Parliamentary Secretary
Member of Parliament Andrew Napuat was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Internal Affairs in 2016.[85] During the opening of the Department of Industry (DoI) Tafea Provincial Office stressed the importance of delivering public services through the governance structure of the provincial government provided by the Decentralization Act instead of duplicating new structures.[86]
On November 2016 he and other parliamentarians attended the Pacific Parliamentary Forum in New Zealand where he was quoted by Radio New Zealand after so much enquiries on the 2015 political upheaval in Vanuatu when 15 mostly government MPs were jailed for bribery, parliament was dissolved and a snap election was called. “And for us back in Vanuatu I think it was a wake up call for the politicians. Which is basically why in this legislature we got more than half of the members are new Members of Parliament. About 35 of us who were voted in as new members of parliament. So it is a good thing for us.” Mr Napuat says what he found particularly intriguing about New Zealand’s parliament was its recognition and engagement with Maori and Pasifika peoples. “This is something that we should encourage and it is my hope that future politicians continue to treasure this. Because my fear is if we lose this then we might be formulating a society that might not be suitable for the people and especially the generation that is yet to come in the future.”[87][88]
He was part of the ten Members of Parliament from different political parties in Vanuatu in a mission to Beijing, China in August 2017.[89]Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Solomon Napuat presenting bills in the Vanuatu parliament using a tablet
Minister Andrew Napuat is the first state Minister to present bills in the Vanuatu parliament with a tablet in December 2019. He is part of the ten Members of Parliament (MPs) to have been selected by the Parliament Secretariat to receive bills online for the final Second Extraordinary and Second Ordinary Session of Parliament in the 11th Legislature. The purpose of implementing Legislative Management Information System (LMIS) is to move out of the paper-based system into a more paperless system with the aim to improve availability of data to serve decision-making needs and consolidate legislative support functions.[90]
Finance
November 24 2017, Member of Parliament for Tanna Andrew Napuat, supported the Bill for the Financial Institutions Amendment Act No. of 2017, Bill for the Charitable Associations (incorporation) Amendment Act No. of 2017, and Bill for the Foundation Amendment Act No. of 2017. The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that he said it is an important commitment by the government to remove the country from the grey list.[91]
Social Affairs
The groundbreaking of the new Vaturisu Council of Chiefs of Efate and Offshore new Farea in April 2018 was witnessed by Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat, and the government authority responsible for the chiefly, the Minister of Justice and Community Services, Ronald Warsal.[92] Minister Naupat drew attention to the government’s current efforts to identify the true chiefs throughout the country and set custom boundaries for every community as a way forward to achieving sustainable development for the country.[93]
The 104th anniversary of the ANZAC Day with the dawn service at the War Memorial opposite the Reserve Bank was organized by the Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners and included Head of State Talis Obed Mosses, President of the republic of Vanuatu, Minster of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat, Members of the diplomatic corps from France, Japan, India, Britain and Singapore.[94]
September 4 2019, the Nikoletan Council of Chiefs of Tanna and over 200 Tannese have petitioned the Vanuatu government to introduce the death penalty after a recent killing. Minister of Home Affairs Andrew Napuat, who is also from Tanna, has said the government will look into the petition.[95]
Trans Pacific Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Conference in Port Vila on June 27 2018, had four Government Ministers namely the Guest Speaker and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Home Affairs Andrew Napuat, Minister of Lands, Geology and Mines Alfred Maoh and Minister of Youth and Sports, Simeon Seule, present as invited guests.[96]
In August 2017, he made a statement on the supremacy of Christian Principles in Vanuatu society and calls to raise its importance for leaders throughout the country.[97]
Gender support
The Vanuatu National Council of Women (VNCW) National Conference on the 11 May 2018 was opened by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat at Farea Pasifika at Mele Village outside of Port Vila.[98]
The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that Andrew Napuat told the 15th conference of the Vanuatu National Council of Women that current opportunities for women to enter parliament were adequate.[99]
October 29 2019, representatives from the Coalition for Gender Equality, the Vanua’aku Pati, and the Penama Vavine Bulu Association lead a group of women who say they do not support the NGO-driven petition to ask for Temporary Special Measures for quotas or reserve seats. The group told the Daily Post the Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat, should preserve the sovereignty of Vanuatu. It said reserve seats had existed in Municipal councils for two terms and leaders should stop the reserve seat measure and encourage woman to get involved in their respective political parties. The women also accuse Oxfam of interfering in Vanuatu politics and urged Mr Napuat to look into the NGO’s status in the country.[100]
Later on November 2 2019, Mr Napuat scolded the NGO Oxfam for getting involved in the campaign to have women voted into Vanuatu’s parliament. The Daily Post reports his comments came after Vanuatu National Council of Women’s raised concerns about Oxfam’s involvement in the ‘Vot Woman’ campaign, which had pushed for 50 percent representation of women in parliament.[101]
