Knight aims to protect fishery in Manus

MANUS MP Ronny Knight hopes to push through legislation to guarantee the protection of marine resources for his people.
Knight, born at the Lobrum naval base in Manus where his father was a naval officer with the PNGDF, beat incumbent MP Job Pomat in the election.
He said people depended so much on their marine resources but were not empowered to manage them.
He said foreign fishing vessels and fishing companies from outside Manus continued to exploit the resources and the people got nothing in return.
He said he wanted to see the people take ownership of their resources.
He wanted to see the 200-mile exclusive fishing zone enforced so that the provinces could regulate and police their fishing zones.
Knight aimed to improve the education system in the province after seeing a drop in academic performance.
He said Manus used to produce many national leaders but that changed over time.
He wanted to restore its status as a source of manpower resources as well.
As part of that improvement, he wanted to see Manus High School upgraded to only Grades 11 and 12 and matriculation level to turn it into one of the top secondary schools in the country. He said another high school could be built on the South East at Pisik Island.
Knight wanted to see the standard of Manus hospital raised to the standard of Port Moresby hospital and hopes to improve shipping service for the islands.
“I got the idea but need to set-off my ass to do it and that is what forces me to enter politics as I see the challenges of the people,” he said.