O’Neill: Split up bigger electorates
News that matter in Papua New Guinea
O’Neill: Split up bigger
electorates
PORT MORESBY: Electorates with big populations should be
split up so that everyone can benefit from Government funding allocated to MPs,
says former prime minister Peter O’Neill.
“I know that the
community here has always wanted to split the electorate. I think that is the
way to go. And we will support (the proposal) in the next term of Parliament so
you can have a better representation,” he added.
O’Neill spoke in Madang on
Friday (June 17, 2022) after being told about the proposal by the people of
Sumkar that Karkar Island and mainland (Sumgilbar) should become separate
electorates.
PNG Cyber Monitor reproduced below a few General Election 2022 news updates as published by The National:
O’Neill: Split up
bigger electorates
June 27, 2022The
NationalMain Stories
O’Neill, who was in Madang on Friday, was told about the proposal by the people
of Sumkar that Karkar Island and mainland (Sumgilbar) should become separate
electorates.
Addressing the Megiar and Sarang villagers, O’Neill said: “I know the
population between Karkar and mainland is big.
“I know that the community here has always wanted to split the electorate. I
think that is the way to go.
“And we will support (the proposal) in the next term of parliament so you can
have a better representation.
“Why this is important is because of the funding that the district gets.
“One MP cannot provide for everybody (in a densely populated electorate).”
O’Neill, the People’s National Congress (PNC) party leader, told the people
that his party’s policies were rural-based with education as the “cornerstone”.
“I am confident that we will form the government (and) will make sure that we
do everything possible to ensure that their (rural people’s) future is
brighter,” he said.
“I grew up in a village so I know.
“My mother had to struggle in the village to look for school fees to put me
through school.
“I didn’t have clothes, no shoes.
“I know the struggles that people are going through.”
PNC candidate for Sumkar Ken Fairweather emphasised the need for more schools
in the electorate.
O’Neill also conveyed his condolences to the families of the late Sumkar MP
Chris Nangoi, and Madang’s long-time resident and statesman late Sir Peter
Barter who passed away in Australia last week.
PNC vows to pay off student loans
By EHEYUC SESERU
THE People’s National Congress party had promised to do away with higher
education loan programme (Help), and write off loans already taken by students,
if it forms the next government.
Party leader Peter O’Neill said: “We will do away with the system (Help) in
September and write off all the student loans.
“We don’t have money to pay for school fees in the first place. So how can
students repay those loans?”
He told students who had taken out loans not to worry about repaying them.
“We will write it off,” he said.
Instead, O’Neill said his party would reintroduce the national scholarship
(Natscol) programme.
“We will reintroduce the national scholarship which (had) existed for 40
years,” he said.
“We must pay the fees of students attending university, technical, teachers and
nursing colleges.”
He said education should be the top priority.
“Almost 60 per cent of our population are youthful – below 25 years,” he said.
O’Neill said his government would recruit young men and women next year to join
the police force and army – increasing the numbers for national service.
“It is not new. They did that in the 1960s and 70s,” he said.
“Most of our old people had gone into national service with Australian
government. But it was stopped when we had independence.
“Now that our population has increased, the government must intervene to
educate, and up-skill our young population.”
O’Neill was campaigning in Lae on Saturday.
He described his presence in Lae with the 10 candidates for the province’s 11
seats as “historic”.
“In respect to late Sam Basil, we haven’t put up a candidate in Bulolo.”
Finschhafen candidates protesting over RO’s
appointment
A PETITION from 26
candidates contesting Finschhafen Open seat in Morobe on their choice for the
Returning Officer (RO) has been handed over to the Electoral Commission.
They want Esia Batu, who was appointed on May 19, to be retained as the RO.
Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai on June 9 revoked Batu’s appointment and
replaced him with Kawage Mesere.
The candidates handed over their petition on Friday to Morobe election manager
Simon Soheke in Lae.
A copy was sent to Sinai.
The candidates raised the likelihood of a failed election in Finschhafen if
polling and counting were not carried out properly.
Spokesman Ken Zilong said Batu had been involved in the registration of the
candidates from May 19 to 26, and if removed, their nominations would become
null and void.
“This simply means that there will be no election in the district,” Zilong
said.
Morobe election steering committee chairman Kisu Lucas said recommendations for
selecting ROs and acting returning officers were made by the election steering
committee.
“RO is a position that senior public servants are eligible for, and the
committee makes the recommendations to appoint them,” Lucas said.
Official urges polling without disruptions
CANDIDATES, scrutineers and supporters in
Eastern Highlands have been told to allow the polling and counting processes to
continue without any disruptions.
Provincial elections manager Steven Gore Kaupa sounded the warning after ballot
papers for the nine parliamentary seats in the province arrived in Goroka on
Thursday.
He said the ballot papers and election materials had been locked up in metal
containers and guarded by members of the security forces.
“We will open the containers (when polling starts) in the presence of security
forces and scrutineers and distribute then to the electorates before the
polling,” he said.
Kaupa said there was limited time given to complete the election process after
the end of the campaign period.
