Rex Kiponge suspended as NAC boss

News that matter in Papua New Guinea

Suspended National Airports Cooperation managing director Rex Kiponge during the commissioning of two aerobridges at the Jackson Airport international terminal in Port Moresby on Wednesday. – Nationalpic by NICKY BERNARD

Rex Kiponge suspended as NAC boss

PORT MORESBY: National Airports Corporation (NAC) managing-director Rex Kiponge has been suspended, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Walter Schnaubelt says.

“The suspension is made possible through a legislative amendment to the Civil Aviation Act (2000) in the recent Parliament session and its subsequent gazettal.

The National reported the news break:

NAC boss Kiponge suspended

December 9, 2022The NationalMain Stories

Suspended National Airports Cooperation managing director Rex Kiponge during the commissioning of two aerobridges at the Jackson Airport international terminal in Port Moresby on Wednesday. – Nationalpic by NICKY BERNARD

NATIONAL Airports Corporation (NAC) managing director Rex Kiponge has been suspended, says Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation Walter Schnaubelt.
He said the suspension was made possible through a legislative amendment to the Civil Aviation (2000) during the recent Parliament session and its subsequent gazettal.
“Using a provision under that amendment, I have invoked my powers as minister responsible to suspend managing director Rex Kiponge and appoint Joseph Tupiri (a former NAC managing director) as the acting managing director for three months,” Schnaubelt said in a statement yesterday.
He said Tupiri would focus on attending to the various issues that had been reported in the media.
“The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and the aviation agencies under the PNG transport sector would like to thank the Government for understanding the NAC issues and to finally approve the strategic approach that we proposed, allowing the minister to intervene at this critical time due to the absence of the NAC board resulting from a stay order that is afoot,” Schnaubelt said.
He appealed to the NAC management and staff to support Tupiri especially during the festive period when peak aviation travel would be expected and to minimise disruptions.
“At the end of the three months, the NAC board and management will be expected to recommend to the Government, through my office as the Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, on the best way forward so that this situation should not be experienced again in the future,” Schnaubelt said.

Kiponge’s bid to stop Act rejected

December 9, 2022The NationalMain Stories

By BEVERLY PETER
DEPUTY Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi says courts cannot intervene on legalities or illegalities of a law passed by Parliament.
“Once a law is gazetted, it should take its effect. And if it is in conflict with the Constitution, it should be pleaded properly based on legal foundations,” he said.
Justice Kandakasi made the comments in the National Court in Waigani yesterday when denying an urgent application by National Airports Corporation managing-director and chief executive officer Rex Kiponge seeking an interim order to stop a section in the Civil Aviation Amendment Act 2022 that was passed by the Parliament on Dec 2 and later gazetted.
Kiponge was trying to stop the section in that amended act which gives powers to the Civil Aviation Minister to oversee the appointment of NAC managing-director and the board members.
The previous act provides for the board members to appoint the managing-director.
Kandakasi said there must be order in state-own enterprises’ administrations and understanding of the due process on who have authority over who.
Kiponge’s lawyer Dan Kakaraya said the section had come into conflict with the Constitution and should be stopped from coming into effect pending court’s determination on its validity.
Kandakasi said if the amended act was in conflict with the Constitution, then take it back to the NAC administration to appreciate the conflict and take it to the board and the necessary authority to revisit if required.
“It is Parliament that creates the state-own enterprises and they can shape, merge, mould, abolish and do whatever they want as its within their powers.
“If they want one person to take charge or 10 people to be involved, they decide and that’s their matter, not necessarily for this court to step in and dictate”
He said personal interest had no place in this instance because it was the interest of civil aviation, NAC, and the Government and people that matters.
Lawyer representing Civil Aviation Minister Walter Schnaubelt said Kiponge’s application was improper before the court as the National Court does not have the power to stay an Act of Parliament.
He said the law had already been passed and was in effect. “If they want to challenge it, then it should be taken to the Supreme Court by way of reference and not in originating summons,” he added.

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