28 Jan 2014

No confidence motion in Nauru fails

4:14 pm on 28 January 2014

A motion of no confidence tabled in the Nauru parliament has failed today, with eleven members voting for the government and seven against.

The President, Baron Waqa, had come under pressure by the opposition to explain recent deportations and cancelling of visas.

Last week, the government deported the country's only resident magistrate, Australian national Peter Law, and then ignored a court injunction to prevent the deportation.

The government also cancelled the visa of the Chief Justice, preventing him from returning the country.

The MP for Boe, Mathew Batsiua, says the Speaker of Parliament, Ludwig Scotty, walked out when the debate became heated and MP Roland Kun took the President to task over the cancellation of the visa of his spouse.

He says the government may still attempt to declare a state of emergency.

"A state of emergency will be unlawful because there's no valid grounds for that to be triggered at this stage. And if they do go ahead then we believe that the state of emergency that they call will be unconstitutional and therefore invalid."

Mathew Batsiua.