On the same day, Fisheries Minister Jimmy Lusibaea lost his position in Cabinet upon losing his parliamentary seat due to being sentenced to two years and nine months in gaol for assault and grievous bodily harm.
The loss of both ministers brought the Philip government's parliamentary support down to twenty-four MPs, just one ahead of Steve Abana's opposition.
[4] The Kolombangara Island Biodiversity Conservation Association (KIBCA) welcomed the sacking, noting that Dettke's logging company, Success Company, had attempted to carry out logging on protected land on Kolombangara island, before KIBCA successfully obtained a court injunction to prevent a violation of environmental laws.
[5] For his part, Dettke suggested "Malaysian loggers in the Solomons Forest Association (SFA) [had] pressured [Philip] to sack him as he was a threat to them in the logging industry".
[9][10][11] The police then released a media statement describing Dettke and Ete's claim as "incorrect and misleading".