PNG Prime Minister

Upon arrival, they were accorded a full ceremonial honors by the Government of China.

PM O’Neill along with his wife, Lynda Babao, senior Government Ministers and Members of Parliament, together with a delegation of senior business representatives, will be having a series of engagements that includes bilateral meetings with the Premier and President of China, and current and potential Chinese investors.          

“Papua New Guinea must reach out and engage with our foreign partners so we can increase trade, stimulate business and create new jobs,” says PM O’Neill.

He told the media this week that the National Government is funding its key sector policies of education, health and infrastructure despite the drop in income revenue from its exports.     

O’Neill said the country must live within its means, which resulted in a slight decrease in this year’s budget.

The Prime Minister said all public servants are getting paid on time, including politicians, because the country does not have a cash flow problem.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said, his government is committed to ridding unlicensed and illegal firearms in PNG, and the Hela Operation is a starting point.

“After 28 March, we will introduce legislations on summary offences – if you are caught in the possession of an illegal firearm the recommendation to the law is that you get 10 years imprisonment with hard labour, and fined K10,000 as well,” O’Neill said.

The Prime Minister also commended the people of Hela for taking on-board the initiative in the amnesty period to surrender illegal firearms.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill stressed that it was a government caucus decision and not a one-man decision.

He said the proposed law is not intended to restrict people to stand for elections but was introduced because of the increasing cost of running the elections.

The last reading to amend the Organic Law on National and Provincial and Local-Level Government Elections will go before Parliament in the last sitting of Parliament this month.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in a media conference announced that NEC today agreed to an Administrative Inquiry which will start tomorrow (Wednesday).     

O’Neill said the decision for the change was because of a court proceeding testing the legality and payments of past COI.

“Today NEC have decided that we will have an Inquiry that is Administrative in nature, but the principles of accountability and transparency and all the other investigative requirements will still be conducted by a leading legal professionals,” Prime Minister O’Neill said this afternoon.