Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE

Balancing the ledger on Belden Namah

BY MOAIS GABUAR

I’M A SUPPORTER OF NEITHER Belden Namah nor Peter O’Neill and, just like millions of other well intentioned Papua New Guineans, it is my prayer that none of the current MPs are returned to Parliament.

That said, there are a few points I should make about Belden Namah.

First, with regards to Namah’s wealth. There has been much speculation about how he acquired such wealth within a short span of time.

For a start, let us be very clear here that he did not acquire it through corruption, theft or other dubious means.

He was just smart when going about gaining the support of the timber resource owners in the Bewani district of the Sandaun Province, who accorded him power of attorney to act on their behalf.

As he was paid his commission, he made wise investments and his wealth accumulated into what he has today: a self-made millionaire who simply used his God given brain. Nothing wrong with that one.

If he so desires to buy the Gold Coast Titans or buy half of Cairns with his own money, I would be last to whinge and envy him.

On the contrary, Somare and clan may be just as wealthy but their acquired wealth may not have been gained through ‘money trees’ as was the case with Namah.

Then there was the Falcon jet issue, the Sydney casino sexual harassment allegation, his storming of the Supreme Court and arrest of the chief justice.

I too have pondered these and concluded that they are questions that only O’Neill can and should answer (because Namah won’t; whilst Somare will continue to add more speculation).

After all, isn’t O’Neill the prime minister as opposed to Namah who is only the deputy?

Isn’t it the duty of the PM to ensure that a minimum standard of ethical conduct by his cabinet ministers is adhered to? Shouldn’t the buck stop with O’Neill as the CEO?

As it is, O’Neill lacks the courage, conviction and leadership to pull Namah into line.

Namah’s outrageous conduct to date is only demonstrative, and further confirmation, of O’Neill’s weakness and indecisiveness. So there you have it.

Elevation of Nape as acting G-G creates uncertainty

BY ALEXANDER RHEENEY
HTTP://WWW.PNGPERSPECTIVE.COM

THE ELEVATION OF Papua New Guinea’s controversial national parliament speaker Jeffrey Nape to acting governor general is set to create further uncertainty amongst Papua New Guineans as they countdown to the general election.

Governor general Sir Michael Ogio flew to London yesterday to join other heads of Commonwealth governments celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, his absence resulting in the elevation of the speaker to the office in an acting capacity.

Mr Nape played a key role in the formation of the O’Neill government in August last year and has not hesitated in giving his opinion on political issues, overlooking the need to remain impartial as chair of PNG’s 109-seat national parliament.

In the PNG parliament’s battle with the Supreme Court after it ruled last December that parliament’s 2 August 2011 election of Peter O’Neill as Prime Minister was illegal, Nape went to the rescue of the embattled government when he became acting governor general after the O’Neill majority parliament suspended Sir Michael Ogio over his refusal to swear in Mr O’Neill and his cabinet.

The speaker subsequently swore in Mr O’Neill and his cabinet on 14 December – two days after the Supreme Court reinstated veteran MP Sir Michael Somare as PM – and dismissed the latter’s cabinet which was appointed after the court ruled in his favour.

On 19 December Sir Michael Ogio wrote to parliament advising that he recognised Mr O’Neill as Prime Minister, resulting in parliament lifting its suspension and restoring him as governor general.

However the former North Bougainville MP recently declared in an interview with AAP that he will not vet the decisions of either the O’Neill or Somare governments until a new government is formed after the 2012 general election. Polling is scheduled to start on 23 June 23 will run for two weeks.

The governor general’s change in position caught the two rival camps by surprise, particularly the O’Neill government which managed to convene a special parliament sitting last Friday, reportedly without the approval of Sir Michael Ogio as head of state.

Despite questions over its convening, parliament reportedly passed legislation declaring a state of emergency (SOE) in the PNG capital Port Moresby and the Highlands provinces of Hela and Enga, and subsequently giving the O’Neill government more powers.

Details of the SOE and what it entails for Papua New Guineans living in Port Moresby and the two Highlands provinces are yet to be made public.

It is believed Sir Michael Ogio’s refusal to sign off on last Friday’s special parliament sitting and the SOE laws it passed was the hurdle the O’Neill government needed to overcome – Mr Nape’s acting role as vice regal should now see the SOE formalised.

Parliament’s declaration of an SOE came a day after Mr O’Neill’s deputy Belden Namah stormed the Supreme Court with a posse of policemen and soldiers and tried to arrest PNG’s Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia.

The head judge was later charged with sedition after a standoff with the Deputy PM and his company of policemen and soldiers while bench colleague, Justice Nicholas Kirriwom, was arrested and charged with the same offence with the ABC reporting that the matter has been adjourned to July.

Justice for PNG lies in the ballot box

TODAY’S EDITORIAL IN THE
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

THE STAND-OFF BETWEEN Papua New Guinea's parliament and its judiciary reached a dangerous flashpoint last week, which can only dismay the country's well-wishers in Australia.

The rights and wrongs of the legal and constitutional points involved are too arcane for all but a few specialists to grasp fully. What is clear is that both sides of the political contest at the bottom of it are resorting to force.

The action of the Deputy Prime Minister, Belden Namah, in storming into the Supreme Court at the head of a posse of police, to order the arrest of the chief justice, Salamo Injia, for sedition is outrageous. Namah is not the instrument of the law, nor are powers of prosecution on other laws such as sedition part of his ministerial responsibilities.

It was a snap, unilateral political arrest. The police, legal agencies and lower courts should have no bar of it but it appears they have. Five months ago Namah gave amnesty to some armed soldiers who had tried intervening in politics. Now he sees sedition in a private emails between two judges.

Similarly, some police associated with the officer appointed as police commissioner by the ousted prime minister Michael Somare made a disturbing intervention. They blocked access to the parliament on Friday to prevent Peter O'Neill, who replaced Somare in August, recalling MPs to reaffirm parliamentary support for his leadership. This is a contest between the law, as the highest court interprets it, and the parliament. The constitutional dilemma remains.

O'Neill convened parliament and retains its confidence, gaining extra emergency powers. The chief justice remains on the bench, despite government efforts to suspend him, and the court's ruling that the ousting of Somare was invalid also stands.

Fortunately, this parliament is in its last weeks, as elections are due next month - a resolution in practical terms. Debate will continue whether Salamo was right to push things on such fine points of parliamentary procedure, knowing political chaos could result, when the voters have an early chance to decide. The Supreme Court's important role against political misconduct now seems greatly weakened.

That PNG gets a fair and well-run election on schedule is supremely important. In its 37 years of independence from Australia, it has stuck to the constitutional schedule assiduously, despite many problems in holding elections in such difficult terrain.

Politics have been debased at times by bribery and intimidation but elections have delivered political change accepted by all.

O'Neill has headed off a push from within his ranks to delay the vote. He and his colleagues must now apply all possible resources to ensure an honest, transparent election.

The next parliament will present a tremendous opportunity for PNG's 7 million people. The ExxonMobil liquefied natural gas project centred on the southern highlands will start deliveries to foreign customers in 2014. In its first year, it will boost gross domestic product by 20 to 25 per cent. Already, development work has given PNG the seventh highest growth rate in the world. The revenue streams will mightily boost the government's resources.

But much of the population still lives a subsistence lifestyle, growing and catching food, barely touching the modern economy except in the odd cash sale. How to connect that LNG revenue and other resources from tax-paying activity with that subsistence village world is the job of the government.

It means steady painstaking work in extending roads and boat jetties, harnessing communication leaps such as the spread of mobile telephones, improving security on roads and in market places, and building human capacity through schooling, health services and adult education.

We can only hope the next parliament focuses more on these policies and less on squabbling over the spoils of office.

Courting trouble in Papua New Guinea

BANYAN BLOG – THE ECONOMIST

JUDGES HAVE THROWN Papua New Guinea into turmoil by pronouncing yet again that the current government, led by Peter O’Neill, is illegal—this time on the eve of scheduled elections.

On 21 May, the chief justice, Sir Salamo Injia [pictured], joined two other judges in upholding the Supreme Court’s verdict from December, which ordered the restoration of Mr O’Neill’s predecessor as prime minister, Sir Michael Somare.

Another two judges from the five-member bench again dissented, but this time they were blunt with their disapproval: Gibbs Salika, the deputy chief justice, said the court’s deliberations had been compromised by the circulation of an email from one of the majority judges which called the O’Neill administration an “illegal regime”.

Another dissenting judge said that endorsing the majority verdict would be contrary to his judicial oath of office.

After the majority’s verdict was handed down, Sir Michael travelled to government house hoping to be sworn in. He was turned away by police officers, who insisted that “no one goes in until after the elections”.

Their operations commander, Colonel Walter Enuma, said that the police had had “enough of this chequebook war”, implying that both sides were using cash handouts to curry favour around the country.

The Supreme Court has had to wrestle with conflicting principles. The removal of Sir Michael Somare last August was clearly not in accordance with constitutional procedures, which required that two doctors appointed by the Governor-General declare the prime minister unfit to resume office.

At that time, Mr Somare was hospitalised in Singapore after a serious heart surgery, and his own family had announced that he was stepping down. The speaker of parliament prematurely declared the office of prime minister vacant. In the consequent election, Mr O’Neill obtained a large majority, with 70 MPs for him to 24 against.

But then Sir Michael made a miraculous recovery, and returned to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to claim back his old job. December’s Supreme Court ruling supported his case, which resulted in the first showdown between the judiciary and the legislature.

For a country where a large share of the population is beyond the effective reach of the state and where the rule of law is anyway highly precarious, confrontation between core institutions of government is a risky business. In any case, judges are usually sensibly wary of stepping into political affairs, and thus undermining the separation of powers.

The Supreme Court’s majority verdict in December was questionable, but to insist on the same decision now seems reckless. At the time the result was a constitutional crisis. The O’Neill and Somare camps battled for supremacy, even appointing rival Governor-Generals and police chiefs.

Literary shame games in the PNG intelligentsia

BY RUSSELL SOABA

An essay on the underlying reasons for the sacking of Storyboard, and its progenitor, from The National newspaper

FOLLOWING PNG ATTITUDE’S ARTICLE of 31 March (‘The National bans two prominent writers’), this is how The National reacted in its Column 1 section. The wording was the work of both the Weekender editor and the overall editor of the paper.

OK, we admit it. Journalists (and writers) are generally egoistic people, some to the extent that they regard themselves as god’s gift to the profession. Criticise or offend and you are likely to experience first-hand a reaction akin to the saying, “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Perhaps that explains Russell Soaba’s response when we decided to end his Storyboard column in our Weekender after some vitriolic and less eloquent emails spewed forth from the writer. The professional relationship between Soaba and the Weekender editor had descended to a personal one…..

In the first instance, for some unknown reason, he retracted his allegations the next day. The peace lasted only a while though. The mysterious fever returned and the poor man went on a venomous binge again. Rather than have such an unstable and unpleasant relationship, The National decided that the column come to an end. Of course if you ask Soaba, he will have a different story to tell as he seems to be doing so now.

[The National, Tuesday 3 April 2012]

But the underlying reasons to Soaba’s sacking still remain a mystery. What does seem to be slowly emerging to the surface is that soul searching attempt at self-redemption or hypocritical cover-up that makes the whole scenario all the more comical and profane.

This by email dated 10 May 2012 in response to the ungodly flyer that ran: check out the blogs for the underlying reasons behind Storyboard’s sacking.

Russell,

What really is the matter with you?

Are you lonely, bitter, angry, sad, mentally affected, unrepentant, lost perhaps.

Why do you carry on and on and on. Like a spoilt child who wants a toy from the shop. Let it go, get over it.

Commit everything to God, pray, read your Bible, go to church, spend time re-thinking your life. Repent, recommit your life to God. It is never too late to do this while we still live and breathe.

Maybe there are things in your past which you need to put right with your children and your family, your late wife's family.

I urge you to do these now and you will find peace. God's peace that passeth all understanding. Don't look down on yourself, don't compare yourself to others and above all don't think that nobody loves you. God loves you and He is a forgiving God, He is merciful and full of grace and He loves you more than you will ever know. Seek God, He is the only one that will grant you the peace of mind that you so desperately need.

I tell you this because I have found that for myself in a number of situations in my life.  Mum and I have been praying for you and for your salvation. I felt I had to share to her about this situation because this is a spiritual battle and I need Mum to stand with me in prayer.

God works in mysterious ways. He allows things to happen to save and protect His children from evil. I have found peace. I rest in the knowledge that God is in control of everything and I stand on the scripture, "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."  Exodus 14:14

Take good care of yourself. Have a pleasant evening and a wonderful weekend.

God bless you,

Margaret

There are times when people who are spared the Christian principles of forgiveness simply take advantage of their moment of relief and choose rather to exercise their powers in the opposite direction.

But then who is Russell Soaba anyway that even a large organisation such as The National newspaper would take the trouble of paying so much attention to?

There will be more on this coming soon under the title, The underlying reasons to Storyboard’s sacking. 

Australia not a good friend: Namorong in 'The Age'

I'M ON MY FIRST VISIT to Australia right now - and what an introduction to your country. A two-week run of four major cities where I'm meeting politicians, journalists and ordinary Australians.

I'm trying to help foster a relationship between Papua New Guineans and Australians beyond business, politics, diplomacy and academia.

