The Native Iowan

A Funky Frog from an Island Paradise

FRIDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2011 04:17

This horned frog is unique to the Solomon Islands.

As dusk falls over the Solomon Islands, a cacophony of quacks rises from the forest floor.

The noise originates from the small Solomon’s Horned Frog, an amphibian unique to the islands.

“This strange chorus dominates the early evening sounds in the forest,” said Christopher Filardi, director of Pacific Programs at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History.

Mr Filardi and his graduate student Patrick Pikacha found this particular frog at the biodiversity reserve on Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands, where Filardi, an evolutionary biologist, studies bird speciation and biodiversity.

“The Kolombangara biodiversity reserve is the largest protected area in region,” said Filardi, adding that the reserve is “stewarded by the people who have lived there for hundreds of generations.”

The reserve’s protected status provides a home for animals like the colorful horned frog, which also appears in variations of white, purple and brown, in addition to the green pictured.

Little is known about why they have these colors or even how they reproduce, but what is known about the elusive species is intriguing.

They belong to a group of platymantine frogs found all over the Solomon Islands.

Patymantine frogs are among only a handful of amphibians that grow directly from egg to frog — with no tadpole step in between.

How these frogs, and the other wildlife within the reserve, interact and evolve allows researchers to examine “how the interplay between life history, ecology and geography influences the generation and maintenance of biodiversity and the origins of new life,” says Filardi.
Filardi whose research is partly funded by the National Science Foundation has recently written a blog about his research in the Solomon Islands for The New York Times “Scientist at Work.” You can view a video on Filardi’s research here

ever learn…

Revolts threaten to shake the world
Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor From: The Australian February 19, 2011 12:00AM

THERE is one key respect in which tiny Bahrain is more important than Egypt. The island kingdom just off Saudi Arabia’s east coast hosts the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and the naval elements of US Central Command.

It is not exactly the Middle East’s Okinawa, but in the unlikely event the Bahrain monarchy is overthrown or becomes so oppressive Washington has to distance itself from the tiny kingdom, this could have profound consequences for the US military position in the whole Middle East.

Because the Fifth Fleet protects the Gulf states from Iran. If the US facilities were ever forced out of Bahrain, there would be pressure against important US military facilities in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

This demonstrates the difficulty of making any geo-strategic sense out of the roiling instability sweeping the Arab world. The violent crackdown on the demonstrators in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, has been followed by some quiet. In the wake of the Egyptian uprising, Western analysts ranked Bahrain, along with Yemen, Algeria and Libya, as highly vulnerable to instability.

Each case is different. Although an international wave is sweeping the region, accelerated by Facebook, Twitter and the internet generally, each country is unique. Bahrain was susceptible for several reasons. One is that it is ruled by a Sunni royal family, and Sunnis dominate all senior official positions, but it is the only Gulf state with a Shia majority.

And it is located just across a narrow strip of water from eastern Saudi Arabia, where the big, disaffected and closely watched Saudi Shia minority enjoys a local majority status.

Furthermore, Bahrain’s oil reserves are exhausted. It exists on Saudi largesse and US assistance.

Yemen’s case is different. It is dirt-poor, its rulers have been in power for decades, it has a history of internal instability and strife between its different regions, and it has been increasingly penetrated by Islamist extremists.

Libya is the most fascinating case. Its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is the Kim Jong-il of the Arab world. He does not keep his people as destitute as the North Korean dictator does, but he is an absolute dictator. His cult of personality is bizarre and dominates all of Libyan life. His family are treated as being a combination of royalty and divinity.

Libyan politics occurs when two of Gaddafi’s sons disagree with each other and move up or down in their father’s favour.

Astonishingly, even in Libya there are serious anti-government demonstrations and people dying on the streets for liberty. Nonetheless, it’s hard to see the Gaddafi dictatorship being toppled in the current wave of unrest.

The gold medal with oak leaf cluster for hypocrisy in the face of the Egyptian revolt goes to Iran. Its leaders have praised the noble demonstrators in Cairo, and attempted to portray them as heirs to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. But even while saying this, the regime has brutally suppressed relatively small attempts within Iran to recreate the protest movement of 2009. It is executing protesters and opposition activists at a rate unknown anywhere else on the planet – it has been executing roughly two people a day. Nearly 70 people were executed in Iran last month, most ostensibly on trumped-up charges, but in reality for opposing the regime.

