Michael Somare makes sure PNG's top job remains his

ROWAN CALLICK

PAPUA New Guinea's veteran Prime Minister Michael Somare has pushed through a dramatic reshuffle of his cabinet.

It was a desperate move to shore up his control as he faces being forced to stand down by the Supreme Court.

Mr Somare has been accused of failing since 1995 to file annual returns listing his assets and business dealings, as required by law, to the Ombudsman Commission, which polices corruption by administering PNG's leadership code.

The commission has also asked him to explain holidays he has taken overseas, including to Malaysia, in order to track who paid for them and why.

Mr Somare fought a long series of actions through the courts to prevent the charges coming before a leadership tribunal, but last week he lost his final appeal.

The case is now set to be referred by the commission to the public prosecutor.

Earlier this year, Patrick Pruaitch, the then treasurer, was similarly referred to the public prosecutor over leadership code charges. He challenged the court's initial ruling that he had to stand aside once charges were laid, claiming he could remain in office until the required tribunal was established and a hearing scheduled.

But the Supreme Court ruled Mr Pruaitch had to stand aside as soon as he was referred to the prosecutor. Mr Somare is in a similar position.

He was in Sydney this week to speak at a conference promoting PNG's resources boom, but instead of going to Cancun, Mexico, for the UN's climatechange conference, he returned to Port Moresby to respond to this looming political crisis, in his 42nd year in parliament.

His priority was to ensure that the person acting as prime minister during his enforced period in the sin-bin -- likely to last two or three months at least -- will act in his best interests.

He sacked as deputy prime minister Don Polye in a pre-emptive measure in case he entrenched himself in the top job and made it tough for Mr Somare to return. Mr Poyle has been the leader of most of the Highlands bloc of MPs, who hold 40 per cent of all seats in the parliament.

Mr Somare was also anxious to ensure his son Arthur, long considered a potential successor in the top job, retains his position as Public Enterprise Minister, which has given him substantial carriage of the multi-billion-dollar gas projects transforming the country.

Mr Polye has been replaced by Foreign Minister Sam Abal, also a Highlander, but more closely dependent on Mr Somare's political patronage. Mr Polye was compensated by being appointed Foreign Minister, a role from which it is much harder to pull the strings needed for a palace coup.

Mr Somare has also brought in to the cabinet, as Justice Minister and Attorney-General, the former chief justice Arnold Amet.

In a reshuffle last month, he brought in Peter O'Neill, another Highlander, as Treasurer, and Moses Maladina, whose private member's bill relegating the powers of the Ombudsman Commission has received strong support from the Somare government, as Public Service Minister.

The opposition, which has been thwarted in its attempts in recent months to introduce a motion of no confidence against the government, was buoyed by the news of the Supreme Court ruling.

"Great news. That's excellent," said deputy opposition leader Bart Philemon.

"The opposition has always maintained that no one is above the laws of the land."

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