John Rosso

The first box to be opened was from ward 1 in Ahi rural, Hengali village.

Ballot box 176 saw incumbent Lae MP, John Rosso, leading with 679 votes.

Following behind on 51 votes is Shepherd Way, Valentine Buri with 28, Pastor Fabian Peter with 20 and Matthew Minape with 18 votes.

With Regional count 1, Kemas Tomala is ahead with 231 votes.

Jennifer Baing is following behind with 124 votes, Manu Bobola with 104, Luther Wenge with 80, Ginson Saonu with 58 and Kelly Naru with 39.

The story outlined that several MPs from the Momase region “have shown interest on different occasions” to fill up the top spot that was left vacant by the Late party founder and Bulolo MP, Sam Basil.

DPM Rosso categorically disputed the accuracy of the report, which named ULP general secretary, John Avira, as one of its sources.

“Such recognition at the national level reflects the commitment and discipline imparted by the coaches, team management and stakeholders into the development of sporting talents in Lae, especially at the community level in rugby union,” said Rosso.

“I am proud that PC Ravens represented my beloved Papuan Compound suburb and Lae City as a whole, and coming out champions at various tournaments, including the 2022 Trans Highway Rosso Cup Tournament in Lae.

“The Malahang junction to Busurum section has been completed while work is now at Hunter towards Butibam village.

“It is a one lane access from Busu Secondary School down to Butibam junction as contractors are now pouring concrete on slabs from Balob Teachers College.

“Residents and road users are urged to observe and follow road signs for a smooth flow of traffic in and out of the roadwork area.

“Residents must also make it your responsibility to look after the contractor's equipment and machineries and also maintain safety for all road users.

He stressed on bringing back the days when residents would safely walk around and enjoy community events together.

The Lae MP shared these sentiments at the launch of Lae Festival 2022.

Lae MP and Chairman of LCA, John Rosso, presented K30,000 to president Lionel Kamiak and patron Jacob Maragau as MRFU looks forward to host the 2022 Trans Highway Invitational Sevens tournament later this month.

Another K20,000 will be given to support the MRFU competition.

The Trans Highway Invitational Sevens will be playing for the Rosso Cup with K20,000 as first prize, attracting teams from across PNG, including local Lae teams.

Lae MP John Rosso said the AUD$120 million (K290m) upgrade of Lae Port is one of seven ports across the country which will benefit from the AUD$580 million (K1, 401m) funding from the Australian government.

In a statement, the Lae MP and Lands Minister said the massive funding, to be executed through PNG Ports Corporation, is the biggest single investment by Australia in any sector and project in the history of the Australia Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) – Australia’s assistance programme for the region.

He said the reform initiatives will pave way for sustainable economic growth, with one of the major reform undertaken by the Department of Lands is the introduction of a National Sustainable Land Use Policy (NSLUP).

The Sustainable Land Use Policy aims to effectively promote and implement sustainable land use and management in Papua New Guinea in accordance with the policy objectives and guiding principles.

When presenting to Parliament the Ministerial statement, Minister Rosso stated that with this in mind for the past two years, he has directed the Lands Secretary to review some of the ways it did business.

He said the department has gone into a transformation and is changing its structure and business processes for land dealings to achieve these outcomes.

These were the opening remarks from the Minister responsible, John Rosso when giving report on the floor of Parliament since getting the portfolio in 2019.

“Faced with these challenges, myself and my newly appointed Secretary had a mammoth task confronting us to correct and fix a lot of these issues and reform the department. These issues cannot be fixed overnight, it takes persistence, patience and continuity.”