Opposition Leader Don Polye has urged his fellow parliamentarians and individuals not to intrude court processes with ‘unnecessary obstructions’ in what he termed as ‘only for their convenience to stay in power.’
Polye said such a delay tactic not only pervert course of justice but also consumed the Judiciary’s time and resources to deal with other backlog of cases.
He said this when commenting on the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s lawyers running to the courts again to stay their client’s trial which was set to proceed on March 3.
Polye said the leaders were setting a bad precedence for the next crop of leaders and ordinary citizens as they will tend to follow their footsteps in future.
“We understand the lawyers have been hired using millions of Kina from the taxpayers’ money over the last three years.
“They are using this case as a camouflage to milk out taxpayers’ money and that I am calling on the PNG Law Society to investigate whether the delays sought by the lawyers carry any substance or just to suit their corporate interests,” he said.
He has queried why millions of Kina was spent for the best interests of individual and not for national greatness.
The Opposition Leader has also called on the Attorney General Ano Pala to disclose the public funds used to settle legal fees during the duration of this case.
Meanwhile, Polye has commended his predecessor and Opposition stalwart Belden Namah for successfully staying his Leadership Tribunal case.
Welcoming the court’s decision, Polye said it was a relief for the Opposition MPs to concentrate on their activity plans in the lead up to the Parliament Session in March.