PNG Parliament To Decide Bougainville's Future, Says Prime Minister Marape

Prime Minister James Marape

Papua New Guinea's Parliament, not the Executive, will have the final say on Bougainville's political destiny, Prime Minister James Marape told the House this week as the 2019 referendum result was formally tabled.

Mr Marape called on Members of Parliament to resist making a hasty call on the matter, stressing instead that the constitutional, political and long-term consequences for both Bougainville and the rest of the country needed to be weighed carefully before any decision is reached.
 

Addressing Parliament during a  debate on the referendum, the Prime Minister said the tabling of the result was a significant step in the peace process, though far from the final word from the national legislature.

"The decision is now formally before this Parliament, and we must respect the process that has brought this decision into our Parliament," Mr Marape said, pointing to Section 342 of the Constitution as the legal pathway guiding how Parliament must handle the result.

He told MPs that the referendum outcome does not take effect on its own, placing the responsibility squarely on Parliament to chart the way forward. Before any vote is taken, he said, members must study the referendum result alongside the Joint Consultation Report and the Melanesian Framework.

The Prime Minister confirmed that Cabinet has no intention of steering Parliament's hand, insisting every MP be given ample opportunity to review the documentation, raise questions, consult constituents and reach their own conclusions.

"No member should be rushed into making such an important decision," he said, adding that members needed time "to see your country from the lens of Bougainville and see Bougainville from the lens of the rest of the country."

Debate on the matter could resume in October, Mr Marape indicated, pending continued talks between the National Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government, with Government also weighing whether to set aside one or two full sitting days for MPs and governors to have their say before any vote is taken.

Turning to the country's leaders, Mr Marape pressed them to go directly to the source documents rather than rely on secondhand accounts. "I want to ask all leaders, pick a report and read. Someone else telling you may be far from the truth. Read through the Melanesian Framework. Read through the Joint Consultation Report," he said. "Take it back to your assembly. Take it back to your DDAs. Process this. This is a serious matter."

He acknowledged a raft of unresolved constitutional, legal, political, economic and administrative questions still demanding close scrutiny and debate, telling the House that any way forward must honour the referendum, comply with the Constitution, uphold the Bougainville Peace Agreement and protect the long-term interests of both sides.

On the Government's part, Mr Marape said its duty was simply to see the matter properly brought before Parliament, leaving the ultimate decision to be shaped through due parliamentary process. He reminded members that when the vote eventually comes, "each member must exercise their responsibility according to their conscience, their understanding of the Constitution and their national interests and Bougainville interests."

Despite holding the country's highest office, Mr Marape noted his own vote would carry no more weight than any other member's. "My standing as Prime Minister is reduced to just one vote on the floor of Parliament as a member of Tari," he said.

The Prime Minister opened his address with an apology to the people of Bougainville, extending it on behalf of PNG's 21 provinces for any wrongs committed against Bougainville over the nation's history. "If we had offended you in any way, form or shape in the last 50 years we have been independent, or going 51 now, we want to say sorry," he said.

He described the Bougainville conflict as among the darkest chapters in the nation's story, recalling that "lives were lost, families were separated, communities endured immense hardship, especially in Bougainville."

The Bougainville Peace Agreement, he said, had opened a road from conflict toward reconciliation, proving that even the hardest political questions could be resolved through dialogue instead of violence. "The Bougainville Peace Agreement created a pathway from conflict to reconciliation," he said. "We must protect that achievement."

Mr Marape called for the debate ahead to be handled with dignity and maturity no matter where individual members stood on the issue. "Whatever our individual views may be, this Parliament debate must be conducted with dignity, respect and maturity," he said. "This is not simply a constitutional or political issue. It concerns the lives, hopes and futures of our people."