Tony Aimo

Last updated

Tony Aimo (born 24 August 1960) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2002 to 2012 and again from 2012 to 2013, representing the electorate of Ambunti-Drekikir Open. He was Minister for Correctional Services under Michael Somare from 2007 until 2011, although he was stood aside for three months in 2010. A long-time People's Action Party member, he was briefly reported to have joined the Papua New Guinea Party following the fall of the Somare government, only to emerge as a member of Somare's National Alliance Party. [1]

Contents

First term

He was first elected to parliament at the 2002 election, representing the People's Action Party. [2] In August 2004, he moved a leadership challenge that replaced Moses Maladina with Brian Pulayasi as PAP leader, resolving to keep the party in government after Maladina's sacking as deputy prime minister. [3] He was a candidate in a long-running battle over a mid-term vacancy for Governor of West Sepik Province, eventually dropping his candidacy in favour of Peter Wararu Waranaka after a series of court battles. [4] He was re-elected for PAP at the 2007 election. [5]

Minister for Correctional Services

In September 2007, Aimo was appointed Minister for Correctional Services as part of Michael Somare's post-election reshuffle. [6] His first year in the role saw refurbishment work on five prisons, reviving of promotion within the correctional services department, the implementation of an equal opportunity policy, and recruiting more than 200 warders. [7] He was the cause of some controversy when, on a trip to open a refurbished jail in Madang, he refused to pay a hotel minibar bill and swore at hotel and airport staff in a drunken outburst. [8]

He was temporarily stripped of his portfolio in January 2010 after a major prison escape at the maximum-security Bomana prison in Port Moresby, while remaining in Cabinet as minister without portfolio. [9] [10] Aimo publicly blamed the broader government for the breakout, claiming that security had been compromised due to "insufficient funding for manpower and upgrades", and suggested that Papua New Guinea's prisons were outdated and needed to be replaced to meet modern requirements. [11] However, he was reinstated to his portfolio by April. [12]

In June 2010, Aimo was one of three politicians accused in court by an alleged bank robber as having benefited from the refinery of a gold robbery, in claims which he slammed as "malicious and unfounded"; the allegations were again repeated in court the next year. [13] [14] [15] In August 2010, he publicly floated the notion of recruiting an expatriate to head the country's prison system, which received cautious praise from the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce; however, after heavy criticism from the Public Employees Association, he declared it was "just an idea". [16] [17]

Defeat, reinstatement, unseating and second defeat

Aimo was reported to have been one of 48 MPs to defect from the government and elect Opposition Leader Peter O'Neill as Prime Minister in August 2011. [18] In October, he and three other PAP MPs defected to the Papua New Guinea Party, a member of the new governing coalition. [19] However, after ousted Prime Minister Somare, who was contesting his removal in court, appointed Aimo to his alternative ministry, he publicly called on the Australian government not to recognise O'Neill, declaring him an "illegal Prime Minister" who "repeatedly thumbs his nose at the highest court". [20] [21]

He contested the 2012 election for Somare's National Alliance Party, but was defeated by newcomer Ezekiel Anisi. [22] [23] He filed an election petition challenging the result two weeks later, alleging that Anisi was under the constitutional minimum age of 25 and that his name was not on the Common Roll. [24] In October, the National Court upheld Aimo's petition, declared Anisi's election null and void, and declared Aimo duly elected. [25] He took his seat in late October, sitting as a National Alliance MP. [26] However, Anisi appealed to the Supreme Court, which in July 2013 ruled in Anisi's favour, finding Aimo not duly elected, and declaring a by-election in the seat. [27] Anisi won the by-election in December 2013, with Aimo also beaten for second place. [28]

He is contesting the 2017 general election for the National Party. [1]

Related Research Articles

The People's Action Party is a right-of-centre political party in Papua New Guinea.

Michael Somare Three-time prime minister of Papua New Guinea (1936–2021)

Sir Michael Thomas Somare was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the "father of the nation", he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the longest-serving prime minister, having been in office for 17 years over three separate terms: from 1975 to 1980; from 1982 to 1985; and from 2002 to 2011. His political career spanned from 1968 until his retirement in 2017. Besides serving as PM, he was minister of foreign affairs, leader of the opposition and governor of East Sepik Province.

Puri Ruing is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 1997 to 2002 and from 2007 to 2012, representing the electorate of Dei Open. He served as Minister for Justice under Mekere Morauta, Minister for Internal Security under Michael Somare and Minister for Civil Aviation under Peter O'Neill.

Francis Marus is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of Talasea Open. He was Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology in the government of Peter O'Neill from July 2016. He was previously the Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament from 2007 to 2012. He has variously represented the Pangu Party (2007–2012), the Papua New Guinea Party (2012–2013), the United Resources Party (2013–2014) and the People's National Congress (2014–present).

Boka Kondra is a Papua New Guinea politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from July 2007 until December 2016, representing the electorate of North Fly Open, variously as an independent, for the National Alliance and for the People's National Congress. He was Vice-Minister for Mining (2011-2012) and Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture (2012-2016) in the O'Neill government. Kondra was dismissed from office in December 2016 after a leadership tribunal found him guilty of misappropriation charges.

The People's Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea.

James Yapa Lagea is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of Kagua-Erave Open. He has been Vice-Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS in the government of Peter O'Neill since August 2012. He has variously been a member of the PNG Conservative Party (2007), National Alliance (2007–2010), United Resources Party (2010–2012) and Papua New Guinea Party (2012); although formally sitting in parliament as an independent during his second term, he has been prominently aligned with the People's United Assembly (2012–2014) and the People's National Congress (2014–present).

