The front facade of Papua New Guinea's parliament featuring recently removed anthropomorphic carved heads on the front lintel. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
The acting governor-general of Papua New Guinea says he's disappointed that parliament has been adjourned for two months when it could have addressed the current unrest in Port Moresby.
This follows a day of unrest in the PNG capital, with reports emerging that police opened fire on students at the University of PNG ahead of a planned rally at parliament.
The students had planned a rally to show their support for a vote of no confidence in the government, which was expected to be tabled in the house today.
Students attend a rally at UPNG. Photo: UPNG4PNG
After police stopped students from leaving their campus and ordered them to disembark, tensions boiled over and some police started shooting.
A police spokesman said eight people were hospitalised with injuries.
Meanwhile, parliament has been adjourned until August by the acting speaker Aide Ganasi, due to concerns about the security situation in the capital.
However, Theo Zurenuoc, who as the speaker of parliament is currently deputising as the Queen's representative, has expressed disappointment that the parliament was adjourned in his absense as speaker today.
A view of the government benches in Papua New Guinea's parliament. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
Mr Zurenuoc, who said an adjournment of a day or two would have been more appropriate, said MPs have a responsibility to act correctly to ensure the situation doesn't escalate further.
"In fact I myself had not expected it to have escalated to the level it has come to today," he admitted.
"My view was that some of the pressure should have been defused in parliament. I think that's the appropriate avenue for all concerns of the people of the nation to be dealt with."
Theo Zurenuoc said it was his conviction that if the Peter O'Neill-led government felt it had the majority support in the parliament, it ought to prove that on the floor of parliament.