Day of reckoning for O’Neill

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill will know by the end of today if his fledgling government will see out the New Year.
The nation’s attention will be riveted on the Waigani Court House in NCD, the seat of the country’s judicial arm of government, as a five-judge Supreme Court panel headed by Chief Sir Justice Salamo Injia is scheduled to hand down a decision on the East Sepik provincial executive court reference questioning the validity of what transpired on Aug 2 when O’Neill, with a majority MPs, formed a new government.
In a historical context, this will be the second time in PNG’s brief political history that the Supreme Court has been asked to decide the fate of a sitting prime minister. The first time occurred in 1994 when Paias Wingti was removed as prime minister.
Interestingly, the chief justice then was Sir Arnold Amet, who retired from the bench and pursued a career in politics.
Sir Arnold was part of the Somare-Abal regime that was vanquished a little over four months ago. Since then, he has been a vocal critic of O’Neill and his cabinet.
Today, we will see if history repeats itself.
However, what must be of concern to all Papua New Guineans is the growing practice of asking the judiciary to rule on the other two arms of government (executive and legislative). This is a habit that must be done away with.
O’Neill has moved to have Sir Salamo disqualified from deliberating on the reference, citing a conflict-of-interest situation but this may be a hollow argument because it essentially questions the judiciary’s independence and is unlikely to meet with an affirmative response.
Meanwhile, the government has been locked away in camp at Mirigini House, the official residence of the prime minister, over the last two days (no doubt planning counter measures should the decision goes against them).
They will, most likely, strategise on ways to remain in power regardless of the court decision. For them, the justification is that it would be imperative to continue the momentum garnered over their short stay in power.
The O’Neill government has, arguably, one of the most proactive records. Decisions made have been largely for the interests of the suffering masses and to rebuild public confidence and foment positive opinion by the man on the street.
O’Neill’s term has been characterised by a general lift in satisfaction among constituencies. Even though this government has not actually solved any of the nation’s pressing issues, everyone can see that the intent is there.
The commissioning of a task force, specifically aimed at weeding out corruption in all government departments and state bodies, has been a long-time coming. No one can deny that corrupt practices are widespread and have been rampant and continue to be a hindrance to development in the country.
The recognition for women’s reserved seats in parliament, despite criticism from some sections of society, is a big step in empowering women to be directly involved in the parliamentary decision-making process. That can only be a good thing.
The government has promptly moved to make the Hela and Jiwaka provinces a reality within the agreed time frame. In a nutshell, O’Neill has not let an opportunity pass him by to show the country that his ascension to power was not based on personal gain. He was and is actually serious about making changes for the better. He has been decisive where his predecessors were not. 
But the law is the law. If the court declares O’Neill’s elevation to the top post null and void, that, in itself, will create many more questions about the way politics is run in PNG.
The wider ramification of a decision against O’Neill cannot be underplayed. Not only do the gains made by the O’Neill government stand to be lost or jeopardised. The government has just passed the country’s largest budget worth K10.5 billion. Public expenditure has been redirected to areas where it will have the most effect. Income taxes for low wage earners have been removed.
There is no guarantee that the budget will be passed even if a minority government is installed by today’s decision. That would be potentially a bigger problem for the nation than simply welcoming back the usual suspects.