The Native Iowan

More MPs to goverment

WELCOME: From left, Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga, Moses Garu West Guadalcanal MP, MP for Savo Russells Dickson Mua, Prime Minister Danny Philip, East Makira MP Alfred Ghiro and MP for West Honiara and deputy speaker Namson Tran inside the Cabinet chamber during the first caucus meeting to be attended by the three MPs.

Policy, budget lures MPs

GOVERNMENT yesterday claimed four more members of parliaments (MPs) from the Opposition group are expected to the Danny Philip-led National Coalition for Rural Advancement (NCRA) government.

This was revealed yesterday after the Government Caucus formally welcomed three former Opposition MPs.

“Four more opposition MPs are expected to join the Government team ahead of the March 28 budget session,’ the government statement said.

The three MPs which switched to the government were West Guadalcanal MP Moses Garu, MP for Savo Russells Dickson Mua and East Makira MP Alfred Ghiro.

Their inclusion in the government had now strengthened the government side.

They were formally welcomed to their first Caucus meeting at the Cabinet chamber.

The government statement quoted the three MPs as saying their move to the NCRA government stems from a common believe in the upcoming national budget and the policies of the coalition.

“They believed these policies will have direct impact on their constituencies and it is proper to join the government to push its reform and development agenda forward,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Philip said the NCRA government’s door is open to any MP who wishes to be part of the Government’s team.

Saving the dolphins proves a complicated task

EII regional director Lawrence Makili

THE dolphin saga is far from over as villagers in Walande and Fanalei, South Malaita expressed that they were still unhappy with how the funds had been disbursed to the two communities.

The Earth Island Institute (EII) regional director Lawrence Makili and EII director international Mark Berman this week made a high level visit to the two communities purposely to get feedback from them if they were happy or not after the first trend was released last month.

A total of $300,000 was released during the first trend in which the communities shared $150,000 each.

It was never going to be an easy task as both communities had their own differences during the heated debate.

These were some of the issues raised in both villages;

• Villagers want the money to be diverted straight to the community so that they can meet their needs.
• Villagers do not want existing Fanalei/Walande Honiara based communities to be involved in handling the money.
• Villagers complained money received was too small and some households got larger amounts than others.
• They questioned EII if they were still going to receive $200,000 per household as agreed during the signing of the MOU April last month.
• They questioned why the money was not released on time.

In response to their queries, Mr Makili explained that the fault was not theirs because the ongoing row between the different communities in Honiara and in the village had delayed the process.

“We should already be receiving the second trend but because you people can’t unite and work together things had to be delayed. Everything was done according to the MOU as agreed when we signed the MOU last year in Fanalei,” he told both communities.

Mr Makili also explained that they would stick to the MOU which stated that each household would receive $200,000 each.

However, he said it would not come as a whole package but as different trends.

It was understood that only families registered during the signing of the MOU would benefit from the save dolphin project.

This means that extended families that moved into both communities after the signing and their names were not on the list are likely to miss out.

Mr Makili explained that they would stick with the MOU and they would not make any changes until the MOU is reviewed April 2012.

“The most important thing is working together amongst yourselves and this includes communities both in Honiara and within the village. Because it seemed that some people have different motives. We are committed to helping you people but you must help yourselves first so that the project would be successful,” he said.

During the visit EII also discussed ways of improving the disbursement of the funds to both communities.
Both communities agreed and concluded that all affairs of the project would be looked after by their Honiara based communities where funds would be facilitated.

Germany says no to dolphin imports

GERMANY will not allow any dolphin imports into their country.

This is according to the Federal Agency for Nature and Conservation (FANC), the CITES agency in Germany.

In an email the Solomon Star, Earth Island Institute affiliate German dolphin conservation society Ulrike Kirsch said she had spoken with authorities from FANC and they confirmed that there will not be any dolphin exports into Germany.

“There are no requests for any dolphin exports into Germany and if there was one, authorities here said that there would be no permits granted,” Mrs Kirsch said.

This followed media reports that local dolphin exporter Robert Satu had plans to fill an order from Germany, along with orders from other European countries and Dubai.

Robert Satu, the director of the Marine Mammal Educational Centre, could not confirm the exact number of dolphins each country ordered but hoped to begin hunting at the end of June.

Mr Satu said the other European countries did not want their identities publicised.
“After Germany then I’ll go back to Dubai and get the other contract from Dubai, which is, they have to complete their tourism place again before I’ll send them but they already put their order in.”

However, Mrs Kirsch said Germany was very strict on the issue of dolphin imports and there would be no requests for dolphin imports into the European Union stronghold.

“The person from the German CITES agency assumes that the whole thing might be a trick to divert attention from dolphin imports into Arab countries and maybe China. China’s amusement park industry seems to be booming and apparently China may be the new market for dolphin exports,” he export.