I think it was Christopher Hitchens who coined the term Islamo-fascism. I have always thought this an inelegant and confusing term, which obscures more than it reveals. But surely the Iranian rulers are genuine Islamo-Stalinists.

There have been demonstrations in Algeria and Jordan. So far the most stable country in the region is Morocco, which has a reasonable standard of living, a respected monarchy, a relatively liberal press, and a more or less democratic parliament. But big demonstrations are planned for Morocco this weekend.

Saudi Arabia looks calm for the moment, and any demonstrations or protests there would be ruthlessly dealt with.

So the explosion that began in Tunisia has become a bushfire running all over Muslim North Africa and the Gulf Arab states, and even to Persian Iran.

What does all this mean, and what will its long-term consequences be?

Of course it’s too early to answer those questions. For a start, we still really have no idea where even one of these recent rebellions will end.

And there are several key distinctions between the countries. The monarchies seem generally a bit more stable than the republics. The republics, after all, must claim some kind of democracy or common good for their legitimacy. The monarchies can rely on tradition, the ancient mixture of religion and crown, and the often extensive co-opting process that shrewd royal families engage in to keep in touch with their populations and to keep large sections of their society on side.

Another key variable is the economy, and this often, although not always, boils down to whether a nation has oil. The Saudi royal family remains powerful partly because it can dispense so much oil largesse.

Several Gulf countries have oil. But Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen – they don’t have oil.

Then there is the twin question of whether the nations already have semi-functioning, semi-democratic parliaments, such as Morocco and Kuwait, or no real process of broad political public consultation and participation. Several years ago, the Australian scholar Harold Crouch wrote an important book about Malaysian politics. He classified Malaysia and Singapore as repressive responsive regimes. They had elements of authoritarianism but they had formal electoral contests that were clean, in the sense that ballots were not stuffed, and they had many other, often elaborate, effective means by which their populations could participate in discussion about government policies. And the governments were responsive to feedback from their populations. This model, Crouch argued, could be sustained more or less indefinitely.

None of the Arab states is a real democracy, but some have more sophisticated methods of consulting their populations.

The economy matters in another way, both as cause and effect. One of the precipitating factors of the Egyptian protests was simply the rise in food prices. The instability throughout the region has seen oil prices rise to a 2 1/2-year high, going well above $US100 ($98.70) a barrel. This helps the oil producers but it hurts everyone else.

The long-term consequences of the uprisings depend on the outcome of a duel between two models. Is the Egyptian revolt going to look like the 1979 fall of the shah in Iran, in which a liberal society with a broad-based opposition to an undemocratic ruler was hoodwinked by Muslim extremists and ended up under the totalitarian rule of the mullahs?

Or will it look like eastern Europe after 1989, with the fall of one dictatorship after another, replaced by democracies that have struggled to consolidate themselves since, but which have generally preserved democratic freedoms and led to better overall economic development?

Other analysts suggest a different parallel. What about 1848, a year when democratic revolutions swept across Europe? But they were short-lived. They were replaced in a few years by nationalist and militarist regimes, and decades of internal conflict and war.

Authoritarian regimes still have a lot of arrows in their quiver – most commonly some combination of limited reform, removal of unpopular leaders, renewed military clampdowns and the co-opting of key social groups. It is far too early to conclude that these regimes are all dead or doomed.

From Australia’s point of view, the worst outcome would be the radicalisation of the Middle East and the decline of US influence. This would hurt us in many ways. It would certainly lead to an intensified terrorist threat. It would also lead to the continued outflow of embittered populations from the Middle East, some of whom would find their way to Australia.

A seriously destabilised Middle East would lead to much higher energy prices and greater instability in the global economy. It would probably feed into a new dynamic of nuclear proliferation. Once Iran gets nuclear weapons, or the ability to produce them at short notice, Middle East regimes, even possibly democratic ones, will feel increasingly unstable. If they can rely less on the reassurance of the US military presence, they will be much more likely to seek the security guarantee of nuclear weapons.

Then there is this. Because Arab political culture has been totally undemocratic, it has exaggerated the Islamic tendency to paranoia and conspiracy theory. For some time at least, this may well mean that more democratic societies in the Middle East are prone to more radical and confrontational foreign policies.

