Lawyer: House can fix dent in OLIPPAC

WEDNESDAY’S Supreme Court decision on the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) was hailed by its referrer, Dr Bob Danaya, as “justice being done at last” for the people of PNG, The National reports.

Danaya and counsel Loani Henao, however, said the decision had left a “dent” in the OLIPPAC.

Henao said: “The major parts of the OLIPPAC that we challenged in court have been declared unconstitutional, but the rest remained intact.

“The question of whether what remains of the OLIPPAC would hold the law together is something for Parliament and the registrar of political parties to consider,” he told reporters after the court decision.

“In our view, the OLIPPAC had been severely dented. And, so, necessary amendments are needed to put together a complete OLIPPAC.”

Henao said while the intention of the OLIPPAC was to bring stability to government, such should not happen “at the expense of freedom of choice, freedom of expression and freedom of exercising conscience”.

“Do it properly; you can still do it within the framework of the Constitution.

“Do not abuse and do not take away the rights of the people which are expressed by their representatives.”

Thanking his legal team for convincing the Supreme Court to rule in their favour, Danaya said: “I can tell Members of Parliament that from this hour on, you are free to resign from a political party – if you wish to – and join another party or form another party.

“MPs now have that freedom; and, the important thing is, from here onwards, we must ensure there is good governance in Parliament and throughout PNG.”

Henao said the fears of a dictatorship were gone.

“That has been removed.

“True democracy has returned.

“The Supreme Court decision was very important. It was, hopefully, a lesson to the legislators that the enshrined freedoms in the Constitution must not be tempered or interfered with.

“These freedoms are put there so that they will allow the constituencies and the grassroots people of this country to exercise their freedom of choice and their freedom of expressions through their elected MPs.

“That should never, ever have been taken away in the first place.”