest, was passed the greater responsibility of care for everything including the care for the woman. “To our women of PNG, I say sorry on behalf of all my PNG brothers. Please, forgive us. As Jesus Himself has said ‘forgive us as we forgive those around us’.” The Prime Minister continued by highlighting the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in officially grounding the country’s predominant Christian Faith into the Constitution of the country. “To identify with Christianity is to anchor our national foundations in the Rock of Ages, the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of Life. “Our nation is one of diverse tribes and tongues. Our national leaders then – as we do now – saw that without God in our Constitution, our diverse country will find it harder to be united. “Because of this, in 2008, our Founding Father the late Great Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare returned our attention to God by calling us to repent of our sins so our nation could proper.” The Prime Minister used the opportunity to also thank the churches for their continuing support, saying the Government looks forward to working in health and education with them. Following in the “big footsteps of Sir Michael”, PM Marape has remained open about Papua New Guinea’s strong Christian Faith by making official pronouncements about this, including spearheading the work by the PNG Constitutional Law Reform Commission in getting a Constitutional proclamation of the country’s national identity as “Christian”, a consultative process which has been finalized last year and ready for submission to Parliament. PM Marape has also taken this further by setting his vision to make PNG the “Richest Black Christian Nation on Earth”, once more returning attention to the strong roots Papua New Guineans have with Christianity. In many of his high-level meetings with high commissioners and ambassadors, Prime Minister Marape uses the opportunity to point out this “advantage”, saying the environment for trade and investments in PNG is less prone to volatility unlike in many non-Christian countries because of the basic principles of Christianity of Love and Tolerance.

In their preliminary findings drawn from their observation of the 2022 National General Elections (NGE), Transparency International PNG (TIPNG) has described the accumulated failures in the preparation, conduct, delivery and conclusion of the Elections as being a severely flawed process. The local civil society organization had 340 observers deployed during the polling period. TIPNG has released a Summary Paper outlining its initial assessment of the 2022 NGE drawing from these findings, TIPNG is calling for a genuine commitment from all stakeholders to undertake major reforms of our electoral process and systems to avoid similar problems in 2027. “The PNG Electoral Commission and the Government must not be complacent, the numerous problems experienced during 2022 should be a wake-up call for our nation’s leaders and administrators to take action. In launching its Summary Paper on the 2022 National General Elections TIPNG highlights provides detailed recommendations for consideration in improving the electoral process. This will require a structured intervention to restore public trust and demonstrate greater levels of competency,” said Peter Aitsi, TIPNG Board Chair in a media statement. “There is a five-year electoral planning cycle and that must be properly supported on an annual basis. The issues of 2022 will not be resolved through quick fixes, which run the risk of further depleting limited public funding for this essential democratic process. In undertaking post-election analysis, all stakeholders should focus on structured long-term interventions that will promote transparency and integrity in PNG’s National Elections,” said Mr. Aitsi. Key issues TIPNG identified during the 2022 National General Election were; frequent instances of roll inaccuracy, lack of enforcement against election offences, non-compliance with Constitutional requirements, disturbances in the conduct of the ballot counting, confusion on the declaration of seats; and widespread election-related violence. These issues will be further discussed in the full TIPNG 2022 Election Observation Report to be launched in November 2022. In its preliminary assessment, TIPNG recommended interventions includes; • developing a 5-year PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) communications plan to empower voters and electoral partners, • prosecution of electoral officials that were alleged to have engaged in corruption during the 2022 NGE and • developing a public complaints process and an internal anti-corruption strategy within the PNGEC prior to the 2027 NGE.

