So I’ve been a little slow with the updating but as you all know by now, Somare’s attempt to have a judicial review of the DF Tribunal has been thrown out by the National Court. Heck, apparently Somare was not even a legitimate party in the proceedings. This means the Court has found that there is no reason to proceed as on the basis of the information available…(did Justice Sakora eventually get a copy of the Moti Report?)… no grounds for judicial review have been established. Let’s state that again: there is insufficient evidence that the Tribunal and its members were biased.
Where does that leave the whole Moti issue?
Well it means the report as a result of a procedurally proper and unbiased Tribunal must be tabled in parliament unless the Minister of Defence finds that it is not in the best interest of the public to do so. Right now I cannot think of a reason why it would be in PNG’s best interest to withhold the report, further, I can not think how effective it would be to block a report that is already publicly available. What I do think is important, in the public’s best interest and effective is for the Minister of Defence, in following the laws of PNG, to table the report whilst symbolically illustrating that no one is above the law, not even the Prime Minister of PNG.
What the Court decision also means for Somare is that the DPP and the Ombudsmen Commission must now take up the recommendations of the Tribunal as per s28(2) of the Constitution and investigate Somare for breaches of the Criminal Code and the leadership code contained in the Constitution. Recommendations against other named persons must also be taken up.
However, already the Defence Minister has indicated that he has no plans to table the Moti report because, “that report is very controversial and I do not want to do any thing with it.” In typical PNG style when something gets too difficult, too challenging, too long-winded, possibly dangerous for one’s self-interest we drop the damn thing and no one exemplifies this trait better than our pollies- even when it means contravening the laws of this country.
If the Minister of Defence does not act and the DPP and Ombudsmen Commission ignore the matter then this could end up just another forgotten issue of corruption. We cannot afford this. We must rally for the tabling of the Moti Report and for investigations into Somare and others during which time Somare should be suspended from office as per s142(6)(a) of the Constitution.
I am awaiting Monday’s news reports to tell us what the appropriate authorities are planning to do from here and what civil society in PNG will/can/should do from there.
Before I end I must thank God that PNG's judicial system is still strong, independent and just. There is hope yet. It's when the judiciary goes that we're pretty much f&*^$d.
Where does that leave the whole Moti issue?
Well it means the report as a result of a procedurally proper and unbiased Tribunal must be tabled in parliament unless the Minister of Defence finds that it is not in the best interest of the public to do so. Right now I cannot think of a reason why it would be in PNG’s best interest to withhold the report, further, I can not think how effective it would be to block a report that is already publicly available. What I do think is important, in the public’s best interest and effective is for the Minister of Defence, in following the laws of PNG, to table the report whilst symbolically illustrating that no one is above the law, not even the Prime Minister of PNG.
What the Court decision also means for Somare is that the DPP and the Ombudsmen Commission must now take up the recommendations of the Tribunal as per s28(2) of the Constitution and investigate Somare for breaches of the Criminal Code and the leadership code contained in the Constitution. Recommendations against other named persons must also be taken up.
However, already the Defence Minister has indicated that he has no plans to table the Moti report because, “that report is very controversial and I do not want to do any thing with it.” In typical PNG style when something gets too difficult, too challenging, too long-winded, possibly dangerous for one’s self-interest we drop the damn thing and no one exemplifies this trait better than our pollies- even when it means contravening the laws of this country.
If the Minister of Defence does not act and the DPP and Ombudsmen Commission ignore the matter then this could end up just another forgotten issue of corruption. We cannot afford this. We must rally for the tabling of the Moti Report and for investigations into Somare and others during which time Somare should be suspended from office as per s142(6)(a) of the Constitution.
I am awaiting Monday’s news reports to tell us what the appropriate authorities are planning to do from here and what civil society in PNG will/can/should do from there.
Before I end I must thank God that PNG's judicial system is still strong, independent and just. There is hope yet. It's when the judiciary goes that we're pretty much f&*^$d.
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