PNGBLOGS

By Susan Merrell The current political impasse in PNG can best be summed up simply as a dispute between the judiciary and the executive.   The judiciary have under their arm the PNG Constitution and are using it as a WMD (weapon of mass destruction) with the approval of Sir Michael Somare who has most to gain by adherence to the letter of it in the present context. On the other hand, the O'Neill/Namah government are claiming the moral high ground with their popular mandate backed up by their legislative prowess – thwarting and overriding the Constitution at every turn.   Part of the O'Neill/Namah strategy has been to call into question the integrity of the judiciary with repeated attempts to suspend the Chief Justice for impropriety.   Indeed the Chief Justice himself has done the same by refusing to recuse himself from the cases where there has been a glaring conflict of interests. The Moti case in parliament is a complete change of tack by O'Neill/Namah.   Instead of att

A Queensland doctor says Papua New Guinea's (PNG) health system is not ready to take over treatment of its own tuberculosis patients. The Federal Government decided mid-last year to shift funding for the treatment of PNG Nationals from the Torres Strait Islands to PNG's Western Province.  It led to a transition process of joint clinics. Cairns-based respiratory physician, Dr Graham Simpson, is running the final scheduled clinics for PNG tuberculosis patients on the Torres Strait Islands of Boigu and Saibai this week. He says while there has been good progress in handing over treatment plans to PNG doctors, the lack of laboratory services and difficulties with access to patients in remote villages means there is a long way to go. Dr Simpson says tuberculosis patients from PNG are likely to continue coming to the Torres Strait Islands for treatment beyond this week's clinics. He says another few years is needed to transfer treatment services to PNG health author

A Queensland doctor says Papua New Guinea's (PNG) health system is not ready to take over treatment of its own tuberculosis patients. The Federal Government decided mid-last year to shift funding for the treatment of PNG Nationals from the Torres Strait Islands to PNG's Western Province.  It led to a transition process of joint clinics. Cairns-based respiratory physician, Dr Graham Simpson, is running the final scheduled clinics for PNG tuberculosis patients on the Torres Strait Islands of Boigu and Saibai this week. He says while there has been good progress in handing over treatment plans to PNG doctors, the lack of laboratory services and difficulties with access to patients in remote villages means there is a long way to go. Dr Simpson says tuberculosis patients from PNG are likely to continue coming to the Torres Strait Islands for treatment beyond this week's clinics. He says another few years is needed to transfer treatment services to PNG he

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill’s Government’s decision to go offshore and ask Australia to lead the investigations into the tragic event of February 2, where the Rabaul Queen, operated by Rabaul Coastal Shipping company, capsized and sank with an unconfirmed number of lives this year has to to be viewed with some apprehension by the Transport Department and the Papua New Guinea National Maritime Safety Authority. According to the Prime Minister the Government has to go to Australia to ask the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to conduct the investigations “because our own people here, will have to come under investigation as well’’. He wants a “totally independent’’ investigation. It is an interesting choice of words from the Prime Minister but in the nutshell, this is a vote of no confidence in the NMSA and questions its independence.  Could the Government be feeling that those at the helm of the NMSA may have compromised themselves somehow, or that the authority is not competent to

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill’s Government’s decision to go offshore and ask Australia to lead the investigations into the tragic event of February 2, where the Rabaul Queen, operated by Rabaul Coastal Shipping company, capsized and sank with an unconfirmed number of lives this year has to to be viewed with some apprehension by the Transport Department and the Papua New Guinea National Maritime Safety Authority. According to the Prime Minister the Government has to go to Australia to ask the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to conduct the investigations “because our own people here, will have to come under investigation as well’’. He wants a “totally independent’’ investigation. It is an interesting choice of words from the Prime Minister but in the nutshell, this is a vote of no confidence in the NMSA and questions its independence.  Could the Government be feeling that those at the helm of the NMSA may have compromised themselves somehow, or that the authority is not c

In the last couple of weeks Mr. Namah has been on the news for a variety of reasons, I have observed his meteoric rise to the top of the PNG Party ranks after leaving the NA camp, while he was with the NA Party he was never a major voice in the government ranks, his operated in stealth, here was this cunning operative who used the system to his gain, he ran on NA’s platforms in 2007 and won the Vanimo Green River electorate, an electorate that is marred with controversies. If you need to know what is happening to his electorate you need to see this film titled Bikpela Bagarap. Google it if you have to, despite all the money and lavishness promised by the operators of the logging firms there, there is a deep rift between those that are benefiting and the others who have been purposely ignored. After Namah made the ominous move with Puka Temu to join ranks with Mekere Morauta many in the Somare camp saw that the tides were turning for the old regime, it was not long before this guy who w

In the last couple of weeks Mr. Namah has been on the news for a variety of reasons, I have observed his meteoric rise to the top of the PNG Party ranks after leaving the NA camp, while he was with the NA Party he was never a major voice in the government ranks, his operated in stealth, here was this cunning operative who used the system to his gain, he ran on NA’s platforms in 2007 and won the Vanimo Green River electorate, an electorate that is marred with controversies. If you need to know what is happening to his electorate you need to see this film titled Bikpela Bagarap. Google it if you have to, despite all the money and lavishness promised by the operators of the logging firms there, there is a deep rift between those that are benefiting and the others who have been purposely ignored. After Namah made the ominous move with Puka Temu to join ranks with Mekere Morauta many in the Somare camp saw that the tides were turning for the old regime, it was not long before th

PAPUA New Guinea's Council of Churches dedicated last Sunday to prayer for the country's constitutional crisis to be overcome. Many think prayer provides the most realistic chance for a solution. Nothing else seems to work. Inexorably, the team led by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has gained the upper hand, as seems inevitable in a Westminster-style democracy - since he controls the parliament, which has passed a suite of measures legitimising his government. Michael Somare, despite being PNG's founding father, is struggling to gain traction - relying on the courts since the failure of the desultory military coup on his behalf last month. But the loose ends that remain are so numerous, and the fracture in PNG's body politic is so extensive, as to threaten the success of the national election due mid-year that has long looked to be the only ultimate answer. On Monday, the Supreme Court meets yet again in an attempt to prioritise the 11

PAPUA New Guinea's Council of Churches dedicated last Sunday to prayer for the country's constitutional crisis to be overcome. Many think prayer provides the most realistic chance for a solution. Nothing else seems to work. Inexorably, the team led by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has gained the upper hand, as seems inevitable in a Westminster-style democracy - since he controls the parliament, which has passed a suite of measures legitimising his government. Michael Somare, despite being PNG's founding father, is struggling to gain traction - relying on the courts since the failure of the desultory military coup on his behalf last month. But the loose ends that remain are so numerous, and the fracture in PNG's body politic is so extensive, as to threaten the success of the national election due mid-year that has long looked to be the only ultimate answer. On Monday, the Supreme Court meets yet again in an attempt to prioritise