[3] Knight was suspended from office in 2015 by a PNG Leadership Tribunal due to allegations of the misappropriation of public funds in relation to a decision by the Joint District Planning and Budget Priority Committee to purchase a second-hand vessel for use as a passenger and cargo ferry in Manus, the MV Trader Star.
[2] In April 2017, Knight was reinstated as a Member of Parliament by the Supreme Court, who found that the vessel purchased using public funds was not for his personal benefit.
They also found that the Leadership Tribunal and prior court proceedings had not been properly conducted, with legal arguments by the public prosecutor being badly drafted.
[6] This decision allowed him to contest the 2017 election, where he unsuccessfully ran for the National Party, losing to Job Pomat.
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton criticised and questioned Knight’s credibility to comment on a shooting which took place at the Manus Regional Processing Centre in 2017.