The United Nations Population Fund in Papua New Guinea has provided 19 Reproductive Health Kits and 2,000 Dignity Kits to Porgera, Kandep and Laiagam Districts in Enga Province following ethnic conflicts and election-related violence which has left hundreds of people displaced, especially women and girls. “During crises, such as what we have seen over the past three months in the Highlands Region, women and girls are particularly vulnerable,” said UNFPA Country Representative Marielle Sander. “During conflicts, natural disasters and public health emergencies, sexual and reproductive health needs cannot be overlooked. Pregnant women risk life-threatening complications without access to delivery and emergency obstetric care services.” “Restoring these services and facilitating transportation to advanced care facilities should be prioritised and, if safe transportation is not possible, we are providing safe delivery kits directly to the health providers in affected communities to prevent infection from childbirth, even during conflict.” Nineteen Reproductive Health Kits (RH Kits) have been delivered to the Enga Provincial Health Authority for distribution between 9 health care facilities in the affected districts. These kits include PPE for safe, clean deliveries, STI and HIV testing and treatment, and pregnancy testing. These kits are essential for ensuring basic sexual and reproductive health provisions are available to women and girls displaced by violence. In addition to the provision of RH Kits, UNFPA has released 2,000 Dignity Kits (DKs) from the Lae Area Medical Store and delivered these to Mount Hagen. A thousand DKs have been delivered to Care International for distribution in Porgera and the other 1,000 kits will be delivered to the Catholic Diocese of Mendi for distribution in Laiagam and Kopiam. These kits contain essential menstrual health and hygiene supplies for women and girls affected by violence to maintain good hygiene. Three months of conflict in Enga has seen more than 70 people dead and more than 300 families displaced in Porgera District alone. Being able to deliver these supplies to the women and girls who need them requires safe access to the affected areas. In this current situation, the closure of Wapenamanda Airport means essential supplies are being transported by air to Mount Hagen and by land to Enga, delaying the provision of health commodities to the communities in which they are needed.

Disappointed Brisbane coach Kevin Walters says the Broncos have an attitude problem and the club’s late-season free-fall is ultimately on him. The Broncos were embarrassed at home for second time in the space of six days with Thursday night’s 53-6 demolition from Parramatta following a 60-12 defeat at the hands of Melbourne last weekend. After conceding 113 points in their last 160 minutes of football, Brisbane’s finals hopes sit uncomfortably on a knife’s edge with their for-and-against plummeting from plus-21 to minus 26, one point worse than Canberra who play Manly on Saturday. If the Raiders beat the Sea Eagles, Brisbane will be out of the top eight before Sunday and face a must-win clash with St George Illawarra next Saturday. Walters said the performance against the Eels was “terrible” and was made all the worse by the horror injury toll that included captain Adam Reynolds (concussion) in his 250th NRL match, Kobe Hetherington (concussion), Brenko Lee (hamstring) and Tom Flegler (throat) who was taken to hospital after having trouble breathing after copping an elbow in an attempted tackle. Flegler was also put on report for a shoulder charge in a night to forget for Brisbane. After missing 66 tackles against the Storm, Brisbane missed 53 against the Eels who had the game signed, sealed and delivered by halftime. “It’s just disappointing for everyone. Obviously, we just need to fix our defence more than anything. Our attitude hasn’t been where it needs to be at this time of the year to compete against the good sides,’’ Walters said. “I’m not going to make any excuses. It (defence) hasn’t been good enough. Walters said the buck stopped with him. “I take full responsibility. Obviously, it’s my job to prepare this team and get them ready to play each week so I take responsibility, I’m not shifting the blame anywhere,’’ he said. “We want our team to perform well and we are not performing well…we don’t have too many answers at the moment, to be honest, but we just need to fix our attitude…our discipline. It’s a momentum swing and we are struggling to get it back,’’ he said.   Source: NRL.com

