Walter Schnaubelt

He said it is imperative that they meet the country’s constitutional requirements before they can be considered for establishment through Ratification by Parliament.

“Thus to affect the ratification of this Bilateral Air Service Agreement binding the Republic of Palau to the Independent State of PNG in Air Services, I as the responsible Minister for Transport & Civil Aviation presented a Cabinet submission which sought and was granted approval of the following;

Signing the agreement was Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Walter Schnaubelt with his Palau counterpart, Minister for Public Infrastructure and Industries, Charles Obichang.

Air Service Negotiations over this important bilateral were held and concluded between Government officials of the Republic of Palau and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, in Manila Philippines in February this year although initial discussions were held in 2018 when officials of our two (2) countries met to commence discussions over the matter.

Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Walter Schnaubelt made this clarifications in support of the DCA.

The Minister in a statement said the Department of Transport, NAC, NSPL and CASA PNG did provide their advice in their capacity as members of the negotiating team as it relates to their respective responsibilities in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organizations (IMO)’s when delivering certain requirements under the US-PNG DCA.

The statement will focus on the specific aspects of the signed US-PNG DCA that have an effect or related to Transport and Civil Aviation agencies under my Ministerial oversight.

“At the outset, the Marape-Rosso Government has the best interest for the Independent State of Papua New Guinea at heart and will not contradict its sovereignty as speculated.

Schnaubelt in a statement said PT Citilink Indonesia initially requested to commence flights to Port Moresby on July 2, 2023.

He confirmed that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has issued Citilink with a Foreign Air Operating Certificate under CAR Rule Part 129.

Minister Schnaubelt also clarify that the Secretary for the Department of Transport (DOT) as the Licensing Authority for Foreign International Airlines in Papua New Guinea, has also issued Citilink with an International Airline License.

The school with a vivid history dating back almost 114 years to the time of early missionaries is located few kilometres outside of Namatanai town, New Ireland Province and sits beautifully on a plateau overlooking the Namatanai harbour in ward 12 of the Namatanai Local Level Government (LLG).

As a United Church agency school, it is one of the oldest schools in New Ireland Province established in 1909 by early Methodist Missionaries. In the early days it was known as ‘Lukbuk’ or reading school. Gradually the school grew and changed overtime to a primary school status in 1997.

Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Walter Schnaubelt challenged staff when visiting NMSA’s 24/7 Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre in Port Moresby, recently.

The purpose of the visit was for the Minister to understand and appreciate the Authority's role, and how he can assist NMSA to contribute effectively and efficiently to the country's economy.

As a team player, Minister Schnaubelt encouraged the management and staff to work together as Papua New Guineans, rather than individuals belonging to different provinces or regions within the country.

He stated this during the partnership renewal for Rural Airstrip Agency of PNG and GoPNG yesterday.

This was to clarify which airstrips fall under the CADIP 2 Project that are being focused on and funded.

Schnaubelt was happy to announce yesterday that under the recent Asian Development Bank arrangement with particular airports, issues have been identified to further get it to the status that it should be at.

The Assembly made the call in a three-part motion passed in the New Ireland Assembly meeting held on the 21^st of December 2022. 

The Appointed Chief Representative, Robin Kamkam, in moving the motions called on the appropriate State agencies to audit the expenditures of the Lihir Mining Royalties including investigating a secret bank account in Singapore allegedly operated by Namatanai MP Walter Schnaubelt.

The motion further read that it must also established whether Schnaubelt is a born citizen of PNG.