Papua New Guinea's sidelined minister to fight domestic violence charge in Sydney court next year

SYDNEY -- Papua New Guinea’s sidelined Petroleum Minister Jimmy Maladina will appear in an Australian court in March next year to fight a charge of assaulting a woman during a domestic dispute.

The 58-year-old appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday to have a hearing date set over the assault that allegedly occurred July 6 in an apartment in the expensive Sydney beachside suburb of Bondi. The woman's identity has not been made public for legal reasons.

Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson set a hearing date of March 20, despite defense lawyer Margaret Cunneen requesting an earlier date.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape announced July 10 that Energy Minister Thomas Opa had taken over the petroleum portfolio since Maladina stepped down during the court process.

Maladina remains a government lawmaker and hopes to return to the South Pacific island nation’s cabinet after being cleared of the charge of assault resulting in bodily harm, which carries a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison.

It was Maladina’s second court appearance. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea at his first appearance July 11.

He was arrested soon after police were called to the Bondi apartment and found a 31-year-old woman with facial injuries.

Maladina is free on bail with restrictions on contact with the woman. But there are no bail conditions that would prevent him returning to Papua New Guinea, Australia’s nearest neighbor and biggest recipient of Australian foreign aid.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lawrence told the court Maladina had given two police interviews since the complaint. The video-recorded interviews would be presented as evidence to the trial, which will be heard by a magistrate without a jury.

Lawrence said Maladina had referred in the police interviews to events that had allegedly happened in Papua New Guinea. Australian police were making inquiries into those allegations, Lawrence said, without elaborating. He also said two children were inside the apartment when the assault allegedly occurred and both might be called to testify.

The accuser's lawyer, Michael Lowe, agreed to relax some restrictions on Maladina contacting her.

Neither Maladina nor his lawyer have made any media statements surrounding his two court appearances.

Shortly after his arrest, Maladina said he was cooperating with the authorities. He said in a statement that he held himself to high standards as a public servant and that violence was never acceptable.