Former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta said today the National Parliament is in danger of becoming a rubber stamp for the decisions taken by the Prime Minister, surrounded by a small group of unelected advisers, high-priced foreign consultants and vested interests. “In recent years the Office of the Prime Minister and those who influence it have come to dominate the structures and processes of decision-making by the Parliament and the Executive,” he said. “Parliament in particular needs to be restored to its rightful place as the embodiment of the rights, aspirations and views of the people. “Likewise the rights and the duty of Members of Parliament to represent the nation and their people

The Prime Minister and his advisers must accept the incontrovertible evidence that Papua New Guinea is in the midst of an extensive and deepening economic and financial crisis, former Prime Minister Mekere Morauta said today. “Only by the Prime Minister acknowledging the nature and scale of the problem, and sharing it with Papua New Guineans, can we find solutions to fight the problem, hand in hand. “Everyone knows something is seriously wrong,” he said. “Everyone is talking about it. Everyone is living with the growing effects. Families can see that the cost of food is skyrocketing. Students know that there are insufficient jobs when they leave school. Public servants know they aren't bei

“Prime Minister Peter O’Neill should allow the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate to take up his challenge to find whether there is evidence or not that he benefitted financially from the Paraka scandal,” former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta said today. “He should also allow them to continue their wider investigation into all aspects of the case, and he should assist their enquiries by presenting himself to Director Matthew Damaru and his colleagues for questioning. “Mr O’Neill has boasted that he knows the facts surrounding the case, and who benefitted financially. “He has a duty to reveal that to the Fraud Squad.” In a media release and in Parliament the Prime Minister chal