NBC New Ireland

13/06/2026

Sunday June 14, 2026
SACRED PRIMARY/JUNIOR HIGH CELEBRATES FEAST DAY

Sacred Heart Primary School in Kavieng, New Ireland Province commemorated its 40th, feast day, under the theme, living with the heart of Jesus.

The school also had a fundraising activity to support its operations, including ongoing need for better infrastructures.

Sacred Heart Primary and Junior High school is the biggest Catholic Agency school, in the province, established by late MSC Bishop of Germany, Karl Hesse in 1986.

The school commemorated its 40 years in existence on Friday, June 12th, on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Head teacher, Mr. Benson Noah says, the school was built to give opportunity and access to the unfortunate children in the Kavieng Urban, and has grown to a capacity of 879 students this year, starting Early Childhood Education to Junior High.

The school will be graduating its first grade 10 end of this year.

11/06/2026

10/06/2026

LOGGING BLAMED FOR WEST COAST HIGHWAY DEVASTATION: LOCAL CONTRACTOR DEMANDS ACTION

NEW IRELAND PROVINCE — Heavy rains have caused terrible damage along the West Coast Highway, leaving local villages ruined.

​Ms. Geraldine Jee, Managing Director of Mengsu Holdings Ltd—the local civil contractor tasked with maintaining the highway—has directly blamed ongoing logging operations for the disaster.
Ms Jee said she is deeply upset and angry by the destruction. She is calling for an immediate end to logging and wants the foreign logging companies to leave the area.

Ms Jee explains that because the rainforests are being cut down, there are no tree roots left to hold the riverbanks together. Without the roots, the heavy rains have caused the rivers to burst and flow in all directions.

The rushing water is destroying everything in its path. It is damaging homes, washing away food gardens, and even destroying local cemeteries.

The damage to the local infrastructure is severe. Ms Jee reported that road base materials and culverts (water pipes under the road) are being ripped apart and washed out to sea.

Local communities are facing huge losses, and there are urgent calls for the government to stop the logging before more homes and roads are destroyed.//

04/06/2026

Tuesday, 2nd June. 2026

Relief reaches families most affected in Ward 17, Sentral Niu Ailan.

Seven families whose homes were destroyed by flooding, coastal erosion and rising sea levels have received targeted relief assistance from the Alliance of Solwara Warriors Network and the West Coast Development Foundation.

The support included building materials, cooking utensils and food supplies valued at approximately K10,000, helping families begin rebuilding their lives after months of hardship.

Community leaders continue to call for proper disaster assessments, particularly for food gardens and crop losses, to ensure assistance reaches all affected families.

Danu Village, Ward 17, Sentral Niu Ailan, New Ireland Province.

03/06/2026

Wednesday, 3rd June. 2026.

RELIEF SUPPLIES ARRIVE AT WCDF CENTRE FOR WEST COAST SENTRAL DISTRIBUTION

Relief supplies for communities affected by the recent disaster in West Coast Sentral LLG have now been transported and stored at the WCDF Training Centre in Ward 17, Danu Village, in preparation for distribution.

The operation was overseen by Provincial Disaster Office Head of Operations, Terrence Tasia, who accompanied the transportation of relief supplies from Namatanai Stamper Hall to the WCDF Centre.

The shipment includes both food and non-food items destined for affected families across Wards 15 to 22. Food supplies include approximately 900 units each of rice, Ox & Palm, sugar, cooking oil, noodles, flour and tea bags. Non-food items, including portable tents, will also be distributed to families whose homes were destroyed during the recent disaster.

The relief supplies are now being sorted and prepared for distribution in the coming days as part of the ongoing disaster response effort coordinated by the Provincial Disaster Office in partnership with the West Coast Development Foundation (WCDF) and supporting stakeholders.

New Ireland Provincial Government

03/06/2026

WARD 16 RECEIVES SUPPORT AHEAD OF SHARK CALLING FESTIVAL

The Alliance of Solwara Warriors Network through the West Coast Development Foundation has delivered more than K5,000 worth of roofing iron, nails and food supplies to Kono Village in Ward 16, Sentral Niu Ailan.

The assistance will support the Wokisok Association as preparations continue for the upcoming Shark Calling Festival in July.

Chairman Chief Chris Malagan thanked WCDF Founder Jonathan Mesulam and partners for the timely support, saying it will help improve facilities ahead of the nationally recognized cultural event.

The Shark Calling Festival, revived by the late Sir Julius Chan in 2021, continues to promote cultural preservation and tourism opportunities in New Ireland Province.