US diplomacy in the Middle East has traditionally had five main aims: promoting stability, promoting democracy, providing military security (initially against Iraq, and more recently against Iran) to Arab allies in the Gulf, ensuring the flow of oil critical to the global economy, and providing for the security of its closest regional ally, Israel.

Rather obviously, there is often tension among these aims. Stability can be the enemy of democracy. And democracy requires a gradual cultural build-up of autonomous institutions, a disinterested judiciary, a culture of compromise, a security establishment that does not interfere in electoral processes but robustly maintains the state monopoly of force. Without at least the evolving presence of these factors, elections alone may not constitute, or even lead to, genuine democracy, or a democracy that can be sustained.

Similarly, democracy in Egypt could lead to the breaking of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the single greatest force for stability and moderation in the region.

The US can still offer its friends economic aid and trade, human resources, military reassurance. These are huge assets. But given the paranoid style of Arab politics, it is more difficult for the US to offer democratic legitimacy, meaningful international approval or domestic political advantage.

All the equations are changing. Everything is in play. In a year’s time, the Middle East could be utterly transformed. On the other hand, having withstood these storms, it could look much the same as it did a few months ago, but with a few names changed at the top. Seldom has so much been at stake in such utterly uncertain processes.

I strolled past 2 pro-democracy rallys. 1 outside the Libyan Embassy and 1 in front of the Iranian embassy.

They sounded serious.

I took picts as I walked but realise now I did not bring the cable to download to the computer.

Bummer. We’ll have to wait to have a look at london town.

The Deputy Opposition leader Mathew Wale has denied claims that they would use public funds to pay for the Opposition’s hotel bills once they over throw the government.

Speaking to the local journalists during his press conference at the Heritage Park Hotel yesterday, Mr Wale told the media that they would pay for the hotel bills on money from their own pocket.

Mr Wale said that it is important for the Opposition to stay together at one place during political crisis like this as both sides are pulling each other to get the numerical strength.

“Most of the members of the parliament (MP) with the opposition are based in the provinces so it is important that they live together at one place just for this time of political rival,” he said.

Mr Wale told the nation not to worry about their hotel bills as they will pay for it themselves.

“But if the people want to help donate some money to pay our bills then it is up to them as they will stay there only during the time of this political instability,” he said.

However, one senior citizen of Solomon Islands John Umata challenged Mr Wale as a national leader to reveal his source of fund they rely on to settle this million dollars hotel bills.

He said that even the millionaires cannot afford to live in the hotels for that long and even Mr Wale himself and Bodo Dettke the two famous business men of that group are not sleeping in the hotel because they know very well how hard it is to find money than just to spend it like running water.

“We all Solomon Islanders are coming from poor families since history of our forefathers and it is surprising that this opposition group is claiming that they will pay this million dollar hotel bills from money generated from their own sweat,” Mr Umata said.

He said that the public will protest if the Opposition take over the government and using the public purse to pay for their Heritage Park Hotel bills.

He said that sources of fund must be clearly shown to the senior citizens of this country as it concerns the poor services in the country but still we impose careless spending of public fund.

The government yesterday also accuses the Opposition of playing outright hypocrisy and double standard by incurring huge hotel bills and expecting the government to pay for such unauthorized expenditures.

“It is also shameful that the Opposition that has been barking so much about transparency, accountability, and good governance, in its bid to topple the NCRA Government is now trying to manipulate the government system to pay for its unauthorized hotel bills incurred as part of its strategy to topple the NCRA Government,” the statement said.

The Statement said the government is seeking legal options to force the Heritage Park Hotel to release the details of the Opposition hotel bills.

THE Opposition will petition Governor General to bring the sitting of Parliament back to February 24.

This was after Prime Minister Danny Philip advised the Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday to call Parliament sitting on March 28.

Leader of Opposition Steve Abana earlier said the Prime Minister had agreed with Speaker of Parliament Sir Allen Kemakeza to convene Parliament on March 7 or 14.

This was when the three of them met together in Parliament on Monday.

However, the PM changed his tune when he advised the Speaker on the date on Tuesday.

Deputy Opposition Leader, Mathew Wale described the PM’s decision as irresponsible.

“We will push for the motion of no confidence for a much longer time frame before the budget,” he said.

“We cannot see any good reason why the meeting should be delayed to the 28th, even why it should be delayed to the 14th. Why cant the meeting be held next week?”