After all, PNG is a lot more than the Kokoda Track and birds of paradise. We're a nation of 7 million people who aspire to be better than we are.

The relationship between my country and Australia is complex. You were once our coloniser. You created institutions: Western democracy on our behalf - a Westminster-style parliament, a free press, a fairly robust judicial system, university education - and modern commerce and a working infrastructure. All on our behalf. And yours too, let's be honest.

Campaigning is under way in PNG for the general election.

When Australia thought the election might be delayed, it spoke patronisingly to us and got a telling off for its trouble.

When the Papua New Guinean people thought it might be delayed, we marched in the streets and got an election.

The message is clear - as a people, Papua New Guineans might just be a bit better and more effective than Australians think we are.

There are some other issues between Australia and PNG that need to be addressed

When you get to PNG and land at Jackson airport in Port Moresby, you can buy a visa at our front door and we let you in. When we want to come to Australia, we are regarded as potential absconders and the visa process is a torture. I know people who couldn't even visit Australia for weddings and funerals of relatives.

Papua New Guineans do not present a major overstayer issue for Australia. We really do love the country we come from, despite its faults and privations. And we don't like being treated like potential criminals when we want to visit your place.

PNG is geographically closer than New Zealand and all other neighbours of Australia. Yet Australians don't see boatloads of Papua New Guineans heading down south. We have a strong attachment to our ancestral lands and as such we prefer living on our land. Yet the treatment we get for wanting to temporarily visit Australia is perhaps based on a lot of Australian prejudice.

This sort of treatment of Papua New Guineans also extends to the arena of business.

In my home of Western Province, BHP Billiton is responsible for the destruction of the Fly River by Ok Tedi mine, an environmental disaster of world-scale proportions.

Australian gold miner Newcrest dumps mine wastes into the sea around the island of Lihir in the north-east of Papua New Guinea. Newcrest also has a 50 per cent stake in Morobe Mining's Hidden Valley project that has been blamed for fish deaths in the Markham River.

Papua New Guineans are becoming increasingly weary of Australian attitudes towards us. As the Australian government pursues its trade agenda with PNG and other Pacific Island nations, we Papua New Guineans are concerned about the likelihood of further exploitation of our people by your government and businesses.

We protected and cared for young Australian men during World War II. We have also developed many friendships with Australians. But we are not happy with Australia's attitude to us.

I don't know if you've heard the expression ''boomerang aid'' - it's got a real Aussie ring to it, hasn't it? A lot of the half-billion-dollar-a-year aid you give to PNG boomerangs right back to Australia - as consultants' fees or for the purchase of goods and services.

Australia's development agency, AusAID, has invested in training and equipping PNG police. While maintaining law and order is a critical issue in PNG, recently serious and credible allegations have emerged of police being retained by resources companies and acting inappropriately against protesting landowners.

There have been some excellent Australian aid projects in Papua New Guinea but you need to know the truth - most of the aid money doesn't get to where it could do the most good: the provision of better health services; better roads; you know the list.

PNG's increasing engagement with China is in many ways a rejection of Australia due to Australia's failure to be a good friend since independence.

I do not suggest for a moment that it is not possible for our land to be used for other than traditional purposes. But this must happen with our informed consent and approval.

Australia has been good to my country - and I think my country has been good to Australia. You are, by and large, a benign neighbour. But there is such a concept as benign neglect.

We need a more understanding relationship with Australia. And that means you must adopt a more engaged and intelligent approach to Papua New Guinea and its people.

Martyn Awayang Namorong is an award-winning writer and blogger on PNG politics and a social activist. This article was published in the The Age (Melbourne) this morning

PNG parliament – the highest form of mobocracy

BY NOU VADA

IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME the Melanesian way of conflict resolution was needed, it is now.

If both factions go into a tug o' war using the security forces then we will see a possible destabilisation of security for the Electoral Process... and that won't be good for anyone.

Both sides must consider a coalition caretaker government to see the country through elections. If the election fails, we are looking at intervention from Australia and maybe America.

PNG is no longer an obscure country to the American machine...

PNG will serve American energy interests in the future and for that the yanks and Oz will pay much attention to how effectively elections can be conducted.

For the judges, the judicial activism shown thus far is a double-edged sword. While it compounds the constitutional call to develop a Melanesian jurisprudence, the danger of furthering destabilisation of the country is very real.

The courts are traditionally regarded as "the least dangerous arm" but the way in which our constitution literally cycles the exercise of power in the three arms is tricky.

The system hasn’t developed over hundreds of years as in the case of England and Oz. The processes aren’t entrenched.

I remember feeling that all it takes for a meltdown is a bunch of stubborn people in the wrong seats of power.

While Kirriwom J and Injia CJ's refusal to step down at the slightest hint of apprehension is a concern objectively, it also tells a deeper story of how fragile judicial power in the country is, and yet how great the responsibility must be for the Supreme Court as the Office of Judicial Government in PNG...

The decision given by Kirriwom J, Gavara-Nanu J and Injia CJ is by and far logical, legal and in order.

Imagine what the outcome could’ve been if Kirriwom J and Injia CJ would have stepped down because of mere allegations of bias... The court system would have been effectively compromised! That is the scary flipside to the calls that both learned men should’ve stepped down.

I mean, what if they did... and the Supreme Court ended up legitimising a government that is unconstitutional?

You might as well run the constitution through a shredder eh?

This impasse has been caused by stubborn people who think they can muscle in anything... that might is right.

This is the cause of corruption. Koim calls it a "mobocracy"... When parliament uses numbers to circumvent the Supreme Court that is the highest form of mobocracy.

O’Neill-Somare struggle is now irrelevant to PNG

BY TAVURVUR

I UNDERSTAND THE RATIONALE behind the suggestion of the possibility of military intervention by the PNGDF in assuming some type of authority until the return of the writs for the general election.

But it's the wrong solution to the issue.

The problem with any domestic military intervention is that unless it has the ubiquitous support and direction of the government, it is essentially an unauthorised military action similar to that of a military coup.

The police would be a better option here.

But in saying that, the reality is that PNG has already begun the process of elections - parliament has risen, the writs have been issued and nominations close today.

The government (whoever that is) is in caretaker mode and that should mean a very limited role in the affairs of national governance as per pre-approved financial allocations.

No major decisions should be made right now, that is, unless a state of emergency is declared as per the constitution.

The PNGDF, police, and the public service have always had a role to play in terms of the period of time between the signing of the writs and the return of writs - but this has always been under the supervision of parliament via the caretaker government.

Anything else is not acceptable. Furthermore, I am totally against any type of 'intervention' - whether military or civil - from foreign nations (e.g. Australia).

If we really look at latest political development - that is, the friction between O'Neill and Somare as to who is the legitimate PM - it is actually irrelevant and should have no bearing on elections going ahead (as they are).

I use "should have" because, as others have observed, the only interest in both O'Neill and Somare in being the caretaker government is being in control of government resources in the lead up to polling. It's as simple as that.

Apart from that one aspect which does have significant ramifications on how elections are contested, and possibly how they may be influenced and even won, having Somare and O'Neill argue over the prime ministership really is now negligible on PNG.

Catholic church attitude on condoms promotes misery

BY PETER KRANZ

READERS MIGHT FIND IT INFORMATIVE to learn that, with 1.28 percent of its adult population estimated by the UN to be HIV -positive in 2006, Papua New Guinea has one of the most serious HIV/AIDS epidemics in the Asia-Pacific subregion.

The figure is substantially higher six years down the track, with PNG leaders' history of promiscuity and polygamy substantially worsening the problem, as mentioned by Dame Carol Kidu in her closing address to Parliament this week.

As if the Catholic Church’s medieval prohibitions against any birth control (apart from abstinence) were not bad enough, it has again condemned the use of public sexual education promoting condom use as 'anti-Christian'.

The PNG Education Department's new HIV/AIDS policy calls for condoms to be supplied to fight a high rate of infection among students.

But the Secretary for Education with the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands, says the new requirement clashes with Catholic teaching on sexuality, and the church will not obey it.

The head of the Vanimo Catholic diocese, Bishop Cesare Bonivento, has said the use of condoms is like “a gun that instead of killing the enemy, very often exploded in the hands of the one who wanted to use it for personal defence.” He said in reality the condom was not protection but a killer.

Bishop Paul Marx of the Diocese of Kerema insists that an Australian National AIDS Council campaign "is sending out the wrong message that promiscuity is the normal, ordinary way of life.… By distributing condoms all over the place it will facilitate even further that promiscuity, which is the main breeding ground of HIV/AIDS."

Then there was the laughable argument promoted by a senior Catholic official of the Department of Health a few years ago that condoms have holes which actually promote the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus - which received prominent attention in the national media, and misled thousands.

Catholics of PNG - it's time to stand up for human rights and the lives of women and children, not the blind support of ancient religious dogma (written and promoted by men 1,000 years ago seeking to retain their power).

It is time to work to save living souls instead of condemning thousands to an early grave, and tens of thousands to a repeated cycle of poverty and misery through lack of family planning.

Further reading at the Radio Australia website here

Is 'The National' playing dirty with my reputation?

BY KEITH JACKSON

YESTERDAY I RECEIVED an interesting email from an outfit called the Barracuda Central Reputation System.

It was electronically generated and it said: “Sorry, your email was blocked based on its originating IP address having a poor reputation.”

The originating address was that of my personal email. My reaction was ‘who’d accuse me of that?’

And then the light bulb went on. The person I’d been trying to contact was a colleague at The National newspaper; a journalist who I will not name so as to protect his well-being in what seems like a pretty toxic organisation.

I protested to Barracuda (I mean, who wants to be known as a person of poor repute). And Barracuda immediately removed me from its blocklist for 30 days, while it ‘reevaluates’.

Here’s an extract from what I wrote to Barracuda:

It seems The National newspaper in Papua New Guinea has placed me on your list for a political, not for any ethical, reason.  I am dismayed that you should so list me without any attempt to ascertain my credentials.

I run a blog, PNG Attitude, in which some writers are occasionally critical of The National, and this probably explains the blocking.

PNG Attitude, is one of the most read blogs on Australia-PNG relations.

The blocking of my emails to colleagues and friends of mine at The National is a malicious act which I hope you will put to rights.

It appears almost certain that someone at The National invoked the ‘poor reputation’ slur; probably a person senior enough to act officially on behalf of the newspaper.

If this be the case, it was a low, sleazy and reprehensible thing to do.

Of course, The National is itself getting a bit of a name - for censorship. It recently banned Russell Soaba and Nou Vada from its pages and won’t even mention the name of Martyn Namorong.

Perhaps we should judge the reputation of The National accordingly.

If tomorrow never comes - for the record

BY NOU VADA
EDEBAMONA BLOG

MY LOWLY THOUGHTS. If I was advising Namah on how to overthrow O'Neill I'd put two options.

1. Might is right. Remove O'Neill by a no-confidence vote. It doesn’t matter what the Constitution of PNG says. We did it on 2 August 2011 and we'll do it again today.

2. Declare emergency. Remove O'Neill in the quasi habeas corpus state PNG will be in where he can be dragged out kicking and screaming and into a jail cell where most of his constitutional rights will be put in suspended animation when an emergency is declared.

Invoke section 246 of the Constitution and extend parliament's tenure (in other words, defer elections) by 12 months. Using the emergency powers, lock the city down and block off the court precincts.

Without the right to freedom from arbitrary search and entry and the protection of the law as guaranteed by our Constitution, arrest the judges, the Somare faction, any politicians opposing Namah, and finally all the bloggers and facebookers in this forum as freedom of expression and freedom of information are now subject to the emergency.

Then after a masquerade at Gavman Haus where the governor-general "legitimises" everything, and after a few glasses of champagne, watch the country descend into chaos as disillusioned youth unite to burn down government buildings and loot business houses.

Meanwhile Canberra and Washington will engage in emergency talks, and while their mouthpieces will tell regional media that both countries are "observing" what's happening... the truth is both countries are scared shitless.

The "Obama Doctrine" seeks the shift of US foreign policy from the Middle East to the Pacific in the interest of US energy needs - and one of the biggest investments t date is the PNG LNG.

Now the Igiri at the plant sites may, in the ensuing chaos, ransack them and bring American lives into danger. That is good grounds to initiate entry into the country, and like the Gulf of Tonkin in 'Nam, like Dodgeball's yellowcake uranium in Iraq, they'll come in to 'secure' the country.

Maybe a bit too Tom Clancy here, this is just what I think will happen.

Let's hope elections proceed, and we come back, eager for reform - real constitutional reform.

Authorities attack the poor who help themselves

BY KEITH JACKSON

WHAT’S A POOR FELLA TO DO? Give up and you live in abject poverty. Strive and you’re pushed aside.

Papua New Guinea’s urban economies rely heavily upon what economists term “the informal sector”.

The informal sector consists of the people who modern capitalism forgot, who became outsiders and who, to secure a job and some cash flow, found small chinks in the commercial sector which they could exploit.

They are the street vendors. They are micro-entrepreneurs.

In Sydney they wash reluctant motorists’ windscreens at traffic lights. Or sell copies of The Big Issue on street corners.

In Papua New Guinea’s cities and towns they sell cigarettes by the one, buai, lucky tickets, little trinkets to make you look good, little bits of food, even themselves….

