News December 2011.2

Just in time for Christmas 2011 TORO tv published this video on YouTube. It shows how the People of Bougainville celebrated 100 years of the arrival of the first Marist Missionaries in 2001. In 1901, when the Marist Missionaries arrived on Bougainville it was still a German colony. One hundred years later, 2001 became the year of the Bougainville Peace Agreement after years of unrest on the island. So it became also the year of hope for a better future.

Carolus Ketsimur from Tinputz Village composed this Jubilee Song. Today he serves Bougainville as ABG Minister of Communications. He was also the Founder of Radio New Dawn on Bougainville.

CANBERRA'S VERSION OF THE GREAT GAME of politics is anaemic by comparison. Removing a serving prime minister through a palace coup after dark? Not bad. Shows promise.

But the boldness, the pace, even these days the stakes, of politics in resource-rich Papua New Guinea are breathtaking.

Underpinning them is the Melanesian Way of resolving issues through constantly pushing envelopes until resistance ultimately prevents progress, and through working tirelessly to build majority support, which then tends to create rapid consensus.

The last tumultuous 12 days in PNG began with the Supreme Court ordering the reinstatement of Michael Somare, "the chief," veteran of 43 years in parliament, as prime minister.

The court also did its best to heighten the drama of the occasion, by having the five judges read their decisions one by one. The last eventually gave the day to Somare, 3-2.

The three judges - including Chief Justice Salamo Injia, whom the government led by Peter O'Neill tried three times to suspend - found that the Speaker, Jeffrey Nape, was wrong when on August 2 he had declared the prime ministership vacant, paving the way for O'Neill to be elected prime minister 70-24.

Somare, aged 75, spent five months in Singapore, from early April, undergoing medical treatment, including heart surgery. But he did not resign. And the government had failed to obtain the constitutionally required medical evidence that he was unfit to continue to govern.

The problem for those challenging Somare - many of whom have been critical not so much of PNG's founding father personally, but of the "first family" syndrome surrounding him - was that the usual way of changing government, through a vote of no confidence, presented a big problem.

For in the year before a five-yearly national election - of which the next is due in mid-2012 - a successful vote of no confidence triggers an early dissolution and brings forward the poll.

But the government in which the parliament has lost confidence, remains the caretaker and is thus positioned to resource its own candidates and to prevent awkward investigations into its record.

This is what has been at stake, primarily, during these tumultuous times in Port Moresby….

The broad sense that "it's time" favours O'Neill, who is 30 years younger than Somare and whose frontbench is mostly younger. But O'Neill has constantly consulted the older generation of politicians in Morauta and Bart Philemon.

O'Neill has also seized the upper hand in communicating to the broader public, who have proven remarkably calm - due to disillusionment - through the crisis.

Even though O'Neill and many of his team have served in Somare cabinets, he has conveyed a sense of freshness and overdue realism.

"We have had unprecedented economic growth," he told parliament on Tuesday, "and we have squandered it."

A new report from PNG's National Research Institute points out that more than two thirds of new buildings in Port Moresby are chiefly in squatter settlements and that "many public servants and private sector staff can't afford a decent house or even a car loan."

O'Neill has emphasised parliament as the people's house, which is more attractive appeal to many voters than Somare's to the authority of the courts.

O'Neill's supporters have also made especially strong use of social networking media which are burgeoning in PNG thanks to the new ubiquity of mobile phones, driven by Irish firm Digicel.

Somare is not giving up before elections in six months. For further electrifying politics, watch that space.

AUTONOMOUS Bougainville Government Member for Eivo-Torau constituency Melchior Dare has called on the ABG to allocate K20 million to build a new Southwest trunk road.

Dare raised this at the one-day sitting of the Bougainville House of Representatives on Tuesday.

He said when constructed, the road would connect Bato static steel bridge via Kuneka, Katauri; Kaspeke to Karato, Torokina and to Northwest Bougainville.

“This is a strategic ABG investment initiative to open a corridor for potential economic growth for ABG beyond 2012,” Dare said.

He urged that K5 million be appropriated annually for the next four years out of the K100 million the Papua New Guinea government’s special support grant to Bougainville.

He said the impact project could be built in phases and jointly funded by economic investors of resources development for Southwest Bougainville.

“This infrastructure development will be a cornerstone for socio-economic liberation and advance investment priorities for the government,” Dare said.

He said with the high impact Torokina Oil Palm project progressing into construction phase, investment in the major Southwest trunk road was inevitable.

“This will ensure that the bulk of the rural population participates in business activities which provide access to markets and access to socio-development services that will improve the quality of life for our people,” he said.

His request was met with overwhelming support from members of the Bougainville House of Representative with a motion passed to have the matter referred to the Bougainville technical service

LONG time public servant and Autonomous Bougainville Administration deputy administrator operations Patrick Koles has resigned from the public service after clocking more than 30 years.

Koles will take up his new role as a senior management executive of the World Bank funded Bougainville Cocoa development project.

Current Chief Executive Officer of ABG division of Autonomy, Implementation and Monitoring Paul Kebori will assume the position of acting deputy administration operations.

And current research officer of the ABG division of Autonomy, Implementation and Monitoring Steven Kolova has been promoted to acting CEO of his division with his new role to take effect in January.