The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea.

The New Generation Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea.

The Rural Development Party was a political party in Papua New Guinea.

David Arore is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 until unseated by a court decision in 2015 and again from a 2015 by-election until 2017. He was Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology under Peter O'Neill from 2011 to 2014.

Ken Fairweather is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2017, representing the electorate of Sumkar Open. He was Minister for Housing and Urban Development in Peter O'Neill's first ministry in 2011, but was subsequently dropped from Cabinet.

This is a list of members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2017, as elected at the 2012 election.

Ezekiel Anisi was a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from August until October 2012, when he was unseated by the National Court, and from a December 2013 by-election until his death, representing the electorate of Ambunti-Dreikikir Open in East Sepik Province. He was the youngest MP in Papua New Guinea.

Paru Aihi is a former Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2012, representing the electorate of Kairuku-Hiri Open. He was Minister for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Research under Michael Somare from March to August 2011 and Minister for Education under Peter O'Neill from August to December 2012.

Benny Allan is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since 2002, representing the electorate of Unggai-Bena Open, variously as an independent (2002) and for the United Resources Party (2002-2012) and People's National Congress (2012-present). He has been Minister for Lands and Physical Planning in the government of Peter O'Neill since August 2012. Allan previously served as Minister for Environment and Conservation under Michael Somare from 2007 to 2011.

Francis Awesa is a Papua New Guinean politician. A former Premier of the Southern Highlands under the old provincial government system, he was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2017, representing the electorate of Imbonggu Open. A Papua New Guinea Party member in his first term, he subsequently switched to the People's National Congress after PNC leader Peter O'Neill became Prime Minister in 2011. He was Minister for Transport, Works and Civil Aviation (2011), Minister for Transport and Works (2011-2012) and Minister for Works and Implementation (2012-2017) in the government of Peter O'Neill.

Roy Biyama was a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2002 until his death, representing the electorate of Middle Fly Open. He was a member of four parties: the Papua New Guinea Revival Party, the People's Action Party, the United Resources Party and the People's National Congress. He served as Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (2003-2004), Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations (2004-2006) and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister (2006-2007) in the Somare government. He had also been Governor of Western Province since February 2017.

James Gau Gelak is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2010 to 2017, representing the electorate of Rai Coast Open for the National Alliance Party (2010-2012) and Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party (2012-2017). He was also Governor of Madang Province from January 2011 until the 2012 election.

Sam Basil Papua New Guinea politician (1969–2022)

Samuel H. Basil was a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007, representing the electorate of Bulolo Open, until his death in 2022. From 8 June 2019, to August 2019 Basil served as the Treasurer of Papua New Guinea.

References

  1. 1 2 "Nominations By Electorate" (PDF). PNG Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "PAP appoints new leaders". PNG Post-Courier. 25 July 2002.
  3. ↑ "PAP leadership wrangle". PNG Post Courier. 5 August 2004.
  4. ↑ "ESP has new governor". PNG Post Courier. 24 March 2005.
  5. ↑ "Small parties fared well in elections". PNG Post-Courier. 2 August 2007.
  6. ↑ "Aimo wants change in CS". PNG Post-Courier. 24 September 2007.
  7. ↑ "CS reforms achieving goals". PNG Post-Courier. 4 November 2008.
  8. ↑ "Travellers shock at leaders anger". PNG Post Courier. 11 July 2008.
  9. ↑ "PNG PM strips jail minister after breakout". Australian Associated Press. 21 January 2010.
  10. ↑ "Heads roll over PNG jailbreak". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 January 2010.
  11. ↑ "Sacked minister blames Papua New Guinea government for jail break". The National. 25 January 2010.
  12. ↑ "CS Minister Tony Aimo (left) and Morobe Governor Luther Wenge (right) being...". PNG Post-Courier. 20 April 2010.
  13. ↑ "Kapris names pollies in court". PNG Post-Courier. 3 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "Aimo buckets Kapris". PNG Post Courier. 9 June 2010.
  15. ↑ "Aimo: Kapris is lying". PNG Post Courier. 11 May 2011.
  16. ↑ "Jail boss job gets backing". PNG Post Courier. 5 August 2010.
  17. ↑ "Australian as head of PNG jails is just an idea, says Minister Aimo". PNG Post-Courier. 12 August 2010.
  18. ↑ "Fallout from Change of Government in PNG Continues". IHS Global Insight Daily Analysis. 3 August 2011.
  19. ↑ "PNG Party gets new members". PNG Post-Courier. 4 October 2011.
  20. ↑ "Sir Michael names Cabinet". PNG Post Courier. 13 December 2011.
  21. ↑ "PNG MP urges Australia not to back O'Neill". Radio New Zealand News International. 27 January 2012.
  22. ↑ "Grand Chief spreads gospel on corruption". PNG Post-Courier. 4 June 2012.
  23. ↑ "PNC leads with 7, PPP second with four". PNG Post Courier. 19 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "Aimo files election petition". PNG Post Courier. 28 August 2012.
  25. ↑ "Aimo wins petition". PNG Post-Courier. 25 October 2012.
  26. ↑ "Aimo sworn in as MP". PNG Post-Courier. 29 October 2012.
  27. ↑ "PNG Court orders by-election". PACNEWS. 2 July 2013.
  28. ↑ "Anisi becomes PNG youngest MP". PACNEWS. 10 December 2013.
National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
Preceded by Member for Ambunti-Dreikikir Open
2002–2012		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Ambunti-Dreikikir Open
2012–2013		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.