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Proposed media policy will hurt Public’s right to information

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The Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), an advocacy network of Journalists and Media Practitioners have expressed grave concerns about the new media policy proposed by the office of the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Timothy Masiu.

In a statement, PFF said this policy will put limitations on PNG journalists’ ability to report freely and impact the quality of public information.

A concern raised by current Chairperson, Robert Iroga of the Solomon Islands stated that the public right to information will be affected by restrictions and regulations of the PNG Media Industry.

All eyes of the outside media fraternity are now on PNG as recent news of the policy has sparked the interest of journalists regionally and globally.

“We join the many voices in opposing the policy as it is a red flag in democracies like PNG where the role of the independent media is important for keeping island communities informed,” said Iroga.

PFF is extending their support toward journalists in PNG and the Media Council of Papua New Guinea by calling on the PNG Government to heed the voices of PNG’s journalists’ and seek understanding of the outpouring support against the Government’s proposal.

“Media and elected leaders serve the same people, our communities of the Pacific”

PFF encouraged Prime Minister, James Marape and his cabinet to seek dialogue with members of the PNG Media fraternity and bring forth a solution that upholds the public’s best interest.

“We oppose any efforts to undermine democracies by using the law to curtail the freedom of journalists to report freely in any democracy.

“Efforts such as those aiming to regulate or license journalists must never replace our professional ethics and the freedom to report without fear or favor”

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Training for Women Leaders

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Twenty Women Leaders from various provinces recently graduated from the Pacific Institute of Pacific and Leadership and Governance, after a six-month Leadership training.

The Women Leadership Academy training targets female ward councilors and women representatives from the sub-national level, with the aim to advance their political careers.

The training program was facilitated by PILAG, in partnership with UN Women, and supported by the Australian High Commission and New Zealand High Commission, through the Women Make the Change Program.

The six-month training covers six modules covering topics on Ward Development Plan, and Pubic Speaking among others, and this is the second cohort of Women Leadership Academy.

The women leaders saying appreciative of the program, saying the training has encouraged and motivated them to be good decision-makers in their local communities.

UN Women country representative Themba Kalua said women are significantly under-represent in decision-making and leadership positions, and there is a need for women’s political participation.

“The current statics shows that PNG is 184 out of 186 countries in the world when it comes to women’s representation in Parliament, so PNG is not doing very well,” Kalua said.

He said having women in leadership will help in development progress, and everyone must support women’s political participation.

PILAG CEO Michael Barobe said PILAG is committed to working in partnership with the UN Women Program, and the Women Make the Change Program to support women political leaders and ensure women are promoted as leaders.

“We would like to see more of our women, who have taken this training step up and face the challenge,” the CEO said.

The CEO said the government has been advocating for more women in Parliament, however, there is a need for action, to bring about this change.

He is calling for more government participation in this training program, to ensure women are well represented at the National and Sub-National Levels.

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Foreign Trade

Strengthening Ties with Japan

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Prime Minister James Marape met with the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, before attending the state funeral of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

PM Marape was accompanied by International Trade and Investment Minister, Richard Maru and East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird.

“Today was just a short, one-day visit to Japan for me, but very important in consolidating relations between our two countries,”

“There are 191 world leaders here today to attend the State Funeral of the late Shinzo Abe, and for PNG to have been accorded the honour of meeting Japanese Prime Minister Kishida is very special,” the PM said.

The Prime Minister also met with executives of Japan’s major energy companies with discussions centred around the LNG project and downstream processing which the Government is pushing for PNG to be more active in.

“Prime Minister Kishida, during our discussions, highlighted Japan’s need for energy security as well as the need for trade between our two countries to grow.”

Japan through its JX Nippon Oil and Gas Company is a joint venture with Nippon PNG LNG, which has interests in the PNG LNG Project. Since the 1st shipment, PNG has supplied approximately a 7.9million tonnes of liquefied natural gas every year to the world market, and Japan is one country that PNG supplies.

Japan is also involved in other major projects like the K692million Nadzab Airport Redevelopment Project which is currently in its construction phase. The project is captured under Japan’s Economic Corporation program which aims to improve PNG’s economy and broaden internationalization.

“Prime Minister Kishida highlighted the fact that PNG is an important bilateral partner of Japan,” said Marape.

Prime Minister Marape concluded his meeting by assuring the Japanese Prime Minister that outstanding trade treaties between the two countries will resume and PNG will continue to assist Japan where necessary, especially in its energy security needs.

The Prime Minister left for the United States where he will attend the Pacific Islands Summit in Washington DC.

Prime Minister James Marape and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their meeting this morning in Tokyo. Picture by PM’s Department
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PNG Sports Media Ready To Assist Solomon Islands in 2023

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Papua New Guinea Sports Media Association (PNGSMA) is prepared to assist the Solomon Islands with its Media & Communications Plan for the 2023 Pacific Games. 

PNG SMA President Peter Sevara Jr said the onus is on PNG to ensure the “Happy Isles” obtain the best from their aspirations.

