Governor General election ruling set for next Friday

By ELLEN TIAMU

 

THE Supreme Court will hand down its decision next Friday on whether there were constitutional breaches in the election of the governor-general by parliament this year, The National reports.

It heard arguments on Monday and Tuesday from the sponsor of the motion, Morobe provincial government, through its lawyer Alfred Manase and government lawyers.

The issue was whether there were constitutional breaches regarding the re-election of Sir Paulias Matane as the governor-general and, whether, parliament Speaker Jeffrey Nape had breached the constitution when he declared Sir Paulias as duly-elected to serve a second term in June.

Manase said in his argument that the matter was a serious constitutional breach and the Supreme Court should use its inherent powers to declare the re-election of the governor-general void avinitcio and, so, null and void.

He said section 87(5) only gave parliament the power to give the incumbent, Sir Paulias, the authority to re-contest if he had mustered the required 73-vote majority.

Following that, he, along with other candidates, were required to go through a secret ballot. However, that did not happen and Sir Paulias was declared governor-general.

Morobe was also arguing that, by law, the speaker automatically assumed the position of acting governor-general as soon as the incumbent’s term was up, but, that did not happen on May 26 when Sir Paulias’s term of office expired.

Only under circumstances that render the speaker unfit or unable to take up the post, then the chief justice was next in line and, if he cannot, then the attorney-general, the court was told.

Instead, they said, Nape continued as speaker and the following month, on June 25, presided over the election process which, according to Morobe, was unconstitutional.

The five-judge Supreme Court bench reserved its determination to next Friday due to the nature and seriousness of the matter.

 

Pilot on sex charges sues for A$45 million

AUSTRALIAN federal police (AFP) officers concealed evidence and submitted false documents in the prosecution of an Australian pilot on child sex charges, resulting in his wrongful conviction, the man’s lawyers claim.

Fred Martens, who spent 940 days in a Queensland prison after being convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old Papua New Guinea girl in Port Moresby, is suing the federal government for A$45 million, according to AAP.

The 61-year-old was the first to be charged under sex-tourism laws which target Australians who commit sex crimes in Pacific island nations.

However, Queensland’s court of appeal last year quashed the conviction after Marten’s family obtained flight records which proved he was not in Port Moresby on the dates the girl alleged the offence occurred.

In a statement of claim lodged in the Queensland supreme court in Cairns on Monday, Marten’s legal team allege a team of officers from the AFP’s transnational crime unit based in Port Moresby “maliciously prosecuted” their client.

The claim alleges the officer who arrested Martens, Tania Stokes, swore an affidavit claiming department of immigration records proved Martens was in Papua New Guinea on two occasions the girl claimed to have flown with him.

She also submitted a typed record of travel between Australia and PNG by Martens which supported the claim.

The girl claimed she had flown with Martens twice in 2001, in April and September, and that he sexually assaulted her on the second occasion.

However, official immigration records obtained by his legal team under a freedom of information request showed he was in Australia on the first occasion while PNG civil aviation records showed he could not have been with the girl on the September dates.

Martens alleged the prosecution was organised by his ex-wife Raina Martens, with whom he was locked in a bitter custody battle, and the statement of claim alleged she arranged interviews between the girl and police.

The A$45 million damage claim related to the collapse or loss of a number of PNG business ventures owned by Martens as a result of his prosecution and incarceration, including the country’s Royal Flying Doctor Service.

It also said he suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological damage as a result of his prosecution and conviction, including the loss of his daughter Stephanie, who died of malaria in PNG while Martens was awaiting trial.

He believed he would have been able to save her had he not been stranded in Australia with his funds frozen and his passport confiscated.

The federal government will have 28 days to respond to the claim. – AAP

Haircut on Christmas

Bobby Yangom has not had a haircut in all his adult life, The National reports.
This Christmas, the 35-year-old from Yamap in Bulolo district, Morobe, will rid himself of the 135cm bundles of locks that weigh about 1.2kg. He has been growing them since 1990.
He says he dreads the day he will cut them but it is something he has set his mind on doing. – Picture by CHRIS DONALD

Nasfund expands asset base to K2.1 billion

THE National Superannuation Fund Ltd (Nasfund) has expanded its asset base to K2.1 billion, up 19%, during the 12-month period to October this year, The National reports.

Annualised since 1999, Nasfund has grown at an average 29.4% per annum over the 11 years to October making it the fastest-growing superannuation group in the country.

This was disclosed in a brief report in Nasfund’s newsletter for the last quarter of the year released by joint executive officer Ian Tarutia.

Joint-chief executive officer Rod Mitchell told The National the growth was mainly attributed to large increase in memberships and other investments.

He said active contributing Nasfund members were now 138,241, with more than 1,906 employers contributing to the funds.

Tarutia, in his Christmas message, said Nasfund disposed of non-core properties according to board resolution.

He said this investment and risk management strategy recognised that the portfolio required a rebalancing in favour of relatively new construction in the portfolio.

On the new property development, the Edge 63 luxury apartment development is taking shape with the building now coming out of the ground at Harbour City.

