Common Roll MP Hon. Terry Coe says that it is very difficult to do his job as an elected representative of the people if they are not aware of what is going to be discussed at the meetings.
Hon. Coe told BCN news this morning that the Fono Ekepule is to meet tomorrow, but no papers had been delivered in preparation for the meeting.
He said that the usual business paper which contains the questions and motions of members had not yet been delivered this morning, the day before the meeting. Hon. Coe says that this has been happening for some time that the members of the Assembly receive the papers late which leaves them very little or no time at all to prepare their statements for debating the motions.
Terry Coe says that he submitted about 20 questions and five motions for this meeting, and he has no idea if his motions and questions will be included in the Order paper for tomorrow’s meeting.
One of his motions is to ask Cabinet and the Assembly to pass a law to change the dateline, something Mr. Coe has been trying to achieve for a very long time. He says that changing the international dateline will be very helpful to businesses and even for education.
The last time was in September last year when his motion calling on the government to move the international dateline so that Niue will be on the same date as New Zealand was defeated.
One of his questions is asking the Premier why the government’s pledge of $120 thousand dollars in October last year has not been paid to the largest religious denomination on the island.
The veteran politician says that elected members should know beforehand what motions will be delivered so that they can prepare their statements for the debate.
Hon. Coe says that the late delivery of papers has become a common practice and is a hindrance to their ability to be the voice of the people in parliament.
BCN news understands that the Clerk of the Assembly is one of the public servants stranded in Auckland.