Zurenuoc keen on free education

  FREE education will be implemented now that the new government is in place, caretaker Education Minister Theo Zurenuoc said yesterday, The National reports.
He also promised to scrap the outcomes-based education (OBE) system and replace it with a practical system.
Zurenuoc was appointed Education and Higher Education Minister 24 hours earlier in Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's caretaker cabinet.
"I want to drive an important belief I have and which forms a major part of my People's Progress Party (PPP) policy that the government provides free and subsidised education to the people.
"That is the simplest and most effective way of transferring wealth of the nation to the people.

Abal vows to fight to ‘correct an illegal action’

 By ISAAC NICHOLAS

THE ousted government is taking legal action to "correct an illegal action by the opposition to wrestle power from a duly-elected government", ousted acting prime minister Sam Abal said yesterday, The National reports.
"We are not making an issue out of this for nothing," he said.
Abal, who was surrounded by Sir Arnold Amet, Ben Semri, Fidelis Semoso, Paul Tiensten, Philip Kikala, Paru Aihi and Anderson Agiru, said a political coup had happened.
"It is an illegal thing and we cannot rest until this thing is corrected. It is for our children and our future before we become a laughing stock.
"Parliament was ambushed by the vetting and abetting by the speaker himself. We have created a constitutional crisis because there is no vacancy in the office of the prime minister."
He said the process had started for the lawful removal of the prime minister. But the group in government had decided to ambush it with the help of the speaker who did not check whether there was an appropriate provision for the removal of the prime minister and went ahead and declared a vacancy.
"It was a well-organised coup that was planned with the speaker of parliament."
Abal said the election of Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, or any other person, could be carried out but it should be done within the law.
"If we allow this to go, then we are encouraging another kind of coup. It is a very sad day for the Constitution to be ridiculed. Politically, it is a government starting on the wrong foot."
Abal said parliament should not sit until such issues were resolved by the court.
"I am seeking an injunction to stop this kind of rummaging going on. This is outrageous and not acceptable to us as leaders and for the people of Papua New Guinea."
Also yesterday, Abal appealed to departmental heads, especially those looking after the public purse, to be cautious especially of leaders coming after public funds.
"This group is in a rush and will start rolling out cheques to prepare illegally and to fund their elections and that is why they took parliament by storm," Abal said.

Amet: PM’s election creates crisis

 FORMER chief justice and Madang regional MP Sir Arnold Amet says a constitutional crisis has been created by the election of a new prime minister, The National reports.
He said: "There is in my opinion a constitutional crisis created by the actions of the speaker and the opposition, in col­lusion, in circumventing and corrupting legitimate constitutional process on Tuesday."
He said the opposition purported to move and vote on a parliamentary motion to "declare a vacancy in the office of prime minister" and to appoint a new prime mi­nister, pursuant to section 142(2) and schedule 1.10(3) of the Consti­tution. 
The motion was carried on voices.
He said the Consti­tution provided for the appointment of the prime minister at the first meeting of parliament after a general election and, otherwise, from time to time as the occasion for the appointment of the prime minister arose.
Sir Arnold said the purported motion to declare a vacancy and to appoint a new prime minister was fundamentally wrong in constitutional law.
"There is no constitutional provision to support such a motion and vote to declare a vacancy in the office of the prime minister," he said.
"There is no power in the parliament to, by such a vote, declare arbitrarily that there is a vacancy in the office of the prime minister, by the fact of sheer numerical strength.
"The actions of the opposition will be subjected to scrutiny by the Supreme Court and we are confident of a favourable decision."

Nonggorr: Both regimes at fault

 THE actions of both the in-coming government and the out-going one are in breach of the Constitution, a leading constitutional lawyer said yesterday, The National reports.
Prof John Nonggorr blamed this on the "unbridled greed of politicians" acting in their own interest rather than that of the people and the country.
He described Tuesday's election of a new prime minister as a "sad day in our history".
Nonggorr said: "We, today, have an illegitimate government. The purported election is unconstitutional. 
"Sir Michael Somare remains the prime minister. 
"In his absence, due to ill-health, Sam Abal is the acting prime minister. The office of prime minister is not vacant by operation of the Constitution. 
"How can parliament elect a prime minister when there is no vacancy?
"While Sir Michael has not resigned and parliament has not voted, on the advice of  two doctors coming through the governor-general, to remove Sir Michael, this purported election cannot be based on a vacancy in the office of prime minister," Nonggorr said.
"There has not been a vote of no-confidence, which will require at least seven days' notice and other procedures to be followed. Indeed, the period for a vote of no-confidence ought to be properly brought against a government to remove a prime minister, and for a new prime minister to be elected, expires on Aug 5 – today.
"What the members of parliament have done is a blatant disregard for the rule of law. 
"Has the parliament now become so disgraceful that no one follows any rules and shows decency anymore?
"The speaker has let the country down for a very long time. This is the final straw."
Nonggorr also attacked the immediate past government headed by Abal.
"The government that Abal was leading acted unconstitutionally as well. If that government was following the law, especially the Constitution, two doctors should have been appointed as soon as it was known that Sir Michael was undergoing heart surgery. 
"That is what the law expects. Instead, the government has been pussy-footing around for more than three  months. 
"If the law was followed, parliament should have voted to stand down Sir Michael already. 
"But, two wrongs do not make a right. The opposition cannot do what is unconstitutional – they are as bad and disgraceful as the people they are attempting to get rid of."
Nonggorr said the entire process of engaging Dr Isi Kevau to provide a medical report was not stipulated in law and was a "complete waste of time".
"All these MPs should be ashamed of themselves. They are doing this for control of the money that is coming into the country before the elections. They want to control it, use it, abuse it, corrupt it. It is all about themselves. And, who suffers? PNG.
"For those observers outside of PNG, there are many decent, hard-working, law-abiding and intelligent Papua New Guineans who detest these types of behaviour displayed by so-called members of parliament. 
"These MPs do not represent de­cent Papua New Guineans and we are all ashamed of their behaviour and angry about the way they are playing their dirty games while the majority of our people are suffering."
Nonggorr is the second senior lawyer this week to condemn Tuesday's election in parliament as unconstitutional. 
Peter Donigi expressed similar sentiments on Tuesday.

