Legal challenge in Solomons against MPs tax free salaries

Transcript

Transparency Solomon Islands says concerned Solomon Islanders are preparing to challenge the controversial granting of income tax free salaries for Parliamentarians in court.

TSI Director of Advocacy and Legal advice, Louise Hiele, says a public petition is also being prepared which will be calling on the Parliamentary Entitlements Commission, who granted the tax exemptions to MPs, to review and revoke their decision.

Mrs Hiele says last weeks comments by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on the floor of parliament supporting the changes have sparked widespread criticism and anger in the country.

LOUISE HIELE: I think the one that caught the most public attention, him explaining some of the challenges that MPs face in their day to day work and he was making the comment that MPs have significant expectations placed on them by their constituents. That they, constituents make all sorts of demands on their members of parliament. Those demands are about money and that MPs find it hard to meet those demands. And he actually made the comment that anybody who questions these changes to the parliamentary entitlements are living in an imaginary world. And that anybody who wants to call for a review of the entitlements should actually go and visit MPs houses to see how many people they are feeding everyday.

KOROI HAWKINS: So he has come out totally opposite to what his statement said and he is now supporting this?

LH: So it would seem, so it would seem. I think people were expecting a speech in parliament that was more along the lines of his earlier media statement which was. Listing a range of measures that his government would be taking to address that public concern and that he had said he had recognised and heard. But in parliament there was no, certainly the media reporting did not talk about a list of  measures. They focused on those kind of comments that he made.

KH: And understanding the political structure of Solomon Islands, the Prime Minister is of course beholden to his cabinet, 24 or so people that he has to keep happy. Do you think that he is unable to say anything other than what he had to say in parliament?

LH: I don't know it is hard to say that. I mean it is hard for us to know what goes on behind the scenes but I mean we do know that  coalitions in Solomons as in other Melanesian countries are fluid and there is a risk that you lose numbers on the floor of parliament. But exactly why he came out and made those comments is hard for us to say but comments he did make. Is its difficult for the government to interfere with the decision of the commission, because the commission is independent under the constitution and I mean as a lawyer I can sympathise with that point. I mean if he did come out and tell the commission to revoke the regulation or to do something else then he would be accused of political interference with an independent body. So I mean that was one part of his speech in parliament that resonated with me as a Lawyer. It would be difficult for him to come out and tell the commission what to do and what not to do. But I think that really has sparked the passion in the people is the comments about people living in an imaginary world and not understanding the difficult job that MPs have. Working people in the Solomon Islands face similar demands from their tribal connections and wantoks they also find themselves feeding more people, lots of people in their houses every night. I think that was a bit, I think that was a bit of a slap in the face to working people in this country, that sort of comment.

KH: And what has that public response been?

LH: It has been pretty strong, there has been a lot of talk on social media. Facebook is running hot with people very, I mean making some very strong comments about how offended they feel by that comment. One post that I just saw this morning was one of the medical staff who work at the National Referral Hospital here in Honiara taking a photograph of all the patients and their families lying in the floor in the corridor of the National Hospital. And saying this is not an imaginary world this is where I work everyday. People are quite hurt I think by the comments.

KH: Now at this stage what is Transparency's position?

LH: Transparency Solomon Islands is aware that there are a number of citizens that are looking at actually filing a legal challenge to this decision of the parliamentary entitlements commission and TSI is quite supportive of that step to actually use the courts to challenge this decision. We need to be actually looking at organising ourselves this week to put together a petition which we will be inviting members of the public to sign. The petition will be calling on the Parliamentary Entitlements commission to urgently reconvene and to reconsider the regulation and in fact revoke it on the basis of public concern. So we are in the process of drafting that petition and we will be using our networks and stakeholders and even going out on the street and asking people to support that petition by signing it. From our point of view the idea about launching a petition is that it gives us an actual concrete action that people can take. There is a lot of anger it would seem on the streets. People are quite concerned and this is one strategy or activity that people can constructively do to voice out that concern.