BOUGAINVILLE executives of the Public Employees Association (PEA) have assured its union members that they will be paid their risk allowances by the first quarter of 2012.

This assurance by PEA president Herbert Kimai was made at a public gathering of union members at the Bougainville Administration premises today.

Kimai said ten million kina has been approved for payment of some of the applicants by the first quarter of next year with thirteen million kina to be appropriated from the 2012 Autonomous Bougainville Government budget to pay out the rest.

More than 2000 public servants who served the then North Solomons Provincial Government from 1990 to 1994 have lodged in their applications for payment of risk allowances.

The applications lodged amounted to a total of K23 million through which successful facilitations by PEA, the ABG HR division and the national Department of Personal Management has ensured the public servants are paid.

Residents in Arawa on easy pay are now receiving consistent supply of PNG Power.

The electricity supply service to nearly the whole of Arawa town was commissioned today.

PNG power says the official handover of power services from the Autonomous Bougainville Government to PNG power as the contracted power manager is being planned for January 25.

PNG power is also calling on residents and business houses in Arawa not yet on easy pay meter to register with its Arawa office in order to receive power to their buildings.

GOVERNOR General Sir Michael Ogio and Ladie Esmie arrived to a rousing welcome from a small crowd of supporters including members of the Autonomous Bougainville Government and administration at the Buka airport this afternoon.

In thanking everyone, Sir Michael said the trip was not about him but for his new wife who is for the first time visiting Bougainville.

He said they were on holiday and that this was his first leave since taking on the job of the Governor General.

He also imparted strong advice to the young men and women of Bougainville to maintain their dignity of being peace loving and proud people.

Sir Michael urged that the generation of young Bougainvilleans stay free from drugs, alcohol and being a nuisance to society.

He urged that the young men and women lead a good life which would create a better future for Bougainville.

Bougainville acting president Patrick Nisira said it was a big honor to have the governor general of Papua New Guinea and a son of Bougainville join the people of the autonomous region in celebrating Christmas.

Nisira told Sir Michael that the GG was joining Bougainville at a time when it has succeeded in stabilizing and maintaining peace in South Bougainville which is evident in the cease fire agreement that was signed early this month with warring factions in South Bougainville.

He added that as a result, for the first time after six years, the people of Bougainville would be enjoying a peaceful Christmas.

Nisira also commended Sir Michael for recognizing the O’Niel/ Namah government.

He told Sir Michael that the GG had made a good call to recognize the O’Niel/Namah government because in the little time that their government took office, they had worked closely with the Bougainville government to ensure the constitutional grants of K15 million and special support grant of K100 million was released.

Sir Michael and Lady Esmie will spend their holiday accommodated at Buka town with visits planned for Tinputz in which a customary welcome for Lady Esmie is expected from Sir Michael’s family.

AUTONOMOUS Bougainville Government (ABG) member for Eivo-Torau constituency Melchior Dare has called on ABG to allocate a total of K20 million for the construction of a new South-West trunk road.

Dare raised this as a matter of public importance at the one-day sitting of the Bougainville House of Representatives yesterday.

He said the South-West road infrastructure when constructed will connect through Bato static steel bridge via Katauri-Kuneka-Kaspeke to Paru Paru, Karato, Torokina and to North West Bougainville.

He urged that five million kina is appropriated annually for the next four years out of the K100 million PNG government’s special support grant to Bougainville.

He said the impact project could be built in phases and jointly counterpart funded by future economic investors of resources development for South-West Bougainville.

Dare added that this was a strategic direction on the ABG investment initiatives for potential economic boost and growth for ABG beyond 2012.

Papua New Guinea's parliament has passed new legislation setting the retiring age for prime ministers at 72.

It was introduced by the government of Prime Minister Peter O'Neill this week, and effectively kills any chances of the founding father Sir Michael Somare reclaiming the top political post.

Speaker:Peter O'Neill, PNG Prime Minister; Sir Julius Chan, former PNG prime minister, Sir Arnold Amet, former PNG Attorney-General

Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée: Michael Somare, l’un des deux prétendants au poste de Premier ministre, ne lâche rien malgré la quasi victoire de son rival Peter O’Neill, qui a le soutien du gouverneur-général (le chef de l’Etat) et de la majorité du Parlement. Il a même réussi à faire voter le budget cette semaine. En outre, l’Eglise catholique a demandé à Michael Somare de se retirer de la vie politique. Globalement on peut dire que le Parlement a vaincu la Cour Suprême, qui avait réinstallé Michael Somare dans ses fonctions la semaine dernière. Michael Somare, qui lors d’une conférence de presse cette semaine, s’est déclaré Premier ministre d’un gouvernement minoritaire. «L’idée que la majorité gouverne est une simplification dangereuse», a-t-il souligné, estimant que le camp O’Neill «piétine la Constitution».

After a week of politcal turmoil and conflict the budget passing is a boost to Prime Minister Peter O'Neill in his fight for control against Sir Michael Somare.

