PNG Opposition calls for PM O'Neill to provide evidence for his citizenship
In a twist in the matter of citizenship of the prime minister, the Member for Madang Bryan Kramer is calling out Peter O’Neill to provide evidence to prove that he does not have dual citizenship.
Kramer said Prime Minister (PM) Peter O’Neill should prove his allegation wrong by providing evidence that he does not hold an Australian passport as this would be in breach of the country’s constitution.
“Under PNG law, the constitution section 103 that relates to qualification, members of parliament who have dual citizenship are not qualified to be or as members of parliament,” said Kramer.
Kramer said that if the PM is also an Australian citizen, then he has already committed a crime. “The Best way to produce such evidence is to actually get an official letter from the Australian government to confirm that he is not and has never been an Australian citizen or obtained or having in his possession an Australian passport.”
“It’s not a very difficult thing to do. It’s very simple, write to the Australian High Commission and ask them to produce that in writing. Anything not of that, confirms that he is in fact an Australian citizen and does as I accuse him of having an Australian passport,” he said.
Apart from Kramer’s pursue, the Opposition has also gone ahead with their own pursue of the matter with the Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Allen Marat stating that he will be writing a letter to the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister through the Australian High Commission,simply to confirm or deny Peter O’Neill’s Australian citizenship allegations.
Shadow Attorney General Kerenga Kua, said because the allegations are serious in that it refers to the highest seat in the land, he wants the authorities, including the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Electoral Commission to give answers if the allegation are true or not.
‘That also goes to the prime minister, we don’t want him to come through third parties and to rely on them to say there is no merit in the allegations. If there is no merit on the allegations, he need to come forward and issue his own statement under his own letter head, under his own signature to either admit or deny these allegations and from that point onwards, we will pursue this matter further to come to the end of the matter once and for all,” said Kua.
Meantime, Kramer revealed also that he has reliable evidence to back his allegations. Although he did not reveal them publicly, he said he will present them in court if the situation leads to the matter going as far as the courts.
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Kramer said Prime Minister (PM) Peter O’Neill should prove his allegation wrong by providing evidence that he does not hold an Australian passport as this would be in breach of the country’s constitution.
“Under PNG law, the constitution section 103 that relates to qualification, members of parliament who have dual citizenship are not qualified to be or as members of parliament,” said Kramer.“It’s not a very difficult thing to do. It’s very simple, write to the Australian High Commission and ask them to produce that in writing. Anything not of that, confirms that he is in fact an Australian citizen and does as I accuse him of having an Australian passport,” he said.
Apart from Kramer’s pursue, the Opposition has also gone ahead with their own pursue of the matter with the Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Allen Marat stating that he will be writing a letter to the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister through the Australian High Commission,simply to confirm or deny Peter O’Neill’s Australian citizenship allegations.
Shadow Attorney General Kerenga Kua, said because the allegations are serious in that it refers to the highest seat in the land, he wants the authorities, including the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Electoral Commission to give answers if the allegation are true or not.
‘That also goes to the prime minister, we don’t want him to come through third parties and to rely on them to say there is no merit in the allegations. If there is no merit on the allegations, he need to come forward and issue his own statement under his own letter head, under his own signature to either admit or deny these allegations and from that point onwards, we will pursue this matter further to come to the end of the matter once and for all,” said Kua.
Meantime, Kramer revealed also that he has reliable evidence to back his allegations. Although he did not reveal them publicly, he said he will present them in court if the situation leads to the matter going as far as the courts.
PNGFM/PNG Today
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