Andrew Mald (born 7 January 1971) is a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

n politician. He was first elected to the National Parliament in the 2007 general election, as

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

MP for the Moresby North East Open constituency in the

National Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politi ...

, though he later joined the National Alliance Party, and sat as a government

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

. Nonetheless, according to an editorial in the ''

Post Courier The ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier'' is a newspaper based in Konedobu, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It was established on 30 June 1969. Its parent company, The Herald and Weekly Times (later purchased by News Corp Australia), had acquired w ...

'', he was an "outspoken critic of the Government and in particular the National Capital District Commission (NCDC). The issues he ..raised on the floor of Parliament and in the media ..impressed a lot of people in the city, and many viewed him as someone who has always had the interests of his voters at heart and concern for the city and its inhabitants"."Review liquor trading in POM"
, ''Post Courier'', 23 August 2011
, ''Post-Courier'', 9 August 2011 In July 2010, he and five other party members defected briefly to the Opposition, in a failed attempt to bring down the government. Within a few days, they pledged their support for the government once more, and were accepted back. At the start of August 2011, he was again among several government MPs to join the Opposition. This time, a successful parliamentary

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

brought down the government of Acting Prime Minister

Sam Abal Samuel Tei Abal (born 26 June 1958) is a Papua New Guinean politician. Abal, who previously served as Foreign Minister from August 2007 to December 2010, became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in a cabinet reshuffle by Michael Somare on ...

(standing in for Sir

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 26 February 2021) 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 lo ...

while the latter was hospitalised for a serious heart condition), and Peter O'Neill became Prime Minister. O'Neill appointed Mald as his Minister for Community Development, Religion, and Family Affairs. He thus succeeded Dame Carol Kidu, who had held those portfolios since 2002. He promised to support a bill she had sponsored, which would lead to the creation of reserved seats for women in Parliament; she herself was, at that time, the only woman MP. A few days after taking office, and in response to an apparently alcohol-fuelled violent clash between Chimbu and Tari people in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

, in which one person died, Mald called for "a total ban on liquor sales" in the capital, to last at least ten months in the lead up to the 2012 general election. The ''Post Courier'' published an editorial in support of the proposal, stating: " support the call by Mald that a ban is necessary in the settlements of Port Moresby. Though the ban is only temporary, 10 months is enough time for the NCDC to move decisively to clamp down on liquor abuse and its associated problems that are so widespread throughout the city, not only in settlements but in homes of educated elites and the disciplinary forces. ..While we understand the argument that the liquor business generates taxes, jobs and profits, must this be done at the expense of peace, order and unity? No, we think not." In January 2012, he joined Don Polye's new Triumph Heritage Empowerment Rural Party."New party launched"
, ''Post Courier'', 24 January 2012 He was defeated by

Labi Amaiu Labi Amaiu (born 27 November 1974) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2017, representing the electorate of Moresby North East Open for the People's Movement for Change (201 ...

at the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mald, Andrew Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Government ministers of Papua New Guinea National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea) politicians Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party politicians Living people 1971 births