PNGBLOGS

Sepiks want a fair deal. That is the underlying factor and they have not been accorded that. The past events have seen them banished from the floor of the parliament, labelled as foreigners, and laws have been amended to destroy them. The courts are the place where freedom is debated. So far not good. If parliament is the place where the people have spoken, what about us. We have been banished by the so called people voice.  Somare is still our voice regardless of how this nation sees him and all past events and current events have one common undertone. DESTROY SOMARE FOR GOOD! DO NOT GIVE HIM BREATHING SPACE! FINISH HIM OFF! He was our leader for 36 plus years but occasionally for Papua New Guinea.Give us a fair deal and respect established systems set in place to deal with those called allegations.  Only then can we respect the rule of law because we have been accorded a fair hearing. But so far parliament is supreme and with the courts struggling to maintain its integrity, where mus

Sepiks want a fair deal. That is the underlying factor and they have not been accorded that. The past events have seen them banished from the floor of the parliament, labelled as foreigners, and laws have been amended to destroy them. The courts are the place where freedom is debated. So far not good. If parliament is the place where the people have spoken, what about us. We have been banished by the so called people voice.  Somare is still our voice regardless of how this nation sees him and all past events and current events have one common undertone. DESTROY SOMARE FOR GOOD! DO NOT GIVE HIM BREATHING SPACE! FINISH HIM OFF! He was our leader for 36 plus years but occasionally for Papua New Guinea.Give us a fair deal and respect established systems set in place to deal with those called allegations.  Only then can we respect the rule of law because we have been accorded a fair hearing. But so far parliament is supreme and with the courts struggling to maintain its integrity,

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