By and large, these are not bad people. They are good people denied a reasonable opportunity and who are trying to earn a living. To support themselves and their families.

And now the Port Moresby police commander, one Assistant Commissioner Francis Tokura - who I presume lives in a half decent house, earns a half decent salary and whose kids go to a half decent school - has ordered police to remove these people from the city’s streets.

Mr Tokura claimed street vending in Port Moresby is both a safety and a crime issue. He also had a thought for the vendors – claiming they are at risk.

But he spoiled this spin by alleging their presence on the roadside provided opportunities for crimes such as carjacking.

The informal business sector constitutes the bulk of the PNG economy.

You just have to question the good sense of marginalising even further the most impoverished in the Moresby community.

People who need a bit of organisation not a heap of bureaucratic, authoritarian repression.

Lower photo: Our favourite street vendor, the award winning writer, Martyn Namorong

The job of the PNG prime minister is not for sale

BY REGINALD RENAGI

IT'S WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! It's bloody wrong even if you have the money! It's not about the money Belden!

Deputy prime minister Belden Namah [pictured] will fund from his own pocket the operations of the PNG Party he’s leading into the 2012 National General Election.

Mr Namah is reportedly donating K30 million to the Party for its election campaign.

He’s donating this money he says "...from his backyard garden in Bewani because I am serious about winning this election with PNG Party and to bring change to the political landscape in PNG".

Mr Namah is also challenging leaders of other political parties to state where their funding is coming from and says they must declare this on the floor of parliament for Papua New Guineans to see and evaluate.

“I want to challenge them: where is their garden and how will they fund their operations.”

He also spent K1 million to buy eight brand new Toyota Land Cruisers for provinces in the Momase and Highlands regions.

“I am putting my own money because I believe in what I am doing,” Mr Namah said.

“I want to see a change and I want to be next Prime Minister of PNG. PNG Party is the party for the grassroots of PNG and I came from a village setting to be where I am and I am for the people of PNG."

Personally I see this gesture by the deputy prime minister as a very bad and wrong move by an MP and one that the citizens of PNG must not believe in for very many good reasons.

I definitely do not want to see politicians use money to buy the people's favours at this stage when the country is about to go to the polls.

This is a very blatant of the local member for Vanimo-Green to use big money to buy his way back into the People's Assembly.

What Mr Namah has done is not what PNG needs now.

The job of PNG prime minister is not for sale and all citizens and civil society should be up in arms to reject politicians using pork-barrelling tricks to buy people's votes the coming national general elections.

Elections, security and economy – which way PNG?

BY FRANCIS HUALUPMOMI

FOR THE FIRST TIME in the history of Papua New Guinea electoral politics we have witnessed a controversial attempt to defer the election due to political and constitutional crises and deficiencies in electoral common rolls.

It seems that the constitutional deadlock between the legislative and judiciary may continue until the next government is sworn into office.

According to Electoral Commission it is expected that more than 4,000 candidates and more than 40 political parties will contest the election, competing for the top political posts and 109 seats.

The current coalition government seems confident it will retain the top posts given political marriage between O’Neill (PNC), Nama (PNGP), Polye (THE), Duma (URP) and other small factions.

Meanwhile the NA, led by veteran Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare flanked by his historical party, PANGU and 12 disciples, maintain strong allegiance to return to the government benches.

There is nothing new to the political party manifestos. On the one hand, the current Onama government vows to continue reform and fight corruption. On the other hand, the NA faction claims to command the economy and says it will restore the Constitution.

In my view, the political manifestos are simply strategic orientations for public opinion given the nature of the political crisis – candidates and political parties will use public opinion on Somare’s regime performance and the current political impasse to lure votes.

The emergence of new political parties such as Ila Geno’s Constitutional Democratic Party, Gary Juffa’s Movement for Change Party and veteran environmental and women’s activist Dorothy Tekwe’s Greens Party are bound to make at least some difference.

The Greens may attract a positive outcome under the banner of indigenous land and environmental rights and women rights while Juffa’s party looks promising with his new strategic policy of maintaining law and order, good governance and service delivery.

On the other hand, the Constitutional Democratic Party may compete with existing parties fighting for constitutional reform. Parkop’s Social Democratic Party is well funded and may attract concrete attention.

There are implications for party politics. The current government may have some setbacks given the intent and motive of key players’ who are putting their hands-up for PM.

The major players in the game include O’Neill, Namah, Polye, Duma, Philemon and Parkop. Given PNG’s uniquely unpredictable and contradictory political culture, we may expect this rivalry may manufacture instability.

As far as the new parties are concerned, history has shown that it is quite a difficult task to command leadership. A party leader with extensive experience inside the Haus Tambaran can navigate through uncertain waters to command the state.

Flawed political model disunites Papua New Guinea

BY REGINALD RENAGI

PAPUA NEW GUINEA is not a united country after 39 years of self-government and independence because it inherited a flawed political model.

The two-tier (national-provincial) and three-tier (national-provincial-local) government arrangements have not effectively functioned due to an ineffective delivery system of goods and services to all provinces since the mid-1970s when the decentralised system (later renamed provincial government) was introduced.

The current political model is not working and there is uneven wealth distribution. PNG needs major political and social reforms and good political leaders.

The bureaucracy needs to be totally overhauled with a new professional national workforce.

PNG must be now governed under a federal political model so the whole country and its bureaucracy work to deliver services to all provinces.

The country needs to have regional state governments to properly manage and control their own administration, budget, resources and movement of their own people to other provinces.

The state governments of these regions: Papua, Highlands, Momase, New Guinea Islands and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville will in effect manage their own regions with their own budget to develop their own regions.

This will also ensure a good level of autonomy is practiced by each region to see the country's resources properly managed and not squandered as is at the present case since independence.

A salute and a caveat redux

BY JOHN FOWKE

TWO THINGS REALLY PLEASE ME about the commentary upon Martyn Namorong’s A Salute and a Caveat… and other lines of discourse being conducted on Attitude.

One is that Phil Fitzpatrick and Paul Oates continue to contribute. The other is the emergence of an ever-increasing number of Papua New Guinean thinkers whose opinions are both germane and well-expressed, and are signed by real people.

Happily most of the fuddy-duddies from the Admin days have run out of ink.

Opinions on PNG-based blogs and letters-to-the-editor, however, are almost exclusively posted under false names and pen-names like "Mangisepik". This latter says something about PNG'ans today.

Don’t waste time posting a comment on the PNG blogs because your words will be greeted by a mostly-anonymous volley of "piss-off waitman"- type responses by nameless writers.

One hopes that courage may again flow in the veins of these "once-were-warriors" –educated men who should stand up and be counted behind the likes of Martyn Namorong and other thinkers who are both open and explicit in their opinions.

Otherwise nothing will ever change. More of the same, on and on. PNG Attitude has carved a solid niche for itself as the blackboard for those in PNG who have something meaningful and/or creative to say.

To return to the particular line of commentary which follows Martyn's latest posting, and with honourable exceptions as mentioned, what a mish-mash of aimless and inconclusive nonsense.

Globalism, multi-national exploitation and cultural colonialism is all beside the point.

The real issue is the lack of control by PNG's citizenry over their common wealth, and the services, benefits and improved living environment which it might, in different conditions, and under the control of different PNG’ans, be generating today.

Giving voice to those idealistic and capable and honest PNG’ans and providing them with the basis of a linkage is what Attitude does best.

The fact that PNG is not in fact a democracy, but a hegemony controlled by a small, highly-advantaged and self-consolidating hierarchy of the very wealthy and their flunkies (whose close links with, as opposed to close monitoring and control of, the resource exploiters and mercantile colonists are both their source of power and the hole in the nations bucket of common wealth) is the matrix from which almost all the big problems facing PNG society flow.

These colonising institutions are like electric power. Controlled as to voltage and amperage, channelled through insulated delivery systems and used in controlled and efficient mechanisms, electric power is hugely beneficial.

Development capital, technical and physical input funded by it, and the income and other benefits which flow from it are essential if living standards are to be lifted from the present sad levels.

Firm and expert assessment of value and firm and expert control of the output and agreed contributions to the state must be a part of development. Without these conditions greed and corrupt practices grow exponentially like an infected tropical sore left untreated.

'Late bus’: sloppy election planning in PNG

BY TAVURVUR
THE GARAMUT BLOG

TO BE “LATE BUS” in Papua New Guinea’s ever evolving Tok Pisin slang means to have missed the bus or boat so to speak, or to be the last person to know about something, or to leave a task to be completed at the last moment.

It’s a common phrase lobbed about in PNG’s colourful vernacular and is usually accompanied by negative connotations – or at least the undesirable perception of being the last one in the loop.

I believe it’s also an appropriate phrase to attribute to Papua New Guinea’s key electoral institutions, particularly the PNG Electoral Commission and the PNG Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission in regards to two key issues: the effective and efficient planning of PNG’s five yearly general elections; and timely political institutional and structural reform.

PNG Electoral Commission

The planning and organising of PNG’s five yearly elections will always be challenging due to the sheer mammoth logistical effort needed to provide ballot boxes and papers to PNG’s rural population secluded by mountains, rivers and oceans.

However, there seems to be an almost endemic “late bus” gene unique to and prevalent within the PNG Electoral Commission which makes this already difficult task almost impossible – and to the detriment of the state of democracy in PNG.

Indeed, it was this exact view of the unpreparedness of the PNGEC that produced the many outbursts from PNG members of parliament, cabinet ministers, and even the deputy prime minister – all of which threatened to almost disrupt the holding of the 2012 elections on time.

And despite avoiding this calamity, Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah has already announced his plans to challenge in court the validity of the electoral roll for his own Vanimo-Green electorate.

There is an enormous amount of literature available describing, outlining and providing solutions to help the PNGEC plan and conduct general elections to the best of their ability – and yet, every five years, the risk of not having elections on time rears its ugly head time and time again.

One of the biggest points of concern here, and in defense of the PNGEC, is the release of adequate and timely funding to the PNGEC from the government.

In 2009, Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen warned that the 2012 elections would be more challenging than 2007, and that the government allocated insufficient funds to cater for the elections. In addition, he also raised the point of those funds generally only being made available a few months before the elections.

After suggesting in 2009 that the PNGEC needed US$60 million to hold the 2012 elections (this figure skyrocketed in late 2011 when the same Electoral Commissioner announced that he needed more than US$109 million), Trawen went on to state:

The Electoral Commission needs sufficient funding three years in advance in order to conduct a better election.

What we are saying is, implement some activities like purchase the ballot boxes in 2010 and, electoral roll update with reduced cost in 2011.

And when it comes to 2012 we just conduct the election.

We all know what actually happened in 2012.

Constitution: A reply to Tiffany Twivey - Part 2

BY NOU VADA

“The only power to remove a Chief Justice is vested in the Head of State on advice from the National Executive Council. There is no other power to interfere with a chief justice. It is the only check and balance on the chief justice, other than the leadership code. Sections 179-182 provide for the steps for removal of a chief justice” - Tiffany Twivey

“What a load of half-baked bullshit” - Nou Vada

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN. Before we begin, let me say that judges are subject to the Leadership Code and investigations by the Ombudsman Commission by virtue of sections 26 (1)(e) and 221 (a) of the Constitution.

To save you from scrolling up and down the Constitution let me explain that Section 26 sets out who is subject to the Leadership Code and then refers you to s 221 and states that all Constitutional Officers listed under s 221 are subject to the Leadership Code as well.

At s 221, the first Officer you will find is the Judge. The Chief- Justice is the senior most Judge; so the Chief-Justice is subject to the Leadership Code and investigation by the Ombudsman Commission.

Fact: Section 179 of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea provides for the removal of the Chief-Justice.

179. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OF CHIEF JUSTICE.

(1) If the National Executive Council is satisfied that the question of the removal from office of the Chief Justice should be investigated, the Head of State, acting with, and in accordance with, the advice of the National Executive Council, may–

(a) appoint a tribunal under Section 181 (constitution, etc., of tribunals); and
(b) refer the matter, together with a statement of the reasons for its opinion, to the tribunal for investigation and report to it.

(2) If the tribunal reports that there are good grounds for removing the Chief Justice from office, the Head of State, acting with, and in accordance with, the advice of the National Executive Council, may, by notice in writing to the Chief Justice, remove him from office.

(3) The Prime Minister shall send a copy of the notice, together with a copy of the report of the tribunal, to the Speaker for presentation to the Parliament, and shall also forward copies to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

Fact: The National Executive Council can appoint a Tribunal to investigate the Chief Justice.

Fact: Upon the Tribunal’s recommendations, the Governor-General can sack the Chief-Justice.

Now that’s all very good but check this out…

Fact: Section 179 of the constitution is not a stand alone provision. It must be read with section 27 and 28 of the constitution concerning the leadership code.

A salute – and a caveat - to the activists of PNG

BY MARTYN AWAYANG NAMORONG
THE NAMORONG REPORT

ACTIVISTS, WE SALUTE YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE. You are doing a great thing by showing the government the people have a voice – that O’Neill and the whole parliament have forgotten that they are accountable to us.

But we also ask you, what are you marching for? The deferrals of the elections, perhaps, or the Judicial Conduct Act, or the other unconstitutional actions by parliament in past weeks.