Last week on the back of a Supreme Court decision that he had been removed from office illegally, Sir Michael, PNG's first ever Prime Minister, had himself sworn into office, picked a new cabinet, and appointed a new police commissioner. But the man who removed him from power earlier this year Peter O'Neill fought back, and by Tuesday he had the support of all PNG public and security agencies and most of the MP's. But many there do not believe the fight is over, including Sir Michael, although there are growing calls for him to retire.

Speakers: John Ribat, The Archbishop of Port Moresby; Sir Michael Somare, former PNG Prime Minister; Michael Malabag, President of the PNGTUC

BUKA town in North Bougainville, is going through load-shedding of its electricity supply as PNG Power continues maintenance on the three main generators.

The generators are in various stages of maintenance – one is waiting for parts from overseas, the other is about to be commissioned after being serviced.

The third will take time to service after an electrical fire as a result of a technical fault during its first month of operation.

Frustration from business and residential clients is mounting despite PNG Power Buka putting out notices telling people about the load-shedding.

Business houses are claiming losses of thousands of kina as a result of intermittent power supply since Nov 17.

PNG Power Buka has urged clients who own generators to use them until the power supply is fully restored.

THE Digicel network to Central and South Bougainville has been restored after mobile services to more than 2,000 people was disrupted following the burning of Digicel’s relay tower at Mabiri.

The tower was burnt allegedly by Mabiri disgruntled landowners claiming the company had not paid its land rental.

Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) Communication Minister Joseph Nopei and national Minister for Communication Jimmy Miringtoro both

and when infrastructure like communication towers are on your land, please appreciate it and look after it,” Nopei said.

“We are willing to help Bougainville bring important services to you, but please

“To build a communication tower, costs more than K250,000 of people’s money,” Miringtoro said

“Please elders, inform your young men and women to protect the services we provide,” he said.

GOVERNOR-General Sir Michael Ogio and Lady Esmie arrived to a rousing welcome from a small crowd of supporters, including members of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, at Buka Airport yesterday.

Sir Michael said the trip was not about him but his new wife, who was visiting Bougainville for the first time.

“We are here for our holiday. I have a month’s leave and this is my first leave since taking on the job of the Governor-General,” Sir Michael said.

“The generation of young Bougainvilleans today are the hope for Bougainville, you are the peace of Bougainville.

“You must stay free of all the social ills of this world so you can lead Bougainville into a good future.

“We are a proud people, we are a peace-loving people. We must maintain the dignity we have.”

Bougainville acting president Patrick Nisira said it was an honour to have the PNG governor-general and a son of Bougainville join the people of the autonomous region in

“You are joining us at a time when we have succeeded in stabilising and maintaining peace in South Bougainville, which is evident in the ceasefire agreement we signed early this month with warring factions in South Bougainville,” Nisira said.

He said as a result, for the first time in six years, the people of Bougainville would be enjoying a peaceful Christmas.

“You made a good call to recognise the O’Neill-Namah government because in the little time that their government took office, they had worked closely with the Bougainville government to ensure our constitutional grants of K15 million and special support grant of K100 million was released,” Nisira said.

Sir Michael and Lady Esmie will spend their holiday in Buka town with visits planned for Tinputz, where a customary welcome for Lady Esmie is expected from Sir Michael’s family.

THE Buka district court has scaled down on its operations during the public service shutdown period from Dec 19 to Jan 9.

Senior provincial magistrate Peter Toliken said this was because the non-availability of magistrate Vincent Linge, who is on leave.

Toliken leaves for Kavieng this week for court circuit duties in New Ireland, leaving magistrate Bruce Tasikul in charge of district court operations.

Toliken said the court registry would be open but Tasikul would only sit on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next three weeks.

Toliken advised urgent after hours applications for search warrants, bail and IPOs could be brought before Tasikul at his home in Rangsua, Selau district, North Bougainville.

He said this was a temporary arrangement and would not affect interim protection orders.

THE Autonomous Bougainville Government says the Papua New Guinea police hierarchy did not consult it when appointing assistant police commissioner Fred Yakasa to head the Bougainville Police Service.

Yakasa replaces Thomas Eluh who spent the past 18 months establishing impact community policing initiatives that had contributed to peace and reconciliation in Bougainville.

Bougainville acting President Patrick Nisira said the failure to consult the ABG was in breach of the Bougainville Peace Agreement that stipulates that both parties must consult in any matter of good governance, law and order and security.

He said it was crucial for the sake of continuity and stability of Bougainville that the ABG was included in any decisions to appoint senior personnel from the national government to serve in Bougainville.

“The national government should exercise caution. There should be no more appointments as it will lead to greater instability. What is at stake here is peace,” Nisira said.

He said Eluh had worked well in the region and through his own efforts had won the respect of the people of Bougainville.

PARLIAMENT yesterday passed the O’Neill-Namah government’s record K10.5 billion 2012 Budget on voices.

Handed down on December 6, 2011, it took this long for Parliament to debate and pass it due to the current political crisis.

Elated Finance and Treasury Minister Don Polye said this was his first billion kina budget to be handed down, also making it a historical high for the country and 13 percent higher than lasy year’s Somare Abal Government.

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan said during debate the amount was historical compared with his own historic “smallest budget” of around K400 million when he presented the country’s first budget at Independence in 1975.

Members of the O’Neill-Namah government heaped praise on the budget saying it was responsive to the needs of the people and directed to ensuring that the benefits of the strong economic growth were shared more fairly among the people.