“So we will be petitioning the governor general today…by asking him to bring the meeting forward to the 24th,” Mr Wale said.

The Public Accounts Committee will receive the draft Budget on February 28 and it will take up to 12 days to scrutinise and fine-tune the budget.

Mr Wale said it was quite irresponsible of the Government to delay the meeting knowing that it would result in a Constitutional crisis.

“It is very clear that the government does not have the numbers needed to pass its budget,” he said.

“I am quite sure that the budget will be defeated.”

A spokesperson from Government House said the Governor General can change the date provided he held consultation first with the Prime Minister.
“There is a slim chance for the Governor General to change the date,” the spokesperson said.

A bit chilly. Have failed to take my camera out…

heading that way now…

ABC: A convicted murderer who escaped a Queensland jail and spent 15 years on the run has been working for the state’s health department for more than a decade.

Luke Andrew Hunter, 42, was nabbed by police on his Sunday morning jog at Herberton, west of Cairns, after officers were tipped off he may be hiding out on the Atherton Tableland.

Hunter is alleged to have escaped from the Borallon Correctional Centre, near Ipswich, in February 1996 by using bolt cutters to cut through a fence.

At the time he was serving a 21-year sentence for murdering a man so he could continue a romantic affair with his victim’s wife.

On Tuesday, Queensland Health said it was working with police following the arrest of a Herberton Hospital employee, who had been working there under a false name.

It is understood Hunter had been working as a groundskeeper at the campus.

“This employee began work with Queensland Health in November 1997,” a Queensland Health spokesperson said.

“Since 2006, Queensland Health has conducted compulsory criminal history checks of staff upon permanent appointment.

“However, this employee was appointed long before those checks were introduced.”

The spokesperson said the matter was now before the courts and it would be inappropriate to discuss it further.

Hunter was flown from Cairns to Brisbane on Monday afternoon following a brief mention in Cairns Magistrates Court and will be housed at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre while he awaits a hearing on a charge of escaping from custody.

It is understood Hunter was living in north Queensland for at least the past five years and was previously in Sydney, although much of his time on the run is unaccounted for.

He is also said to have been a part of a secretive north Queensland religious sect called the North Queensland Jesus Group.

The man with mop. You see him everywhere. But never notice. In malls, airports, office buildings… you see the man with the mop everywhere.

Some look at him with derision. Some with fear.

The man with the mop comes behind. Our messes and mistakes are his duty. Our children’s accidents, wet and sticky, are his responsibility.

The man with the mop seldom smiles. In our presence. How can he? As no one sees him. As he carries out his duties and faithfully attends, we all look to the side. Away from the man with the mop.

What would happen if we started a conversation?

Funny though, there was a fellow in the Des Moines airport, friendly and actually quite load. Spoke to everyone. Asked you your name. His was Rodney.

But that was Iowa. Friendly Iowa.

Could never happen elsewhere. Elsewhere the man with the mop is a nonentity.  As he attends to our messes, mops the floor and empties the trash.  Essential to our society but shunned and ignored…

Seems strange that we ignore those who do the most for us…

I really like Asia. There is a flavor here that is sensual, exotic and dangerous.

I like Asia.

In transit at Changi airport, Singapore. Was last through here in April 2010, Almost a year ago.

Singapore, of course is THE Asian power house. SOoo much going on here. Quite a model of what a modern “city-state” can be. Of course the old idiom of “location- location- location” does apply.

The airport is built on the site of the WW2 POW camp as depicted in the book/ movie “King Rat”.

It is quite a modern airport and in classic Asian fashion the powers that be have spent a fortune here. And it pays off…

Every race, creed and cast is represented by the folks walking the concourse here. It is truly interesting and impressive.

And, indeed, life is guuud…

945 au-time, 745 Singapore time.

The last flight was exceedingly guud.

Changi Airport is as comfortable as it gets.

Sit here for a couple hours and board for another 14+ hours of flying before we get to London. Once in London I get a day and a half off to look around London. I have been in and through London a couple times now but have never stopped-off there to have a look around.

Looking forward to it…

1044, Palmwoods, Au

waiting for 11am pickup for hour ride to airport

if you are into ink… check this out…

http://www.facebook.com/artselemental

ITS been a long time waiting and finally top leaders have finally agreed to set a date for a Parliament meeting which will be officially announced today.