These things are deplorable, and you are right to stand against the government on them. They cannot go unchallenged. But they are only symptoms of a deeper, darker problem.

There is a deeper abuse of the Constitution going on, and it is not related to any particular government or politicians. It has been happening for years, and it will happen again after this next election, whenever it takes place.

I’m talking about the abuse of the deepest principles of the Constitution, the National Goals and Directive Principles. In essence, these say that our country should be ruled by our values, and our ways.

Your country is not currently ruled by your values. They are ruled by the law of economic growth, big industry and foreign corporations. We argue this is why the system has become so corrupted, allowing government’s like O’Neill to do the things most Papua New Guineans are against.

Think of the millions of women and men throughout PNG who won’t be speaking out because they live in remote areas. The election deferrals mean little to them. They know that the result will be the same, whether elections are held now or in six months time – another government will be elected who utterly neglects them, just like the last one.

Their children will continue to die due to a lack of access to medical services, something that could be easily fixed if this or any other past or future government puts people before profits.

Until we create a political structure that truly reflects our traditional ways, we will continue to have leaders like O’Neill, like Somare. We will continue to have a Parliament that passes laws that stifle the judiciary and abuse electoral rules.

So when you march today, remember this is the beginning of a longer journey. You may well win the battle, to have the elections on time or the judiciary act repealed: and that will be a wonderful victory for PNG.

But then we have to win the war – to take back PNG for its people. Based on
values that serve us, not them.

Finally – stay peaceful. Don’t give them any grounds to say we are violent and unreasonable. The only strength we need comes from numbers, and we have them – 7 million of them.

Martyn Namorong’s Take the Truth to Australia Tour begins on 20 May

A Pacific conundrum: Freedom's last stand?

BY PAUL OATES
PNG INDUSTRY NEWS

AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION Papua New Guinea has in relative terms evolved very quickly. Many people progressed from traditional village life where a council of elders prevailed, through a period of benevolent but bureaucratic dictatorship of the kiaps, to a Westminster-style Parliament at Independence.

These changes all occurred in just one person’s lifetime. The country’s collective memory does not therefore have any great unifying force or rallying point to refer to – such as the American War of Independence.

The US presents itself these days as a champion of the “Free World” yet what does that expression actually encompass?

“Freedom” often encapsulates notions of personal liberty, non-slavery, civil liberty, independence; liberty of action, the right to do and the power of self-determination. Yet as citizens of a “free country” what “rights” have the people of PNG? Many of these rights are set out in the country’s Constitution. However, can it be said that the people of PNG are and have always been totally free to do what they like?

In traditional PNG village life, there were many influences that impacted and curtailed what a person could or could not do.

Men and women’s roles were very much fixed and often at times men lived apart from women and vice versa. Some societies were patrilineal and some matrilineal.

Ownership of land and possessions might be passed on by inheritance or disrupted by conflict and sometimes open warfare. Various taboos (Tok Pisin: Tambu) had to be learnt and adhered to in order to ensure social cohesion.

Fear of the unknown was countered by mystical beliefs in various deities and spirits. Superstition featured largely in everyone’s daily life.

Could we therefore say that a person living a traditional PNG life was really free and had the right to do what they like?

What happened after the first contact with the outside world occurred is that, inevitably, the traditional PNG customs and culture started to change. The colonial government required some practices that were contrary to its code of law and order to cease.

Warfare and cannibalism were outlawed. Instead of acquiring wealth through giving away perishable foodstuffs, a common currency was introduced and people encouraged to earn money to buy goods and services. Provided that no serious breaches of the newly introduced laws were transgressed, people were pretty much left to live how they wanted.

Did the people then believe they were free? Probably not at the time since there was always the requirement to obey the new laws and to refrain from many old practices. There were often other irritating requirements like providing road maintenance and paying a head tax to the local government council.

Then in 1975 came PNG Independence. Surely that was a time when everyone in PNG could say they were really free?

Well no, actually. In fact, some people have now learnt how to adapt the political regime and system of government to help themselves.

Most ordinary people have now become almost slaves to lack of services and the private manipulation of their nation’s resources.

Public funds became the sought-after prize for those who could adapt the system of government that had been designed and accepted by some of their forefathers at Independence. These so-called leaders have reportedly accumulated selfish, personal empires worth millions.

In order to be re-elected, these people then believe they have the right to use the resources they control to give to those who would then, under the principles of reciprocity, re-elect them again.

Supreme Court bashing is totally uncalled for

BY GANJIKI D WAYNE

PEOPLE BLAME THE SUPREME COURT for ordering that Sir Michael Somare be "restored forthwith" in order to resolve this constitutional mess. I disagree.

Apart from being concerned about the Constitution, as an officer of the court, having a high duty to the Court, I believe it's my duty to correct a misconceived negative perception towards the court, which has unfortunately been compounded by fellow officers of the court.

You see folks, the Supreme Court has a duty to the dispensation of justice and to provide clarity where there is obviously an area of uncertainty about the Constitution, and to avoid confusion.

Let me ask this: What if Court had not made such an order? Would we still have this fiasco? My answer: Yes!

You see if the SC said "no vacancy" and left it there, all parties would ask "now what?"

Then Tiffany and co would advise O’Namah while Kua and co would advise Team Somare on their  next moves. (And bush lawyers would thrash it out on the streets and on Sharp Talk).

Thus ordinary lawyers would play as a "higher court" in interpreting and applying the Constitution and the decision of the Supreme Court.

Sir Mike would say, "Well then, I'm still PM!" and would run off to Konedobu to get his cabinet sworn in. O’Namah would then say, “Then there’s a vacancy now so let’s go re-elect a PM!” and would rush to parliament to vote O’Neill back in, and hold the fort till they got what they wanted.

Aha! But isn't that exactly what happened?

Somare and O’Neill both claimed the PM’s seat. Lawyers became the invisible, unofficial, unauthorised “supremest court”, and the Constitution continued to be abused.

Obviously the argument that the SC should not have made that last order is redundant as it would not have made a difference.

You see folks. Read the judgments. Not just SCR 2011 but previous SCR matters.

The court is allowed to make declaratory orders to avoid further confusion (that may arise out of its initial interpretation of the Constitution), in order that justice is done and the nation doesn't get thrown into further chaos.

This caretaker government must heed the people

BY MARTYN AWAYANG NAMORONG
THE NAMORONG REPORT

TODAY, 27 APRIL 2012, PARLIAMENT must rise to go to the elections according to the original dates established through the Papua New Guinea constitution.

Regardless of whether the election dates were moved, Parliament must for once show some respect to the people of Papua New Guinea. Lawyers advising this rogue parliament must also refrain from complicating matters further. Common sense must prevail!

When we voted these MPs into power we consented to them being in power until today.

That was the 2007 social contract between the people and parliament and it is sacred and should not be violated.

If this parliament breaches that social contract then the people, from whom all power ultimately rests with have the power to use whatever means necessary to enforce their rights.

Today all powers of parliament rest with the 7 million people of Papua New Guinea. Today we have a caretaker government.

The people’s power now rests in their hands in anticipation of polling when they cast their votes and return their power to parliament via their elected representatives.

The social contract between the people of Papua New Guinea and the parliament expires today.

The O’Namah regime is today merely a caretaker government. Each member of parliament is merely a caretaker MP. The people of Papua New Guinea are sovereign today and have ultimate say on national affairs until such time that they chose new leaders.

As a voting Papua New Guinean, I claim my franchise and no amount of political spin or legal mumbo jumbo will disenfranchise me of the powers vested in me.

If this rogue parliament thinks it can modify the original social contract of 2007, it has to go to every single voter and get their informed consent.

There are no loopholes or fine print as far as I’m concerned. Having had our vote restored, 7 million Papua New Guineans reserve the right to dictate to the caretaker government our wishes and aspirations!

Today onwards, this government shall be referred to as a caretaker government.

It’s alimentary – an organic view of PNG today

BY PAUL OATES

UNTIL YOU EFFECTIVELY isolate the problem you can’t effectively define a solution.

There are many problems affecting the political leadership of every nation in the world. And, if you look at nations now or in previous times, you will see the same problems arising as are currently evident in Papua New Guinea.

Why? Because Papua New Guineans are no different to the other people in the world. Some 2,500 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato observed: ‘Those who are too intelligent to apply for public office end up being ruled by those who are not’.

So might the only difference might be in the circumstances that exist at the time and not the people.

If the current circumstances in PNG could be dissected, like the ancient Roman auguries who predicted the future by examining the entrails of animals, what might be revealed? What is the health of the obvious organs that can be discerned at first sight?

Firstly there’s the heart of the nation. Some claim it’s a Melanesian heart yet there are many different ethnicities that make up today’s PNG: Polynesian (Trobriands) and Micronesian (Manus) are just two examples.

People along the Papuan coast might find they have some things in common with Malay traders going back hundreds of years.

If one were to try and align the diversity of the Highlands with its myriad of cultures and languages, would there be a commonality emerging or the complete opposite?

Then there’s the nation’s liver. A vital organ, but one nonetheless notoriously famous for allegedly causing sour and caustic views on the world if it suffering from too much excess.

Similar statements about ‘venting one’s spleen’ also seem to go with together with a ‘liverish’ view of the world.

Could the fact that PNG’s liver is suffering from an excess of too many ‘good things’ be responsible for the increasingly pessimistic views being expressed?

Talking of too many good things, the nation’s alimentary system is clearly overloaded with large amounts of political candy covered handouts that are becoming difficult to swallow or, if forcibly shoved down your throat and ingested, just too hard to stomach.

Hmmm…. Perhaps that’s the reason why some are now inferring that everything coming from Parliament seems to turn to…… ummm….

So what if the problem is not exclusively Melanesian, why search for a Melanesian answer?

Perhaps that’s the first problem to isolate.

Most recent protests risk losing credibility

BY MARTYN AWAYANG NAMORONG
THE NAMORONG REPORT

THERE IS A RISK THAT ORGANISERS of current protests against the O’Namah regime will begin to lose credibility if they become too dogmatic about “defending the Constitution”.

This blogger and millions other Papua New Guineans were delighted when the Somares fell spectacularly from power in a parliamentary coup on 3 August last year.

The removal of Somare then was unconstitutional as was ruled by the Supreme Court in December last year. No one took to the streets to defend the Constitution and bring back Somare then.

Compromise and consensus are at the heart of Melanesian decision making. The people are very pragmatic and so western idealism about constitutionality does not define how they view power and legitimacy.

Traditional forms of governance are still very relevant and active in most societies. The claim that it is the Constitution that keeps us together is perhaps an overstatement.

It denies the existence over thousands of years of trade links between various indigenous Melanesian nations. It also perpetuates the western myth that we are primitives and therefore need a piece of paper to keep us together.

It overlooks the great work done by early missionaries, colonial administrations and traders in bringing indigenous nations together under the modern state.

What keeps us together as a people are a complex web of relationships. Whereas in the west the saying goes that “it’s nothing personal, it’s just business”, for Melanesians everything is personal and about relationships and friendships. The most important investment one can make in Melanesian societies is to build one’s social capital.

As such, to be blinded by “protesting to defend the Constitution” risks destroying social capital and goodwill built largely by students of the University of Papua New Guinea.

In many ways, this week’s protestors “missed the bus”. Occupy Waigani 1, the first protest to Morauta Haus, was pretty much entirely by university students. Occupy Waigani 2 was a genuine civil society protest where about 10,000 Port Moresby residents marched and occupied Sir John Guise stadium.

Occupy Waigani 1 and 2 have certainly forced the government to slow down on its rhetoric and keep election dates with-in the Constitutional timeframe.

What seems to happen now with all the other “protest” movements is mere political point scoring in the lead up to the elections.

This is why it is important that those who are genuinely concerned about the integrity of the Constitution do not become blinded by the “fight to defend the Constitution” and end up being used by political aspirants.

What should actually be happening now is that a coalition of intending candidates or political parties, civil society organisations and individuals publicly announce that during the term of the next Parliament they will collectively act to repeal all Acts created by the O’Namah regime and hold individuals and MPs accountable for breaches to the Constitution. If need be, some people may have to be tried for treason during the term of the next Parliament.

Who will be the next prime minister of Papua New Guinea capable of delivering justice to an oppressed people? After 37 years of Independence, the only consistency in the land of the unexpected has been the absence of justice.

Tiffany Twivey has it wrong on the supreme court

BY NOU VADA
A FORMER FAN OF TIFFANY TWIVEY

TIFFANY TWIVEY’S CLAIMS that Papua New Guinea’s political impasse has been caused solely by the courts is unbelievably biased and her article inn PNG Attitude is hardly a proper or a proper enough assessment of the political impasse.

It is at best a piece of propaganda from a government consultant being paid a lot of taxpayers’ money.

Twivey states: “These sorts of orders [by the court] have never, ever been made by any court in a Westminster system of democracy as they are clearly without jurisdiction and are unconstitutional.”

First of all let me just say that it is immaterial that such orders have never been given in the Westminster system. It is immaterial because Papua New Guinea is a constitutional democracy and the powers of the government’s three arms are set out in the constitution.

Twivey’s mention of the Westminster system is at best a spin-doctor tactic … to make her argument broader than it actually is. In fact her argument is narrow and misleading as you will see.

