The Fiji meteorological service has warned that heavy rain is expected to continue throughout the week in Fiji. Flash floods are expected to hit low-lying areas in the Western region of the island of Viti Levu with heavy rain in the west and interior parts as well. The Ministry of Agriculture issued a statement advising farmers to salvage crops, move livestock to higher ground and shift their farm machinery. Senior Meteorologist Sakeasa Rabit said the rain will move towards Australia, and there is a potential for a cyclone to form in the coming weeks. "We see the Australian region specifically is going to become very active in terms of rain. Most probably within the week or next week, something should be developing in terms of a cyclone." Closures Multiple roads and crossings are closed in Fiji as the country continues to be battered by wet weather. A Fiji Roads emergency dashboard has seven roads, 15 crossings and one bridge closed, mostly in the Western Division. Several others have restrictions such as being down to one lane or suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles only. The closure feed is directly from the Fiji Roads Authority's maintenance contractors on-site. Source: rnz.com

Prime Minister James Marape has asked both Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) and Puma Energy to find solutions to the strenuous business relationship they have that is now becoming a national security issue and a cause for concern about functioning of the economy. He said the case of Puma being unable to maintain the supply of fuel products to its customers was because of ongoing issues with BPNG, for which the country was being held to ransom. PM Marape has asked BPNG, immediately after an urgent National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC) today (January 5, 2023), to find a short-term solution by lifting restrictions on Puma so that their supply of fuel products continue without compromising Central Bank’s fiduciary requirements. “I want to also inform the country and business that today, the Bank has the highest-ever level of foreign reserves (FX) of more than K13 billion – more than enough for a year,” he said. “That’s because my Government’s fiscal policies assisted in raising FX in the Central Bank over the last three years to record levels. “For example, concessional US$ soft loans from Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Japan and Australia have helped to raise our FX. “We were also assisted by increased prices of commodities, not just in oil and gas, but more importantly an increase in agriculture production. “Therefore, FX in the Central Bank is not an issue in this case of Puma, it is just a case of BPNG ensuring that transactions are done prudently and correctly. “However, in this case, BPNG may have stressed Puma to the point that they are unable at supply fuel products due to unavailability of matching US dollars for fuel imports. “I have, immediately after today’s NSAC meeting, written to Central Bank asking them to find solutions to the issues with Puma without compromising the role they play in ensuring that legitimate transactions take place. “This issues between BPNG and Puma have been going on for some time and the Executive Government will have a holistic look at the entire saga. “I, as Prime Minister, believe that businesses should be operating with ease, and when it comes to FX, they should be accessing FX. “If it is a legitimate transaction, it is the Central Bank’s duty to ensure that the requirements of FX are met, with little or no impediments. “Without compromising Central Bank’s role in ensuring that transactions are legitimate and proper, I appeal to it to exercise wisdom and not just be a policeman, but use monetary policy and the Bank as an incubator of economic activity in PNG. “The Government is also looking at the arrangement with Puma, whereby they have a monopoly in PNG, and does not want the country to be placed in a dangerous security situation. “I ask the Central Bank to clear the order for the supply of fuel products by Puma to continue, in the meantime, as we find permanent solutions. I will also set up a State team to look deeper into this saga between the Central Bank and Puma.”

The National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has expressed its great desire to give back to the people of PNG through its ‘Give Back Program’ with a sponsorship of K40, 000 to support Bialla Suaras Rugby Football Union Club in Nakanai District of West New Britain Province. NGCB Chief Executive Officer Imelda Agon while presenting the cheque to the Club Chairman Andrew Solomon, expressed great admiration to the newly established club for taking the bold step in setting up the club to identify, nurture and expose young local talents along the Bialla area and the surrounding communities. Mrs. Agon said it is very uplifting to see sports unite people, inspire generations, improve, and enhance the lifestyle of people for the better. “I believe that sports is a vehicle that unites people together and when used properly, it can change the lives and mindset of our young people and they can become role models in our communities. “That is why it is important to invest in sports so that our young people can maximize their skills and potential and create career pathways in sports. “Sports create great memories thus, the NGCB stands to support different platforms, mechanisms, codes, programs and projects of sports in the country”, Mrs. Agon said. Bialla Suaras RFU Club Chairman Andrew Solomon thank the CEO Mrs. Imelda Agon and the NGCB for the timely sponsorship and said the fund will be used to develop the code in Bialla Town and surrounding communities. “The club was established for the purpose of identifying and exposing young raw talents within the Bialla area and we believe that with the funding support from NGCB we will achieve that,” Mr. Solomon said. He said they believe that their involvement in this sport would open doors for positive influences and eminent changes in their society.

