Dear ACT NOW! member,
As you will have seen, we had a few problems with our e-newsletters last week. Both the Action Alert and Weekly Update got jammed in the back-end of our website system. As a result neither was sent until Monday when we were alerted to the problem. Please accept our apologies and we hope the delays won't reoccur.
On a more positive note, it is good to see the Prime Minister has bowed to public pressure and made important concessions on two issues that ACT NOW! has been highlighting:
- He has apologized for his 'long long' comments about the protesters who took to the streets against the 'Maladina' amendments, and
- He has sidelined Minister Paul Tiensten, who has been accused of stealing millions of kina.
By responding to the concerns of ACT NOW! members, our Prime Minister has shown that our democracy is still alive and that our actions CAN be effective in forcing change.
BUT the steps he has taken are only a start and much much more needs to be done to stop the stealing from the public purse and reassert the rule of law. For example:
- How about all the other MPs and public servants implicated in recent scandals - when will we see action against them?
- And what is the PM doing to ensure the Finance Department Commission of Inquiry findings are implemented?
While we celebrate a small success and reaffirm our commitment to ensure that we achieve much bigger wins in the future, now is perhaps a good time to reflect on what is the change that we want to see?
We are in the process of updating the ACT NOW! website and the first change is to give much greater prominence to our Vision.
This Vision is based on the National Goals in our Constitution and calls for all Papua New Guineans to be involved in the development of our Nation and to share equally in our prosperity.
Please take a few moments to read the Vision - and also reflect on how far we have deviated over the past 35 years from the course that our Founding Fathers set out for us at Independence.
Reading the Vision is important because If we are to reclaim our Nation and to build a better future, then it is essential that we all understand what its is we want to achieve.
And remember, as events this week have already shown, if we stand together and speak out then our voice WILL be heard.
The ACT NOW! team
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