Ms Twivey opens her attack on the judiciary with the statement:

The current constitutional crisis in PNG has been created by certain members of the Supreme Court, not by O’Neill or by Somare. This has happened in three ways:

a) Unconstitutional and undemocratic Orders made by the Supreme Court

b) The refusal of Chief Justice to recognise the constitutional powers of the NEC for his removal, placing himself above the law, and

c) Refusal by certain judges to recognise the unlimited constitutional power of Parliament to legislate – particularly, the Judicial Conduct Act

We will look at Ms Twivey’s arguments on each point. We will look at her claims and see if the claims are grounded in fact and accuracy.

You can read the complete version of Part 1 at the Edebamona blog here

A Constitution that constantly betrays the people

BY MARTYN AWAYANG NAMORONG
THE NAMORONG REPORT

TODAY IS THE BEGINNING of the end of many political careers – many short-lived. Personally, I’d like to see the Minister for Sport and Member for South Fly voted out of Office. I am 99% certain he’s going out and I am part of the process of ensuring that my people in South Fly do vote him out.

I live in Port Moresby, and while city slickers may be attracted to the bright lights at 5 Mile, set up by Governor Parkop months after his squad removed the 5 Mile buai markets, the City of Port Moresby is much filthier.

Perhaps it’s because the politicians themselves have gotten themselves into a lot of dirt lately. And Governor Parkop is in bed with these politicians, some of whom know how to party with bois at Sydney casinos.

The capitalist pigs who were recently at the prime minister’s political fundraiser are burning cash each time we, the 99%, go on strike. Things aren’t going to improve for them as they continue to back authoritarian regimes and force workers to go to work in “civilian” clothes.

There is however a risk of blind submission to the defence of PNG’s Constitution. Unlike most other protestors, I am not someone who necessarily believes in the Constitution.

I lost faith in it as I was sitting in the Supreme Court when it handed down the Ramu Nickel judgement. Terry Kuning and Louis Medang sit there on the Rai Coast of Madang Province – failed by a Constitution I have recently been defending.

Why defend a Constitution that has for 36 years failed the people of PNG and continues to do so?

Recently, I have been talking about how this Constitution perpetuates the colonial legacy; how this Constitution legitimises the institutions of colonialism and in doing so perpetuates the subjugation of indigenous Melanesians.

One of my friends in Port Moresby could barely recognise the boy who came from Madang only a few weeks ago. Having given him a lecture over the phone about decolonizing the mind, he could not understand why I was supporting protests in defence of the Constitution.

My friend and I are not voting this election.

Firstly, if the elections are deferred and we do vote, we legitimise this government’s actions. By not voting we express our sovereign right as men who are born free of not handing over legitimacy to crooks. In doing so, we retain our sovereign right to protest illegitimate regimes.

The judiciary: the pivot anchoring our 800 tribes

As trade unions attempt to lock down Papua New Guinea today, JOE WASIA joins them in calling for the O’Neill government to leave the judiciary alone

THE PEOPLE OF TSAK have nothing against Peter O’Neill or Belden Namah or any other politician.

For his part prime minister Peter O’Neill has assured the people of Tsak and Wapenamanda that he had no personal enmity against Chief Justice Sir Salomo Injia regarding the Judicial Conduct Act.

The stance of the Tsak people is clear. Although Chief Justice hails from Waimin tribe of the Tsak valley, he is now a statesman who heads the court system of Papua New Guinea. An attack on the Chief Justice means an attack on the judicial system and the 7 million plus people of this country.  

Since day one, it’s been very clear to all Papua New Guineans that the legislation and amendments passed in the floor of Parliament was only to attack the Chief Justice and the other two judges who ruled against the regime of O’Neill and Namah.

The Judicial Conduct Act and all the successive amendments to Acts such as Supreme Court (Amendments) Bill were made to give parliament and the executive arm of the government oversight powers to tame judges or court officials that were perceived to be biased.

These Acts directly undermine the separation of powers between the three arms of government as enshrined in the constitution of this democratic state. The actions of the parliament are ridiculous and utter nonsense.

Elected MPs are using parliamentary privilege and sheer numbers to make laws to keep them in power and to attack our judiciary system which holds more than 800 different tribal societies to a pivot.

While implementation of the controversial Judicial Conduct Act is in Supreme Court after a stay order taken by the Morobe Provincial Government, O’Neill and his cohorts go ahead and amend the Supreme Court Act which will now give them oversight powers to render all court orders useless. 

History tells there is nothing of this kind in any democratic country in the world. These events will never be forgotten in the political history of PNG.

The future of the democratic state of PNG is in the dark: the work of power hungry people whose intention is to keep themselves in power.

If all these Bills and Acts are successfully passed and implemented, it will demean the fundamental principles of our constitution. It will be lead to an executive dictatorship where no neutral justice prevails.

Joe Wasia is the former president of the Enga Students Association at Divine Word University

Is the Supreme Court a threat to democracy?

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE CURRENT CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS in Papua New Guinea has been created by certain members of the Supreme Court, not by Peter O’Neill or by Michael Somare.

So argues lawyer and human rights advocate Tiffany Twivey-Nonggorr [pictured] in a carefully reasoned paper which we publish in PNG Attitude today [see download below].

The paper argues that the crisis has been triggered by unconstitutional and undemocratic orders made by the Supreme Court, the refusal of Chief Justice to recognise the constitutional powers of cabinet, placing himself above the law, and the refusal of certain judges to recognise the unlimited constitutional power of parliament to legislate.

“By refusing to recognise the decisions and powers of parliament,” Ms Twivey argues, “certain Judges are destroying democracy and rewriting the Constitution.”

She also claims they are “breaching the oath to uphold the Constitution that they swore to observe on their appointments as judges.”

The paper says that “certain judges have exercised powers that according to the Constitution they do not have and have never been claimed or exercised by any judge in PNG or anywhere else.

“These certain members of the Supreme Court gave orders in December 2011 and now again in April 2012 over Parliament, the type of which have never, ever been made, not only in the history of PNG, but in the history of any Westminster system of democracy, not since the theory of the divine right of kings was abandoned in 1688 and the first Bill of Rights of Parliament was enacted.”

Ms Twivey concludes: “Since Independence Papua New Guinea has every reason to be extremely proud of its hard working judiciary. The present actions have created a crisis.”

 Download Democracy being destroyed by Supreme Court

Robust force or rogue cops: failure of the RPNGC

BY WERNER COHILL

THE PERFORMANCE AND ACTIONS of our police force (the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary) in recent times have not been good.  Our fellow countrymen in blue are not seen to be enforcing and upholding the rule of law as they are constitutionally tasked to do.

The police are responsible to making sure every citizen dwells within the confines of the National Constitution.  In the same way, they are tasked to uphold the rule of law by making sure any citizen disobeying the laws of the land are prosecuted and punished.

Despite being a disciplinary force, the actions and performance of the force as well as individual cops have come under scrutiny on many occasions. These poor actions and performances of the police force are often beyond their code of conduct.

The growing public perception is that, though it is a disciplinary force, it very much lacks discipline.  It appears obvious that within our communities the people are more scared of the police than the criminals.

This essay explores the performance of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in recent times, in terms of enforcing the rule of law and the general upkeep of law and order in our communities. 

Their performance is viewed against the ‘cop setback’ issues that often make headlines in our print media and on television.  These ‘cop setbacks’ committed by our police force are criminal in nature, yet very little is done to bring justice to the victims. 

Now what are these setbacks?

One of the major setbacks is that the State has over the years paid huge sums of money as compensation as a result of the actions of the police.  Throughout the years, the State has had to settle compensation claims from people and communities for disturbances and destruction committed by the police force.  Cases of police raids, houses set on fire, properties ransacked and destroyed, and even deaths all lead to compensation.

In most cases, the operations of the police force are commended by their superiors.  However, excessive force and destruction in the process is the main underlying reason for the State having to settle compensation demands.  At other times, it is the police force’s own doing at its own will that has ended with the State taking the responsibility.

Engaging in illegal activities contrary to their duties and responsibilities is a serious setback found among our police force.  A growing practice nowadays is the unauthorised escorts or security provided by the force to certain individuals, both in the public and private sphere.

At other times it is the unauthorised traffic roadblocks or related minor traffic offences which do not warrant traffic reprimands.  Yet the commuters or the public are punished or their personnel belongings searched.  These actions performed or exercised are illegal and whatever course of action taken automatically warrants justice.

Bicamerality - reforming the PNG parliament

BY PAUL OATES

RECENT EVENTS IN THE LIFE of the PNG parliament have revealed some glaring deficiencies in the framework set up to take the nation into Independence in 1975.

In an observation by Nancy Reagan, the wife of former US President Ronald Reagan, ‘the strength of the tea bag is only revealed when it’s immersed in hot water.’

So what are the deficiencies that have been revealed? Basically, many could be collectively described as a lack of the necessary checks and balances in place to ensure parliamentary power and legislative government does not get out of control.

In fairness to the so called founding fathers and their expat ‘minders’, the recent circumstances could hardly have been envisaged when the PNG Constitution was drafted. 

Yet as PNG has had the resilience to advance from the Stone Age to the Modern Age in one giant leap, so too must the structures of government be adapted to meet the requirements of the day.

The majority of democratic nations throughout the world seem to have one thing in common. That is a House of Review as part of the structure of parliament. While legislation is debated and enacted in a Lower House, all legislation must be reviewed by an Upper House before being signed into law.

Such is the case in many Commonwealth countries that had their Parliaments modelled on the Westminster system. After many amendments, the United Kingdom’s House of Lords still has a useful function of reviewing legislation from the House of Commons.

The Australian Senate performs some very useful functions in that until a Bill from the Lower House is reviewed and passed by the Senate, it cannot be signed by the Governor General and become law.

Perhaps the time has now come for PNG to consider creating an Upper House of Review.

George Washington is supposed to have observed to Thomas Jefferson, another ‘doubting Thomas’ about the necessity of having an Upper House in the United States government. As Jefferson tipped his hot tea into his saucer to cool it, Washington is supposed to have observed, so too an Upper House (in this case the US Senate) performs a similar function with potentially inflammatory matters raised in the US Lower House or Congress.

There is however some conjecture about whether Washington actually said these words since apparently no one has ever seen this written quote until the late 19th Century when it was common place to tip your hot cup of tea or coffee into your saucer to cool it.

In fact, the expression, ‘would you like a dish of tea’? originates from this practice. One can only cringe in sympathy with generations of hostesses who had to put up with the inevitable slurping of those guests who tried to drink their tea from their saucers, a receptacle actually designed for holding sauce.

Political reform imperative to end kleptocracy

BY TAVURVUR
THE GARAMUT BLOG

THE PAST FEW MONTHS IN PNG POLITICS have provoked a number of responses to be made public by nonpartisan domestic and international observers of Papua New Guinea on the events which we have witnessed unfold thus far.

These responses have been wide and varied in terms of origin, purpose, experience, justification and even legality – but encouragingly, all these responses share the common denominator of putting an end to the current political woes encompassing Waigani.

Although suggested processes and methodology differ, sometimes even polarized, the outcome(s) of the views that domestic and international observers of PNG share is largely homogeneous. This means that people are proactively thinking about how we can improve the situation in PNG – another positive by-product of the political impasse.

One of the more authoritative publications released and based on field work completed in PNG over the past year is the Lowy Institute’s March policy brief on averting violence in the 2012 General Elections.

In that paper, Dr Scott Flower and Jim Leahy (standing for the Western Highlands Regional seat in the upcoming election) identify a number of election-related issues and propose a number of solutions to help mitigate the risk of election-violence occurring and re-occurring again in the future.

Although some of the key areas identified for immediate focus to manage the security of the election period by PNG and friends of PNG are premature and precipitated and in my view undesirable, for example – the urgent consideration of a regional security force with possible helicopter support from the US, most do hold considerable value over the long-term and should be seriously considered by the current and forthcoming PNG governments.

Another significant discussion, driven by the events of the past months in PNG and a blog post I wrote, has reared its head in the public discourse and is centered on the idea of reforming the PNG parliament.

As followers on Twitter would know, I recently voiced my dismay at the ongoing uncertainty in PNG politics and the ineffective checks and balances which are fundamental to ensuring the success of PNG’s democratic system.

Already, such dismay as expressed by myself, has caught the attention of long-time PNG observers who are now arguing, and I believe rightfully so, that the citizens of Papua New Guinea are losing faith in PNG politics.

End cargo-cult mentality ruining our neighbours

BY HELEN HUGHES
THE AUSTRALIAN

THE VILLAGERS OF Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, together with those of Fiji's military dictatorship where living standards have been dropping precipitously, make up most of the population of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. They are now among the very poorest people in the world.

Women and their babies die in childbirth in the bush. Children are wracked by diarrhoea and chest catarrhs. HIV/AIDS in PNG compares with Mali and Burkina Faso. Illnesses no longer evident in most of the world plague adults.

Cholera outbreaks in Madang and Lae threaten Australian travellers. Drug-resistant tuberculosis has crossed to Australia's Sabai and other Torres Strait islands.

The gardens worked by women still ensure sufficient food but, because agriculture has not developed, more than a million men hang out without work, bored, dispirited and seething with frustration.

