Young Miss Colita Hakena is flying off to New Zealand today, to take up her up a 1-year Oceania Tennis Federation (OTF)/International Tennis Federation (ITF) scholarship at the esteemed Lavie Academy in Auckland; a first for the Oceania Region & for Papua New Guinea. Her departure from her home here in Port Moresby will be the start of Colita’s participation in the OTF/ITF Touring Team Programme 2024; an intensive training programme that aims to provide crucial financial, competitive, and educational support to propel OTF players towards success at the Junior Grand Slam Championship, secure a US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scholarship, and proudly represent their country/region in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. “I am so grateful for this scholarship. Tennis is such an expensive sport so this scholarship will save money for Mum and Dad,” 13-year-old Colita said. She comes from a mixed parentage of Morobe and Buka and started out her Tennis journey, aged 8, at the Port Moresby Racquets Club (POMRC) in Boroko. When asked if she is looking forward to going to New Zealand, the young Tennis star said she knows it is going to be cold and be a tough year, but she was looking forward to it all. “I have put a lot of hard work into winning this scholarship… it means a lot to me and I know, to keep this scholarship, I am going to have to keep on working hard at it.” “I don’t just want to be number 1 in the region… I want to be number 1 in the world!” Calita declared. She said she dreams of playing the Wimbledon, one the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world and winning the grand slam one day. “I am so thankful to Mum and Dad, for all their hard work and for always waking me up early and driving me to the courts for training”. Calita explained that sometimes, their training days start as early as 6am and would run all throughout the week. “I just want to say thank you to Mum and Dad for giving me the opportunity to go to Australia and study and play tennis. Without them, I would not have been able to achieve this scholarship.” She was also thankful to her coach, Kwalum Apisah, whom she credited for instilling in her, a passion for Tennis. Speaking alongside Colita, a day before her departure to New Zealand, was Colita’s mother, Ms. Dianne Hasavi, who remarked that parents need to be super committed to their children, if they want to see them succeed, not just in the space of sports, but with anything else in life. “It has not been an easy journey. As you know, Tennis is very expensive, not just for the coaching and fitness training, but even with the equipment as well as.” “But we were able to do it because we started out with a goal in mind and with a lot of forward planning and saving, we were able to get Colita to where she is now.” Colita is the current title holder in Sydney Championships U12, Wollongong Winter U12, Victoria Grass Championships U14 and she is set to take part in the Australian Opens, U14 division; another first for the Oceania Region and PNG.

Madang Province experienced a remarkably tranquil festive season as it transitioned from Christmas into the New Year, with minimal incidents reported during New Year operations. The overall success of the security measures is a testament to the collaborative efforts of law enforcement, community leaders, and stakeholders. The New Year operations were conducted with great success, marked by only two reported incidents: Unlawful Wounding in Balasigo-Newtown: A confrontation erupted among rival youths in Balasigo, Newtown, following the consumption of illicit substances, leading to unlawful wounding. Quick intervention by the police prevented further escalation, and the suspects are known and being pursued for legal action. Incident at Gogol Bridge -South Coast Highway: A routine police patrol along the South Coast Highway encountered opportunists at Gogol Bridge attempting to block the road for criminal activities during the dark hours. An exchange of gunfire ensued, and the culprits were overpowered by the police, resulting in the containment of the situation. Despite these isolated incidents, various regions within Madang Province, including Bogia, Karkar, North Coast Road, Ramu/Madang Highway, Bundi, Raikos, and Madang town, reported very peaceful New Year celebrations. Acting Superintendent Robert Baim expressed gratitude to the Community Policing Units (CPU) in settlements, villages, and other centres for their pivotal role in ensuring a peaceful celebration. He also extended thanks to settlement leaders, village leaders, community leaders, provincial leaders, and stakeholders for their support in maintaining order and harmony. Baim acknowledged the hardworking security forces, emphasizing their dedication to ensuring the safety of the public. He expressed hope that the same positive momentum would continue throughout the year 2024. "I wish this same momentum will continue into this year 2024. Police in partnership with all levels of the community is the best approach to bring back normalcy into Madang Province.”