“Both countries continue to benefit from Government to Government relations over the years and it is no different this time around.”

“While Team PNG will also come to compete, the onus is on PNG to ensure their experiences of hosting big games will come in handy to assist the Solomon Islands to achieve a successful outcome,” Sevara said.

The President and PNGSMA Secretary Isaac Liri are both attending the Pacific Sports Media Dialogue in Honiara in conjunction with the 6th Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Media Summit from the 26th to the 30th of this month.

The Pacific Sports Media dialogue hosted by the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) has been assisting PNG and four other Pacific Islands to set up its Sports Journalist Association over the past five years.

“Collaboration throughout the Pacific region is what we need and I believe we have enough capacity to reach out to our brothers and sisters to offer them a hand in building their preparedness.”

“We are only as good as those around us so in true Pacific fashion let’s support each other because we understand each other more,” Sevara added.

Sevara said the current Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup hosted in Vanuatu is an example of the region coming together to build awareness of our capacity and foster mutual relationships.

The meet was graced by Koroi Hawkins, a part Solomon Islander and Fijian who was employed by Radio New Zealand International straight out of Solomon Islands.

Hawkins shared that news from our region has always been negative but said sports reporters in the pacific can change that.

He added that the opportunity to use their sport writing skills to change negative perceptions of our region lies on their shoulders because, in world news, pacific sports news travels faster and further throughout the world than any other news genre.

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MSG PM’s Cup Vital For a United Melanesia

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Sport is a vital tool for development and when it is driven strategically encompassing as many values as possible the impact it has on a region or globally can be quite profound.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup presently hosted in Vanuatu aims to enhance bilateral agreements and partnerships for the Melanesian people.

PNG Sports Foundation Executive Director Albert Veratau is adamant that Sport can act as a tool for change by uniting our people.

Veratau is in Vanuatu after facilitating PNG participation in the revived competition through collaborative efforts from various Government partners.

“Melanesian people alone make up over 50% of the population in the Pacific region. These are the people from the five countries in PNG, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia including the regions in West Papua, the Torres Strait Islanders and the Australian Aboriginals.”

“Together we will have an impact on the global stage but we need strategic and necessary decisions to unite our sub-region,” Veratau said.

Melanesian countries are already making an impact in sports like Rugby Union, Beach Volleyball, Soccer, Rugby League and Futsal with its people among the stars of high-level competitions like NRL in Australia, Super League in England, and Super Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere.

PNG alone with over 8 million population has taken the necessary steps to initiate talks for the revival of the Melanesian Cup through the MSG Sports Secretariat through former chairman John Susuve, a senior officer of the PNG Sports Foundation.

Now a FIFA-sanctioned event that will in future include a women’s edition, plans are mooted to bring other sports into the fold.

“This is the best in Melanesia and the Pacific coming together to enhance their skills and showcasing some amazing talents.”

“The more we come together to celebrate our skills there lies the more opportunities for strengthening ties and developing collaborative programs for improved outcomes.”

“Conversations on development goals must be had sooner rather than later to define our role in the Pacific and Oceania region,” said Susuve.

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PINA Summit Underway in Honiara

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The 6th Pacific Media Summit of 2022 commenced yesterday with pre-summit workshops in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

InsidePNG is amongst media persons and delegates within the Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand who have convened in the Solomon Islands for the biennial event.

With the fast evolution of technological advances in the world, the Pacific region is no exception. Archiving Pacific stories and its rich cultural heritage is in a more vulnerable state than ever before and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Summit is focused on the theme: Digital Revolution: Transforming threats into opportunities for the Pacific Media.

The weeklong series of workshops will be facilitated by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), PINA, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and its Media Development Initiative, Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, and Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC).

Pre-Summit topics which started yesterday (26th Sept) included Media Role in Investigating the Management of Public Resources and ‘Sports Media Dialogue.

Today, (27th Sept) the summit is covering Digitising Archives and Preserving Pacific stories, Reporting on Sports integrity & corruption in the Pacific and Digital Communications safety and Security. The plenary sessions are presented via the partnership of PACJM, PINA, and UNODC.

Throughout the week the group will look at topics such as ‘the media and political leadership in a digital age, shrinking spaces for media freedom, and digitising archives and preserving Pacific stories’.

The Summit also hopes to ensure participants have a better understanding of the role of the media in investigating the management of public resources; how to increase reporting on UNCAC and anti-corruption by Pacific Island journalists, and transfer knowledge of corruption awareness to other media in-country as trainers and through partnerships; and specifically, the participants will have clarity and understanding on how to access more information and resources on the management of public resources.

“While we don’t have the capacity as developing countries to fully digitise our content, monetary-wise, It is extremely important to start the process of digitising our content in whatever means and ways we can, especially Pacific Island content as it captures the rich history of our island countries,” said Kora Nou, the President of PINA.

The Summit will conclude on Friday, 30th September 2022 with a PINA retreat and General Conference.

Journalists and Media Persons from the Pacific in the opening workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Picture by Hare Haro
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