The Secretary for the Department of Justice and Attorney General Dr. Eric Kwa has come out to clarify the disputed statements that were made in Parliament regarding the tabling of the bill to declare PNG a Christian country.
The Bill was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, February 16th by the Minister for Justice and Attorney General Pila Niningi.
Kwa said the bill is not a proposal that was developed overnight and presented to Parliament the next day, rather it was developed in 2013 before the time of the Marape-Rosso Government.
Dr Kwa said the purpose of the bill is not to affect the rights of individuals to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Section 45 of the Constitution, rather it is to make PNG a Christian nation.
“The Proposal came from the Constitutional Law Reform Committee (CLRC) that found its way to the Social Law and Order Committee and to the Department of Community Development and Religion in 2019. The initial committee agreed and they pushed it to the cabinet during the time of Marape and Basil Government. The government at that time agreed to conduct a nationwide consultation to get the view of the people to amend the constitution to declare PNG a Christian country.
“The CLRC conducted 12 months of consultation throughout the country and over 70 percent of our people agreed that we must declare PNG as a Christian Country,” Dr Kwa said.
He said that particular issue arose because of the need to protect PNG and its character as a nation. Stating that there are constitutions around the world that declare a country based on the beliefs of that country, and the same will apply to PNG.
Dr Kwa said the much-debated question around the point of PNG already being a Christian country is not true.
“I know that the leaders have argued that the constitution already declares that PNG is a Christian country but it doesn’t because it states by the guiding hand of God, and that is only one reference in the Constitution,” he said.
The Secretary added that the bill will not touch the main provisions of the constitution, rather the bill aims to amend the national goals and directive principle to declare Christianity as a basic principle.