The Leader of the Opposition Matthew Wale has called for the withdrawal of the Constitution (Amendment) (Constituent Assembly Sitting) Bill 2024, citing both significant flaws and inadequate preparatory work.

The Bill proposes extending the Constituent Assembly’s deadline from 31st December 2024 to 31st December 2026, despite earlier Government assurances that its preliminary work was nearly complete.

“We are dealing with this 2024 Bill because that was simply not true. Much work still needs to be done before the Assembly can be convened,” Wale stated.

He stressed that critical preparatory steps, such as evaluating the draft constitution’s costs and financing, have yet to be undertaken.

Wale emphasized that the Government’s insistence on embedding a deadline in the Constitution, contrary to the BLC’s recommendation, has overly complicated the process.

“It is sensible not to place deadlines in constitutions. Because a deadline was set in the constitution, a further constitutional amendment is now required to postpone it. Any further delay for whatever reason will require a further constitutional amendment to further postpone it,” Wale stated.

He also underscored the need for more balanced representation within the current Constituent Assembly composition. 

“The composition of the Constituent Assembly seems dominated by Honiara. This is a real problem and perpetuates the attitude that Honiara dictates to the provinces. 

“As a matter of principle, it should be the provincial delegations that comprise the majority of the Assembly’s composition,” Wale said. 

“The legitimacy of a new Constitution will be derived from its ownership by all the provinces. If it is only supported in some provinces but not in others, then we could be heading for problems,” the Opposition leader further noted.

Wale also expressed concern that the draft federal Constitution is overly prescriptive, unrealistic, and potentially unaffordable, which may lead to its rejection by the Assembly.

Concluding, the Leader of the Opposition supported the BLC’s recommendation to withdraw the Bill until these issues are properly addressed.

“Parliament should not be overly concerned about the deadline. 

“When government is ready and has addressed these policy issues, parliament can then better deal with legislation to give effect to the changes with a confident expectation that the process can progress and a final decision on the proposed draft federal constitution can be reached efficiently,” Wale concluded.