“We aim to complete this building by December 2011,” Tarutia said

 

 

MP loses K1million in taxi

By ALISON ANIS

 

MEMBER for Telefomin Peter Iwei has appealed for the return of a misplaced K1 million cheque for his electorate in West Sepik, The National reports.

Iwei told The National yesterday that the cheque, handed to him on Monday for his electorate under the district services improvement programme (DSIP), was misplaced on his way home and he suspected a cab driver for holding onto it.

Iwei said the cheque was written to the Telefomin district treasury operating trust account and was intended for the joint district planning and budget priorities committee to determine the projects to be funded. But, he carelessly left it behind in a taxi, and now wanted it returned.

He explained that on Monday afternoon, between 4pm and 6pm, he got into a white taxi that was parked at a driveway in front of parliament and asked the driver to take him to his house.

“The cheque was in a white envelope that I, accidentally, placed on the dashboard in front of me. I forgot to pick it up when I got out of the taxi,” Iwei said.

He said he knew the identity of the cab driver but did not know where he resided and was appealing to him, or anyone who picked it up, to return it to him.

 “This K1 million DSIP cheque belongs to the people of Telefomin.

“I want it returned to my office immediately so I am appealing to the driver, or whoever took it, to return it to me.”

Iwei said he had written to the Department of the Finance and Treasury to put a stop on the cheque.

“Treasury has received my letter and will advise the bank on this, so they can also stop any transaction from taking place,” he said.

Iwei was one of a number of MPs who were met at one of parliament’s conference rooms by Finance Department officials who had gone there to pay them the K1 million in DSIP funds.

It was unclear why Finance Department officials had decided to bring the cheques physically to parliament to pay the MPs when they could have easily transferred the funds electronically to the district accounts and simply advise the MPs that the funds were safely in the bank.

 

PNG LNG training facility opens doors

A NEW vocational training facility was opened yesterday at the Port Moresby Technical College (PomTech) by Esso Highlands Ltd, operator of the multi-billion-kina liquefied natural gas project, The National reports.

The Port Moresby construction training facility represented an investment of K150 million to train up to 1,000 Papua New Guineans a year for employment with the project during its four-year construction phase.

Managing director of Esso Highlands Peter Graham said the training facility was an important milestone for the LNG project.

“The men and women who are trained here will play a vital role in the construction of the LNG plant and associated marine facilities,” he said.

Graham added that their training would be certified to international industry standards and the skills they acquired would enable them to compete for employment opportunities beyond the construction period of the project.

Minister for Higher Education Michael Ogio said Esso Highlands and its LNG partners had shown confidence in the nation.

He said the training facility, and the expertise developed, would create long-term value for PNG and its skilled workforce. 

He said upon completion of the project in 2014, the training facility would be given to the PNG government to become part of PomTech.

Ogio also announced the government’s allocation of K15 million to rehabilitate existing PomTech facilities.

Skills Tech Australia will coordinate the construction training facility.

 

 

Concerns over Daru water conditions

THE PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd (PNGSDP) is concerned with the water and sanitation conditions in Daru Island, Western, The National reports.

In 2006, the PNGSDP approved its support, funded a feasibility study and committed K26 million as well as offering technical expertise to the PNG Waterboard (PNGWB) to rebuild the Daru water supply and sewerage system given the serious health risks being faced on the island due to the inadequacy of these services.

Last year, PNGSDP seriously concerned about the severe health hazards and the ongoing delay to the re-construction increased its commitment towards the rehabilitation of the entire town water and sewerage system to K52 million by offering PNGWB a K26 million grant as well as low-cost loan of K26 million.

It acknowledged that the Daru water supply and sewerage system, which services the town, is owned and operated by the PNGWB, and the PNGSDP continued to regularly approach the PNGWB to partner with it to improve the facility as a matter of urgency.

“With the presence of cholera now in Daru, it is absolutely urgent that we partner to rebuild the Daru water supply and sewerage system to ensure the health of the people on the island is not further put at risk,” PNGSDP chief executive officer David Sode said in a statement.

“We are again requesting the PNG Waterboard to act urgently to rebuild the Daru water supply and sanitation system, utilising funding and technical assistance offered by PNGSDP, for the future health of the people of Daru,” he said.

However, the World Health Organisation representative in Daru, Geoffrey Clark, told visiting media representatives two weeks ago that the town’s water supply was not the source of the cholera which had claimed more than 30 lives since it was first reported on the island on Nov 11.

He also said the disease was under control and the islanders were responding well to the awareness campaigns that had been carried out.

PNGSDP is currently working with key partners including the WHO, Western cholera emergency response team, provincial administration, Health Department and AusAID, providing logistical support as requested for the cholera outbreak response initiative.

Meanwhile, PNGWB managing director Patrick Amini said they were in the business of providing clean and safe water.

“In this connection, it advises that its ongoing water treatment and surveillance operations, ensures safe drinking water to all its customers, including residents of Daru Island.

 “We have taken measures including increasing the chlorine dosage levels, daily surveillance of our piped systems, regular tests and checks on our water supply system to ensure that the water remains safe for human consumption,” he said.