“The measure of any government is the wellbeing of its people and the wellbeing of our people is best measured by the opportunities that government provides to them.

“Opportunities to empower them live comfortably and enjoyably,” Mr Polye said.

“Opportunities for work, to raise a family, to educate our children, to live without fear of poverty or disease or from any form of intimidation or threat and to know that our children will be born into a society of hope where they can have a real chance of a good and rewarding life”.

Mr Polye said this was the challenge for the O’Neill-Namah Government, for PNG and its people.

Mr Polye said the next election is about quality, unselfish and genuine leadership.

The government saw itself as bringing real generational change to the leadership of PNG.

“It is about facilitating and enabling generational change in leadership, where the wiser and elderly Statesmen and women will fall back from frontline to play advisory roles while allowing the younger and vibrant leaders to take up the frontline leadership roles in PNG,” Mr Polye said.

Education received the largest funding of K649 million which will pay for free tuition education including K300 million from the 2011 Supplementary Budget and K47 million for education infrastructure development.

“Free education is of little value if the quality of education is not the best. We must ensure that any qualification from our educational institutions are at least as good as any similar qualification from any other nation.

“We must properly resource our education system to expand the opportunities for technical and further education, to provide those real world skills and qualifications, trade skills, small business skills and as a result real world jobs for Papua New Guineans,” he said.

Mr Polye said the allocation was 18.5 per cent of the total recurrent and development budgets which was a substantial 30 per cent above the 2011 budget education appropriation. He also reiterated the lifting of the income tax free threshold from K7000 to K10,000 for low income earners which was “designed to put more money into the pockets of those who need it most”.

Earlier Mr Polye said among key considerations during formation and design of the budget was the extraordinary growth of 58 percent in revenue over the last three years.

He said the challenge was to “use what we have well and honestly as we do not have money to waste or be stolen through corruption.”

Other key features in the budget include the projected total tax revenue at K8.5 billion in 2012 from personal income tax, company taxes and excise collections.

For non-tax revenue, a total of K520.1 million is expected while mining and petroleum dividends are expected at K188 million, Bank PNG K15 million and Fisheries K5 million.

Mr Polye also emphasised another key aspect was the creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), honouring of commitments during the LBSA and UBSA negotiations for landowners, maintaining key infrastructure including the Highlands Highway, airports and seaports.

GOVERNOR- General Sir Michael Ogio touched down in Buka yesterday to begin his first official scheduled annual four week leave from office.

In the company of Lady Esmie, Sir Michael disembarked to the sounds of bamboo band playing in his honour and was welcomed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government vice president Patrick Nisira and members of ABG.

Sir Michael made it known that his coming to Bougainville was purely for holiday reasons as he is entitled to four weeks of leave from office. In his Christmas message to the people of Bougainville he encouraged young Bougainvilleans to maintain the dignity of all Bougainvilleans as peace-loving people and bring peace and harmony in the region.

“Young Bougainvilleans of today you are the hope of Bougainville - we are already old – your generation should work towards bringing peace and harmony into the community,” said Sir Michael.

Mr Nisira also thanked the Sir Michael for recognising and swearing in the O’Neill-Namah Government into Parliament because this Government, he said, was the first to take serious interest in the affairs of Bougainville.

If you are past the age of 72, you cannot be Prime Minister. You have to retire.

The O’Neill-Namah government yesterday amended the National Executive Council Act to prevent a Member of Parliament from becoming or remaining as Prime Minister when he or she turns 72 years of age.

Parliament voted 68 – 3 to pass the new amendment which needed only a majority vote of 55.

The three that voted against were; Governor for New Ireland Sir Julius Chan, Governor Western province Dr Bob Danaya and MP for Wewak Open Dr Moses Manwau while NCD Governor Powes Pakop, Minister for Works Francis Awesa, Governor for Chimbu Fr John Garia, Minister for Mining Byron Chan and Governor for Northern Province Suckling Tamanabae walked out of the chamber before the vote was taken.

The new law comes into operation on and from August 1, 2011. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill when tabling the new proposed amendments, informed Parliament that the amendment is made by adding after Section 6 to the PM and NEC Act, Section 6A as ‘The Age Limit of Prime Minister’.

Mr O’Neill explained that this amendment does not restrict any person above the age of 72 from being elected as a member of Parliament but only restricts any person from the age of 72 and above from becoming a PM.

However, this di not go down well with Governor for New Ireland Province Sir Julius Chan, who asked: “Who among you that is 30 or 40, whose going to challenge me? Who are you to retire my people’s choice? We are taking away the rights of the young, the youths and the old and it is the people who will make the choice. “I stand here with a challenge to you young people. I am as good as you are. It’s not about Sir Michael Somare, it’s not about me, it’s about you. I think this law is a wrong law...I want to refer this to the Constitutional Committee otherwise I will have to determine my future,” Sir Julius said.

“I object that law in totality. I ask the PM to withdraw the law and rethink it. I ask and I want to refer this to the Constitutional laws. This is a very serious matter. You are depriving my people’s choice, you are depriving your people’s choice. You may have the numbers but you have not proven yourself,” he said. Governor for Milne Bay John Luke Critin and Minister for Housing Ken Fairweather both raised different point of orders supporting the bill.

