O’Neill heeds plea to move Kandep petition hearing

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has directed Justice Minister and Attorney-General Davis Steven to discuss with the judiciary the possibility of relocating the election petition case on the Kandep seat to another centre.
Responding to the call by Wabag MP Dr Lino Tom for the case to be relocated because of security reasons, O’Neill said the Government did not have any authority to direct the judiciary on how it conducted its work.
“I will ask the attorney-general who is our key point of contact with the judiciary, to ask an audience with members of the judiciary,” he said. On the issue of security in Wabag, O’Neill said there was an increased presence of police officers and soldiers in the province.
“If need be, we will continue to increase that so that we can provide safety and security for the innocent people of Wabag who are being affected by the court case,” O’Neill said.
Tom said security issues were costing the provincial government a lot of money.
“As a mandated leader for Wabag, given the recent bloody conflict that resulted from the election dispute for the Kandep Open seat, the recent court rulings have decided to bring the trial to Wabag and the tribal fights have not ended. The conflicts have resulted in the deaths of over 30 people and loss of properties worth millions of kina,” he said.