Address at handover ceremony for ASOP cricket equipment
7 December 2007; Port Moresby, PNG
Australian High Commissioner to PNG, HE Mr Chris Moraitis
It’s a real thrill for me to be here this morning to present these Kanga Cricket sets to the PNG Liklik Cricket Program on behalf of the Australian Government.
We are providing this equipment under what’s known as the Australian Sports Outreach Program or ASOP. ASOP has been specially designed to provide assistance to grassroots sports programs, such as Liklik Cricket, that are inclusive and bring about real change to local communities.
I know that cricket is one of the most popular sports in PNG, particularly at the village level, so it’s a great privilege for me to be able to hand over these bats and balls - I’m sure they will provide the children involved in the Liklik Cricket program with hours of enjoyment. Who knows – they might help produce PNG’s answer to Brett Lee or Ricky Ponting!
It’s particularly pleasing to see that the Liklik Cricket program is open to girls as well as boys, and that a number of women are involved in the program’s management committee. Sport is a wonderful way for girls and young women to develop the confidence they need to become leaders of their communities in the future.
Look at the example of PNG’s champion weight lifter, Dika Toua. She not only won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, she’s also become a well-known spokesperson on women’s issues in her local community. The Australian Government was happy to provide Dika with funding under the former version of the ASOP scheme.
Cricket’s a wonderful game because it’s open to everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, fast or slow – there’ll always be a place for you on a cricket field.
And you can also play it just about anywhere. When kids in villages in Port Moresby are smashing sixes, bowling bouncers and whipping off bails over the upcoming school holidays, kids in Australia will be doing exactly the same thing on beaches, farms and in their backyards in the big cities.
This shared love of cricket is just one of the many things that make Australia and Papua New Guinea such good friends. We’re happy to be able to make this contribution to the village cricket competition because it will, in its own small way, help to bring Australia and Papua New Guinea even closer together.
Thank you.