Please apologise

THE embarrassing fracas in Parliament last Tuesday, largely as a result of the Speaker’s deliberate attempts to frustrate the vote of no confidence in the prime minister did little to restore any confidence that the public might have in the legislature and our leaders’ real intentions after they are voted into Parliament.
Reasons provided by the Speaker not to entertain the motion by the Opposition leader to suspend Standing Orders for him to move a motion of censure against the Speaker were at best feeble and mischievous, and at worst – deliberately contrived to mislead the Parliament.
Those actions alone, it can be argued, constitute misconduct in office within the meaning of Division III.2. (Leadership Code) of the Constitution.
I hope someone takes the Speaker to task and refers him to the Ombudsman Commission.
The Speaker’s obstructionist and parochial handling of the sitting last Tuesday was wrong and he should apologise to the House and the people of Papua New Guinea.

Lance Lotte