November 2019, Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat stated that Oxfam has stepped out of its boundary by interfering with political affairs of the nation. Speaking at the ANU on 6 November, Minister Napuat called for a wider, more consultative national process before putting Temporary special measures (TSM) on the political agenda. TSM or gender quotas, are one potential method to increase women’s representation in politics. These are not new to Vanuatu – a 2013 amendment to the Municipalities Act introduced TSM on the municipal council of Port Vila, with five council seats reserved for women, and subsequently four seats were reserved for women on the Luganville municipal council. The successful implementation of TSM at the municipal level in Vanuatu was driven by the efforts of the Women in Shared Decision-Making (WiSDM) coalition.[102]
Agriculture
Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat officially launched the Tafea Kava Replanting Program on Tanna on 20 June 2018. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), the launching marks the distribution of at least 15,000 kava buds to farmers and interested individuals around Tanna.[103]
In July 2018, he was also involved in the State visit to Australia reinforces Australia-Vanuatu partnership as Minister of Internal Affairs with a delegation comprised of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity Matai Seremiah, Parliamentary Secretary Johnny Koanapo, President of Malampa Province, Acting DG of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, PMO and PM Salwai.[104]
Five buildings renovated under the TC Pam Recovery programme were officially opened at the Tafea Agriculture Station on the island of Tanna on Wednesday, November 21 2018 by the Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Jenny Da Rin and Member of Parliament of Pentecost who is also member of the TC Pam Recovery Committee, Sailas Bule. The official opening was witnessed by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat and other dignitaries.[105]
He visit Kwamera in South Tanna on May 2017 with Minister of Agriculture (MALFFB), Matai Seremaiah and the delegation team has become the first high Government delegation to visit the community since Independence almost 37 years ago. It is a highly fertile wide, rugged emptiness blanketed by green vegetation and watered by streams that threaten vehicles when it rains. It takes three to four hours by four-wheel drive to get there depending on the weather.[106]
Income tax
May 4, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat, said after the income tax symposium to show his support to Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabismasmas statement that people need to understand how the government gets its revenue and why the country is listed on the grey list by EU recently[107]. that people must understand that some of the existing taxes will be exempted when Vanuatu graduated from the category of the Least Developed Country (LDC) by 2020.[108]
A proposal by Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat to amendment the Vanuatu’s Oaths Act (CAP 37) to provide for MPs to receive their salary and other entitlements from the date of election and not from the day they take their oaths was advised otherwise by Attorney General.[109]
Public Service Day
The first ever Vanuatu’s first Public Service (PS) Day celebrated on July 4 2019 was officially opened by Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat, with an emphasis on civil servants’ performance to produce an ‘Innovative Public Service’ as the theme of the event. He congratulated the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the members of the commission for taking the lead to organize the first ever National Public Service Day.[110]
Medical Marujuana
On the government’s new marijuana policy, Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat cautioned that people should make an effort to remain free from prejudice. He is worried that if the proposal of the ethical pot plantation plannned is blown out of proportion, there could be negative reactions from people.[111] When Phoenix Life announced that the certificate had been awarded to import 4000 bottles of cannabis-derived medicine in order to begin treating people suffering from diabetes, both Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat and former Acting Director General of Agriculture Benjamin Shing voiced concerns that Phoenix was putting the cart before the horse.[112]
MP Allocation
On October 2019 he contributed a water tank for West Tanna Water Project of Ialuwalu Village.[113] Most of the allocation report for Andrew Napuat since 2016 can be sourced on the Land and Justice website here.
Right to Information
The Tanna MP Andrew Napuat welcomed the Right To Information bill tabled by Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, saying information is power and a leader needs to be well informed to make good decisions for the people. Listed as Bill number 3 out of the 11 bills listed for the 2nd Extraordinary Session, the bill provides for the guarantee of the right to information of all persons and establishes practical supportive mechanisms.[114]
Sport
Andrew Napuat is also a sponsor for Nalkutan F.C. a Vanuatu champion club who has participated in 2018 Oceania Champions League.[115]
Social media
In February 2019, Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat made a call to social media users in Vanuatu to cut foul language especially on Facebook. Users who are using fake IDs to attack other people, particularly national leaders have been asked to be respectful when commenting on Facebook. Minister Napuat who said he grew up in a home where foul language was never used, admitted that he felt offended when he was being sworn at on Facebook.[116][117]
Andrew Solomon Napuat 
