PNG St John Ambulance Welcomes 24 Newly Trained Officers

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has defended the Supreme Court’s ruling on constitutional amendments, describing Governor Allan Bird’s assessment of the decision as “reckless” and “misleading” at a time when public confidence in state institutions must remain firm.

 PNG PM Defends Supreme Court Ruling, Calls Bird’s Remarks “Reckless”

Speaking in Port Moresby, the Prime Minister said it was inappropriate for a national leader to portray a unanimous ruling of the highest court as harmful to society. He rejected the Governor’s claim that the amendments allow “indefinite entrenchment of power.”

“The Supreme Court did not weaken democracy — it strengthened constitutional clarity,” he said. “The court confirmed Members’ rights were not breached and that Parliament followed the correct process.”

He said linking the judgment to the collapse of democratic safeguards was irresponsible. “To call a constitutional ruling a ‘societal defeat’ is reckless,” he said. “It implies that five senior judges acted against the nation’s interest, which is untrue.”

On the issue of the Opposition, the Prime Minister said Governor Bird had overstated the impact of the ruling. He outlined multiple avenues for scrutiny, including ICAC, the Ombudsman Commission, Police, the Public Accounts Committee and the media.

Mr Marape stressed that majorities in Parliament shift regularly, and the ruling does not secure any individual’s political survival. “To claim that one individual is now protected indefinitely is false and misleading.”

Calling for political maturity, he urged leaders to avoid inflaming public concerns. “Our democracy is not as fragile as Governor Bird suggests,” he said. “Our democracy is not dying. It is functioning exactly as it was designed to.”

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PNG St John Ambulance Welcomes 24 Newly Trained Officers