Reform amendments received

By GEORGINA KOREI
ELEVEN submissions were received for the two constitutional reform amendments during a public hearing last Thursday.
Parliamentary Committee chairman and Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas said he received the 11 submissions and would present them when Parliament resumes on May 28.
The two constitutional reform amendments were for the declaration of PNG as a Christian country and the restructure of the Court with the establishment of the appeals court.
“The public hearing is not for the committee members to respond to what individuals and groups have to say but to listen, take note and take all submissions to the parliament when it resumes sitting at the end of this month,” he said.
Constitutional Law Reforms Commission (CLRC) secretary Dr Mange Matui said the commission had given equal opportunity to everyone nationwide to participate and to have a say on the constitutional amendments. He said the question of the declaration of PNG as a Christian country in the constitution, which was issued to CLRC as a constitutional directive by the Head of State took into account the following facts:

• THREE quarters of Papua New Guineans are practising Christians and the other quarter of the population identifies itself as Christians and non-Christians;
• CHRISTIAN country and give significance to God and to our Christian values; and,
• THE preamble of the Constitution must make God become prominent to reflect the thinking of people as to the kind of country that we want to have and also to also ensure that those who want to part of our society must acknowledge God and adopt our Christian values.

The constitutional amendment to declare PNG as a Christian country was met with a unanimous 80-10 votes during first reading in Parliament on Feb 15 before it was referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Laws, Acts and Subordinate Legislations.