24 Feb 2014

Nauru MP says government reform claims are total rubbish

7:54 am on 24 February 2014

The Nauru opposition has ridiculed claims by the country's president, Baron Waqa, that his government has brought credibility back to the legal system.

Mr Waqa claims his government, through its reforms, has restored the nation's pride and that the first priority was cleaning up cronyism and corruption.

He claims it was a tough call to remove high profile people, including the chief justice, who, he says, put their interests ahead of the nation.

But opposition MP and former justice minister, Mathew Batsiua, says the president talking up reforms of governance structures is total rubbish.

"They have done nothing so far but undermine the strength of our governance system in Nauru, and I say that because they have interfered persistently in the rulings of our courts; they have interfered persistently in the orders given by the Chief Justice and they claim cronyism and they fail to come up with examples."

Mathew Batsiua.