Mr Satu said he was ready to begin hunting again after Earth Island failed to live up to an agreement made with Satu.
The Earth Islands regional director Lawrence Makili reaffirmed that there were no agreements made with Mr Satu.

 

Editor’s Note: Most people don’t know that dolphin is actually good easting and is a traditional food source in certain areas in the Solomons. What you see above is an Are Are (south Malaita) group of men after a successful dolphin “round-up”.

Jobless graduates

My comment is… Fat bloody chance, Jonathan.

These guys are only interested in maintaining power/ maintaining the “numbers”

So sad… sore lo solomoni…

I am going to hazard that the Solomon Islands has more elected members under legal indictment than the US Congress…

Lilo testify, trial adjourned

Mark Kemakeza

Member of Parliament for Gela and Minister for Mines and Energy Mark Kemakeza had his trial adjourned yesterday afternoon so he could attend a Cabinet meeting.

This was after the fourth prosecution witness, Minister of Finance, Gordon Darcy Lilo gave his evidence in court.

Kemakeza’s lawyer is yet to cross-examine the witness.

Principal Magistrate Shafi Khan adjourned the trial to this afternoon.

The MP is facing two counts of conversion, two counts of official corruption and one count of abuse office.

It was alleged that he used the public funds allocated for a fishing project in his constituency in August to November, 2007 worth $764,000.

In his evidence, Lilo confirmed seeing the applications made by those who applied for the fishing micro project in 2007.

He also confirmed that there was a Caucus meeting in September 2007.

The meeting was held specifically to deal with 2007 rural micro fisheries project.

He said Kemakeza also attended the meeting but when he was asked by the prosecution whether Kemakeza said anything at the meeting, Lilo said he did not actually remember but believed the MP did say something at the meeting.

“The recordings will prove that” he said.

The purpose of the meeting, Lilo said was due to numerous complaints about the money of Government funded projects for various ministries.

He said some applicants who received cash instead of buying equipment or materials the money was intended for, used it for other purposes.

“All the cheques approved will be received by the MPs and then delivered to all project recipients.” He said.

Cabinet however did not authorise MPs to deposit in any person’s account but to ensure purchases to the supplier.

The applications made by those applicants will have to go through various stages for screening before it goes up to the Cabinet for approval.

The last person the application goes through is Lilo who confirmed seeing the applications before it goes to the Cabinet.

This was after the applications go through the chief fisheries officer, director of fisheries and then to the permanent secretary for fisheries.

Lilo said the first amount of funding was $6 million which $484,000 of this amount was to go to ten applicants from the Central Province.

The second amount of funding was for $3 million where this funding was to be directly transferred into the constituency accounts of selected MPs.

The court heard that of that amount, $280,000 was transferred to Kemakeza’s account constituency account.

I hate strong men and bullies…

Gadaffi Flees Libyan Capital as Protests Grow
By Jon E. Dougherty at 21 Feb 10:15

Longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi has reportedly fled the capital of Tripoli as protests in the North African country grew over the weekend with scores of protesters breaching government television and setting the parliament building on fire.

Reports said a number of businesses and banks have been looted in the capital, as some 400 protesters have been killed and scores more wounded in battles with government security forces.Some security forces were participating in the looting, reports noted, as protesters broke into several police stations as well.

Some army units may have defected to the opposition, reports from the region have said, but Gadaffi’s son, Saif al-Islam, said Monday he was prepared to enforce security “to the last bullet.”
“We are not Tunisia and Egypt,” he said, admitting that while the army still mostly backed his father, some military bases and equipment had been breached and stolen.

“We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet,” said Said Gadaffi. “will keep fighting until the last man standing, even to the last woman standing…We will not leave Libya to the Italians or the Turks.”

He said the army has made some mistakes because it wasn’t trained to deal with large-scale demonstrations. He also offered to put reforms in place within days, adding the regime would consider other reforms and perhaps the implementation of a constitution.

Elsewhere, reports of violence continued to surface. One said more than 300 protesters have been massacred, most by foreign mercencenaries, in Libya’s second-largest city, Benghazi, though Said Gadaffi says casualty figures number no more than about 85.

Libyan Muslim leaders have also ordered followers to rebel against the regime, Reuters reported, telling them it was their duty.

“They have demonstrated total arrogant impunity and continued, and even intensified, their bloody crimes against humanity. They have thereby demonstrated total infidelity to the guidance of God and His beloved Prophet (peace be upon him),” said the group, which identified itself as the Network of Free Ulema of Libya.

“This renders them undeserving of any obedience or support, and makes rebelling against them by all means possible a divinely ordained duty,” said the group, according to quotes published by Reuters.