Pacific village women are among the most world's most deprived. Economic stagnation has been followed by social breakdown so that rape has spread from towns. Female teachers are often not safe and girls cannot walk to school. Violence is held at bay only by the presence of Australian policemen in the Solomons.

It is endemic in the PNG highlands where it is still common to see women breastfeeding piglets because they are more valuable than children!

Only 60% of voters are enrolled in PNG. Elections mean a changing roster of "Big Men" to exploit parliamentary power. Senior public servants share in the spoils.

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands presides over a stalled economy and fraught politics.

In the Fiji economy, the pickings are more constrained, but all island elites enjoy wealthy lifestyles, travel abroad and shopping. Their real estate includes escape-hatch mansions in Australia and further afield. They have very considerable investments abroad. They educate their children in Australia and fly to Brisbane if they are sick.

Leading Vanuatu families send their children to the Sorbonne. Pacific elites dine and play golf with Australian associates who have benefited from Pacific ventures. These entrepreneurs support the bureaucracy in Canberra, which is more concerned with Pacific votes in the UN than with how villagers live.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute is following the calls of Australian business lobbyists with property in Fiji in calling for a thaw in relations with Frank Bainimarama.

Everyone should have decent living standards. Every country needs a private sector and a middle class. But Pacific elites have appropriated the bulk of aid, mineral, forestry and other incomes to become immensely wealthy at the cost of villagers.

Marles taken to task for ‘cut them some slack’ remarks

BY KEITH JACKSON

AS USUAL, PNG ATTITUDE readers were up for it when parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island affairs, Richard Marles, made some particularly silly comments at last week’s PNG conference in Geelong.

Suggesting that Papua New Guinea’s political leaders should be ‘cut some slack’ over the current political crisis, Mr Marles said that what he termed “the pivotal event” in the crisis - the prolonged illness of Sir Michael Somare - was a very difficult situation for MPs to confront.

“I think we do need to show some understanding in relation to that,” he said, “but certainly the way forward is to make sure that there are elections that are held on time.

“I think the PNG public have been making their views known in relation to that but I think the efforts of Peter O’Neill and the Cabinet are very much to be applauded because they are moving this thing in the right direction.”

“Right direction?” riposted PNG Attitude reader Ludmilla Isalonda. “Dictatorship? Ruin and anarchy? Is that what Mr Marles wishes for PNG? Better he says no more.”

Reader Matt Andrews questioned Mr Marles’ view that the O’Neill government was "very much to be applauded".

Mr Andrews wrote that “in just a few months [they have managed] to seriously damage the basic foundations of the state, have brought parliament into even deeper disrepute than it already was, have engaged in extraordinarily immoral behaviour and have managed to keep the nation in a state of pretty near constant political and constitutional crisis since they came to power.”

Moais Gabuar wrote: “The guy has to be kidding. Sitting in his comfortable office in Canberra and making such outrageous remarks is easy.”

And Sean Kramer said, tongue in cheek, “Obviously the prolonged illness of the Chief was a valid excuse for the constitution to be breached.”

“Has the Australian government taken the stance that the rule of law is irrelevant?” Mr Kramer continued, pointing out that the PNG supreme court had ruled the O’Neill government to be illegal.

“Pieces of legislation they ‘enacted’ are unconstitutional and downright undemocratic,” said Mr Kramer, “and Mr Marles is saying, give them a break; the election deferral fiasco is moving in the right direction and Mr O'Neill's cabinet should be applauded.”

“Good joke, Mr Marles,” he added. “Nearly had me going there for a while.”

Could there be a belated Easter gift for PNG?

BY JEFFREY MANE FEBI

WE ALL HAVE HEARD THE PHRASE ‘blessing in disguise’, haven’t we? Often we see the fruits of this blessing some time later. Then we reflect on the results.

The way of men is to react to situations. And sometimes, instead of rectifying a problem we contribute towards its magnification. But in the end, lessons - often life changing lessons - are learned.

In PNG, many people now think the government’s actions of late have brought us turmoil. Wonderful adjectives have been used to depict the gravity of our situation and the hopelessness generally felt across the nation.

We’re right to express our dismay and disgust at a bad government; which only recently replaced another equally bad government.

PNG is left now with no alternate government that exists for the people and by the people. This is all the more reason for fresh elections; and the sooner the better. But hang on a minute!

The O’Neill-Namah government has successfully brainwashed the rural majority as the government for the people and by the people with their free-education policy and the yet-to-be-implemented free-health policy.

The word on the lips of many is: “Peter O’Neill is the right-man and we all should vote for his party this election”. This message has gone far and wide to all corners of the country.

It would take a great deal of time and effort to convince the rural majority that the O’Neill-Namah government is not the right government for PNG.

Peter O’Neill has addressed an ongoing problem that has disadvantaged thousands of rural kids from advancing in their studies.

So what was the blessing in disguise in the government’s move to defer the election by six months? Please don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of the O’Neill-Namah government.

With the mindset the rural majority currently have on O’Neill-Namah, you can be sure these gentlemen will form the new government. So we need time.

We need time to attack the government and the way it does business. We must reach out to the people through some form of awareness programs or other means that can effectively change mindsets and perceptions.

A deferral of six months, if the government is adamant, is ample time to damage the government’s reputation. While making noise in Port Moresby is good, it is just not enough to change mindsets in the rural areas.

We have to be smart; maybe smarter than Mr O’Neill. It is time now to take the message to the masses and let them know who Messrs O’Neill and Namah really are.

So the gift for us, if the government does not recant its decision to defer the election by six months, is ‘time’.

Time to tarnish this government’s reputation and integrity. Remember PDM (People’s Democratic Movement)? It only needs time to gradually kill the party.

The circus that is the O’Namah government

TAVURVUR
THE GARAMUT

LAST WEEK PAPUA NEW GUINEA EXPERIENCED a political week from hell, and Tuesday's protest against the deferment of the 2012 general elections and the implementation of the Judicial Conduct Act 2012 was a visibly emphatic and clear message to Peter O’Neill as to how the people of PNG feel about his government’s actions.

The actions and decisions of what we call the O’Namah coalition has shown up Peter O’Neill as a man whose promises can no longer be totally believed in – rather, any commitment he makes must be taken with a grain of salt and be received tentatively, with one eye on the future and the other on the past.

This class of government within the PNG political-context cannot last long.

There are already signs emerging that there is significant internal conflict within the O’Namah coalition – the crux of the concerns swept under the rug being centered around controversial deputy prime minister and leader of key coalition partner PNG Party, Belden Namah.

As I’ve written before, Peter O’Neill’s days as prime minister are numbered.

Belden Namah, along with parliamentary Speaker Jeffery Nape, were the first members of parliament to publicly voice their support to defer the elections.

Hence Namah is viewed by many as being the key principal behind parliament’s initial decision to defer the general elections by six months.

Reviewing O’Namah’s term in government since 2 August 2011, it is quite clear that Belden Namah has remained a constant menace to his government’s stability and the biggest threat to its success.

So why has Peter O’Neill put up with his ignoramus deputy?

It is my view that the pressing requirement to be in government leading up to elections has compromised the substance of O’Neill’s government.

In other words, O’Neill is reluctant to rein-in, discipline or remove Belden Namah as deputy prime minister (despite significant transgressions that warrant some form of political discipline) because the risk of losing control of the government is one which he would rather not entertain.

It is politically expedient for Peter O’Neill to put up with Namah’s antics and hope that the worst has already happened.

Sadly, this has brought O’Neill’s integrity and reputation into question, and it has also highlighted the leadership woes plaguing the current government, or I should say the apparent lack of leadership.

O’Neill seems willing to accept mediocrity for the advantageous position of being in government for the elections.

Nothing illustrates Peter O’Neill’s lack of control within his coalition government better than parliament decision to defer elections by six months.

Peter O’Neill took part in that vote which passed the House 63-11 following a 90-minute debate. He stood and voted for the suspension, but did not address parliament.

Parliament also voted to order electoral commissioner Andrew Trawen to ask Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio for the suspension.

Two days later O’Neill had done a complete backflip stating that, instead of a six month deferral, he wanted an early election because he believd that “parliament was not fully briefed on the status of the preparations of the elections by the chief electoral commissioner”.

He also stated that the initial motion was not approved by the NEC prior to its tabling.

Then when addressing the multitude of protesters at Sir John Guise stadium on Tuesday, O’Neill stated that “parliament does not have the power to direct the electoral commissioner [and that] parliament will not interfere with the electoral commissioner”.

This contradictory habit, which has proven to be endemic within the O’Namah experiment, has severely brought into disrepute the credibility of this government to handle the affairs of the nation.

Furthermore, the symptoms of this political circus have manifested in the top echelons of PNG politics for the world to see – with Peter O’Neill’s repeated indecisiveness also bringing into question his leadership as prime minister.

It is becoming more clear that O’Neill has a weak grasp on his coalition and that he is being driven and directed, beyond his control or sphere of influence, to take part in actions which he may not agree with or even be aware of.

In addition, those once credible leaders who decided to switch sides have now been made to look like fools and at least complicit in the political circus that has engulfed PNG.

Ironically, the only thing for certain now is that the O’Namah Government will do as many backflips, juggling and disappearing acts as required, despite their displeasure of each other, to allow themselves to remain in power for the elections – not for the people of PNG, but for their own personal interests.

Sad to say, none of the present mob can do it

BY JOHN FOWKE

IT FILLS ME WITH SADNESS to say that the time has arrived in Papua New Guinea when, as the Psalm says upon contemplation of a similar state of affairs, “there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue”.

The great mistake made by ol waitmasta gavman lain when we held essentially autocratic power over the future of the land, was not to push the grassroots-based, grassroots-controlled, grassroots–needs-orientated local government system as the basis for political development and social advancement in this land-owning, classless and non-hierarchical society.

Instead, the generation of white public servants, which held the power and had the coalface experience to make a difference, simply stood back and allowed the manifestly inappropriate class-and-wealth-status-based party system to come to life in the shape of Compass and Pangu.

From here grew the exploitative, ambitious, selfish and corrupt current ruling class.

Was this the sort of nation we wanted to procure in PNG: one like that existing in the time of King John of England?

This error in particular, aided by the rushed application of the wise but “future-looking” Derham report - as pushed precipitately and stupidly by Justice Alan Mann-(and by a normally astute but temporarily deluded Territories Minister Paul Hasluck) and waved past by a mob of wishy-washies in charge at Konedobu - planted the seed of today’s impasse.

For when there is no-one you can trust (and there is no-one standing for office who the people can trust except Dame Carol Kidu, who is not standing next time), what comes next?

Look around the world and think hard. What comes next is hardship and despair, which, when it finds no rational, positively-directed conduit, leads to anarchy.

What can we Attituders do about this? Keep on giving space to those in PNG who do express rational views and help them to maintain a place in the public eye, yes.

What else? Please, I am not a ranting idiot; nor a fascist as some of you have alleged. I know what I’m talking about.

My knowledge of the deeds and actions of the leading individuals today comes from personal observation and the experience of close friends who are working with these people and know them as managers, administrators and in some cases as Ministers.

There isn’t one who has any real guts or any idealism at all.

Think hard, but don’t adopt any of the current crop of political parties or front-runners as possessing any virtue at all. This is where the situation is, right now.

Kidu, Wenge cited for contempt by rogue parliament

BY NOU VADA
THE NAMORONG REPORT

THE MOROBE GOVERNOR, LUTHER WENGE, has been cited for gross contempt of Parliament and will be prosecuted.

And Opposition leader, Dame Carol Kidu, is also being investigated for accusing officers of Parliament of fraud in relation to the Judicial Conduct Act.

In a statement to parliament yesterday, Speaker Jeffrey Nape said Mr. Wenge has brought parliament's integrity into question by filing in court parliamentary proceedings and documents without parliament's authority.

The matters relate to a Supreme Court reference filed by the Morobe Provincial Government questioning the constitutional validity of the Judicial Conduct Act.

Mr Nape said Mr Wenge breached the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, which carries a penalty of three years imprisonment, by tendering as evidence two copies of a certified Judicial Conduct Act.

He said Mr Wenge had caused people to question parliamentary procedures and scrutinise them in court without any authority to publish the documents.

He said the actions had led to Dame Carol making contemptuous statements against parliamentary officers, also breaching the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act.

Every day they feed more of Papua New Guinea to the dogs. There is no Somare faction. There is no O'Neill faction. This is now seven million Papua New Guineans against a rogue parliament.

Parliament is now a law unto itself.

We all need to work together to dismantle this dictatorship.

Intrigue: The henchmen who sacked the storyboard

BY RUSSELL SOABA

We crown them at our will
We disown them at a whim
-  Icarus

THE ANXIETY OF THE NATIONAL newspaper to eliminate Storyboard as a column in its Weekender supplement goes as far back as April 2011.

At that time, or thereabouts, a new editor was appointed by Star Printing Pty Ltd to head the national daily.

The new editor assumed that role after having lost as a candidate in the last general elections and floating about unattached for some time.

For the new incumbent, the appointment meant catching up with old buddies and workmates, among them the editor of the Weekender.

When these two met again, what was once taken for granted by their colleagues as a casual relationship among news reporters and sub-editors would now turn out to be a stronger kind of liaison cemented at an executive level.