In preparation for the local level government (LLG) elections in July 2024 the Biala Town Community leader Mr. Sylvester Bogi is summoning the West New Britain (WNB) Electoral Commission Office to plan in advance to prevent insufficient time and rejection of eligible voters due to unprepared efforts of the common role list which occurred in 2022. Mr. Bogi described the 2022 National Gneral election to be the worst day in the history of elections in the country, also in WNB. Mr. Bogi has been in contact with the provincial electoral office in Kimbe to negotiate an understanding with the Head Office in Port Moresby which possess an updated common role list. This is to maintain communication to remain updated with the common role list for preparation of the local level government election. According to Mr. Bogi, preparations must be carried out in advance to prevent any form of delay or hiccup that could jeopardize fair voting. Mr. Bogi expressed that according to the changes in the third level government, it is still very important to the people who have the right to vote for their president in each LLG including the voting of their council members in their respective wards in WNB and other provinces as well. Furthermore, services from LLG have been limited due to lack of funds. Mr Bogi stated due to the insufficient funds there’s been poor development resulting in rundown infrastructure and services. Therefore Mr. Bogi has summoned the attention of the National Government to increase funding to an adequate amount. Mr Bogi added he believes the third LLG should be priority for the National government to consider its request to raise funds to sustain LLG level Infrastructure.

In response to the intensifying challenges posed by coastal erosion, a pressing fundraising initiative has been initiated to secure the construction of a 500-meter seawall at Alexishafen Catholic Station, located approximately 25 kilometres northwest of Madang town in Papua New Guinea. The ambitious project, spearheaded by Fr. George Ryfa, SVD, manager of the Alexishafen retreat and conference center, aims to address the imminent threats of rising sea levels and extreme weather events faced by the historical buildings in the area. The proposed initiative involves the construction of a robust and sustainable 500-meter seawall along the coastal area of Alexishafen Catholic Station. This seawall is designed to serve as a crucial defense against coastal erosion, storm surges, and tidal fluctuations, thereby safeguarding the station's infrastructure, land, and inhabitants. The seawall project at Alexishafen Catholic Station serves multiple crucial purposes. Firstly, it acts as a formidable defense against the erosion of the coastal land, preventing further degradation of this vital natural asset. Secondly, the project aims to safeguard critical infrastructure, encompassing retreat and conference centres, roads, and utilities, from potential harm caused by the rising sea levels and storm surges. Thirdly, environmental preservation is a key focus, with the seawall planned to be constructed using environmentally friendly materials and practices. This approach is intended to minimize any adverse effects on the surrounding ecosystem. Lastly, the seawall plays a pivotal role in enhancing community resilience at Alexishafen Catholic Station. By establishing a protective barrier, the project seeks to fortify the community against the impacts of climate change and associated risks, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the region. Fr. George emphasized the urgency of the project, stating, "We believe that the construction of a seawall at Alexishafen Catholic Station is crucial to protect the station, its infrastructure, and the surrounding community from the adverse effects of coastal erosion and climate change." He assured potential donors that his experienced team is committed to delivering a high-quality seawall project that aligns with donor requirements and ensures the long-term sustainability of the protective structure. Fr. George and his team welcome inquiries and further discussions about the project. Interested parties can contact Fr. George at gryfasvd@gmail.com or via mobile at 72037533. Alexishafen, situated 25 kilometres northwest of Madang town in Papua New Guinea, has a rich history dating back to the arrival of the first missionaries in 1896. Over the years, the area has played a central role in the growth of the Catholic Church in East New Guinea. However, the historical buildings, including the majestic St. Michael's cathedral, face imminent threats from erosion, storm surges, and tidal fluctuations. The proposed seawall project is critical not only for the protection of this historical heritage but also for the safety and well-being of the community residing in Alexishafen. The urgency of the project is compounded by the threats posed by corporate entities such as the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) and the establishment of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) opposite Alexishafen. The surrounding areas, including the cemetery that houses deceased missionaries and laypeople, are at risk. In light of these challenges, the urgent fundraising drive seeks to garner support from the local community, corporate entities, and the State to ensure the successful construction of the seawall, safeguarding the future of Alexishafen Catholic Station and its invaluable heritage.