Prime Minister Danny Philip, Speaker of Parliament, Sir Allen Kemakeza and Opposition Leader, Steve Abana met in Parliament at 2pm yesterday and came up with the decision.

The meeting was deferred at 11am after PM Philip failed to turn up due to some unforeseen circumstances.

However after some consultation with him, the PM turned up confidently at Parliament and greeted Sir Allan and Mr Abana before they went in to meet privately.

After they came out together to waiting media, PM Philip made a joke”naf nao” meaning it is enough.

Sir Allen initiated the dialogue following a ruling from the Governor General, Sir Frank Kabui that it was not his place to intervene in the current political stalemate.

The Opposition had filed a motion of no confidence last Tuesday and petitioned the Governor General to call Parliament after a number of government MPs crossed the floor.

Sir Allen told media after the meeting that he would tell the people of the nation of the date for the sitting this afternoon.

He said three of them agreed to settle on section 34 (1) of the Constitution.

The section 34(1) stated that in the exercise of his functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Governor-General shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet except in cases where he is required by this Constitution to act in accordance with the advice of, or after consultation with, any person or authority other than the Cabinet or in his own deliberate judgment.

Sir Allan said he was happy that both leaders turned up for the meeting.

“I called the meeting for the sake of the country and its people,” he said.

“I took the approach I did in the Townsville agreement which included the Marau Peace and RAMSI.
“That is open dialogue,” Sir Allan said.

again…

Flying soon… Hon to Bris for 3 nights.

Another 24 hour flight to London for 9 night.

Back to Bris for a week or so then back to HIR the beginning of March…

oh, joy

THE government claimed their meeting with the Australian High Commissioner pointed out that both countries were victims of the deputy Opposition leader’s ‘unauthorised’ use of Australia’s name to gain support from politicians.

In an email from the Prime Minister press secretary Alfred Sasako to the Solomon Star yesterday, he said that both parties had agreed and demanded that the deputy opposition leader Matthew Wale must refrain from using Australia’s name in any shape or form when trying to lure politicians.

“Both parties have made their case clear and Australia has noted that the Solomon Islands government claims were legitimate,” he said.

Asked what else was discussed during the meeting, Mr Sasako said the full details of the discussions could not be revealed to the media.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Shanel met with the Australian government representative Frank Ingruber on Thursday.

The Australian High Commission office in Honiara described the meeting as ‘successful’ and ‘constructive’.

The Australian High Commission also declined to give full details of the meeting but said during the meeting with Prime Minister and Mr Shanel, High Commissioner Igruber reiterated that the allegations in the media had no basis.

In a statement they said Mr Ingruber reaffirmed the Australian government’s vision in the country and that was to continue to work with the Solomon Islands Government to promote stability, economic progress and the welfare of all Solomon Islanders.

“The meeting was successful and constructive,” the statement said.

However, deputy opposition leader Matthew Wale was furious with claims that alleged he was using Australia’s name in politics.

“This people are stupid. I have never used the name of Australia, I don’t need to use the name of Australia and I don’t want to use the name of Australia. I want to make it clear that the government is not ruptured by the opposition but by the government itself. MPs come to us freely without any favour because they have no trust in the Prime Minister. Why do I need Australia’s help? These allegations are childish,” he said.

Mr Wale said the government must prepare to provide evidence when the case goes before the courts.

The deputy opposition leader is filing a defamation lawsuit against the Prime Minister and his press secretary.

Earlier this week the Government in what they described as a ‘top intelligence report’ in a six page document pointed fingers at RAMSI and Australia as the major players behind the Opposition’s conspiracy in trying to topple the Danny Philip regime.

The report also claimed Australia also offered money to MPs if they agreed to defect to the Opposition and said certain court cases were rigged.

After days of wrangling, denial and accusations the matter has been resolved diplomatically by the two governments.

Member of Parliament (MP) for South Guadalcanal David Day Pacha will face court again this Friday for the confirmation of number of witnesses.

The prosecution and the defence counsel will have a discussion over the number of witnesses to call for the trial.

Prosecution during the pre-trial-conference yesterday said they have 14 witnesses to call.

But the presiding magistrate asked the prosecution and defence to have a discussion over the number of witnesses.

The trial date would be fixed as soon as number of witnesses to be called is confirmed.

Pacha was charged with one count of conversion and one count of abuse of office.

