Dame Carol Kidu.
IN AN extraordinary first day of sitting for Papua New Guinea's new parliament, a boycott of proceedings pending a legal challenge to the legitimacy of Prime Minister Paul O'Neill's government left the opposition benches empty except for the ousted community development minister, Australian-born Dame Carol Kidu.
Dame Carol, facing down 59 assembled male members of the new government, took a lonely seat at the back of the opposition benches, from which she launched an impassioned speech questioning if ''we have thrown our constitution to the wind … the ends do not justify the means''.
She congratulated Mr O'Neill on pledges to urgently address corruption, education, health, crumbling roads and infrastructure, but cautioned that ''we do not get caught up in the rhetoric … we have heard this sweet rhetoric over and over.
''Let's be honest with our people, I implore you.''
Dame Carol, 62, was in South Africa representing Pacific health interests until yesterday, missing last Tuesday's dramatic events which saw defections of supporters of ailing and absent ''grand chief'' Sir Michael Somare allow a vote declaring the position of prime minister vacant. Mr O'Neill won the leadership by 70 votes to 24.
Former forest minister Timothy Bonga has issued a court challenge, arguing the position was not vacant and that the parliamentary process was unconstitutional. His move follows a Supreme Court decision to dismiss a similar application by the ousted attorney- general, Sir Arnold Amet. The court found Sir Arnold had no legal standing for the challenge.
With a general election scheduled for mid-2012, PNG's vast mobile phone network has been buzzing with rumours of a military coup against the new government - rumours that have been denied by officials.
''A coup cannot happen and will not happen,'' declared Police Commissioner Anthony Wagambie. On Monday Transparency International PNG said it feared social unrest in the country if highly anticipated legislation was not passed before the elections.
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