SHIPPING services delivering basic goods and services to islands in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville have been described as unreliable.

This concern was raised by islanders that the shipping services had never fully addressed their needs by the people responsible which had caused them to suffer due to the poor and unreliable schedule of the shipping industry on Bougainville.

Mortlock islanders and people from the Tasman Atolls heavily depend on shipping and at times have waited for more than six to eight months for a ships, unlike Nissan, Fead and the Carterets.

These concerns were raised by islanders of the Mortlock and Tasman through a spokesperson Edmond Teppuri.

It was expressed that waiting up to such extended periods of time for service and basic goods delivery are a major setback to the livelihood of the islanders as the atolls offer not as much as one would expect.

They have stated that ships are schedule to go to Nissan, Fead and Carterets on a regular basis while to the Mortlocks and Tasman there are always complaints of the lack of fuel for sailing to those atolls.

This has been happening during the time of Sankamap1 and 2, and also now whereby the Bougainville Atolls which have taken over the Sankamap1 and two routes.

“We now challenge the management of Bougainville Atolls to draw up firm schedule that can equally serve all the atolls and not to draw schedule that will only serve other atolls and despise the other two atolls,” they said. The islanders also questioned “When will these shipping problems for Mortlocks and Tasman end and if the government will ever rescue all our problems in 2012 and beyond?

“It’s about time we come out of our shells and share our hard lives and experiences with everybody in the Region,” they said.

The islanders also raised another point that education is another area that has been affected by poor transportation.

They also added that “Our children and our primary school teachers have missed out in the past years on teachers’ in-services and their Christmas holidays.

That is why no teachers from mainland Bougainville or other provinces are not willing to go out and teach on our islands.”

They also revealed that their grade 8 students this year were not given the chance to sit their grade 8 examination due to no arrangement for any ship go out to Mortlocks and Tasman.

They claimed that this was not the first time that their grade 8 students were not given the opportunity to sit for the grade 8 examination.

They were quite disappointed with the people responsible because they failed to perform their duties.

And now they face the dilemma of their students missing out on high school spaces simply because they never had their exams.

They have pleaded that if there was money available, the authorities make sure that the exam papers reach every primary school who have grade 8 students.

It is now unclear when it is scheduled to go to the forgotten atolls of Mortlock and Tasman while Christmas looms this weekend.

The Papua New Guinea parliament has passed the budget following weeks of delays due to the political impasse in which two rival groups have claimed to be the legitimate government.

The impasse now appears settled after Peter O’Neill this week consolidated his claim to the prime ministership, being recognised by the Governor-General, the Speaker of parliament, the police commissioner, the Defence Force and the public service.

His rival, Sir Michael Somare, still claims to be the legitimate leader but lacks public support and the numbers to challenge Peter O’Neill successfully in parliament.

Meanwhile, the O’Neill administration passed its budget, the nation’s largest ever, which includes substantial spending increases for health and education.

Earlier, a senior member of the O’Neill cabinet, Bart Philemon, said they would complete other key legislation as well.

“We have already put [through] the first and second reading of the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The only other major legislation is the 22 women’s seat one, [for] which parliament failed to get the required number of 73.”

The O’Neill administration has also passed an amendment to the Prime Minister’s Act which restricts the age limit of a Prime Minister to 72.

Papua New Guinea's influential Catholic Church is the latest group to call on Sir Michael to resign.

The veteran politician, as you've just heard, continues to insist that he is the legal leader of the country, with the backing of a ruling from the Supreme Court.

But prime minister Peter O'Neill says he is backed by a majority of MPs in parliament, the military, the police, the Governor-General and the public service.

The Archbishop of Port Moresby, John Ribat, says the Catholic Bishops Conference have asked Sir Michael to stand down in his own interests and those of the country.

RIBAT: Our minds at this time would be to call on the prime minister, Sir Michael, to retire, to consider his health, he just came from a very big operation and right after the operation he did not have the time to recuperate, he just went straight into the situation we are in now. And in all respect for him as a leader and now as a person who've conditioned by his health, very sick now at this time, we are calling on him to resign and to do it very well because while all this is going on we uphold him as a leader of the nation, prime minister, because of course he's been reinstated by the highest law of the nation, the Supreme Court. And that is very good, it looks very good to all of us and because that's the constitution, he's reinstated through the judiciary. For him to be able to accept it and resign while all these tensions and turmoil developing and so on, I believe it will be a good thing for him because he will go out gracefully and in a way people will hold him with that respect and remember him as the father of the nation.

HILL: By saying this is the church taking sides politically, or do you see this as just a neutral suggestion for the good of the whole country?

RIBAT: We are not taking sides, we are seeing it as a neutral position for the whole country. We are seeing it as a position that is neutral and it is good for the whole country and taking into account that Sir Michael has done his best over the years until today. And now this time he's very handicapped by his health and also I think it is time for him to give space to new upcoming leaders. And really for him our calling is actually on a neutral ground, calling on him to consider this very gracefully, not to take it as an insult or whatever, but as a way to really see him go out respectfully and in a way that we hold him with high regard in that way.

