A united nation

THE nation heads into the 2017 general election “in the most stable political time” in its history, according to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
“In 15 years, we have only seen two Governments. This stability has led to increased respect around the world,” he said in a message to the nation.
“In the coming year, we will go to the national election. Regardless of politics, we will go to elections as one country, a very vibrant democracy and a people who care about our nation.”
He said despite the challenges, the country had experienced many changes.
“Life is better now in our country than just five years ago, and we will keep building our economy and developing our nation,” he said.
He said the nation had just been through “one of the most difficult years in our recent history” but “survived the downturn in global commodity prices, which was made much worse by drought”.
He said the country was much stronger because of this.
“When we have difficulties, the people pulled together and stand strong. We might be from different villages or provinces but together, we are all proud Papua New Guineans,” O’Neill said.
He said world attention would be on PNG’s hosting of APEC in 2018.
“More than 10,000 people will come to PNG from around the Asia-Pacific including prime ministers and presidents of APEC countries,” he said.
“APEC will bring with it the opportunity to improve important sectors in our economy such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries. This will help small businesses and create more jobs.
“This will be a proud time and it will continue to change how the world sees our nation. Papua New Guinea is a country that is changing, and we are all part of this change.”
He said Papua New Guineans were also serving in other countries.
“Today we have pilots flying the biggest jets in the world, our scientists are leading ground-breaking research and our engineers are working on massive projects in many parts of the world,” he said.
He wished everyone the best in 2017.
“Please stay safe, look after your families and your communities, and let’s work together so that we can build a stronger Papua New Guinea in 2017,” he said.