15 Apr 2003

Nauru Cabinet Minister says Australia and New Zealand should run his country's general elections

5:17 pm on 15 April 2003

Nauru's Education Minister says his government is incapable of holding fair elections in May because of corruption and he says impartial outsiders are needed to run the poll.

Anthony Audoa says New Zealand and Australia should send experts and observers to the island to run the election to eliminate corruption.

Mr Audoa has written to the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Australia outlining past voting irregularities in Nauru and claiming that the May elections will be unfair.

He says this is because there are too many self serving members in the Nauru government.

"I think the government is full of dirt and current ministers are just wobbling around the place like drunkards and hence those two letters to Australia and New Zealand, since they are the biggest brothers in Pacific region, .....the big brothers should know what's happening in the region and to have a clean election someone has to run it for us."

Mr Audoa says he is not fazed by claims that he is just reacting to his recent sacking as the Minister responsible for the country's Phosphate Royalties Trust.

He says the government wanted to stop him from appointing an auditor for the trust and from asking questions on how the money was spent.