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme in collaboration with rural youths and students in the Greater Sepik region marked the International Youth Day 2022 (IYD) with a message for all to become innovative and take part in all nodes along the agri-food value chains, including areas supported under the Programme. Led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the EU-STREIT Programme organised two events this year in East Sepik and West Sepik Provinces, bringing together 1,781 youths in total.   These youths were briefed, sensitized, and made aware through engaging interactions, including motivational speeches, cocoa competitions, student debates, contemporary group dances, drama role plays, march pass and collective chanting, in a bid to promote this year’s theme of IYD: ‘Intergenerational solidarity, creating a world for all ages”. IYD is commemorated every year on 12 August, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international, national, and local communities, while celebrating their potential as partners in today’s global society. Explaining this year’s theme, Ms Patu Shang, the FAO International Gender and Youth Inclusion Specialist, on behalf of the Programme Coordinator, called on the elders and parents as well as authorities to provide an enabling environment for youths to excel and take over. “It means mainstreaming young people’s perspectives and we have to come together as one from all ages. Therefore in everything we do, we must sit together and include youths in solidarity so they can tell us their perspectives.” Ms Shang also challenged the youths particularly those from rural areas to become innovative and take part in agribusiness. “Don’t just sit back and observe because the world will pass you by.” She added: “EU-STREIT PNG is supporting a holistic approach to develop cocoa, vanilla and fisheries activities so every young person can find his/her place in any node along the agri-food value chains and with the advantage of technology they can develop a particular value chain either as a farmer, or input supplier, or take part in processing and marketing.” These overarching and inspirational messages where shared in the two celebrations held in Yangoru-Saussia District of East Sepik Province, on Thursday 4 August and in Vanimo, Sandaun Province, on Wednesday 17 August. The youth were also urged to participate and become an integral part of the European Union funded rural agriculture development programme, as well as to appreciate and subsequently take up “Agriculture as a Profession”, thereby curbing rural youth exodus and striving towards Zero Hunger by 2030 through the development of agri-food value chains. The commemoration in Vanimo started with a march pass in solidarity with youths and students from Don Bosco Technical Secondary and Vanimo Secondary, chanting and singing a popular line “ooh when the youths go marching in …”. In addition, present to give their speeches were the Deputy Provincial Administration for Cooperate Services and Director for Community Development, representing the Sandaun Provincial Administrator, as well as the Vanimo Royal PNG Constabulary Commander. After the official speeches, the youths went over to Don Bosco Technical Secondary to promote agriculture as a professional career with a cocoa bud grafting competition. A debate on the topic “is agriculture only for the poor and elderly” was organised as well between students from the two schools. The celebrations in Yangoru-Saussia District of East Sepik Province was held in Baimuru Village and organised jointly with the “Baimuru Heights Youths in Agri-business Group” whose common interest lies in cocoa value chain activities. The day started with a march pass by youths carrying placards and chanting and soliciting community support in their quest to make a change in the community and the country through agribusiness. It was an exciting and fun day for the youths in Baimuru Village with the support of the parents and elders to execute the day’s activities like choral music, dances and three role-plays showcasing challenges that rural farmers face like low prices for cocoa and vanilla beans and awareness on child labour. A successful female and male youth (community Campions) who have taken on agriculture as a profession also shared their success stories. The rest of the youthful population were encouraged to see the opportunities that exist agribusiness. To encorage the youths to their agriculture work, cocoa and vanilla cultivation and processing tools/materials and items like secateurs, pruning saws, wheelbarrows, cooler box/Esky, strainer, thick cloth/blanket and Digital thermometers were presented to three youth groups that supported and participated in the celebrations.  

Redcliffe back rower Jeremiah Simbiken has earned himself an NRL contract with his continual big-match displays in the Hostplus Cup. Simbiken has agreed to a three-year deal with the Dolphins which will see him hold development contract status when the new NRL team begins pre-season later this year. He capped off a big week for his future with three tries against the Northern Pride on Saturday night as Redcliffe extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches with a 49-10 victory. Simbiken was born in Papua New Guinea but moved to Canberra when he was 11 years of age. He spent some time in the Canberra Raiders’ junior system but had limited opportunity with the NSW competition suspended because of COVID and contemplated walking away from the game. The 22-year-old air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic made the move up to Redcliffe for the 2022 season and it has proved a smart choice. He has been one of the Dolphins’ best in the Hostplus Cup as the team has moved up the ladder to entrench themselves in the top four with one week to go to the finals. Dolphins’ chief executive Terry Reader said the club was pleased to give Simbiken the chance to prove himself at NRL level. “Jeremiah has been in tremendous form in the Hostplus Cup and that has made us sit up and take notice of him,” said Reader. “He has demonstrated what an attacking weapon he can be with 13 tries in 14 matches for Redcliffe, including eight tries in his last four games. “We are pleased to be giving a player that has joined the Dolphins at state league level a chance to graduate into the NRL.” Simbiken will complete the Hostplus Cup season with Redcliffe before joining the Dolphins’ first NRL pre-season training group in November. Source: QRL.com