Polling is scheduled to begin from Monday. “I strongly call on candidates,
scrutineers and supporters not to cause unnecessary problems and frustrate the
process, especially the polling and counting,” he said.
Kaupa said the scrutineers of the 389 candidate would be certified after a
training.
They will only be allowed to enter the counting centre if they produce a valid
scrutineer’s certificate.
Meanwhile, Kaupa also confirmed that Assistant Returning Officers for the 24
local level governments in the province had been appointed by the Electoral
Commission.
“The AROs are ready to be deployed into the LLGs and I call for the cooperation
between officials, candidates and supporters,” he said.
Kaupa thanked the members of the security force and the Australian Defence
Force for their support.
Court denies
application
June 27, 2022The
NationalMain Stories
Judge Joseph Yagi at Waigani on Friday refused the application saying Potape
did not have reasonable grounds or sufficient interest in the application he
sought.
“There is no direct evidence that Potape had nominated to contest for Hela
regional seat in the General Election 2022,” he said.
Justice Yagi said Potape was only referred to as a potential candidate for the
Hela regional seat in the application. “In the circumstance, I have reached an
inescapable conclusion that the plaintiff doesn’t have the standing or
sufficient interest,” he said.
Justice Yagi added that there was a Supreme Court decision made on a similar
case between an intending candidate and former Electoral Commissioner Patilias
Gamato in 2017 which bound the National Court in such case.
The Supreme Court in that decision stated that the appellants for leave to file
judicial review must have direct interest, must be directly affected by the
appointment decision and the appointment decision must affect his/her rights
and interest.
Justice Yagi said: “With respect, in my view, I am unable to see how I could
avoid the binding decision rationale, imperative and import of the Supreme
Court.
“Where an applicant for leave fails to demonstrate standing, there is no basis
for granting leave because it does not matter whether there is an arguable case
or not,” he said.
Potape, through his lawyer Paul Harry, argued that Sinai made a mistake to
appoint Tipa as RO because Tipa’s conduct in the last general election was
questionable and he was the incumbent Hela Governor Philip Undialu’s close
associate.
Harry said Potape wrote to Sinai advising him of the allegations against Tipa
and said people with question of integrity should not be appointed and Sinai
ignored it.
Solicitor-General Tauvasa Tanuvasa argued that Potape had no ground to make the
application as there was no evidence of his nomination.
Tanuvasa said the allegation against Tipa was in relation to the last election
and failed to demonstrate any breach of administrative process in his
appointment.
Wobiro appeals to run for elections
By BEVERLY PETER
FORMER Western
governor Ati Wobiro has filed a human rights application to the National Court
to stop Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai from disqualifying his nomination to
contest the General Election 2022 (GE22.
Wobiro filed his application on Friday with lawyer Goiye Gileng seeking Judge
Getrude Tamade to allow him to contest the Western regional seat as an
Independent.
“Although Wobiro was convicted for conspiracy to defraud and jailed 11 years in
2015, his sentence was appealed and reduced to six years and filed an
application challenging court’s decision on his conviction which was heard and
is still pending a decision,” he said.
“We ask the court to stop Sinai’s decision and allow Waobiro to contest in GE22
pending the decision on slip rule application.
“If Sinai’s decision is not stopped or a restraining order is not issued to
stop Sinai’s decision, Wobiro’s constitutional rights to hold and run for
public office will be breached.”
Counsel Joppo Simbala, representing Sinai, said the application was incompetent,
defective and an abuse of the court’s processes and should be dismissed in the
interest of the public and justice.
He said Wobiro was disqualified following the May 3 Supreme Court decision that
anyone convicted of a crime after June 21, 2002, were ineligible to contest in
general elections for life.
The matter returns today for a decision.
Hope new electorate will improve services
Locals and settlers of
Ward two gathering at Misis Booth in Wau for a political campaign last week. –
Nationalpic by GLORIA BAUAI
By GLORIA BAUAI
THE people of new
Wau-Waria electorate in Morobe are anxious to know who will be elected as their
leader in General Election 2022 (GE22).
“We have always been overshadowed by Bulolo,” Judy Illawong from Kaintiba said.
“We have been left to deteriorate with no development in socio-economic
progress.
“We now hope all will change for the better with our first MP.”
Illawong said the neglect left law and order issues to rise and became the
biggest hindrance to Wau-Waria’s socio-economic growth.
“It has always been risky as far as I can remember,” she said.
“It has never been safe for women and children to travel from rural Wau into
urban Wau to market, shop or access any service.
“There is no business activity in the community, no youth employment and a
frightening increase in abuse of illegal substances.
“We cannot blame teachers and health workers for refusing to serve in our
district because they are too concerned for their safety.”
Illawong lamented that the few government service providers misused the resources
like ambulance vehicles, and even the police did not seem to take their job
seriously, with high cases of alcohol abuse and police brutality, contributing
to the district’s law and order issues.
“We do not have a hospital,” she said.
“We have had too many emergency deaths involving pregnant women, and our very
poor road condition worsens our situation.”
Another resident, Tony Gewasa, a long-time settler from Finschaffen said
Wau-Waria needed a strong, firm leadership to change the district for the
better.
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