Sir Arnold Amet 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 former politician and judge. He was a member of the

National Parliament of Papua New Guinea The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea but gained its current name after the nation was granted independence ...

from 2007 to 2012, representing the Madang Provincial seat. He was Minister for Justice and Attorney-General from 2010 to 2011. Prior to entering politics, he was

Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea has been the highest court of Papua New Guinea since 16 September 1975, replacing the pre-Independence Supreme Court (corresponding to the post-Independence National Court) and the overseas appellate tribunal ...

. In February 2021 he was nominated as the

Allegiance Party (Papua New Guinea) The Allegiance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in May 2018 by Member for Madang open the Honourable Bryan Kramer MP. He is the only Member of the National Parliament for the Party. The party has a strong anti-corr ...

candidate for the seat of Moresby North West District but was unsuccessful in securing the seat. He was awarded

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

for service to the judiciary, law and justice in 1993.

Education

Amet completed his secondary education at

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

in northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, and graduated from the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

with a Bachelor of Law degree in 1975. He was admitted as a lawyer in Papua New Guinea in 1976.

Career

After graduation, Amet joined the Public Solicitor's Office of Papua New Guinea as a lawyer (1976 - 1979). After a period as legal officer and corporate secretary for national airline

Air Niugini Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby to 12 major airports while its subsidi ...

, he rejoined the public services as first Associate Public Solicitor (1981) and subsequently Public Solicitor (1982) of Papua New Guinea. He was admitted as a judge of the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea in 1983. Amet was made

in 1993 at the age of 41, succeeding Papua New Guinea's first Chief Justice, Sir

Buri Kidu Sir Buri Kidu, KBE (8 August 1945 – 30 January 1994) was the first national Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea. Biography Buri Kidu was educated at Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, where he was School Captain

. He completed his term in August 2003 and was succeeded by Sir

Mari Kapi Chief Justice Sir Mari Kapi (12 December 1950 – 25 March 2009) was a Papua New Guinean judge who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea from 16 August 2003 until his retirement in 2008 due to health reasons. ...

. Amet was elected Governor of

Madang Province Madang is a province of Papua New Guinea. The province is on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea and has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capital is the town of Madang. ...

in November 2007 as a member of the National Alliance. In December 2010 he was appointed Minister for Justice and Attorney General in Prime Minister 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 ...

's Cabinet. He held this Ministry until the government was brought down by a parliamentary motion of no confidence in August 2011 during the 2011-2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis whereupon he moved to the Opposition benches. He was defeated by Jim Kas 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: ...

. He has been appointed visiting Justice in the courts of Vanuatu, Fiji and Solomon Islands. In February 2021, he was nominated as the

candidate for the seat of Moresby North West District, which required a byelection after the death of incumbent Member of Parliament, Sir

Mekere Morauta The Right Honourable Sir Mekere Morauta (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fra ...

. Amet has held a range of leadership roles. He was Chairman of the

Manam Manam, known locally as Manam Motu, is an island located in the Bismarck Sea across the Stephan Strait from Yawar on the northeast coast of mainland Papua New Guinea's Bogia District. The island is 10 kilometers wide, and was created by ...

Humanitarian Committee, chair of the 2004 Commonwealth Observer Group for

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

' elections, and a member of the 2004 international Eminent Persons Group tasked with assessing the political and human rights situation in Fiji following its 2000 military coup.

Environmental Activism

Amet has been active in campaigning on a range of environmental issues affecting his home province of Madang. In 2020, he led efforts to stop a sand mining operation proposed by Singapore-based company Niugini Sands Ltd. on 38 kilometers of black sand beach in Sungilbar, Madang Province. Amet said that mining the sands would impact on thousands of people and threaten the environment, including the breeding grounds of endangered leatherback turtles. Amet wrote to the Department for Justice to request an extension of community consultation and for deeper engagement with authorising agency the Minerals Resource Authority, and said that court proceedings would be filed if required. Amet had previously been vocal in opposing the proposed deep-sea sand-mining project,

Solwara 1 Nautilus Minerals Inc. was an underwater mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the first company to commercially explore deep sea mining of the seafloor for massive sulfide systems, a potential source of high ...

, which ultimately failed. In April 2011, Amet organised a meeting in Madang so that landowners potentially affected by changes to the Madang Pacific Marine Industrial Zone could express their views and concerns to members of the government. A heated exchange of words took place between Amet and then Member for Madang Open Ken Fairweather after Fairweather and other Members of Parliament arrived several hours late to the consultation."Amet talk upsets islanders"
, ''Post-Courier'', 3 May 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amet, Arnold Chief justices of Papua New Guinea Governors of Madang Province People from Madang Province Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Government ministers of Papua New Guinea Living people National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea) politicians 1952 births Papua New Guinean knights Papua New Guinean Knights Bachelor