[4] In 1985, under the name Loujaya Dunar, "she launched a string of solo gospel music albums", beginning a career as a singer / songwriter.
Most notably, she wrote the song "Keep the Fire Alive" and performed it with the group Tambaran Culture at the 1991 South Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
Representing the Indigenous People's Party,[7] she stood in the constituency of Lae, the capital of Morobe Province and the second largest city in the country, against the incumbent MP: her uncle Bart Philemon, veteran politician, outgoing Minister for Public Service, previously Minister for Finance and "widely respected economic reformer".
[6] She defeated him and won the seat, as one of the only three women elected to Parliament that year (with Delilah Gore and Julie Soso), out of 111 MPs.
Prime Minister O'Neill condemned the destruction, ordered it stopped, and publicly denied Toni's claim that it had been authorised by Cabinet: "There is no truth in that.