Goroka town finds sister city in NSW

By ZACHERY PER
A sister-city relationship between the Goroka urban local level government and Hunter Valley Council in New South Wales, Australia, has been strengthened with the exchange of gifts, including a framed Newcastle Knights rugby league jersey.
Leader of a six-member Australian team Steve Brown made the presentation to Goroka caretaker mayor Reuben Nick and town project manager Harold Abori during a farewell dinner for the visiting team at the Bird of Paradise Hotel last Thursday.
Brown said the Newcastle Knights rugby league club was based in the Hunter Valley Council area and was their pride.
He urged members of Goroka urban local level government to display the jersey with the signatures of players in the boardroom.
Brown thanked them for hosting the team for two weeks during which they conducted training and identified areas of common interest.
“We feel honoured that local MP Bire Kimisopa is present among us and our stay has been amazing.
“We will never forget the experiences as it is the beginning of a new journey for many years to come,” Brown said.
Kimisopa commended the initiative to venture into the sister-city relationship.
“We have a number of issues confronting us every year with a lot of work to do to fix up Goroka and your contribution will go a long way in developing Goroka town,” he said.
He said they would work with Abori and Nick to enhance their relationship.
Nick said they received the Australians with open arms and received overwhelming support from communities in and around Goroka.
Abori said the Goroka town management had been trying hard to establish a sister relationship with an Australian city for the past few years.
He said the Hunter Valley Council came to their support to develop the concept of sister-city relationship.
This relationship would focus on priority areas such as water treatment, water supply, sewerage management, waste collection and disposal, mechanical workshops, computing and information technology.