Thousands stranded as PNG pilots call in ‘sick’

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A vote of no confidence in Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has been delayed for seven days, the ABC reports.

Parliament was recalled Friday afternoon and then adjourned until July 22 to further consider the motion.

The People’s Progress Party, which was a member of the governing coalition, has split from O’Neill’s government and joined the opposition on the other side of the house as O’Neill urged PNG to embrace political stability.

The parliament had been recalled by the PNG Supreme Court, which ruled government attempts to avoid a vote of no confidence were unconstitutional.

Speaker Theo Zurenoc adjourned parliament to next Friday for the vote of no confidence motion to resume on a technicality.

The delay was triggered by the speaker’s concern over the Supreme Court ruling, stating that the courts intervention directly contravened the duties of the clerk of parliament.

He said the orders where ambiguous and parliament would seek a Supreme Court reference on the matter and parliament would resume next Friday.

An hour before parliament convened for the vote, People’s Progress Party leader Ben Micah announced that he was withdrawing his party from allegiance with the government.

Micah, Minister for Petroleum, announced he is moving with five of his members, including Mining Minister Byron Chan, because they do no longer see a competent government under the leadership of Prime Minister O’Neill.

Meanwhile, protests outside the parliament over allegations of corruption against O’Neill are ramping up.

Earlier in the week, pilots were one of the main professional groups vowing to stop work if O’Neill did not step down within 48 hours.

There have been long lines at Air Niugini’s customer service desk at Port Moresby airport for the past two days as pilots called in sick, stranding thousands of passengers.

“They told us today the flight is cancelled and they’ve told us to come back tomorrow and check in again,” a passenger said.

Air Niugini said the flights were cancelled because of “technical crewing issues”.

The state-owned airline has so far refused to admit its staff are taking part in the protest organised by a civil society group of concerned citizens.

The group’s leader, the constitutional lawyer Moses Murray, said the protests were peaceful and were not aimed at disrupting essential services.

“I would not prefer the work strike. Professional workers have exercised their conscience not to attend work and they’re taking time out with their families, but in this group its not only the pilots. It’s the doctors it’s the nurses it’s everybody,” he said.

Murray said his group would meet this weekend to decide whether to extend the stop work protest into next week.

In response, PNG’s National Security Advisory Council established a joint security taskforce led by police to deal with the unrest.

The council’s chairman, Government Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari, said it would investigate threats to national security.

“We are warning union leaders, politicians, landowners, so-called professionals, busy-bodies – any person that takes the law into their hands and threatens lives of Papua New Guineans – be warned, you will be caught,” he said.

Police Commissioner Gari Baki said he was calling on the PNG Defence Force to deploy its soldiers to help his officers.

The ABC reports civil disobedience by pilots could be followed by strikes from health workers, who gave a seven-day deadline for the Prime Minister to step aside.

PNG’s Opposition Leader Don Polye said the security taskforce was an attempt by the O’Neill government to suppress dissent.

“What they’re doing is they’re establishing all kinds of taskforces, bodies here and there, to subjugate and oppress a nation,” he said.

But to succeed in a motion of no confidence against O’Neill, Poyle needs a number of government MPs to abandon the prime minister and join him.

“We are not against everybody in government. We only would like to see the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill change,” Polye said before Parliament reconvened.

O’Neill issued a statement yesterday urging Papua New Guineans to embrace the importance of political stability.

The prime minister said the opposition only wanted to score political points, and warned of consequences to the economy and investment if the government changed.

The next seven days will be spent lobbying and horse-trading as each side tries to rally enough numbers to form a majority, but as it stands, O’Neill’s coalition retains a commanding lead.

- PNC