Prime Minister James Marape has ordered a Task Force, to be assembled to look into the continuing rise in prices of goods and services, as well as minimum wages for low-income earners. He made this known is his New Year’s message to the people of the country. “I would like to discuss several measures your Government is taking to ease the burden on daily living, and to provide you some hope in the meantime, while we continue to seek ways to fix our country.” He said inflation is a challenged that is faced by the people on a daily basis, as prices of goods and services continue to rise while the purchasing power of our kina seems to weaken year after year. “This is especially so after coming out of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022, when the Global Inflation rate was at the highest at nearly 9 percent, unlike at around 3 percent prior to COVID-19.” “Like every other country that is connected to world trends and prices, we rise and fall with these economic tides.” “Recently, our Treasury put in some measures to cushion against the impact of Inflation, including relieving salary-earners within a certain bracket of paying Personal Income Tax, and cancelling taxes on certain household items.” Marape said this task force will be headed by the Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso and will be working with the Independent Consumer & Competition Commission (ICCC) and is expected to recommend to Government workable solutions which we hope to implement immediately. This measure and other measures in the major sectors of the country including in the productivity in Public Service, Law & Justice Sector, Health & Education that the Government will be taking to ease the burden of daily living and to provide hope in the meantime, while continuing to seek ways to fix the country. The Prime Minister also commended the people of PNG, for heeding his call to respect each other and to celebrate Christmas by observing Law & Order. “I have received reports that our people celebrated the season quietly in our towns and villages with no major incidents or reports of lawlessness.” “Thank you most sincerely. This proves my existing belief that, at heart, we are good people – accommodating, and kind with a tendency to keep an eye out for each other and becoming each other’s support system as traditionally done over centuries.” “We can co-exist with each other when we put only a little effort into recognizing our oneness as a people belonging to this beautiful, richly endowed country called Papua New Guinea.”

The Governor’s Cup Grand Final in both the men’s and women’s game went toe-to-toe in a relentless battle to secure cup win. The Cup grand final in the women’s division, the PCL Venoms defeated the Morata Bullets in 11-4 points. And the men’s division was dominated by the Bara Fox Cliff Hangers defeating the M3 Bulldogs scoring 18-8 points at sir Hubert Murray Stadium on the 31st December. The Sir Hubert Murray was flooded with supporters inside and out to witness the Governor’s Cup Grand final winner in both the men and women division. Both games were aggressive and aggressive as it was the final game to conquer the win. The teams came all out to with strength and skill on the field and also off the field with a huge number of supporters. The women’s game commenced first accumulating the intensity on the field and off the field, with heavy body contact that motivated each player and supporter to be more involved. During the women’s Cup final game, the PCL Venom broke the ice by scoring the first try with an unsuccessful conversion. The Bullets struck back with a try but an unsuccessful conversion. However, the Bullets were unable to withstand another try from the Venoms with a clean conversion. The teams stood steadfast at 10-4 points until the final minutes ended with a field goal from the Venoms defeating the Morata Bullets with 11-4 points. The Men’s Cup finals resulted in a comfortable win by the Cliff Hangers as they ravaged their opponents in a display of physically skilled dominance. The M3 Bulldogs mistakes gave away their opportunities as the Cliff Hangers ceased the opportunity to attack and still remain dominant in defence. The Cliff Hanger dominated the first and second half leaving the B3 Bulldogs short of breath and game plans to counter attacks. Men’s Bara Fox Cliff Hangers and Women’s PCL Venoms remain dominant throughout the Governor’s Cup Grand Final game.

The St Johns ambulance was pleased to announce a successful New Year’s Eve celebration across NCD, Lae, Central and Kokopo. According to St Johns, despite attending to several cases throughout the New Years eve, the St Johns Ambulance was pleased and expressed their observation of the Celebrations to be a sensible and joyous event. St Johns was pleased to announce their fulfilment in advanced preparation to cater any emergencies with additional ambulances deployed during the New Year’s Eve. Also expressing gratitude to the Police, Fire Service, hospital, and the general public for their undying support during such a busy period of the year. However, there was an unprovoked attack towards the ambulance team occurred near Laloki along the Hiritano Highway. The incident involved the shooting of metal projectiles resulting in significant damage toward the vehicle. The emergency was thankful to the NCD Police for the quick response and provided and ensured a security escort to exit the location to the hospital from Laloki. St Johns Ambulance Matt Cannon personally expressed that the footage to be cowardly actions. Despite displaying clearly, the purpose of providing emergency help through emergency sirens hailing and red and blue lights activated. The culprits in the community were throwing bottles, rocks and metal objects attacking the ambulance along the Hiritano highway. During the attack, a metallic object was able to pierce the ambulance bus creating damage comparable to a gunshot. The absent-minded behaviour endangered the lives and wellbeing of the ambulance personnel and the patient onboard and was rescued in time by the police patrols. The extreme danger of the incident portrays the St Johns ambulance commitment to serve the public no matter the dangers. Meanwhile, the Chair of the National St John Council Mr. Dame Jean Kekedo has urged the National Parliament to support legislative amendments to the St John Ambulance Act to address these dangers faced. Mr. Kekedo expressed gratitude to al for the responsible and sensible effort of celebration and looks ahead to serve the community in the upcoming New Year.

