The tenth sitting of parliament suffered a delay and tensions broke out between Nick Kuman from the People’s National Congress and Lukas Dekena of the PNG party over who was the MP-elect for the Gumine seat, Radio New Zealand International reports.

EMTV News reports there was “commotion” as both members refused to move from their seat when asked by parliamentary staff to do so.

Dekena was declared on July 28 and Kuman on July 30, so the matter is currently before the court.

Due to such issues and the fact several seats are still to be declared — only 105 of the 111 writs have been returned — Kerenga Kua, MP-elect for Sinasina-Yonggamugl Open, visibly voiced his concerns, urging the Chief Justice to stop proceedings as members of the Alliance and PNC yelled at one another from across the room.

This prompted his Alliance colleagues to stand in solidarity with him before things eventually calmed down as newly elected MPs were sworn in.

O’Neill was the only candidate put forward by PNC after the party was invited to do so by new speaker Joe Pomat (PNC) on advice of the Governor-General, Loop PNG reports.

PNC holds majority
Pomat beat Allan Marat of the Melanesian Liberal Party 60 votes to 46, while PNC was invited to nominate a candidate for Prime Minister because the PNC coalition had the majority of seats (60), compared to the Alliance’s 47, EMTV reported just after 10am.

Both camps had been confident they had the numbers going into the sitting.

O’Neill’s appointment marks the end of Papua New Guinea’s tumultuous election period which began in April.

The country’s 2017 general election has been marred with electoral roll issues, shortages of ballot papers, disputed ballot boxes and violence, as reported by Asia Pacific Report.

For those wanting a change of government, the only consolation seems to be the decrease in O’Neill’s majority and the Alliance’s determination to stand by “the cry of the people” following a press conference.

Kua said the Alliance is not a lost cause and O’Neill’s government can expect to be “taken to task” over every policy.

With several seats still undeclared, the make-up of Papua New Guinea’s tenth parliament is still to be cemented.

• More PNG election stories

By Charles Yapumi in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s former Treasury Minister has welcomed the Estimates Committee of the Australian Senate’s probe into non-payment of royalties to LNG area landowners.

“It is pleasing to see the concern expressed by Senator Scott Ludlam for the plight of LNG project landowners who have not received any royalty payments three years after annual exports worth billions of dollars have commenced,” said Patrick Pruaitch, leader of the National Alliance Party.

Pruaitch was dumped as Treasurer by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill last month after claiming the economy was “falling off a cliff”.

Senator Ludlam expressed concern at a recent meeting that the Australian government’s Export Finance Insurance Corporation (EFIC) had not taken measures to ensure royalty payments — now totalling K904 million (about NZ$420 million) — had been distributed to landowners in the PNG LNG project area.

He noted that the loan to the PNG LNG project was the biggest ever foreign loan made by the Australian government.

“While the inquiry highlighted EFIC’s silence and non-action towards protecting Australia’s interest, more significantly for PNG, it raises the government’s negligence and lack of responsibility to the people of PNG, specifically the wellhead landowners and beneficiary groups in the PNG LNG project,” Pruaitch said.

“By right, the clan-vetting exercise to determine the rightful people to whom royalties should be paid should have been completed well before the first LNG shipment left PNG’s shores in May 2014.

“The O’Neill government has to date failed to resolve this issue,” Pruaitch said.

Landowner patience running out
Senator Ludlam was right in expressing fears about project risk because the patience of landowners has been running out.

“I thank Senator Scott Ludlam for his courageous position in seeking EFIC’s explanations as to why the Australian export credit agency that financed the mega LNG project in Papua New Guinea had, to date, not initiated at the very least a telephone conversation between the Australian Foreign Minister and PNG officials to raise the concern about non-payment of PNG LNG project royalties to project area landowners.”

Pruaitch was the former Treasurer in the Somare government in 2009, and was also the chairman of the Ministerial Sub-committee on Economic Matters responsible for the delivery of the PNG LNG project.

“The senator’s probe has highlighted the fact that international companies also have a corporate responsibility to adhere to international principles and best practices and EFIC should also do its part to protect Australia’s investment while, at the same time, honouring the letter and spirit of the project agreement.”

Charles Yapumi is a Loop PNG reporter.

• PNG protesters angry about unpaid royalties picket LPG plant