Wenge steadfast on court case

By GABRIEL LAHOC
MOROBE Governor Luther Wenge has defended his latest court battle against the government over the Judicial Conduct Act saying the new law would affect all citizens.
He is facing criticism in the province for spending public funds on court cases that did not concern the Morobe people alone.
Wenge said he was obliged as a concerned national leader to challenge the matter in court as the new law was gazetted in a questionable manner by parliament.
“Morobeans and critics should understand that we are part of this country, this new law will affect us greatly therefore the Morobe government is challenging it in court,” he said.
“If not, tell me who will do it?”
He said the provincial government was authorised under section 19 of the Constitution to refer certain questions to the courts to interpret.
He said other Morobe leaders had failed to understand the truth and the consequences of it.
Wenge said without such a bold approach, he feared the country would sink under the worsening constitutional crisis if the judiciary “which is the last option for the people is made to look inferior to parliament”.
“Worst will come if more laws are broken in the coming weeks and I am very scared. I have to go to court to save the court,” Wenge said.
He said the Peter O’Neill-led government had the worst record in PNG’s history and breached the Constitution many times beginning with how it got into power.
“Only the Electoral Commission has the power to defer elections if there is a war or huge disaster,” he said.
He said the Constitution was superior to parliament, legislature and the judiciary “and provides each of the three arms of government their certain powers and their obligation limits”.
“The Constitution does not say which arm is more superior than the other,” Wenge said.
He did not spell out how much it would cost the people of Morobe to legally challenge parliament’s decision but sources put the cost at more than K500,000.