MPs slam call for extension of Parliament

By HARLYNE JOKU
THE call for an extension of Parliament by another 12 months and the deferral of the national election by Highlands leaders has been described as unreasonable and unrealistic.
Chairman of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission Dr Allan Marat said the call came from the very leaders who lobbied among Government backbenchers to stop the State of Emergency in the Southern Highlands province.
Dr Marat said now, they were calling on the Government to extend Parliament for another 12 months.
“Why should they hold the rest of the country to ransom for their own decisions?” Dr Marat asked.
The call was made on Sunday by Lagaip Porgera MP Kappa Yarka, who is also the chairman of the Permanent Committee on Law and Order.
Dr Marat said the law would not be passed in Parliament on time. He said the last Parliament session was on April 17 and a constitutional amendment required two months for the passage of the bill.
Dr Marat said the MPs from the Highlands region were well aware of their law and order situation yet pushed for the SoE to be lifted for their own interest.
Meanwhile, Anglimp South Waghi MP and leader of PNG Country Party Jamie Maxtone-Graham has strongly condemned the move.
Mr Maxtone-Graham said it was unconstitutional and in breach of the people’s right to exercise their freedom in choosing their leaders.
“The move would only create problems rather than solve them.
“How do they propose to solve law and order problems within six to 12 months if they haven’t managed to do it in the five years they had been in power,” he said.
Mr Maxtone-Graham said the elections should go on as planned because Papua New Guineans needed to make decisions and changes as they saw fit.


 

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