Change law to best serve people, MP says

 DEPUTY Prime Minister Leo Dion (pictured), says there is an urgent need to change the Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local Level Governments in line with changing times.

But he said the interest of the people should not be compromised.

He was opening the two-day inquiry into the law in Port Moresby yesterday, attended by provincial administrators around the country and national department heads, and in line with the Alotau Accord.

Dion, the Minister for Inter-Government Relations, said there were few laws in the country that were more central than this piece of legislation.

The Original Organic Law on Provincial Governments was adopted in 1976 with a reform in 1995. 

This will be the third time for the law to be reviewed.

“I always refer to it as the spinal cord that serves as the central hub linking and directing Papua New Guinea’s political and administrative activities,” Dion said.

“The effectiveness of this spinal cord, however, is not assessed by how it is designed or crafted in words.

“Rather, it is measured by how best it serves the people – the very subjects in a democratic policy like ours.

“The people, as you all know, assess and define effectiveness and success in terms of tangible benefits that they receive. This is not a unique or peculiar trait to Papua New Guinea.”

Dion said therein lay the challenge that a proper review of the law should be taken into account.

“It should not merely be an academic or legal exercise that involves altering the law, so as to find a better fit and then declare a solution has been found,” he said.