Why are Covid-19 regulations still in force?

WHATEVER has happened to Covid-19?
We hardly hear of it any more.
Some of the habits it introduced remain among us such as hand sanitising and the occasional face mask, a new normal in our lives.
Beyond that the social distancing, vaccination and other paraphernalia that was introduced to us under emergency regulations have virtually disappeared.
It is highly likely Covid-19 is still here and running rampant among the population, but the scare is gone with the vaccines.
What we can say with every confidence is that Coronavirus would not be the first bug running loose in this beautiful land.
So is the tuberculosis (TB) germ, a colossal killer which is also a global pandemic.
On the loose, too, and uncontrollable thus far is the malaria parasite that has decimated entire villages and regions in this country and will be around for as long as an anopheles mosquito, the natural vector, is in flight.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been on the march for a full three decades and provides all these other bugs with the greatest weapon against humans – by attacking and laying bare the human immune system itself.
These viruses, bacteria and fungi which have been running rampant throughout Papua New Guinea for eons, have not decimated the population.
The good and most comforting news is that this population, of all populations on the face of planet Earth, has survived every bug thrown at it without benefit of medicines or medical care. And it will survive yet, even the harshest persecution of Covid-19.
What we must attend to is how the Government has managed this pandemic so that we will know how to respond to the next one.
While we cannot ascertain the whereabouts of Covid virus, we have remaining the laws that have been passed and the regulations that have been imposed upon the country. Why do they appear to be still in force?
The Government has not come out clear to explain whether or not the Commissioner of Police has continuing powers as Controller of the Pandemic State of Emergency.
Recently, Commissioner David Manning relied upon those powers to direct the Central Bank and Puma Energy to resolve the fuel crisis.
For all practical purposes, those powers ought to have lapsed a long time ago.
The powers emanate from the National Constitution or from the National Parliament, both of which alone can continue or rescind a State of Emergency.
The Government has not brought this matter before Parliament and, therefore, Parliament has not agreed to continue the SOE.
Therefore, the SOE and its regulations ought to have lapsed.
The National Constitution (Part X: National Emergency) has it that a State of National Emergency can only be extended by the National Parliament by an absolute majority vote at clearly stipulated two-monthly intervals, failing which the State of Emergency and its regulations automatically lapse.
If the National Parliament has not dealt with the Covid Pandemic SOE, then very clearly the SOE has lapsed and so should all powers and regulations.
The National Pandemic Act, under which the Government declared a State of Emergency, is an inferior law to the National Constitution.
The National Pandemic Act may continue in force but a National State of Emergency, which is brought into force by
the Constitution under very specific circumstances, clearly cannot.
Whenever the provisions of an Act are in conflict with the National Constitution, it is the inferior law (the Act) which must be struck down by automatic operation of the law.
The Government and its agents can no longer claim or use emergency powers to procure goods and services, direct or authorise financial commitments or compel citizens and organisations to adhere to instructions.
All actions by the Controller of the SOE can now reasonably be said to be ultra vires the Constitution.
If the danger of Covid-19 is current and present, and that is important, then the National Health Department and the World Health Organisation have a duty to alert the country to this. Parliament can then decide whether or not to reintroduce another emergency.
For now, there is none and there should be no regulation in place that pretends there is one.
That said, the Government has a fiduciary duty and a moral obligation to make a report to Parliament on the entire pandemic and how the country has managed it.
More especially, it must report on how monies that were allocated under the budget and those that were given by countries and multilateral organisations have been put to use.