Some wishes for 2011

Was it really the year of the "noughties"? I began to wonder before Christmas.Then I realised there were highlights as well as some lowlights. Below is my list and what to look forward to in 2011.

Reserved Seats for Women in Parliament

PNG Women will be watching their MPs cast their vote on 22 seats this session of Parliament.

(Monday, 15 November 2010).

Women around the country will be watching closely this session of parliament for the passage of the bill to enact 22 reserved seats for women by elective process.

Elizabeth Palme Interim provincial council of women’s President of Jiwaka said the focus will be particularly on the Leader of Government Business and Minister for National Planning and Monitoring Paul Tiensten to ensure the proposed Bill is put to a vote.

“Women throughout the country have welcomed the commitment made by Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare to push for the proposed Bill on 22 reserved seats for women during the coming session.

“We know that the proposed Bill is now on the notice paper of parliament business and our eyes are on Mr Tiensten to ensure that the PM’s commitment is put to a vote,” Mrs Palme said.

“While the 2010 Supplementary and 2011 National Budgets will take priority we feel that empowering women in Papua New Guinea is equally important as it is a vote in recognition of women who have not been adequately represented on the floor of Parliament over the last 35 years.

No recall of Parliament for women's Reserved Seats

Source - The National

The government has no plans to recall Parliament early to pass important outstanding legislations such as the bill to appoint women representatives to Parliament.

Planning Minister and leader of government business Mr Paul Tiensten said there was no point in recalling Parliament when there was no guarantee of numbers to support the bill.

"Unless I know that there is support from the Opposition, and I know we have the numbers on the floor, the Government will recall Parliament and introduce the bill.

"We cannot introduce the bill and not have the numbers (to pass it)," he said.

Tiensten suggested, with some sarcasm, that the womenfolk should start lobbying with parliamentarians to get the number for the government to introduce the bill.

This will disappoint many women leaders who had spent a lot of time and resources campaigning throughout the country, listening to people and garnering support for the bill.

Women's Lobbying intensifies

Source - Post Courier

Women have intensified their lobbying of Members of Parliament to vote in favour of the bill to have reserved seats for women get through the first  reading in the July sitting of parliament.

Four groups of women leaders have travelled to the four regions of the country - Highlands, Southern, Islands and Momase talking to women's groups to lobby their local MPs to support the bill.

Opposition Against Proposed Amendment for women's seats in Parliament

By Harlyn Joku - Post Courier

The Opposition is the first group to come out publicly against the proposed amendments to the Constitution to allow for Reserved Seats for women.

Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta and Deputy Bart Philemon openly voiced their concerns on the proposed women's law at a press conference at Parliament yesterday.

Sir Mekere said the clause in Section 101 and 102 on Nominated Seats need to be deleted from the Constitution before the women's bill was introduced while Mr Philemon said it was a costly exercise and a piecemeal approach.

Both Sir Mekere and Mr Philemon said a holistic approach was needed in relation to the creation of any further seats on the floor of Parliament.

"We do hold the gender and women issue dearly to our hearts but there needs to be a holistic approach to it", Sir Mekere said.

" The Government must be holistic - come up with an electoral reforms package addressing all the election-related matters collectively so members have a full appreciation of the looming problems, the limited time, and the implications of their decision including costs." Mr Philemon said.

 

Reserved Seats for Women in Parliament

Now that the Constitutional Amendment for Reserved Seats has been gazetted by the Speaker, it requires a period of 21 days before the Bill is presented in Parliament and debated by Members of Parliament. 

Hopefully the Bill will be debated in the third week of this month. 

If the MPs support it and vote for it, it will then be presented in the July sitting for the final reading.

Many of us are looking forward to the first debate on the Bill which hopefully will not be overshadowed by the Maladina Amendments ( re-Ombudsman Commission).

Apparently, the Reserved Seats decision term rests with Parliament. I heard that the current move is temporary and I have been told there is no mention in the proposed laws for the term of office.  

It could range up to two to three terms.  By which time, women who do make it to Parliament in 2012 would have excelled themselves and can try the constituency seats. Albeit we would need the Reserved Seats for some time for the impact to be felt.  

At the end of the day it depends on who gets in 2012 to make the difference.

Women Rep Bill set for next Parliament session

By Elizabeth Miae - The National

The proposed Bill to have provincial reserve seats for women in parliament will be tabled in the next session of parliament.

The Bill was endorsed by the National Executive Council at its recent meeting in Kimbe, West New Britain province, and has been put on the notice paper for a month as required under the Constitution.

This was announced in a press conference yesterday by Community Development Minister, Dame Carol Kidu and her technical team  of experts  who drafted the bill.

Dame Carol and her team took the opportunity to clarify the public's misunderstanding about the reserved seats for women in parliament.

"This is not the Nominated Seats for women, this is the Reserved Seats for women through elections," Dame carol explained.

"We have done our homework thoroughly and everything that we are doing is constitutional. Women do have equal opportunities in theory but from experience and reality, they (women) don't have equal opportunities to win."

According to a brief report provided by the team on February 17, the NEC considered a joint policy submission from Dame Carol and Inter-government Relations Minister, Job Pomat to seek endorsement of drafting instruction, Bills & Explanatory Notes to amend the Constitution, the Organic Law on National and Local level Elections and the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments to create provincial reserve seats for women.

The NEC approved the submission.

The report stated the model used for Reserved Seats for women was the creation of two-member provincial electorates of which one seat is reserved for a female member who occupies the woman's seat and the other is reserved for the member who occupies the Governor's seat.

The features of the model include:

• The female member represents the province but is not the governor
• Her constituency is the women & men of the province
• She sits in the provincial assembly and Parliament
• She is eligible to be appointed as a minister and a chairperson of a parliamentary committee; and
• She may sit in provincial committees and is eligible to vote for and to be elected deputy governor

Leader for the legal team on Reserved Seats Professor Eric Kiua said women candidates could either stand for the governor's seat, the reserved seat or the open member's seat in the national elections.

He clarified that the reserved seats for women would in no way replace the governor's seat unless the governor is given a ministerial portfolio, then she is eligible to be elected as governor.