HILL: Sir Michael still firmly insists that he is the legal prime minister. Do you think it's likely that he is going to listen to your advice that he should resign?

RIBAT: He is still, and of course by law, he is still the legal prime minister, no one can take that away from him. But the thing is considering on the other hand most of the parliament members, those who were with him have left to join the other side. And really there is great support for Peter O'Neill, then the support for the prime minister himself. So for myself, for my fathers, how can you bring this together to a peaceful end when the other party is insisting that we are the majority and also Sir Michael's is the minority group? How do you see this coming to a peaceful end? Now this will only make it more difficult. And so for Sir Michael to be able to see and knowing that he's the prime minister of the nation, the parliament is seeing it very differently and they're moving away from his party. And the sensible thing to do here for this to happen is for him to resign graciously in the way that I said that the nation will see him doing this for the good of the nation as the Catholic Church is asking him to do.

HILL: Many other people have asked him to resign, he hasn't paid attention to them. Do you think that he will pay attention to the church though?

RIBAT: Maybe this time I believe he will be able to consider it because we have spoken, the Catholic bishops and I have spoken openly about this. This is the first time we have mentioned it openly to the nation and to him, and that is why now he is calling me to go and discuss this further.

While Sir Michael Somare was claiming he was the legitimate Prime Minister the government of rival prime minister, Peter O'Neill was getting on with governing.

The budget was passed by parliament today and debate was restarted on a change to Organic Law to allow the creation of 22 seats in Parliament reserved for women.

Sir Michael Somare is still insisting that he is the rightful, Supreme Court-appointed prime minister of what he admits is a minority government.

In a mainly incoherent statement to the media in Port Moresby Sir Michael says call for him to resign are an insult to the voters that elected him.

He accused the government of rival prime minister Peter O'Neill of intimidating the Governor General, of having no respect for the constitution, and using their majority in parliament to justify their behaviour.

In this edited version of his address voices can be heard in the background prompting Sir Michael when he appears to lose track of his argument.

The Catholic Archbishop of Papua New Guinea is calling on the former prime minister to resign from politics and ensure there is no repeat of last week's political tension.

Archbishop John Ribat says while the Catholic Church recognises that the Supreme Court ruled Sir Michael Somare be reinstated, it wants him to end the fight to get back into office.

Sir Michael remains insistent that he is the country's rightful prime minister in charge of a minority government.

During a press conference this week, he accused Mr O' Neil of intimidating the governor-general, and disrespecting the constitution.

"The minority government does not want to see the country being led by members of parliament, that sheer numbers hijack the process in parliament house and trample over our constitution," Sir Michael said.

"The simple notion that the majority rule justifies behaviour is detrimental in its simplicity."

On Tuesday, Mr O'Neill claimed victory in ending the political stand-off with the former prime minister.

He said while the Supreme Court ruled Sir Michael should be reinstated as the country's leader, parliament sees it differently.

"Parliament is not answerable to the Supreme Court. That must be clearly understood."

Despite the many issues affecting PNG,Governor General SIR MICHAEL OGIO is arriving in Buka to a small welcome ceremony at the BUKA AIRPORT.

Pictured are members of HAMARAHA POPSCO INTERCHURCH YOUTH members pose for this AL PIcture.

AUTONOMOUS Bougainville Government (ABG) says the PNG police hierarchy did not consult them in appointing Assistant Police Commissioner to Bougainville Fred Yakasa to head the Bougainville Police Service (BPS) in the region.

Yakasa’s appointment replaces former ACP Thomas Eluh who spent the last year and half, establishing impact community policing initiatives that has contributed to peace and reconciliation in Bougainville.

Bougainville acting president Patrick Nisira said the failure to consult ABG was in breach of the Bougainville Peace Agreement that stipulates that both parties must consult in any matters of good governance, law and order and security.

He said it was crucial for the sake of continuity and stability of Bougainville, that ABG is included in any decisions to appoint senior personnel from the national government to serve in Bougainville.

Nisira said Eluh had worked well in the region and through his own efforts, had won the respect of the people of Bougainville.

He added that removing Eluh from his former post was not in the best interest of the autonomous region of Bougainville.

Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O'Neill says he is in total control of the country, and the dispute with Sir Michael Somare is over.

Sir Michael is still insisting he is the legal prime minister, basing his claim of a ruling from the Supreme Court.

But Mr O'Neill says he has the backing of a majority in Parliament and the Governor-General, and the government and people have acknowledged that.

O'NEILL: We are in total control of the affairs of the country. Public service mission has now fallen in line with the governments' wish and governments' directions. The Defence Force and the police are under our control. Normalcy has returned to the critical structure of the country and we are in control.

HILL: What about Sir Michael Somare and his supporters, I think he's got about 40 MPs on his side, he is still claiming that he is the prime minister and he says he's backed up by the authority of the Supreme Court in that?

