PNG prime minister safe as dissenting MPs rejoin govt
Papua New Guinea s prime minister, James Marape, has staved off efforts to remove him, ending weeks of political unrest in the country.
The opposition s planned motion of no confidence against Marape, signed earlier this week, was never tabled when parliament adjourned today.
Up to eighteen MPs were seen crossing back to sit on the government s side of the house, boosting the prime minister s majority to around 70 of the 111-seat parliament.
The Bulolo MP, Sam Basil, was among the 18 high profile MPs to bounce back to government after defecting to the Belden Namah-led opposition last month.
PNG Politics : Opposition MPs join Government, budget passed
The Government used its numerical strength to pass the 2021 Budget this morning, after a dramatic twist of events on the floor of Parliament.
This included the movement of Bulolo MP Sam Basil and others to the government and members of the Opposition walking out of Parliament in protest after Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey re-tabled the K19.6 Billion deficit Budget.
Opposition Leader Belden Namah interrupted the Treasurer through a point of order, arguing that the 2021 National Budget has been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, therefore cannot be reintroduced.
However, Speaker Job Pomat allowed Treasurer Ling-Stuckey to proceed with re-tabling the Budget, which the house passed on voices.
16 December 2020 6:29 GMT Updated 16 December 2020 13:16 GMT in Wellington
Papua New Guinea s Prime Minister James Marape has survived an attempt to remove him from office after avoiding a vote of no confidence in parliament.
It was reported by local media in PNG that 17 members of parliament crossed back to the government benches to boost the prime minister s house majority.
These were some of the government parliamentarians who had joined the opposition benches in a power play in mid November designed to usher in a new government.
The members who returned back to Marape s side on 16 December included the Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil.
Papua New Guinea prime minister James Marape.
Photo: PNG PM media
A motion of no confidence in Papua New Guinea s prime minister, James Marape, has been withdrawn ending weeks of political unrest in the country.
The withdrawal followed the return to government of 18 dissenting MPs including the reinstated deputy prime minister Sam Basil.
Capitalising on the renewed numerical strength the government retabled and passed its 2021 budget and adjourned parliament until April next year.
This comes after the courts ruled an earlier sitting in November, during which the budget was first passed, unconstitutional.
The remaining members of the opposition protested today s passage of the budget and citing a lack of notice and time to scrutinise its contents.
Frenemies forever? PNG’s prime minister sees off a challenge
Prime Minister James Marape (Peter Morris/Sydney Heads) Published 16 Dec 2020 14:30 0 Comments
So was this serious? Or have the past month’s political events been a cunningly disguised economic rescue package for Papua New Guinea’s resort and restaurant industries?
It was more than a month ago that PNG was thrown into political crisis when Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil led a number of ministers and MPs to walk away from the government to the opposition.
That was the first surprise salvo in a campaign to knock off James Marape as prime minister in a vote of no confidence. Rival “camps” at rival resorts on rival sides of the country soon took shape, along with a Covid-19 outbreak and multiple trips to Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court, including one case that invalidated the parliament’s vote on the budget.