Pacific / Papua New Guinea

PNG prime minister reveals caretaker cabinet

14:08 pm on 1 June 2019

Papua New Guinea's new prime minister James Marape has revealed a caretaker cabinet that largely shadows the previous one.

It caps off a dramatic week in PNG politics, that saw former prime minister Peter O'Neill resign after a swathe of defections.

James Marape (centre) the newly elected prime minister of Papua New Guinea. 30 May 2019 Photo: PNG prime minister's office media

The cabinet sworn in last night includes Mr O'Neill's former deputy, Charles Abel, and other close allies including Richard Maru and Sam Basil.

And in another twist, Charles Abel said he was also leaving Mr O'Neill's PNC party, admitting in a statement to months of disagreements with the former prime minister.

The cabinet is a caretaker one, with Mr Marape expected to reveal a full line-up in the next week.

But there are still a few glaring omissions.

Many of Mr O'Neill's closest confidants, such as Justin Tkatchenko, Rimbink Pato and William Duma have so far been left out altogether.