Current CPL Group and CPL Foundation director, Stephanie Copus-Campbell has recently been appointed as Ambassador for Gender Equality for Australia, an appointment, made by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This role serves to deepen Australia’s international engagement on gender equality with her expertise in community development, gender equality and health. She will advocate the importance of women’s human rights, ending gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, and the leadership of women and girls. Ms Copus-Campbell currently serves as a board director, both with the CPL Group, and the CPL Foundation. Stephanie also serves as director for other public and private enterprise in PNG. She has been involved in multiple programs in PNG over the years focused on health, leadership, education, and women’s empowerment and protection. The board, management and staff of CPL Group PNG would like to extend our best wishes and congratulations to board director, Stephanie Copus-Campbell, on her recent appointment as Australia’s next Ambassador for Gender Equality. ‘This appointment is a testament to the credentials of our Director Stephanie and compliments the core values of CPL which has always been about empowering women in our communities’, said Stan Joyce, CPL Group Chairman. Sir. Mahesh Patel, CPL Group Founder and Chairman of the CPL Foundation, also said, ‘Stephanie has been an integral part of our CPL Foundation since it’s inception, where it’s focus is also on empowering women and girls through economic empowerment, health, education and women’s health and well being’. The CPL Group welcomes this wonderful appointment and wishes Ms Copus-Campbell all the very best.

Athletics PNG is in the process of finalising its calendar of events for 2023, with consultations being held ahead of final endorsement by the Executive Committee. Obviously the key event for this year is the Pacific Games in Honiara and clearly the objective for PNG Athletics is to maintain its position as the #1 track and field nation in the Pacific. “We are aiming to build on our resounding success at the 2022 Mini Games by keeping the momentum going with our programmes and all stakeholders must recognise that we will face stronger competition in Honiara , so we need to be prepared for that”, said President Tony Green. Our elite athletes will need continuing support for their training programmes and we will learn from past mistakes and have a more targeted approach with athletes preparing for specific events. Strong competition is expected for places in the men's track team with a growing number of athletes challenging the established members of the team. Green thanked the NSI Director Janet Gimots for the continued support of the Institute and said that APNG will continue to work closely with the Institute to deliver an outstanding result at the Games. Athletics delivered its plans for Games preparations to the PNG Olympic Committee in October last year together with a budget, as well as tiering scorecards for its squad members. “Basically we have four major components to the plan said Green with ongoing training camps in PNG ; specialist training for elite athletes at the Gold Coast in the technical events of hurdles, jumps and throws; support to the US based athletes; and an appropriate competition programme ,both domestic and international. Other events on the International calendar next year are the Oceania Cup in Saipan in June and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in August. PNG will form part of a Melanesian Team which will take on Australia , New Zealand , Micronesia, Polynesia and other teams in what is expected to be a high quality eight team Oceania Cup competition. Following its strong performance in 2022 PNG is expected to have a good number of its athletes selected for the Melanesian Team. Athletics PNG will stage its usual regional and National championships in 2023 sponsored by PNG Air and the dates of these events have been drawn up with consideration that the PNG Games will be held during the second term holiday. “With a large number of young athletes from around PNG likely to be in the National Capital ahead of the PNG Games Athletics competition (which is always in the second week of the Games) this is a good opportunity to stage an age division championships” said Green so that’s what we are proposing. Then the National championships in August will be purely an Open event, following which the final team for the Pacific Games will be announced. Green said that the selection policy is being reviewed and will be communicated to athletes soon. “We would of course love to have all the overseas athletes in attendance at the Championships” , said Green but he acknowledged that this may not be possible in some case so the selection policy has to cater for this. “Obviously the Championships will be very important in selecting the final team, but it has been a long standing policy that we expect to see consistent performances from athletes over a period of time and no one should be expected to be selected on the basis of a one off performance that is not backed up with a known training/performance history”

