Papua New Guinea opposition leader and member for Chuave, Hon. James Nomane calls on PNG graduates to “build your own door” amid tough job market

A strong message has been delivered to graduates across Papua New Guinea by James Nomane, urging them not to wait for opportunities but to create their own.

In a statement released on April 29, 2026, Nomane acknowledged the challenges young people face, including high unemployment, limited job opportunities, and corruption. He encouraged graduates to stay disciplined, keep learning, and develop strong character.

Instead of depending on government systems, he advised them to “build your own door” and take responsibility for their future. He also called on young people to take part in leadership, politics, and community service to help shape a better Papua New Guinea.

BUILD YOUR DOOR

Hon. James Nomane, MP ~ Wednesday, 29 April 2026

To every graduate crossing a stage in Papua New Guinea this season — I see you. I congratulate you. And because I respect you, I will not flatter you with easy words.

You have earned your certificate, your diploma, your degree. That is real. But you are stepping into a country where unemployment is high, formal sector jobs are scarce, and systems meant to serve you have too often failed you because corruption is rife. The economy is not big enough to absorb your ambition and guarantee your prosperity. The doors have not yet opened wide enough to match your potential. I say yet — because yet is not surrender. It is a declaration that the story is unfinished, and you, as the protagonist, have just arrived.

The poet William Ernest Henley wrote from a hospital bed, after losing his leg to disease: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” Bruce Lee said: “Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” Both men forged those words not in comfort, but in pain. PNG will test you the same way. That test is not a punishment. It is the furnace in which your character is made.

So here is my hard advice: do not wait until conditions are perfect. Do not wait until government gets better. Build your door. Stay curious — the graduate who keeps asking questions will outlast the graduate who stopped learning at graduation. Pair that curiosity with character: honesty, discipline, service, and perseverance. These are not soft virtues. They are survival tools. Start with one commitment, kept daily. Guard how you spend your time and who you spend it with. Both will determine your trajectory more than any certificate you now hold.

PNG’s challenges will test you at every turn. The cost-of-living crisis, governance failures, and shrinking opportunity are real. Don’t play the victim. Every morning you choose discipline over drift, you are building the person PNG needs. Character, compounded daily, is how ordinary graduates become extraordinary citizens and shape PNG.

And I urge you to go further still: enter public life. Share ideas. Scrutinise policy. Hold leaders to account. Vote in every election and understand why your vote matters. Serve your community. Aspire to run for office. Remember: politics determined the options you have today. If you do not shape politics, someone else will — for better or for worse.

Congratulations, graduates. You did not come this far to stop here.

Now build your door. God bless you all.

END