He allegedly converted $300,000 that was supposed to be for a micro project at his constituency without the consent of the project owner for his own benefit.

Presiding Magistrate Stefan Metanomski adjourned the matter to this Friday and extended bail for the MP.

Private Lawyer Gabriel Suri is representing the MP.

Manslaughter case of10-year-old

The case of the 10-year-old boy accused of causing the death of another child has been further adjourned to February 21.

This is when the prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution will decide whether the matter will proceed against the 10-year-old.

The boy’s appearance on Monday was excused.

He was accused of the death of another child of his age after a stone throwing incident.

The stone landed on the other child’s head and died two days later after he was taken to Tulagi Hospital.

The alleged incident occurred on November 27, last year at a village in Small Gela, Central Province.

Hubert Fugui of the Public Solicitor’s Office represents the boy.

Father to indicate how he will plead

An indication of pleas in to the charges against the father accused of indecently assaulting his daughter and attempting rape on his sister-in-law is to be made today.

A bail application will also be made for the 45-five-year-old father as well.

The father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the two alleged victims, is facing seven counts of indecent assault and four counts of attempted rape.

He allegedly committed the offences on unknown dates in 2006 and 2007.

The alleged victim is 12 years of age.

Appearing on Monday, Principal Magistrate Stefan Metanomski mentioned his case and then further remanded him in custody.

The father is represented by Solomon Kalu of the Public Solicitor’s Office.

Gilbert camp ruling on Friday

The ruling into the outcome of a trial of a man accused of disturbing a religious assembly at Gilbert Camp will be delivered on Friday.

Jordan Van Caesar was charged with one count of criminal trespass and one count of disturbing religious assembly.

It was alleged that on November 1, 2009, he and some of his friends were drinking under a house next to the church.

The house was in the church property where Sunday school classes usually hold their activities under the high house.

The accused was married to a member of the family of the man who owns the property.

Caesar denied the charge and a trial was held into the case.

The trial was completed and the presiding magistrate will deliver her ruling into the case on Friday.

Allan Hou of DNS lawyers is representing the accused.

PM yet to talk about claims

DESPITE the sensitivity of the claims the Government has made about Australia the Prime Minister has been so silent in recent days.

Following an intelligence report from within the Government being released to the Solomon Star that claimed Australia had launched a conspiracy to overthrow the Danny Philip regime, the Opposition has raised questions.

“Where is the Prime Minister and why hasn’t he explained and proved to the nation the claims against RAMSI and Australia,” an Opposition spokesperson said.

It was understood that the PMs press secretary Alfred Sasako was speaking on Mr Philip’s behalf defending his boss releasing a statement recently stating that the Government does not need to provide evidence to support their claims because the matter was confidential.

The Government in what they described as a ‘top intelligence report’ in a six page word document pointed fingers at RAMSI and Australia as the major players behind the Opposition’s conspiracy in trying to topple the Danny Philip regime.

The Australian High Commissioner to Solomon Islands Frank Ingruber said in a statement yesterday that all the allegations were completely untrue.

It is understood Mr Ingruber wants a meeting with Prime Minister Philip but at this stage the Prime Minister has not responded to Mr Ingruber.

However, the Solomon Star understands that arrangements for Mr Ingruber to meet the Prime Minister had been arranged by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The Foreign Affairs office confirmed to the Solomon Star yesterday that Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Shanel had already been briefed on the matter by Government officials yesterday.

It is understood that by way of protocol, the Foreign Affairs Minister would be making an appointment to meet Mr Ingruber before another appointment would be arranged for Prime Minister Philip to meet the Australian High Commissioner.

The Australian Government are reportedly concerned about the report and they are taking the matter seriously.

The Australian Government was quick to respond summoning Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Australia Beraki Jino on Tuesday night by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Pacific, Richard Marles for a “please explain.”

Meanwhile, the Opposition office has reiterated their call for the Prime Minister and his press secretary to provide evidence to support their claims.

“What is disturbing about this is that someone smart enough to fabricate the `intel report’ would be stupid enough to think something so laughable would work,” a spokesman from the Opposition said.

Mr Philip’s government is struggling to maintain majority, with the opposition claiming a number of government MPs’ defections this year had given them a mandate to rule.

Although, the Prime Minister is ruling with a minority government they are confident of passing the budget when Parliament meets next month.