The Brisbane Broncos can confirm Tesi Niu will depart the club. Niu scored 11 tries in 32 games for the Broncos, having made his debut for the club in Round 4, 2020 against the Roosters. Broncos Coach Kevin Walters said, “Tesi has been in the Broncos system for a number of years and is highly regarded across the club. “But we believe he will receive more opportunities elsewhere and it’s an indication of our respect for Tesi that we have allowed him to depart. “We wish Tesi all the best in the next part of his journey.” Source: Broncos.com

The PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) and IBS University (IBSU) are proud to announce the renewal of the IBSU Athlete Scholarships, under the Athlete Excellence for Life program. With the vision to develop the capability of elite athletes for life after sport, the scholarship will once again see athletes undergo various courses at the IBS through this scholarship. The PNGOC is now calling for applications from interested Team PNG athletes for educational scholarship opportunities in collaboration with the IBS University in Port Moresby. Applications are available for certificate, diploma and bachelor courses and is now open and will close on the 3rd of February 2023. Whilst calling for Team PNG athletes to take advantage of this opportunity to take up studies at the university, the PNGOC President Sir John Dawanincura also acknowledged the IBS University for the renewal of its continued sponsorship to the PNGOC, through an array of educational scholarships for Team PNG athletes since 2016. Sir John acknowledged the continued support from founder Sir Mick Nades and the management of the IBS University for continuing to support our Team PNG athletes with this education opportunity. “We are very happy and thank IBSU as there are not many opportunities available in the country for our athletes to train as well as have the opportunity to study at the same time’, Sir John said. He further stated that that education was an important foundation in personal development and IBSU offers high-quality education which we are grateful for, as the education qualifications attain will greatly benefit the athletes with settling in life after active sports and national representative duties. Since the inception of the program, over 50 athletes from across 20 affiliated sporting codes that make up Team PNG contingents to international multi-sports events have greatly benefitted with furthering their education from scholarships, and securing jobs following their graduation.

The renovation and upgrade of the Kokopo police station cell block in East New Britain has been completed and ready to be occupied by detainees. The maintenance project was inspected and declared for use on Tuesday afternoon by Kokopo district court magistrate Leonard Mesmin accompanied by Governor Michael Marum, Provincial police commander chief inspector Januarus Vosivai, Kerevat Correctional Institute of Service (CIS) jail Commander Superintendent Margreth Garap and the provincial government representatives. The upgrade and maintenance plan was focused on electrical circuits, cell blocks, juvenile cell clocks, kitchen upgrade and toilet facilities. The facility was under renovation for a period of 4 weeks by Jacom construction limited and co- funded by the East New Britain provincial government under law and order sector with K138, 000 and FinCorp donating K20, 000 under its private public community outreach. After the inspection magistrate Mesmin said the renovation was done after the court ordered for the renovation of the cell block as it was in an unhealthy and poor condition. He said detainees have been transported to Bitapaka cell block and Kerevat cell block and now with this festive season operation the two cells now have been over crowded that is why this facility is now open so that it can cater for the detainees in town. Magistrate Mesmin thanked the provincial government and other partners in assisting renovating the cell block stating that this is a very important building in Kokopo without this building the court will not function. He said that the basic facilities needed in order for the operation of cells are already in place and it is good that there is juvenile cell for males and female plus other seven cell blocks and there is enough capacity inside each cells. The magistrate declared that the cell block met the requirement and standard of the court and is it ready and fit and should be used as soon as possible and ask the police and detainees to look after the facility well. Governor Marum is thankful for the effort and partnership of FinCorp, Jacom contractor and other stakeholders for the team effort we look forward for more collaborative effort in the future. He said other cell blocks in the province will be renovated also and he will visit the Kerevat CIS to see the facilities and renovate some facilities that needed to.

I wish to announce the sad passing of Dr. Alphonse Gelu in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, earlier today after battling through a short illness. The late Dr Gelu was a smart and a committed senior public servant and as a new Minister, I was looking forward to utilizing his experience and expertise to implement the Marape/Rosso Government’s initiatives on effective service delivery at the sub-national level when he suddenly passed on today. He is a sad loss to the country. My sincere condolences to his wife and the immediate families in Port Moresby and Hoskins, West New Britain Province. My department will work closely with the immediate family to repatriate the late Dr Gelu’s body from Alotau to Port Moresby. I request for privacy to be accorded to the family as they mourn this sad loss whilst funeral arrangements are made.