The St. John Ambulance (SJA) Service has reported an increase in violence and trauma related emergencies between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. According to SJA, the ambulance teams were able to effectively respond to over 50 emergency incidents from Sunday evening to this morning, Monday 01st January 2024. According to the report, violence and trauma-related emergencies, constituted 24 out of the 52 emergencies on New Year's night. A breakdown of these violence and trauma-related emergencies revealed that 16 incidents occurred in the National Capital District (NCD), 3 in Central province, and 4 in the Momase Region. This doubling of incidents during the night compared to the day raises alarms about the heightened risks associated with major events and public gatherings, often exacerbated by alcohol consumption. Such emergencies often require multiple ambulances, highlighting the strain on resources that could be alleviated through prevention. SJA was able to meet the demand of the festive season by having additional emergency ambulance crews rostered, which included volunteers. Meanwhile, other emergencies cases during the period varied widely covering incidents such as snakebites, respiratory problems, obstetrics/maternal complications, childbirth and more.

The Homa Border Storms have snatched the 2023 NCD Governor’s Cup Tournament Bowl Grand Final title, after defeating MPS Chiefs this afternoon at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby. Both teams came in hard during the first and second half engaging in raging contact, displaying their tremendous strength and skills. The first half saw the Homa Border Storms scoring the first try but failed to convert the try and led with 4 points to nil. The second half saw a lot of fumbles and countless penalties that resulted in two successful penalty kicks from both teams. The final minutes of the second half of the game were the toughest both teams had played, however the Boarder Storms dominated their opponents, finishing the game with a second try scored followed by another failed conversion. Nevertheless, the Homa Border Storms came out the victor after the siren went off with a final score of 10 points to 2.

One of the challenges that is faced in the rugby union code is the late development of a player, which is why a significant few in the community are working hard to train and bring raw talents into the code so they can mold them into skilled players that will not only be able to represent the country, but also open other pathways for them. The Razorbacks Club is one of the said clubs working to develop young players in the code. First founded in 2021 by the now President, Mr. Bruno Sindra, Team Manager Mr. Valentine Kwaramb and Coaches Mr. Richard Pongi and Mr. Daniel Kulit, the club was made to cater for players who did not want to sit and watch but also play rugby. “When it came to 7s time every year, only a few were able to play while the rest of us sat and watched.” In an interview with PNG HAUSBUNG, Razorbacks Coach, Richard Pongi stated that the club started with a group of boys from Karu Street in East Boroko with just the right number to form a sevens team and after the first year, they were looking to expand the team and get new players to grow the team, but that did not sit well with the players. “A lot of the boys were against the idea to get new players and grow the team, but I pushed for it and explained to Daniel and Bruno and explained why we needed boys from outside and finally reached an agreement.” In their first year of contesting in the 2021 Rookie 7s competition, they realized they had potential and saw a future in the club. The team is now at its full strength with its senior division and has started work on developing their junior players. “On our first year, we won the bowl and that was when we saw that we could be something, so we continued with the idea.” Pongi added that he was a big fan of development and has spent so much of his time with the Under 20 (U20) boys. “When we had the chance to put a team into the Blue Heeler’s Community Outreach 7s, I went for a development team instead of a full-strength team,” he said. “The reason being, we needed depth within the team and most of the under 20 boys won’t be in under 20 forever, they needed exposure in the open men games. When they do come up, we will have to be able to cater for them in a team. Thus, the idea of the development team.” Pongi highlighted that their only goal was to be a successful club in the future and be able to have players in the National teams representing the country or playing abroad. According to the team’s management, in the Community Outreach 7s tournament, the development team consisted of two senior players and a number of U20 players that they wanted to test before they could play open men’s next year, which they saw was the right place for them to do. “They played well, they just need more game time and to build their confidence in playing moving forward as the boys stepped up to the big guns and took out the bowl in the bowl finals of the Community Outreach 7s and if we’re looking at our future as a club, I think we just took the first step to our goals.” Meanwhile, a player in the development team stated through the trust and the confidence they had in each other, it brought them to where they were now and said that they were ready to go into next year as a team and as they turn another year older, go into the senior men’s category as well. “The bond we had was not as just a team but also as brothers. Without those you cannot go anywhere or even win a game because you yourself cannot win a game.” “We are ready to go into next year as a team with the bond we have developed within the team and to face the new challenges that will come our way.”

