JANUARY 15, 2023
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has thanked Australian Prime Minister Hon. Anthony Albanese for taking time off his busy schedule to visit the tomb of Sir Michael Somare at Kreer Heights in Wewak on Friday (January 13, 2023).
PM Marape also thanked local chiefs of Kreer for welcoming PM Albanese on their traditional land, the Somare family and the people of East Sepik.
Pangu Pati Leader Marape thanked Australian Labor Party (ALP) Leader Albanese when addressing the media after both leaders visited the tomb of Sir Michael and laid wreaths.
PM Albanese was welcomed by grandchildren of Sir Michael, took part in a traditional cleansing ceremony in which a coconut was split by a landowner leader and the water poured on the ground for him to walk on, laid a wreath on the tomb of Sir Michael, planted a coconut tree to mark his visit, signed the Visitors’ Book, and then talked to the media with PM Marape.
This was the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to PNG since PM Marape’s ascension to the Office of Prime Minister on May 30, 2019.
It was also special in that at the time of Independence in 1975, the ALP led by the late Gough Whitlam was in Government in Australia, while the Pangu Pati led by the late Sir Michael was in Government in PNG.
“Australia and Papua New Guinea have been neighbors since time immemorial,” PM Marape said.
“There was no greater figure in the past (in PNG), or will be into the future, than late Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare.
“He is timeless in as far as Papua New Guinea is concerned, and the fact that he is timeless, allows us to still come and pay respect to him in rest.
“In that context, I appreciate my good friend and brother, Anthony Albanese, who in your busyness could have just ignored this and passed it by.
“It was Gough Whitlam, and the late ‘Father of Our Nation’, in the 1970s, who saw what many didn’t see: The need for this country to move on and to grow side-by-side.
“I’m happy that we live under their shadows. On my side, I cannot outgrow the late Grand Chief, he is bigger than any one of us now and into the future.
“I want to sincerely appreciate that you (PM Albanese) have taken time to come all the way to Wewak and pay respect to him in rest.”
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