Air Niugini wishes to advise the travelling public that due to issues with Puma Energy accessing US Dollars , Puma has decided to suspend the supply of Jet A1 fuel within PNG including to Air Niugini and all other airlines effective from today. This restriction applies to Port Moresby and all the airports around PNG. Unfortunately there is no alternative supplier of aviation fuel in most airports, including Port Moresby. Consequently Air Niugini is forced to announce that all domestic flights from 0001 today (Thursday 5 January) have had to be cancelled due to Puma Energy’s refusal to supply Jet A1 fuel to the airlines. These cancelations will have to be ongoing until Puma’s restrictions are removed. Air Niugini regrets any inconvenience caused to our customers, however the situation is outside the airline’s control. Air Niugini said “We have done everything possible to ensure that this situation did not occur and that we could continue to support the people of Papua New Guinea especially as they return from their Christmas holidays. The airline can assure all our customers that we are completely up to date with our payments to Puma Energy and this regrettable situation is 100% outside the control of Air Niugini. We will continue to work with all concerned in order to ensure normal operations can resume as quickly as possible”. Air Niugini apologise to its customers for the inconvenience , acknowledging the matter is outside of its control but that the airline cannot not reduce its operational standards and that safety is always paramount. Our customers are advised to revalidate their travel to the next available flight, once the date these restrictions will be lifted is known.

Record flooding is causing havoc across the Kimberley, Western Australia, as residents in Fitzroy Crossing flee to higher ground while authorities warn many communities could be cut off for a week. Bureau of Meteorology community information officer Patch Clapp said the Fitzroy River reached its highest level on record at Fitzroy Crossing this morning, hitting 15.09 metres at 10am. The previous record was 13.95m in 2002. "The major flood warning is still current for the Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing and as upstream floodwaters arrive, we could see further rises through Tuesday afternoon," he said. Fitzroy Crossing resident Natalie Davey fled her house this morning and was shocked at how quickly the water rose. "We're quite close to the river and the water kept coming up," she said. "Our house is on a mound; we're about 50m away from the river bank. "It's quite terrifying when you see that amount of water just rising. "We've got creeks around us so we had water coming in from every single side." Geoff Davis owns two properties near the Fitzroy Crossing townsite. He said one had gone two metres underwater since the night before. "The New South Wales experience … has resonated a fair bit with us," he said. "You can hear the water gurgling underneath the house, and when you see your fridge start to float past you and you can almost reach out and touch it, it sparks the anxiety even though we are safe." Business owners count the cost Houses in Fitzroy Crossing are typically built for floodwaters with many on stilts, but some low-lying parts of the town are now underwater. "There is 400 millimetres underneath my feet, and the Fitzroy River is flowing quite rapidly underneath our house," Davis said. "There's that fear factor of how far will it come? Will it stop? What if it doesn't?" Davis said his son, Tristan, who owned a small landscaping business in town, had likely lost around A$25,000 (NZ$27,000) worth of equipment in the waters already. Jamal McCarthy is checking on relatives by boat on the outlying properties around Fitzroy Crossing. "We've been scrambling trying to check on people, and we've given a few people a lift into town already this morning," he said. McCarthy said he was out late into last night surveying the damage around town and was even able to drive his boat up to the town's main pub. "The water is up to the main shopping centre steps, it's hard to describe, everyone's pretty on edge - and in my lifetime, I haven't seen anything like this up here." Huge rainfall totals swamp region Western Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services has warned residents major flooding was expected to continue Tuesday and Wednesday, with some communities expected to be isolated for a week. Widespread rainfall totals of 200 to 500mm have fallen across the region since the start of the weekend, filling creeks and river systems that typically drain wet season monsoons. Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie is sitting west of Halls Creek and is expected to move slowly westward in the coming days towards Broome. It is understood emergency services will attempt to send aircraft to the town throughout today and tomorrow for supply drops and to evacuate people sheltering at the Fitzroy Lodge. Flood rescue boats are being used to ferry residents and assess damage. There have also been reports of damage to the local sewerage treatment plant and stock losses. Some residents at Darlngunaya, a small community near the low-lying Geikie Gorge, have been evacuated. The Department of Communities has set up an evacuation centre at Fitzroy Crossing Recreation Centre. The Great Northern Highway remains closed from Willare through to Halls Creek, while numerous local roads are also shut. - ABC