O'NEILL: In fact he's got only 32 members of parliament who are with him at present, and that is compared to our 75. Now when you look at it as I've stated on many occasions, the courts in this country have got no powers to order the parliament to install a prime minister. Sir Michael continues to have minority numbers on the floor of parliament. Parliament has not mandated him to run the country. Only the Supreme Court or the courts of our country can only make references back to parliament to correct itself. Now we have taken note of the court orders, we have accepted the court orders in parliament, we have debated on it and we have disposed of it. We now have introduced legislation to correct the process, and the process is that any person owning the office of the Prime Minister who is away for an extended period of time, over three months, in fact automatically vacates that office. In line with that the parliament has taken note that there has been a vacancy and a new Prime Minister has been elected. So now this has been recognised by all sectors of the community, almost 90 per cent of our people support that. In fact the public servants are now fully behind, and the Governor General yesterday admitted to the fact that he was wrongly advised by people who had no right to advise him, and as a result he now admits that we have been duly sworn in and we are now in total control of the country.

HILL: So is there still basically a clash between these two principles of control of parliament and rule of law? Is the Supreme Court falling into line though? Will you have to go back to the Supreme Court to get them to somehow publicly acknowledge this?

O'NEILL: Parliament is not answerable to the Supreme Court, that must be clearly understood. If anybody feels aggrieved by any decision parliament has taken, of course they have every right to go to court for an interpretation. Again Somare and his camp have got every right to go and exercise their constitutional right and go to court if they feel aggrieved that they can seek an interpretation, which the court will interpret and report back to parliament, and parliament will continue to correct itself.

HILL: The people who supported Sir Michael Somare apparently in good faith adhering to this principle of rule of law, is anything bad going to happen to them as a result of them supporting Sir Michael Somare, or do you understand their reasons for doing what they did?

O'NEILL: Nobody is operating outside the rule of law. That influences our government, we are subject to the constitution of our country, acts of parliament that we introduce on the floor of parliament, and I want to state to everybody that the country despite the crisis has been able to operate in a very orderly manner, our citizens have gone about with their lives in an orderly manner, there has been no riots, there's been peaceful protests supporting our government in many cities throughout the country, but that is a constitutional right. So all in all I think Papua New Guineans have expressed great maturity in ensuring that our country's democracy prevails.

HILL: How is this eventually resolved, just basically through people acknowledging you as prime minister, because there were some talks I understand between the Attorney General for Sir Michael Somare, Sir Arnold Amet, and Dr Alan Marat, your Attorney General? Did anything come of those peace talks or did it not just go anywhere?

O'NEILL: That did not go anywhere because of the fact that they depended entirely on the court order the Supreme Court has ordered. When we look back you must realise that the proceedings of the Supreme Court were under extreme controversy where the Chief Justice despite the person who chaired the tribunal of the Supreme Court, despite very serious conflicts of interest refused to step down. Now under those circumstances even the decision of the Supreme Court was not a unanimous decision, it was just by majority of three to two. So given those circumstances, parliament rightly took note of those and acted by changing the appropriate acts of parliament to ensure that there is stability in the political structure of our country.

HILL: Sir Michael Somare is the father of PNG, took the country to independence, a very long and distinguished career, is this really the way that his political career should be brought to an end though on this note?

O'NEILL: Well this is not by choice, Sir Michael Somare has done this to himself. This country belongs to seven million people, we acknowledge his contribution to the country. We have great respect for the contributions that he has made, but he clearly knows that he's not healthy, he has had extreme health issues, he's not capable of managing the affairs of the country, he should have done the right thing that his family and himself announced that he was retiring and he would retire from politics. Now he's been discharged from the hospital he just wants to walk back into the job using the court order as the basis on which to do so. He does not have the public support, he does not have parliament's support, and certainly he does not have the business community and international community's support. So it is quite obvious the writing is on the wall. He needs to retire gracefully with dignity and the respect that he deserves.

HILL: One of the very significant aspects of this whole crisis has been what many are calling a very mature and measured response by the ordinary people of PNG, there was calm, no one took their disagreements to the streets, the military stayed in the barracks, wouldn't be drawn into things, public servants stayed at their posts and did their jobs without picking sides. Were you surprised by this response or not?

O'NEILL: No we have been appealing to everybody in the country that we must respect the rule of law, we must allow parliament to do its job, we must allow the mandated leaders, which are their representatives on the floor of parliament to continue to manage these issues. Now Somare and his camp has not been attending parliament, they are trying to run a so-called minority government under court order outside of parliament, not responsible to anybody. Now these changes have happened because of massive corruption and massive mismanagement of public funds, and lack of attention to people's needs. As a result of that the people's desires have been to change. So we know that we have got the public support and we know that public support is for the good of the country.

HILL: Are you going to let Sir Michael Somare continue to pretend to be prime minister if as you say you're in control, or are you going to just simply ignore him, what?

O'NEILL: Well he knows he's lost any opportunity for him to become prime minister. He's no longer a member of parliament, he cannot conduct himself out there as if he's a prime minister, when we all know that prime ministers are only elected by parliament and only members of parliament can be prime ministers. So I'm sorry he's singing his last song, but let him see how he plays that out.

HILL: What lessons are there for PNG in this crisis? How can we prevent this kind of thing happening again in the future?