With one taking charge of the Weekender and the other as editor overall, both editors for the first time realised their potential as partners. Put the two heads together and you have a team to reckon with.

“Mr So-and-so and I were the closest of friends,” confided the Weekender editor in Storyboard soon after. “We grew up together as cadet journalists, we grew into the media industry, we matched perfectly, we almost got married…”

Oh dear, trust Storyboard to nudge a saucy looking executive lass to the side for a betel nut and a chat!

So, with that kind of partnership in place and leaning against the façade of Rimbunan Hijau as their shield, they would be immune to criticism thrown at RH. They would be seen as part and parcel of the RH network.

But both partners had other plans in mind, as Storyboard would discover later; and not all of them necessarily in the interests of RH, as the Weekender editor once declared openly and perhaps hopefully to Storyboard.

This was at about the time when she learnt that the brilliant writer she was publishing in her Weekender pages was a law student at the University of PNG called Nou Vada, also a member of the Storyboard team of writers.

But things didn’t turn out the way the editor wanted, since writing as a craft can be a bit of a hassle at times, and she and her partner would later make a snap decision to sack Nou Vada on the spot, without any reservation whatsoever.

They even gave Nou Vada (and Storyboard too on innumerable occasions) directions via email about where the Post-Courier was located.

The bond of their partnership was so strong that she had, at one stage, warned Storyboard: “Me and my boss have a thing going on here, Russell. We don’t want you or anyone in the way.”

That “thing going on here”, aside from the convenience of stress release in a busy work environment, would turn out to be none other than keeping hawk-eye scrutiny on who wrote what and for what section of the paper.

The more popular writers and their articles, the more benefit that would mean for both parties.

There were even times when good old Malum Nalu would email Storyboard: “Hey, Russ, come down and buy me and your editor some lunch. I’m hungry!”

That would be when the monthly claims were ready for collection.

But, of course, when poor Malum became a widower, how much easier it was for the editor to fill her Weekender pages with the blogger’s articles week after week. The other contributors had to wait their turn in a long queue. The only pain in the neck in this business was the Storyboard column.

O’Namah tries horse trading with the judiciary

PNG BLOGS

FLIP-FLOPPING PRIME MINISTER Peter O'Neill has remained defiant in the face of protests saying the judicial conduct law will only be removed if chief justice Salamo Injia resigns.

Arriving with a government entourage under heavy police guard, O'Neill addressed more than 4,000 people at the Sir John Guise Stadium at midday yesterday.

The PM also wants another senior judge, Justice Kirriwom, to step aside as part of a trade off to have the judicial conduct law repealed.

Both judges have been at the centre of the controversy between government the judiciary.

O'Neill's response has drawn public anger from Papua New Guineans both on the streets and on social media networks.

"What's the next step PNG? I'd like an all out rampage across the nation. This is so bloody waste of time. Do we now fear these dictators," said one Twitter user.

Parliament must reverse its bad decisions

BY JOE WASIA

OUR LEADERS SHOULD KNOW that the international community is watching on what’s going on in Papua New Guinea.

The Creator of this sovereign nation is watching you, leaders. You are not on your own, leaders.

Prime minister O’Neill is continuously lying to the 7.056 million people of PNG regarding the controversial Act and the deferral of the June elections. So is his deputy, the military-man-turned politician, Belden Namah.

The deputy PM is continuously and blatantly telling the international community not to interfere with what’s going on here, saying that it’s PNG's business.

Some weeks ago he rebuffed the Australian foreign minister Bob Carr regarding sanctions, saying that PNG is an independent country and that its recent developments can not be interfered with.

Come on, what is he talking about? No country is an island. PNG is within a global community where we have mother countries like USA, England, Australia, New Zealand and so forth.

We have trading partners, securities, donor agencies and foreign relations. We must know that that PNG as a politically independent nation depends greatly on the international community for its revenue and development. PNG is not an isolated island.

Be careful what we say. PNG is a democratic country governed by the very pillars of our constitution. It’s utter nonsense when so called leaders strangle and de-nature the fabric that holds 800 plus tribal societies to a pivot.

Recent developments in Parliament will never fade in the memorial history of every human in PNG.

Our call on the government now is to repeal the recent controversial Judiciary Conduct Act 2012 and reversed the decision on deferral of the 2012 elections.

Such things have never happened in the short history of PNG by any government.

We the people of PNG want the parliament to reverse the decisions as they are absolutely beyond the constitution and not in the best interest of the people and the country.

I received some emails that I really didn’t want

BY HARRY TOPHAM

After Martyn Namorong’s trip to Australia was postponed for reasons beyond the control of anyone other than people who demand bribes , there was an extraordinary attack on Martyn by the self declared “foully fascist” John Fowke and PNG’s cut and paste blogger Malum Nalu. Harry found it all a bit hard to take….

RECENT EVENTS HAVE REMINDED ME of a very hot topic, which surfaced several years ago on the Ex Kiap website. It was entitled The Kiap’s Story – and it was about gaining formal recognition for the service of said kiaps in Papua New Guinea.

Boyo, did that subject get some hits at the time. It even drew old Col Sanderson, since deceased, out of the woodwork - firing from the hip with all guns blazing.

After some five years that issue is still bubbling along unresolved in the back room corridors of Canberra.

Hats off to Chris Viner Smith for his unswerving and dogged endeavours in seeing this matter through.

If nothing else he deserves a gong for his long and drawn out efforts petitioning to an apathetic audience.

I am somewhat perplexed on the psyche of certain old ex PNG hands who think they hold the Holy Grail on truth relating to matters PNG.

I guess that is the nature of the beast, as most expatriates who spent time in PNG were, in many cases, quite strange disparate and iconoclastic types.

Back to issue I write of.

John Fowke and his mate Malum Nalu seem rather defensive on the issue of Martyn Namorong’s visit, even to the point of sending unsolicited emails to all and sundry - including yours truly.

What they both miss in their responses is one of the key roles your site has played in giving the bloggers in PNG an opportunity to get their message broadcast to a much wider audience.

Much wider than they would have had in the restrictive environment existing in PNG.

In addition they have broken down the previous apathy arising from the frustrations felt by many who felt their viewpoints were falling upon deaf ears.

It would seem that both gentlemen - Fowke and Nalu - lack any understanding of the true nature of open democracy and the right of individuals to express their opinions even if such opinions are contrary to their own beliefs.

In John Fowke’s case, his opinions may be attributed and excused by the vagaries of old age.

However in Malum’s case, his modus operandi can be only be seen as being driven by mercenary necessities

In the absence of any PNG news media outlets taking up the challenge of conducting open and investigative journalism the majority of important news issues in PNG go unreported with such tasks then falling to the very occasional fly in fly out visits by Australian news media.

Considering that the majority of PNG citizens do not have access to the electronic media perhaps the creation of a third newspaper in PNG is well overdue.

O’Neill crosses the Rubicon – days are numbered

BY TAVURVUR
THE GARAMUT

PETER O’NEILL’S DAYS as prime minister are numbered.

Never in the history of PNG has a prime minister allowed himself to be entangled in a web of events where he has blatantly deceived, whether intentionally or not, the people of Papua New Guinea, repeatedly; and on issues of national importance – so significant that these issues have the ability to, and already have, altered the fabrics of democracy which define our nation.

After backtracking on two critical promises, firstly the promise of deferring the implementation of the Judicial Conduct Act 2012; and secondly the promise of not deferring General Election 2012 – Peter O’Neill’s credibility is in tatters; his reputation shredded; and to cap it off, he has garnered the righteous anger of Papua New Guineans the world over.

It will be impossible for Peter O’Neill to shake the yoke of genuine hatred some Papua New Guineans now feel towards himself and for his deputy, Belden Namah. No amount of explanation, verbal justification, and parliamentary or public posturing will be able to appease this anger.

This anger has been so immense, and the reaction from Papua New Guineans so harsh, that there have been calls for the immediate assassination of the men deemed responsible for the events of the past week: Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah, Speaker Jeffrey Nape, MP Moses Maladina and Attorney General Dr Allan Marat.

This shocking call has been made, in what some argue, as being in the best interest of the nation and the best hope of bringing stability back to the country.

As Sir Julius Chan, despite a stellar political career, is doggedly remembered as the Prime Minister who negotiated Sandline; Peter O’Neill will forever be remembered by the people of today and the leaders of tomorrow as the Prime Minister who deceived the nation.

This past week has been PNG’s political week from hell. There is no point of return for Peter O’Neill.

He has crossed his Rubicon in the people’s Office of Prime Minister – an Office which he seems to have forgotten is not a right, but a privilege.

Dame Carol Kidu, leader of the two-team Opposition and the only bright light in a dim parliament during this past hellish week, has rightly condemned Peter O’Neill’s actions and has accurately stated that, “The last week has been a black week in PNG’s history that we will live to regret”.

Not only has Peter O’Neill condemned himself by his repulsive decision-making, but the previous knights of honor and promoters of good governance, Sir Mekere Morauta, Bart Philemon, and to a lesser degree Sam Basil, have all implicated themselves by participating in and allowing to come to fruition, these developments.

Peter O’Neill’s government started out so well – albeit in questionable circumstances. Despite these technical doubts, the people accepted and supported his government. His was the popular illegitimate government backed by the people to unseat the unpoplar, yet legitimate government of Sir Michael Somare.

O’Neill repeatedly stated in his inaugural State of the Nation address, an address in which he attempted to justify the introduction of the Judicial Conduct Act, that his government was the “People’s Government”.

Indeed, his government was once upon a time, not too long ago, the “People’s Government”. That is no longer the case.

PNG’s political week from hell has revealed that his is a government for the government – and not for the people.

Whither PNG? A black week of political lies

BY DAME CAROL KIDU
THE GARAMUT

THE ACTION OF THE O’NEILL-NAMAH GOVERNMENT [to defer the national election] is not legitimate.

To use Section 105 of the Constitution, which is not about deferral, is outright abuse of our Constitution.

There are specific provisions on deferral under Section 246 which provides for deferral under a State of Emergency and in such a case it can only be in two month time frames with report back to Parliament after each 2 months (Section 239 (3)).

If the rolls and the security issues warrant a State of Emergency (which I do not agree with) then it could be implemented in that way.

If the Electoral Commissioner reported that more time was needed for the rolls then that also would be acceptable (but two months of intensive work would solve the roll problems that are common every election).

However, it turns out that the so-called report to parliament on Thursday did not come from the Electoral Commissioner’s Office. Whose report was it? It was yet another lie which was presented as if it had come from the Electoral Commissioner.

[I was quite “confused” as I said on the floor because only three days earlier I had heard the Electoral Commissioner, the Defence Commander, and the Police Commissioner (three senior long-serving public servants) tell the Australian shadow minister for foreign affairs Julie Bishop that they were ready to proceed with the elections.]

The last week has been a black week in PNG’s history that we will live to regret.

With the Judicial Conduct Act implemented (after the lie that implementation would be deferred) resulting in two senior judges being referred to tribunals by parliament; and now the deferral of elections for six months (after the lie that the elections would not be deferred); one wonders what will come next.

What more will they do in the determination of a few to “test the constitution”. Will they eventually attempt to suspend the constitution? Namah has repeatedly said that not all countries have a constitution and ours was written by foreigners? Where are they leading this nation?

The attempted military coup in 1997 failed and Sir Michael Somare felt pity for the young soldiers and released and pardoned them under the Power of Mercy provision.

(Let us not forget that neither prime minster Skate nor prime minister Morauta used the provision to help the soldiers between 1997 and 2002).

The military coup of 1997 failed but the political coup of 2011 and the progressive attack on the constitution (the glue that has held this nation together) has been insidiously successful so far. Where are they leading this nation?

There is a limit to the tolerance of the people of PNG and I think we are getting very close to that limit. But how it will evolve is hard to predict – we are a very fractured society of over 800 tribes who have been held together by the constitution.

The events since 2 August last year have completely undermined our constitution and we are told that we must “test” our constitution.

Without the constitution as supreme we are in danger of becoming a dictatorship or disintegrating into anarchy ruled by warlords. Where are they leading this nation?

Dame Carol Kidu DBE MP is Leader of the Opposition in Papua New Guinea

Our judiciary has lost its teeth – and its dentures

BY JOE WASIA

IT’S VERY SAD TO SEE that Papua New Guineans, especially university students, NGOs and unions who have opposed the controversial Judiciary Conduct Bill 2012, have bumped into brick walls.

Despite opposition from all sectors, Speaker Jeffery Nape has finally certified the Act. It will now give Parliament the ability to suspend senior Supreme Court judges, officers who are perceived to be biassed. The Bill directly undermines the basis of the separation of powers between the three (3) arms as enshrined in our constitution.

This is ridiculous and utter nonsense.  Our elected MPs using parliamentary privilege and numbers to attack our judiciary which holds more than 800 different tribal societies together.

I salute Enga Governor Peter Ipatas, Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru, Ramu MP Ben Semeri, Opposition Leader Dame Carol Kidu and her deputy Sam Abal and two others for voting against the bill (63-7).

Where were the rest of the 109 MPs? Why do elected MPs absent themselves in the Parliament when such laws are made, repealed, amended or altered or serious agendas are discussed?

Prime minister O’Neill, in his response to public through radio, press media releases and TV, said the Act will not be implemented as it will go through a nine months review. However, he lied to the seven million people of PNG when he put into effect in the parliament on Thursday.

