New Ireland sees Aussies as fair dinkum friends

By CHARLES MOI
A WATER and sanitation projects funded by the Australian government will provide
about 12,000 people in West Coast Central, New Ireland, a clean and reliable water supply.
And the people personally thanked Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop for the assistance when she visited them this week.
Teacher Francesca Erit said women and children had to walk three kilometres to get water from the nearest river.
More than 12,000 people will benefit from this project.
“In my community, there are problems like 600 people
using only one water tank,” she said.
Erit, on behalf of the people, thanked Bishop and the Australian government for improving their
lives.
Bishop said her government was pleased to support the programme to ensure that the people of New Ireland, particularly women and girls, were given “opportunities”.
“The sanitation and water management programme, adult literacy, climate change initiatives are all part of an overall development assistance programme that Australia has with Papua New Guinea,” she said.