Member for Namatanai, Walter Schnaubelt has responded to the New Ireland Provincial Government regarding a legal action that they would be taking against him on the destruction of government properties.
Mr Schnaubelt in a statement said: “At the heart of the dismantling (not destruction) of the Seeto Council Chamber building and the solar technology equipment in Namatanai town is a question of who owns the land title and it’s land use, and whether consent was sought and secured to build the council chamber.
He said firstly, Namatanai District Development Authority is the legitimate owner of the land title in question. Secondly, the purpose of the land use involved is set aside for Namatanai Airstrip and not for a council chamber.
“No entity has the right to construct any building or use it for any development on any portion of land owned by another entity. In the case of this particular portion, it is the resolution of Namatanai DDA to use it for its original purpose, for an airstrip to resume flights to the district.”
Mr Schnaubelt said given the number of deaths and those lost at sea while traveling to and from Namatanai, the airstrip is a higher priority than an LLG council chamber building.
“The president of Namatanai LLG, Joshua Takin Soi and his councilors had already written to the provincial government in early March, requesting that the Seeto Council Chamber be built on their LLG land below the Namatanai Administration, instead of encroaching and illegally construction the chamber on airstrip land.”
“This is why the council chamber, including the solar technology equipment were dismantled and not demolished. They were not destroyed but dismantled because the construction was done illegally on the Namatanai DDA land designated for the airstrip.”
The Member added that he would be seeking legal advice on appropriate courses of action to take against the provincial government over the following matters:
- Illegal use of land portion to put up the Seeto Council Chamber and the impact and cost of restoring the portion to its former state, including use as airstrip.
- The unsigned media statement put out by the provincial government and legal liabilities and damages as follows:
- Describing the dismantling actions on the building known as Seeto Council Chamber as Destruction to sensationalise the mater and tarnish his reputation;
- Likening him, based on his ancestory and surname, to the internationally condemned actions of the 1930s Nazi Germany and it’s racist policies and Gestapo tactics;
- Tarnishing a renown, reputable political party, the National Alliance Party Inc. with a proven track-record of delivery to PNG because of its chosen colour brand or red, which is the colour brand of the internationally of the internationally condemned actions of the 1930s and 1940s Nazi Germany and its racist policies and Gestapo tactics.
“Whoever authorized the drafting and issue of the media statement by the provincial government media unit must be held responsible for the statement and its implications,” said Schnaubelt.
He will also be seeking legal advice on the manner he was treated during the recent provincial assembly where he was called “a stranger in the house”, of which he said is becoming a norm and the verbal confrontation that ensued.