Amet loses bid to fight O’Neill

 By SAMUEL RAITANO

AN application for a special Supreme Court reference, sought by Madang regional MP Sir Arnold Amet questioning the legality of the Peter O'Neill-led government, has been withdrawn, The National reports.
The withdrawal was made by Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat. 
Marat was sworn in on Wednesday as the caretaker minister for justice and attorney-general plus labour and industrial relations. 
His appointment, and that of other careta­ker ministers, was published in the National Gazette that same day. 
Sir Arnold filed the application on the evening of the same day, using his (previous) title as the attorney-general. 
Lawyer for Sir Arnold, Ian Molloy, took the courtroom by surprise when he said he was withdrawing the matter on instructions from the (new) attorney-general. 
Marat withdrew the proceeding, saying that he, as the attorney-general, did not "au­thorise, consent or ap­prove" of the Supreme Court application. 
It is understood that only the attorney-general has the power to invoke a special Supreme Court reference under section 19 of the Constitution. 
Molloy, on behalf of Sir Arnold, sought the Supreme Court's appro­val to have the matter adjourned in order to obtain further instruc­tions from his client and, perhaps, pursue the case from a different angle.
Marat's lawyer Manuel Varitimos said Sir Arnold no longer had the powers to pursue the matter be­cause he was no longer the attorney-general. 
He asked the court to have the matter with­drawn. 
Some National Al­liance MPs, faithful to the former government who attended the court session, were shocked because it meant their plans to pursue the matter in court had hit a brick wall. 
The Supreme Court accepted the withdrawal after perusing Marat's affidavit. 
Supreme Court judges Bernard Sakora, Panuel Mogish and Derek Hartshorn presided over the matter. 
It is understood that Wabag MP Sam Abal would have his submissions made in the National Court today to restrain Peter O'Neill from exercising his powers as the prime minister, pending the legal question over the post's vacancy.
Meanwhile, Ombudsman John Nero said yesterday that under section 19 of the Constitution, the Ombudsman Commission had the authority to bring about a Supreme Court reference on issues pertaining to certain questionable issues arising in government.
He said the current political situation had moved so fast that the commission had not looked at the issues tho­roughly. 
"What I am saying is that the commission has the standing under section 19 of the Constitution to bring about a Supreme Court reference but, until we have properly studied the issues in question, we cannot say or do anything just yet," Nero said.

Gillard congratulates O’Neill

 AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard has become the first world leader to congratulate Peter O'Neill on his appointment as PNG's new prime minister, The National reports.
Gillard telephoned O'Neill in Port Moresby yesterday afternoon and in a brief conversation said Canberra looked forward to working closely with the new government under O'Neill's leadership.
Both leaders stressed the importance of continuing the strong relations that existed between their two countries.
Under O'Neill, Canberra is likely to focus its annual aid programmes and budget support on rural and district development, something the new prime minister championed in the previous Somare-led coalition called the District Support Improvement Programme.
He assured Gillard that his government would ensure that PNG's economic growth remained on track and that the 2011 Budget, which he framed when he was treasurer, achieved its targets.
As a cabinet minister in the previous Somare government, O'Neill had led discussions with Canberra on the direction of Australian aid, the LNG project, and the development of sovereign wealth funds to capture revenue from the PNG LNG project.
O'Neill is expected to use his experience and close working relationship with Canberra to ensure the Australian support of PNG's development programmes benefit the district and rural areas directly.
"Prime Minister O'Neill assured Gillard that the PNG economic growth remained on track, and that the 2011 budget, which O'Neill framed as treasurer, would achieve its targets," a statement issued by the prime minister's office said.
Australia had provided aid annually to PNG since independence, and Canberra has always enjoyed a close working relationship with all governments of PNG

Union shies away from govt over legal issues

THE PNG Trade Union Congress is willing to work with the new government but noted the serious legal, constitutional and procedural issues that have been raised which question the validity of the change of government, The National reports.

PNGTUC president Michael Malabag said in a statement that the union was happy to work with the government many of whom were in the previous government with whom good working relations had been established.
However, there were questions such as:
.Whether or not a vote of no-confidence was the proper course of action to take to effect a change of prime minister and government considering no vacancy had been created and for all intents and purposes the sitting prime minister remained the prime minister;
.Whether an acting prime minister could and should be replaced by a vote of no-confidence; and
.Whether in fact the vote of no-confidence if deemed to be proper to effect a change of prime minister and government under the present circumstances 
complied with the limitations imposed by law in so far as the Constitution, legal 
and procedural requirements were concerned.
Malabag said the PNGTUC was an impartial and independent body that expressed its willingness to work with any government of the day.
"We however place great significance on the need to protect the integrity of the National Constitution and the democratic processes and institution to which we must all (including every government) submit subservience and respect.
"In the interest of our parliamentary democracy and constitutional integrity, we urge the courts to expedite and prioritise any hearing and deliberation on the recent changes in government.