The O’Neill-Namah regime has now used the law to discipline the two senior judges for going against its regime. This is a major threat to the judiciary.

This is unheard of in a democracy. The government has now suspended two senior PNG judges who last December ruled (3-2) that the O’Neill-Namah government was formed in breach of the Constitution.

On Thursday, they used the law to pass a motion in parliament to refer Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia and Justice Nicholas Kirriwom to the governor-general.

The democratic state of PNG has been brought into an executive dictatorship where everything will be controlled by the government of the day. The judiciary will no longer be effective as it used to be.

The National bans two prominent PNG writers

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER has acted contemptibly by excluding from its columns for the most trivial reasons two of Papua New Guinea’s most interesting writers – one of them, Russell Soaba [right], the doyen of PNG literature.

First to go was law student, activist and inveterate twitterer Nou Vada – a vastly entertaining and provocative writer whose crime, it seems, was to mention the name of prominent blogger Martyn Namorong in an article Nou wrote for The National.

In the article, which was about the use of social media in PNG, Nou was imprudent enough to write:

"Help @Mangiwantok take the truth about #PNG to #Australia #Deakin University". That was the tweet I posted on twitter a few days ago along with a link to a story on veteran journalist Keith Jackson's blog PNG Attitude.

The reference was to Deakin University's invitation to outspoken PNG blogger Martyn Namorong for Martyn to present a paper on PNG and to sit on a panel of experts in a two-day PNG seminar in Australia.

“After I sent this,” Nou said later, “the editor informed me that management had given instructions for the newspaper not to publish anything from me. The stated reason was that I own Edebamona blog.

“It is also because the Rimbunan Hijau dislikes Martyn Namorong greatly. The writer's lot is not an easy one….No hard feelings from me.”

But now the hard hand of the hard-liners at this hard-faced newspaper has descended on no less a figure than Russell Soaba, the esteemed PNG novelist and poet and grand old man of PNG literature.

Last week, The National got rid of Russell’s long-running Storyboard writing feature from its pages apparently because he made a comment that, at the University of PNG’s Waigani campus, The National's Friday edition sells less copies that the rival Post-Courier.

That slender observation was too much for the flinty-souled, glass-jawed control freaks at The National – and Soaba was banned and his popular writing feature dropped.

The good news is that the folks at the Post-Courier, ever looking for an opportunity, snapped up Russell Soaba like a hungry crocodile – and his Storyboard feature will now appear there.

The Post-Courier, of course, is also co-founder of the Crocodile Prize national literary awards and editor Blaise Nangoi is on the record as being a great supporter of home-grown PNG literature.

Those guys at The National should feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves.  They have behaved disgracefully.

People power has to start at the kunai roots

BY EMMA WAKPI

BEFORE WE CAN EVEN BEGIN to tackle the bigger issues we must understand the cultural background of our people and there is no one size that fits all in this multi ethnic society called Papua New Guinea.

One tribe may view a situation very differently to the next tribe several hours away, what's important is that we listen and empower.

Dignity has to be given to a person (or people), and until we approach them at their level (walk to their location, sleep in their huts, eat what they eat), and help them discover that they hold the key to transforming their lives, we can try all we want but will never change a belief system that has been deeply embedded into the core of every Papua New Guinean.

If educated Papua New Guineans rather then just going home and sliding back into the way of the village would take it upon themselves to educate, educate, educate, on various current affairs and health issues etc, it would go a long way to help the rural majority and urban poor understand themselves and their micro and macro environments better.

We need a fearless people to stand up and sensitively confront cultural belief systems that might ostracise them from families and clans. 

PNG as a nation did not sacrifice lives for it's independence, but now it desperately needs strong men and women willing to sacrifice their family and tribal "honour" , by coming out and allowing themselves to be vulnerable in order to impact attitude change.

For example: A good friend of mine has come up with the idea of a young professionals cell group for every major town and has had it written up.

She envisions that there are many young people who want to do something and need to have a formal umbrella which will allow them to gather and be encouraged to pursue whatever it is that they would want done in their village to help their people.

Should technologies and ideas be sought we can meet with young professionals from other countries and share ideas etc via certain networks that can be established.

News Flash! Terra Incognita is rediscovered

BY PAUL OATES

Terra incognita or terra ignota (Latin, "unknown land,"). Similarly, uncharted or unknown seas are mare incognitum, (Latin, "unknown sea")

YEP! IT’S OFFICIAL. The Queensland Education Department has effectively dismissed historical evidence and effectively expunged from school maps our near Pacific neighbours.

In a recent response to a proposed initiative to recognise the lingua franca of our nearest and friendliest neighbour , Papua New Guinea, Queensland Education has declared that French, German and Italian are more important for our children than any reference to a Melanesian language.

The proposal for Melanesian to be included in the Queensland school curriculum would have recognised the lingua franca of choice of a nation just a few hundred metres from the Queensland border. Citizens from PNG frequently travel across that border.

Melanesian or Tok Pisin is a phonetically written language that encourages children to learn phonetics, something English is renowned for providing untold confusion with. Phonetics is a useful skill where other languages in our region are concerned.

That said, language training encompasses far more than just learning to speak a language. An appreciation of culture and geography is carried along with it.

There are many Australian cities and towns that have ‘sister city’ status with their PNG counterparts and the same cultural understanding and personal friendships can be encouraged through learning language skills.

Trade between PNG and Australia reportedly runs at $7 billion each year and will no doubt increase.

PNG is about to enter significant resource development with a large expansion of hydrocarbon and mineral exploitation.

International service clubs like Rotary include PNG in their Queensland and Pacific region. Interchange programs would benefit immensely from an existing language base that assisting the exchange of information.

PNG exchange students and seasonal workers might feel far more welcome if there was a chance that they might feel welcome and appreciated and relax in a language of their own choice while staying in Australia with Australians.

There is a significant number of Australians who have worked in PNG and learnt Melanesian and who might be available to assist as ancillary staff at their local school.

All these benefits are apparently of little or no concern to Queensland Education.

In answer to those who perhaps unintentionally denigrate Tok Pisin as fairly useless in discussing important and possibly intricate matters I would offer the following.

Once I became fluent, I have never been unable to translate and discuss that which I understood into Tok Pisin so that the audience understood what I was talking about.

Many PNG people who speak English still prefer to relax in Tok Pisin. Are we to turn our back on this fact simply because of a possible prejudice?

PNG’s constitution – how healthy is it really?

BY PAUL OATES

SINCE THE SOVEREIGN NATION of Papua New Guinea gained its Independence from Australia in 1975 there have been a number of amendments to the constitution.

On Tuesday of last week, three new commissioners were sworn in to the Constitutional and Law Reform Committee (CLRC).

There are six part time commissioners and a full time chairman of this committee whose goal is now to reform the PNG constitution and laws of the land.

The Commission comprises a number of eminent persons including Gerard Lange (a constitutional law expert), Rev William Longar (representing the PNG Council of Churches), Prof Betty Lovai (Dean of the UPNG School of Humanities and Social Sciences) and Prof Luluaki (Executive Dean of the UPNG School of Law).

Yet even as the new commissioners were being appointed, the government was planning to make prospective changes to the country’s constitution.

On Tuesday, in a vote of 63-7, the PNG parliament passed the Judicial Conduct Bill with what seemed to some the utmost alacrity.

This Bill has been claimed to directly challenge the independence of the PNG judiciary which is a central plank of the Westminster system of government.

Opposition Leader Dame Carol Kidu said: “We are taking a wrong way. We are breaking the fabric of the constitution and I am really worried for the future of PNG.”

By contrast, one of the most important aspects of the Australian constitution is that it takes referendum approval in the majority of Australian States to make changes to a document put together by the founding fathers oi the late 19th Century.

Over the years, 44 amendments have been proposed - only eight have been successful.

To succeed, a proposed amendment to the Australian constitution requires:

an absolute majority in both houses of the federal parliament; and

the approval in a referendum by a majority of electors nationwide, and a majority in a majority of states

One can but wonder whether many of the PNG Constitutional and Law Reform Committee’s responsibilities may well be superseded by the actions of Parliament by the time future changes might be presented.

Clearly the majority of the members of the PNG parliament consider their collective experience and qualifications enable them to determine what some see as dramatic changes to PNG law without any reported prior reference to CLRC for consideration.

Not for the people: the great Papua New Guinea rip-off

BY MARTYN NAMORONG
THE NAMORONG REPORT

THE JUSTICE SYSTEM is not for the people.

Ramu Nickel was taken to court by the Madang people but they lost because the Chinese had "statutory authorisation" to fuck the Bismark Sea.

Yep folks basically its legal to fuck up the PNG people...

All you have to do is pay politicians to make laws in your favour so that when the ‘kanakas’ take you to court they will always lose because you have been given "statutory authorisation".

The government is not for the people.

Read how the Department of Environment and Conservation bent over backwards so that MMJV could fuck the Watut and Markham Rivers with cyanide. The Labu people cannot claim for compensation because MMJV will argue in court that there was "statutory authorisation" by DEC for them [MMJV] to fuck the Labu people.

You don’t fix this system. It’s not broken. It was made to break you. You replace the whole system with a genuine Papua New Guinean model of development.

The working environment is not for the people.

Wage slavery: renting yourself to an owner. Wage slavery is the same as chattel slavery. There is no difference between renting yourself and selling yourself. Even your time doesn't belong to you anymore and you're wondering why you're "free" and still can’t make ends meet.

And while your pay is taxed and everything you buy is taxed the corporations get tax breaks not just on their profits but even on the things they buy.

The corporations promise jobs for Papua New Guineans and then, when they begin operations, they say we are unskilled. Therefore Papua New Guineans on jobs and other opportunities to equally participate in the formal economy.

The constitution is not for the people.

The Preamble of the constitution contains Papua New Guinea’s Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Independence are the national goals and directive principles – basically the Papua New Guinean model of development.

However, Section 25 of the constitution makes this declaration of Independence rather useless.

25. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL GOALS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES.

(1) Except to the extent provided in Subsections (3) and (4), the National Goals and Directive Principles are non-justiciable.

What does this mean? Well if you read the rest of the constitution it pretty much legalises the institutions of colonisation. So colonisation is legalised and Our PNG Ways are just words on a paper.

Proud to be PNG - it is my identity

BY EMMA T WAKPI

“I’M THE KING OF THE CASTLE and you’re the dirty rascal!..” chants the 3rd grader strutting atop the mound appointed as the pinnacle of supremacy, only to have one of his classmates jostle him out of his position and take up the chant, then another, then another… until the jostling gets annoying, tempers flare and fights break out, and the teacher on duty has to intervene and cool tempers.

Scratched knuckles, bleeding noses, sniffles and manly attempts to stop the quivering of the chin and the start of tears; heads once proud and boastful now shamefully bowed and shoes randomly scuff the earth, digging… digging for an explanation that seemed so justifiable then but oh so foolish now whilst the mound on which this battle was fought sits placidly, awaiting the next day when this game will be played again, scuffles of the previous day forgotten and repeated until it has been worn down and can no longer serve the purpose of its players.

No sentiments are to be wasted on it! The game must continue! Another mound is rapidly sought and the fight for supremacy begins while the previous mound, bearing the scars of the battle lays there derelict, not given a second thought… forgotten. 

With another election year upon us and after 36 years of Independence can I say that I truly care for the overall development of my country or am I seeking my own gain? Do I really put PNG first, or is it myself, my clan, my tribe, my district, my province, my region and then… maybe PNG?

I am observing my people wrestling each other to get to the top of the mound to shout out that boastful chant; and as we jostle and scuffle and fight; plundering, abusing and raping the jewel we were entrusted to safeguard for our future generations, the mound that is the nation of PNG is slowly being worn down…

“Proud to be PNG? For sure!! But wait a minute, I’m looking out for number one first, and oh yeah then it’s got to be my family, yeah then my clan, oh also my tribe, I have to look out for them! I mean, my roots are there you know?

Proud to be PNG? Nating Tru Ya! But wait, there’s my district and then my province and, oh man, I mustn’t forget my region. I can’t let nobody be talkin’ bad ‘bout my region ya know! 

In National High I nearly got killed because I bashed somebody who was dissin’ my region and started a riot! Hmm...and you were saying?...Oh yeah, Proud to be PNG, sure, I’m proud to be PNG, only, my wantok has to hold that position, what? Not suitably educated? Who cares? Get him in, otherwise I’d lose face with his family and my people.

Also, that student has got to get into this institution, his dad just gave me 500 bucks, bump that one off… What’s that? She’s rated a genius? So, how’s that helping me? I need the money….

Proud to be PNG? Hmmm what’d you say? Yeah tha’s right…; oh man I’ve got to get ammunition; my tribe’s fighting, what’s that you’re saying? Illegal? Oh well, I’ll buy a few people off, we need to show the other tribe who’s boss y’know?

What’s that? Innocent lives affected? Pshaww… forget that, my land and the reputation of my clan is what’s important; the boys will go out to the towns and go to school somehow …the girls? Well do the girls really need an education?  

Say… maybe I can marry my daughter of to a rich man and get some quick money that way! The elderly and women? Well they’ll just have to rough it, they know what it’s all about- its part of our culture you know…