O'NEILL: We are now doing legislative reforms on the floor so that we don't know allow this kind of nonsense to reoccur in the future. We are changing the prime minister ?? act to make sure that if a prime minister falls ill automatic invoking of a prohibition which will allow two medical doctors to carry out an assessment, whether he's still mentally sound to carry out that function of the prime minister or not. And secondly, we are trying to do also limits to the age that if you're well over 72, which is the same as the judges in this country, that persons who are over 72 years of age should not continue to hold the office of the prime minister. This is a stressful job and a fit and a healthy person should hold the office and managing the affairs of seven million people in this country.

MEMBERS of the ABG House of Representatives have called on PNG parliamentarians to uphold the country’s constitution and respect the Supreme Court’s decision which reinstated Sir Michael Somare as Prime Minister.

In a joint statement released by Member for Hagogohe Robert Hamal, Member for Tsitalato Cosmas Sohia, and the newly elected Member for the Tonsu Constituency, Joel Banam, the leaders urged the O’Neill-Namah faction to put the Constitution above parliamentary process and personal interests.

They said the Constitution is the only guarantee to unity, peace and prosperity for over six million people of PNG and has effectively provided the basis of a united Papua New Guinea over the past thirty three years of our country’s independence.

They said that it was not a question of a corrupt government regime, the popularity of a government regime or parliamentary procedures and processes, but the supremacy of the Constitution.

The moment the constitution loses its supremacy nothing can guarantee the safety and unity of our people.

The warned that “if the current impasse between the two groups of parliamentarians is not resolved in accordance with the Constitution, it is highly likely that Bougainvilleans call for sovereignty of our homeland will be reignited.”

Speaking on behalf of the Buka leadership, Mr Joel Banam said, “We are deeply concerned about the events that are taking place in PNG right now. We do not feel secure. If the Constitution were to lose its supremacy, it is obvious to us that successful implementation of the Bougainville Peace Agreement is in jeopardy.”

“We are reviewing our position on Bougainville’s independence - we are prepared to unilaterally declare Bougainville independent for the third time, this time as one united people of Bougainville,” Mr Banam said. “History has taught us that in the event that the supremacy of a country’s constitution is made subservient to the whims of greed, fear and power, one might as well kiss goodbye to the principles of democracy.

Whether our PNG parliamentarians acknowledge it or not the fact remains: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We are witnessing this very fact to-day.”

“The suspension of our respectable and dignified leader, His Excellency Grand Chief Sir Michael Ogio is a classical demonstration of greed, fear and (an unhealthy desire for) power at play,” said Mr Banam.

“We want to make it succinctly clear to the Bougainville members of the PNG Parliament who were and are party to the suspension of Michael Ogio, especially the Member for North Bougainville, you have dug your own political grave.” However on Monday, Parliament reinstated Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio who later that day installed Peter O’Neill as Prime Minister of PNG.

A KOMUNITI Tingim Aids (KTA) Youth Forum was held last week at the Hahela conference centre in Buka, Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

Care International through its Komuniti Tingim Aids project, works with youths through a Peer Education Program in 15 communities of Buka and Tinputz Districts. The forum was held so that the youths could showcase what they have learnt and to disseminate vital health information to their peers and community members. The forum was also aimed at playing an active role in responding to youth vulnerability to HIV and STI.

With the theme” Fostering Positive Changes in Communities through Youth Involvement the showcase of KTA’s Peer Educators had the opportunity to present their ideas and recommendations to stakeholders.

Many top level ABG leaders were unable to attend but those present had the chance to find out the challenges the youth had to overcome in carrying out their roles in the program.

Parliament-elect Prime Minister Peter O’Neill last night gave his assurance that the 2012 National Budget will be passed by Parliament today.

“The people’s budget will be passed tomorrow I can give you that assurance,” Mr O’Neill told the Post-Courier.

The K10.5 billion budget brought down by the O’Neill Government on December 6 focuses on the social sector, with emphasis on education, law and order and infrastructure.

Mr O’Neill said: “For the first time, this budget is a balanced and fair budget, all provinces and districts are given their fair share of the money, and we are putting more money into the pockets of our people.

“The budget is aimed at lowering the cost of living for the people and improving their welfare. We are giving income tax relief to people by lifting the tax-free threshold from K7000 to K10,000. This means all who earn up to K10,000 will not pay any tax to the Government.

“Our free education policy will also put more money into the pockets of our people. With more money to spend, we anticipate that people will use that to improve their lives.”

He said the Opposition should be in Parliament to debate this important document but this was not possible because they did not have anything positive to contribute.

Mr O’Neill said the Somare regime had been in office for nine long years that it had forgotten how to act like an Opposition.

However, at a press conference yesterday, Madang MP, Sir Arnold Amet said the Somare group could not go to Parliament because of the seating arrangement.

Sir Arnold said they can only go if Mr O’Neill was to give way for Sir Michael Somare to resume his seat as Prime Minister.

Sir Michael yesterday maintained that he was still Prime Minister and informed the media that his group would proceed court challenge against the swearing in of the O’Neill Government. While Sir Michael and his team were having their press conference at Ela Beach Hotel, across town, the Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio was swearing in the last of the O’Neill cabinet ministers.

Minister for Environment and Conservation, Thompson Harokaqve concluded the swearing in of the cabinet. He was away at Durban, South Africa, attending the Climate Change conference and was not present for the swearing in. At Waigani, it was business as usual as the public servants went to work, following the pledges by their bosses to work with the O’Neill Government.