02/06/2026

One-Time Ship Run to Musau Sparks Calls for Regular Service in Murat LLG

People of Musau Island in Murat LLG are grateful after MV Van Mark Tobi made a special run to their Island recently.

The ship is now owned by Kivia and Sons Shipping Company based in West New Britain, with Van Mark Shipping acting as the agent.

The trip was charted by the school and mission purposely to carry their materials to the island, and at the same time it helped locals back home by carrying their cargo, mainly copra bags and other important items to Kavieng.

It was a big help. Instead of using 23-foot banana boats to move produce bit by bit – a process that takes weeks – the ship carried a large number of copra bags and other cargo to Kavieng in one trip.
The people say they were lucky to receive this transport assistance.

01/06/2026

KAVIENG — The New Ireland Provincial Government is launching its largest-ever Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) support program, driven by a new political partnership between Governor Byron Chan and Kavieng MP and National Treasurer, Ian Ling Stuckey.

​The massive economic rollout combines direct goods assistance with banking investments to financially empower nearly 5,000 women across the province.

​Announcing the initiative just three months after officially taking office, Governor Byron Chan emphasized that the collaboration between his People’s Progress Party (PPP) and the Pangu Pati represents a united mandate for New Ireland.

​"This is a PPP-Pangu partnership and must be encouraged in order for development to happen," Governor Chan stated.

He praised Treasurer Ian Ling Stuckey for leading the way with local projects, noting that the Governor’s office is now building upon that momentum.

​Despite spending his first three months in office dealing with ongoing election disputes in court, Governor Chan stressed that his administration is determined to deliver major projects quickly.
​
​The initiative targets mothers and women across New Ireland, reaching from Kavieng Urban to the remote communities of Lambom and Laskona in Namatanai, as well as New Hanover and the Mussau Islands.

​The financial and material support structure includes:
​Direct Goods Assistance: 1,420 mothers across 124 wards will receive K900 worth of starting goods over the next two weeks.
​Mama Bank Partnership: Following the recent launch of the New Ireland Mama Bank, 3,000 women will benefit from a dedicated financial drive.
​Government Investment: The New Ireland Provincial Government has backed the Mama Bank with a K1.5 million financial guarantee.

Furthermore, Governor Chan pledged K1 million annually for the next five years to help local women open bank accounts and grow their investments.

​Fiona Cheong, the Women’s Representative on the Provincial Executive Council, clarified that the program is not a free handout. Instead, she described it as a global approach aligned with United Nations sustainable development goals to give mothers financial independence and raise community living standards.
​
​In addition to the SME and banking programs, Governor Chan announced a K5 million allocation to distribute 2,000 corrugated roofing iron sheets across the province over the next two months.

This housing initiative will run alongside and complement ongoing projects managed by MP Stuckey.

​The government's long-term goal is to expand the financial rollout so that eventually, every family in New Ireland can hold an active bank account.

Pics: Initial kick starting of Governor Chan’s SME program for wards 1, 3 & 6 in Kavieng Urban LLG signaling start of the province wide roll out.

01/06/2026

NAMATANAI, NEW IRELAND — "You reap what you sow, and nothing comes easy." That was the core message from Namatanai Local Level Government (LLG) President Elias Towarkia as he launched a major new Cocoa Rehabilitation Program this month.

​To kickstart the long-term initiative, President Towarkia distributed 5,000 cocoa seedlings to more than 50 local farmers at Bo village (Ward 9).

The project is funded by agriculture money allocated in his LLG 2026 budget and is set to continue throughout his five-year term in office.

​During the launching ceremony, Mr. Towarkia—who also serves as the provincial Chairman for Works, Transport, Mining, Oil, Gas, and Primary Industry—used the Biblical story of Adam and Eve to share a lesson about hard work.

He explained that just as God placed the first humans in the Garden of Eden to care for the land, modern cash crops and food gardens are where locals can find true stability.

​According to Towarkia, real wealth does not come from finite minerals like gold, copper, oil, or gas. Instead, lasting success is locked in the soil.

​"Every man's prosperity remains in the land and what grows on the land," Towarkia said. He urged villagers to get involved in farming, promising that anyone patient enough to work hard would see good results.

​The ultimate goal of the project is to put money directly into the pockets of everyday citizens and wipe out household poverty across the Namatanai LLG.

​"When the people are rich, the government is rich. When the people are poor, the government is poor," Towarkia advised, adding that a government shouldn't thrive while its people struggle.

​Following the launch at Bo village, the distribution program will roll out to other wards in the district that have already prepared their cocoa nurseries.//

Pic: Namatanai LLG President Elias Towarkia presents a local cocoa famer with seedlings during the project launch in Namatanai.