Address by the Australian High Commissioner during a PNG Basketball Federation training program for women
16 January 2008; Port Moresby, PNG
It’s a great thrill for me to be here today to watch you all improving your basketball skills under this excellent training program organised by the PNG Basketball Federation.
The Australian Government has been happy to support this initiative by providing the Federation with $2,000 under the Australian Sports Outreach Program, or ASOP for short.
ASOP has been specially designed to provide assistance to grassroots sports programs, such as this one, that are inclusive and bring about real change to local communities.
One of the most pleasing aspects of this program is its focus on women and girls. Hopefully the program will help to build your confidence not just as basketball players, referees and administrators, but as potential future leaders of your communities.
Papua New Guinea is facing many challenges, and one of the best ways to address these challenges is to give women a greater voice at all levels of society.
And of course playing basketball is a great way to improve your fitness and general well-being. In Australia, we know all too well how difficult it can be to get people off their couches and into physical activity.
I hope this program will encourage many of you to make physical exercise a key part of your daily lives, if it’s not already.
As I look around me here today I’m reminded once again of just how passionate Papua New Guineans are about their sport. In many countries, people play only one or two sports. But here in Papua New Guinea you seem to be good at just about everything!
As I’m sure you know, Australians are also passionate about their sport, including basketball. You might have heard of some of our famous basketball players, such as Lauren Jackson, who has twice received the Most Valuable Player award in the WNBA, the world’s most prestigious female basketball league. She also won a gold medal with Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and a silver medal at the Athens Olympics.
You might also know about Michelle Timms, who became the first Australian to play basketball professionally overseas and led Australia to its first-ever Olympic medal in basketball, winning bronze in Atlanta in 1996.
These two women have been an enormous inspiration to thousands of girls in Australia and their example applies equally well here in Papua New Guinea. They’ve shown that if you work hard, believe in yourself and make the most of your natural abilities you can achieve extraordinary things.
I understand that basketball is extremely popular in Papua New Guinea, particularly among women, and that it has the potential to become the number one female sport in this country.
I hope that what you learn here this week will not only help improve the game of basketball in PNG but more importantly give you the confidence to walk tall and make your communities better places to live.
Thank you.
Australian High Commissioner to PNG, HE Mr Chris Moraitis