Paska: New bill will make House supreme

Source: The National, Wednesday 18th April 2012 By CALDRON LAEPA THE PNG Trade Union Congress has urged parliamentarians not to vote for the Supreme Court (Amendment) Bill 2012 because it will make parliament superior to the two arms of government. Congress general secretary John Paska said the government was also using the legislation to make parliament more supreme than the Constitution. The bill stated that the Supreme Court cannot make consequential orders if they invoke the powers of the Supreme Court to give an opinion on matters under section 18 and 19 of the Constitution. The bill also provided that the decision by the court on the East Sepik provincial government and Morobe provincial government references is null and void. Paska said the proposed bill aimed to throw out a matter currently in court in relation to the legitimacy of the government. He said MPs must stop voting for any bill brought by the government and start thinking more seriously about the people. He urged Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Speaker Jeffery Nape to think about the nation. He said it was bad for the economy when the government made decisions and then later reversed them. He warned the MPs that the election was approaching and the people were watching them closely. Paska cautioned that the unions and civil society organisations would “rise” if the need arose. He said O’Neill should now be getting the message that the people, unions and civil society would not back down following last Tuesday’s protest.