Lucy Maino Former Miss Papua New Guinea Term Expired in 2020 - Crown Not Stripped

Since August 2019 I have been extremely honored to serve as Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands. During my reign I had the opportunity to: 

• serve as a youth representative when the United Nations Deputy Secretary General visited; 
• be the first Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands to visit the women’s unit at Bomana Prison; and
• used my voice to advocate for the empowerment of women through sport.

When my term ended in late 2020, rather than hand the crown to my successor, the pandemic presented other plans. A pageant could not be held and therefore when asked to continue my service as Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands, I willingly agreed.

However, the time has come to move forward with the next chapter of my life.

While some have implied that the crown was taken from me, that is not the case. Instead, in agreement with the Pageant Committee, I completed my service as Miss PNG Pacific Islands 2019-2020. 

I thank the Pageant Committee, partners and sponsors to the pageant, as well as the many who have supported me; 

• The PNG Special Parliamentary Committee on Gender-Based Violence,
• The United Nations in Papua New Guinea, and 
• especially my sponsor, Paga Hill Estate.

I also want to thank the many people who have reached out to me in the past few weeks with messages of encouragement and support.

The opportunity to represent PNG on this unique platform gave me a great perspective on the visibility and value of the Pageant to not only each participant, but more importantly to young women across our land. 

Further, my interactions with many young women, and my own recent public adversities has given me a fresh perspective on the struggles our women face to simply be their authentic selves. 

I am someone who grows stronger with adversity but my heart goes out to those who have faced similar experiences without the kind of support I have received and who fail to see the ignorance for what it is.

Thus, as I have completed my term, I will continue to help others. This experience inspired me to use my voice for those who have no voice and to stand strong against those who desire to tear down and destroy young women. 

In the words of Governor Allan Bird, 

“What kind of society does not condemn the torture and killing of women yet gets upset when a young woman does a dance video.” 

My hope is that we as a society can focus on the right priorities. We must grow to be more accepting of one another, to be kinder to one another, and to learn to appreciate our individuality and diversity which is one of the many things that makes PNG unique.

Unfortunately, my recent adversities serves as a sad reminder of how far we have to go as a country. 

While I endured public abuse and harassment online, thousands of women around the country and the world are being subjected to daily physical and psychological abuse. 

Quite often they are silent, in constant fear of further abuse and backlash. These women, and sometimes men, are sadly not as privileged as me. I have decided to use the platform I have to be a voice for women and men like these who need all of us to take a stand on their behalf.

As I move forward with my career and education I will look back on this experience with gratitude for the opportunity I had to be Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands 2019-2020 and for the love and support that has been shown to me personally. 

I have immense gratitude for those who are working to make PNG a land of opportunity for all and am committed to continue to contribute where I can.

PNG Hunters Squad

SP PNG Hunter's new recruit Jokadi Bire says he will dedicate his debut season in the Queensland Intrust Super Cup to his people in Salt Nomane, Chimbu.

Following in the footsteps of Justin Olam

The 21-year old is following in the footsteps of his fellow Chimbu man and Melbourne Storm centre Justin Olam who also played with the Lae Tigers while a student at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology.

Bire is treading a similar path has also attained a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering last year and is set to graduate in the coming months.

He was recruited by the Stanley Tepend-coached, Lae Tigers in 2019 while in the third year of his engineering programme. Like Olam, Bire played for two seasons in the Digicel Cup before he was recruited by Hunters.

Where is Jokadi Bire from?

“I come from a remote part of Chimbu (Salt Nomane) and where I come from there is no one from that area that has ever played in the Hunters or Kumuls,” he said at a Hunters training session at the Oil Search National Football Stadium on Monday.

“If I happen to debut this season, I will dedicate the season to the people of Salt Nomane."

He said the 2020 NRL title winner and former Lae Tiger, Olam, was his inspiration and he followed Storm games closely.

SP PNG Hunters Coach Sees Talent

Even coach Matthew Church can see similarities in the way Bire has trained, his style of play and intensity given he was the Falcons assistant coach and had a hand in Olam’s development.

Bire said he felt he was following a similar path to Olam.

“Justin Olam is my role model. The timing was perfect for him (Olam), he completed his studies while playing for Tigers and then straight to Hunters and later he got the NRL contract after one season,” Bire said.

“He was disciplined and he sacrificed a lot to make it that far and I want to try my best revolve my game around that.

Story credit: National Newspaper