The 2023 NCD Governor’s Cup Tournament Grand Finals for all the divisions will take place tomorrow, Sunday 31st December, on the eve of the New Year to close off the rugby league matches for this year. The Cup, Plate and Bowl Grand Finals will be held at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium along with live entertainment from Mal Meninga Kuri, ACDP Dancers and Poly Crew featuring Mikes Toto from the Skwatas band, to get things rolling before the matches. The men and women division grand final games will begin with the Bowl grand final, followed by the Plate grand final and finishing the day off with the Cup grand final decider. NCD Governor's Cup Director, Mr. Billy Aki expressed gratitude to the National Rugby League Lead Game Development Officer Mr. Emmanuel Talin, for presenting two new high quality Steeden rugby balls to be used during the grand final matches. However, the arrival to the grand finals tomorrow didn't come without some controversies. There were complaints raised by some teams participating in the Governor’s Cup about certain breaches to the rules during the semi- finals and resulted in the delaying of the grand finals, which eventually was moved to tomorrow. According to the Governor's Cup Tournament Waigani Games Coordinator, Mr. John Mauve, there were arguments raised by team managements; however, were reluctant to acknowledge the bylaws and rules of the new National Rugby League, so were easily dismissed. “It’s important to acknowledge the new rules of rugby to avoid confusion or miscommunication.” “When we are all informed of the rules the games can become much smoother with disciplined players. Preparation is key, especially towards the upcoming grand final,” said Mr. Mauve. Meanwhile, the tickets for the grand finals are being sold at the Kone Tigers Oval or fans can get them from the Tournament Director Mr. Aki by contacting him on 77348915.

Performing live on Sunday, December 31st at the New Year’s Eve White and Gold Masquerade Party to be held at the party capital, the Gold Club – Lamana Hotel, is Papua New Guinea’s very own - Justin Wellington (JW). “I’m very excited, I can’t wait. I’ve been so much looking forward to coming back to PNG.” “It’s been a while so when they asked me to come over, I was very excited to do so.” “It’s going to be a very good night, some other really cool things happening too in the program. People will really enjoy it.” In an interview with PNG HAUSBUNG, JW said he had been working on releasing a couple of new songs in the coming year [2024] and said that he had been busy spending most of his time performing at live events and has not had the time to sit down and write. “I tend to get busy most of the time with performing-that’s what I do most of the time, so I guess I do sacrifice quality time to write and record a lot of the times so sometimes it’s a bit slow.” “I know it’s very important so I’m pretty sure that in 2024, I’m going to be able to release at least a few new songs which I’m already working on.” “I’ve got several songs with various sort of stages of being completed, definitely 2024 there’s going to be some new stuff.” When asked about his collaboration with artists from across the globe, Wellington highlighted his experience with Ugandan Singer Papa Cidy who sings the song “Evalina” which stormed soundwaves in PNG a few years ago and also mentioned his recent collaboration with French Artist Karl Wine on his song “Bum Bum”, making it his second collaboration with an international Artist. “I really like that song-that’s his song [Karl Wine] and I think he already had an earlier version which was quite successful as it was getting a lot of traction on Tiktok.” “I ended up meeting him online through social media platforms-he showed me the song and I loved it right away, so I created my own little section and he really liked that so-yeah it turned out really good.” Justin further added that he had always loved to sing and started singing for talent shows in high school. He joined the school choir and that helped contribute to him working out that singing was something that he really wanted to do. “I like to sing. I didn’t think I was going to be a singer but whenever I sang, I would get a few comments from people and they would say, why don’t you start singing.” “Straight out of high school, I got into singing and performing live as a job and it became a fulltime job.” “I started experimenting with song writing and recording my own songs and stuff like that.” “It started back then and it’s just like anything that you would build and work on [until you succeeded].” He then began working as an R&B and reggae pop singer and has released several singles since 2002. Reminiscing, he mentioned that his first hit “Much Love” was the song that gave him his big break in 2002. “Good memories. After that song, I just started to record more songs and mix more.” Some of his hits include "I Wanna Give You Some Lovin'", "Better Off", "One Night With You", "Fire", "In Love with U", "Runaway", "Tell Me", "Reminiscing", "Rain of Morobe" and others and his music has seen him work with many Papua New Guinean artists such as AK-47, Tattz from NakaBlood, Jokema and O-Shen, Robbie T, Mekere Crew, Steven M, Gravity, DJ Travy and many others. Meanwhile JW stated that the Lamana New Year’s Eve White and Gold Masquerade had been planned for a while and that there were no booked performances for PNG yet but has assured fans that if anything popped up-he would definitely take it as he loved performing in front of the home crowd. “At this stage, nothing is booked or confirmed but I’m pretty sure something will come up and of course if anything comes up in PNG, I’m always going to agree to it because I always love a chance to come back home.” “Nothing confirmed but I wouldn’t be surprised-sometimes these things can develop kind of last minute – this one with Lamana was planned for a while but I’m pretty confident I’ll be back in 2024.” “That’s what I love the most for sure [performing in front of the home crowd in PNG].”