Parlt court case adjourned

The National Main Stories

A CASE before the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the recalling of Parliament on Tuesday last week has been adjourned to Monday to allow interested parties to join as interveners.
The case was filed by Ialibu-Pangia MP Peter O’Neill last week after Speaker Job Pomat had recalled Parliament on Nov 17, even though MPs had approved on Nov 13 that it be adjourned to Dec 1.
The Nov 17 sitting saw the passing of the 2021 national budget and the adjournment to April next year.
The case was recalled yesterday for parties to inform the court whether to stay the two adjournment dates before moving onto substantive hearing.
O’Neill’s lawyer Greg Sheppard told the court that they could not reach an agreement with the other parties because O’Neill wanted Parliament to meet on Dec 1, while the government lawyers wanted the court to hear the case first before parliament could meet.
Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika will appoint a panel to hear an application for stay once determination of the application of other parties to intervene is concluded.
Those yet to confirm their applications to intervene are Prime Minister James Marape, Parliament clerk Kala Aufa, Treasury Minister Ian Ling-Stuckey, Finance Minister Rainbo Paita and lawyer Paul Paraka.
Sir Gibbs granted leave to the Speaker and Attorney-General to be part of the proceedings.

7 comments

  • Both the Government and the opposition must respect the third arm of government, which is the Judiciary which will mitigate on the application filed by the opposition faction.

  • Yes, let the high court determine if there were any part of the constitution breached/broken. Both sides are using certain sections of the constitution to argue their cases. PMJM has made it clear that the outcome of this hearing will be respected. Unlike in the past we’ve seen PO using delay tactics to water down issues of national security and safety.

  • Undue pressure and influence from any parties; whether from the Opposition or Government must not be entertained by the Judiciary. What happened had happened and the citizens are fully aware. To determine whether there was any breach of the Constitution is now up to the Judiciary to go through thoroughly and deliver the decision at its own schedule. Impartiality must stand tall and be the demarcation. The Legislature did what it could under the sun and now the Judiciary is doing what it can. Putting unnecessary pressure on the Judiciary and coming up with pre-empted, unsubstantiated and biased opinions is called for. Maintaining of the distinct boundaries in the separation of powers between Legislature, Executive and Judiciaries is very important for the vibrant democracy to work for all citizens.

  • Take back PNG. We PNG need to be Economically independent so Judiciary team kindly let James Marape stay as PM for PNG and we support him to work towards the vision been set/put.

  • Our MPs lack rational and independent thinking, critical analysis of situations and make a decision based on the information available to them. Few MPs make inform decisions where they stand in making critical decisions. Three quarters of MPs are yes man, and can be easily influenced by other influential MPs.

  • If the government conduct of 2021 budget of K19 billion with out the presence of the opposition team is lawful then the government is right. Why waiting for opposition and wasting more time for development. 2021 national budget is to be done in November 2020, and that is right! Next year January 2021 is time to implementing this budget to finish most of the pending projects in the country. Opposition needs to agree with budget and ensure that projects and services in their districts and provinces are delivered. Poor people are not interested in all this politics, they need change and development. This term is one of the worst as government is unstable with second Motion of No Confidence in progress. Can we support only on government to run this nation?

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