parliament

He urged the Government to table the Report produced by his committee at the next sitting of Parliament and seriously consider the recommendations made by the Committee.

Juffa stated that the continued delay towards the long overdue overhaul of public service would only delay any true development of the nation.

He expressed grave frustration at the continued delay in tabling the Committees report and urged the Government to address the issue of restructuring and modernizing an ineffective and inefficient public service machine.

O’Neill said becoming self-sufficient in rice production is a matter of high national importance.

“We have a desire to grow more rice in our country and we need to work hard at this,” he said after the issue was raised in Parliament today.

“As a country we rely too much on rice imports from Australia and from Asia that is sold in Papua New Guinea.

“We want to have a large scale and commercially viable rice production sector in our country that will meet the demands of our people.

Member for Nawae, Gisuat Siniwin asked if the Department of Treasury could intervene to help small businesses and individuals who pay different fees for all transactions conducted through the commercial banks.

This includes a K7 deposit fee, cheque clearance fees, account maintaining fees, ATM withdrawal fees,  etc.

He said this is hurting ordinary citizens and called on the department to look into this.

Treasury Minister Patrick Pruatich said commercial banks were private profit oriented entities with the aim to make profit at the end of the day.

When responding to Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare’s questions on the provincial quarterly grants, Pruaitch said the Government will still give the funding to the provinces.

Pruaitch said given the cash flow problem the country is facing, the revenue coming into the Government coffers are a concern.

“Therefore, we have taken measures to control the spending and the release of funds to the provinces,” he said.

“The Government is working to ensure that the commitments made in 2016 Budget will be fully funded before the end of December.”

The Bill is a significant piece of legislation designed to deal with crimes and offences committed against individuals, the public, government agencies or corporate entities through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Introducing the bill for the third reading today before it being passed, Communication Minister Jimmy Miringtoro said the Government is mindful that the use of ICTs inevitably introduces correlative security concerns for individuals, businesses, and the public sector that need to be addressed.

Spokesman Captain James Markop in a statement sent to Loop from China said it is with dismay that Naru had used or abused Parliamentary privilege by labeling concerned professional Papua New Guineans as domestic terrorists on the floor of parliament.

“We the citizens of Papua New Guinea have given you a mandate for 5 years to represent us, not yourselves in parliament.

"The country's economy is very strong and the Government will continue to monitor the challengers and make adjustments if necessary but it is too early to call for a minor (supplementary) budget.

O’Neill said the national government when formulating this year budget last year, did frame it against the drop of commodity prices.

After a battle of words from both sides of the House the Speaker Theo Zurenuoc called for the vote to be taken.

The Opposition argued that the Speaker did not give them the chance to debate on the issues but moved quickly to vote for the motion.

O’Neill now remains the Prime minister until the 2017 National elections.

Parliament has been adjourned to August 9.

More to come...

This is in compliance with the Order of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCC[OS]) No. 3 of 2016 dated July 12.

The Supreme Court ordered the speaker to recall parliament within 5 days, including today, to have the motion of no-confidence introduced, debate and voted on as a matter of national importance and urgency.

An order was also made to the clerk of parliament to place the notice of motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister as the first item of business of parliament on the first day of sitting.

An order was also made to the clerk of parliament to place the notice of motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister as the first item of business of parliament on the first day of sitting.

In a unanimous decision, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika and Justice Collin Makail granted a declaration that the motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister complied with technical requirements of section 145 of the Constitution and Standing Orders 22 and 130.