 In May 2006, following riots which forced Prime Minister Snyder Rini to resign, new Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare appointed Ne'e as Minister for Tourism and Culture.At the time of his appointment, Ne'e had recently been arrested, by "Australian and local police" acting within the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), whereby Australia and other Pacific countries provided essential services to the country after the inter-ethnic violence from 1999 to 2003.He was charged with having participated in the earlier riots which had led to the fall of the Rini government.