3 Sep 2011

Forum chair Kilman may miss next week's leaders summit in Auckland

7:40 am on 3 September 2011

The chair of the Pacific Islands Forum may miss next week's leaders summit in Auckland.

Vanuatu's Sato Kilman has been battling to have parliament sit and pass a supplementary budget but has been stymied on several occasions by the speaker, Maxime Carlot Korman, who's a member of the opposition.

Don Wiseman has more:

"This week, Mr Kilman missed Fiji's Enhancing the Pacific meeting - Commodore Frank Bainimarama's alternative to a Forum summit. He has also missed the earlier meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group leadership and a small island states get together. This is because he's embroiled in a battle with Mr Carlot Korman over what motions parliament can debate. He wants Mr Carlot Korman gone, but the veteran speaker has so far deflected these efforts saying he's following standing orders and the MPs haven't been. Parliament is now due to sit next Thursday to debate a motion calling for the removal of Mr Carlot Korman. They will also consider a supplementary budget for the salaries of more than hundred unpaid teachers, the school fees for the children in cyclone affected Tafea and to pay expenses for students at foreign universities. But this parliamentary session will clash with the Forum and it's possible Mr Kilman will choose to stay in Port Vila to try and stabilise his government."