O’Neill’s unilateral decision a grave concern

 WE write to express our gravest concerns about Peter O’Neill’s unilateral decision to allow asylum seekers heading for Australia to be resettled permanently in PNG. 

This deal raises more questions than answers. 

First, has O’Neill given some thought about the practical aspects of his deal with Kevin Rudd and the socioeconomic and religious implications of what he signed us up for? 

Unlike Australia, PNG does not have a financial social security system in place to support these refugees. 

We do have our traditional social security in the great wantok system, which continues to carry us, but we cannot see these strangers assimilating easily into this system without causing social disharmony. 

Where and how does O’Neill plan to resettle them? Ialibu-Pangia? 

Surely he cannot resettle them elsewhere in PNG since he did not bother to ask us and get our consent. 

Where is he going to find land?

For starters, he still has not successfully resolved our own Manam volcano refugees and the Carteret Island climate change refugees. 

How does he plan to admit strangers from far and wide without being unfair to our own two groups of people and our fellow Melanesian brothers and sisters from West Papua? 

We understand that Australia will foot the bill of resettling these refugees, but this is hardly considered fair and just. 

How can we, a Melanesian country, allow others to be given preferential treatment over our own in our land? 

With the anti-Asian sentiments  simmering in the background, any perceived preferential treatment for other people may incite further unrest. 

We would also like to register our utmost disgust at O’Neill’s  display of dictatorial behaviour by entering into a deal of significant national interest in a unilateral manner without consulting Parliament and the people of this country. 

At the risk of restating the obvious, this deal has nothing to do with PNG and in fact, nothing to do with Australia too. 

This is a gimmick thought up by Rudd that is imposed on us through his friend O’Neill to salvage his Labor Party’s dwindling hopes of retaining power in the coming Australian federal elections. 

Nevertheless, O’Neill’s  behaviour raises the question of whether he should be allowed to stay in his current position. 

Just recently, he introduced a proposal to amend the Constitution to allow him to entrench his hold on political power in PNG and had it accepted by an overwhelming majority in Parliament. 

We warn lawmakers to be wary of what O’Neill is doing and approach his proposals with a high degree of cynicism. 

We urge you to reject his proposal and block him from having a free reign on power and abusing it, as he has clearly done this time, by rejecting his proposed amendments to the Constitution to increase the grace period for a vote of no-confidence. 

The Blue Collar Boys, Via email