By Monday evening in Libya, it was unclear where Muammar Gadaffi fled, reports said, though it increasingly appeared as though his regime was losing control over larger swaths of the country.

I’ve seen a lot in regards to SI politics over my 30 years in the Solos. This though is unprecedented… And am very much shocked how insane things have gotten. In less then 3 weeks some 9 or 10 MPs have decided they could justify swapping allegiances. Of the 9 or 10 instances we find that the same guys swap once, then again?

Is this schizophrenia in government?

Last year a bill to stop this wholesale jumping around (nick-named the “grasshoppe bill” failed to pass parliament.

So sad… sore lo Solomoni

Ghiro switched: More opposition join govt

Deputy Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Maelanga, left welcomes Parliament Member of East Makira Alfred Ghiro, center and while being witnessed by MP for Makira/Ulawa James Tora.

THE Danny Philip led National Coalition for Reform and Advancement government (NCRA) continues to gain the favour of the Opposition members with the latest switch of East Makira MP Alfred Ghiro yesterday evening.

Mr Ghiro in an inclusive interview with The Solomon Star yesterday confirmed he has written to the Speaker of his resignation from both the Independent Group and from the Opposition.

The Solomon Star also cited a copy of his letter to the Speaker which quoted; “I Honourable Alfred Ghiro Member of Parliament for East Makira wish to officially inform you today (yesterday) that I have made up my mind to throw support behind the current NCRA government”.

He said he has decided to join the government because this country needs political stability.

“I view that political instability as a part and parcel of why our country cannot develop as expected by our people.

“I also decide to join the government to support the national budget,” he said.

Mr Ghiro said his move to join the government is not because of money or being promised of any portfolio but because the country needs a stable government and the need to pass the national budget.

“I have no personal differences with the Opposition and the Independent group that led to my move,” he added.

Mr Ghiro said infact when he was elected as the MP for East Makira his people expects him to be with any ruling government which he failed them.

He said his move to switch side now fulfils what his people expect of him.

The latest switch by Mr Ghiro brings the numerical strength of the government to 29-19.

Yesterday another opposition member Stanley Sofu was sworn in to join the government. Member of Parliament for Savo/Russells Dickson Mua was said to have joined the government.

Last Thursday four MPs were sworn in after they defected from the Opposition camp at Heritage Park Hotel.

MP for Ulawa Ugi, James Tora returned to his old Ministry of Police and National Security position, MP for Gela, Mark Kemakeza also returned to his old Ministry of Mines and Energy role, MP for Lau/Mbaelelea, Walter Folotalu was the new Minister for Provincial Government and MP for North Guadalcanal, Martin Sopaghe returned to his old Ministry of Lands and Housing.

I sit and ponder…

Throughout our planet people, just like you and I, are fighting for their basic rights as individuals. They live in countries that have, for varying reasons, been autocratic of nature and fascist by design.

Consider that Libya has been ruled for over 40 , most of my life, by an iron fisted, militaristic regime. And they are lucky, they have oil. Bahrain is little known but is actually an imperial type government with a king (Emir or Sultan) as absolute head. As Libya, they have oil.

Both these examples see the leaders and their families and friends living rich. And all others doing as best they can.

As a western born, raised and educated individual I/ you and I have huge advantages that simple come to us by an accident of birth.

Seriously… no matter what you think or understand how can we stand by and allow such in our modern day and age?

We are well fed, happy and content (even our poorest in comparison) while the fires of freedom are burning in the hearts of so many.

And consider… the fascist regimes will kill those who defy them. ANd, AND… many of these regimes recieve support from our very friendly, democratic, western nations.

golly, we have it so dern good.

Viva le revolution…

Or rather, lets pull our heads out of our collective asses and put an end to autocratic fascism… how, I don’t know… support the movement, Make a statement, take stand. Hell, vote in your home lands against politicians that are war mongers. Hell, I don’t know but have got to be able to, communally, make a difference somewhere, somehow… Blog, discuss, read, be informed…

Sitting in the arm chair and watching it all like a sporting event IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

Arab Spring is a term that was used beginning in March 2005 by numerous media commentators to suggest that a spin-off benefit of the invasion of Iraq would be the flowering of Western-friendly Middle East democracies.
In the wake of the electoral success of Hamas in the January 2006 Palestinian elections, Sydney Morning Herald journalist Paul McGeough noted the declining use of the term. “So what happened to the Arab spring? This time last year, as we faced the prospect of a series of elections in the Middle East, many commentators hit their keyboards to welcome the Arab spring – about 160 of them, according to one news database … But it seems that with the results in we don’t like the term any more – only 23 mentions in the past six months. Funny that.”

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…