Papua New Guinea has steep mountains, tropical rainforests and hidden valleys, and the political, social and economic terrain currently faced by the country is similarly demanding in its nature.
With over 800 indigenous languages and numerous ethnic groups, PNG is in many ways still being forged, 40 years after securing full independence from Australia. Of its population of approximately 7.3m, only 15% are in urban areas, with many living in regions that are difficult to access and used to a high degree of autonomy.
At the same time, economic activity has long been resource-based, leaving incomes often at the mercy of global commodity prices. Recently, a major bonanza in liquefied natural gas (LNG) has led to an economic surge, however, with hopes high that the rewards from this may give the country the necessary boost to develop its physical and social infrastructure, while also bringing in valuable associated industries and investors.
The LNG influx also poses challenges, however, in terms of ensuring the most productive distribution and use of financial resources. With expectations high that real change is on its way, the country’s political, administrative, financial and technical leaders are now required to find a way through this new challenge, with many international actors watching closely to see how this young country negotiates its path toward development and economic growth.
Island History
While archaeological evidence of human habitation goes back 60,000 years, the first written records of life in this eastern half of Papua – the world’s second-largest island – go back to the first European contact in 1526. That was when Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes arrived, soon to be followed by Spanish navigators. Little more was recorded by Westerners, however, until the second half of the 19th century, when the Russian anthropologist and explorer Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai conducted a study of local tribes and indigenous groups.
In the 1880s all of that dramatically changed, when Papua became party to global competition between European empires. Germany began establishing a colony in the north, called German New Guinea, then Britain responded by annexing the south, creating British New Guinea in 1888. In 1906 British control passed to that of the newly created Commonwealth of Australia, with Australian troops going on to occupy German New Guinea during the First World War. In 1920 Australia was granted a mandate by the League of Nations to govern the whole area, which was renamed New Guinea, but which maintained separate institutions in the former German and British halves.
During the Second World War, Japan invaded, seizing much of the island. New Guinea became the scene of bitter fighting, as Australian and Allied troops battled the Japanese, regaining complete control only in the last months of the war.
In 1949, the Territory of PNG was formally created as a single entity out of the two parts of New Guinea, with a series of institutions all under an Australian-appointed administrator. A House of Assembly was set up in 1967, while in 1972, the name was changed to PNG. That year, elections for the House returned Michael Somare as chief minister, with the country then moving to self-governance in 1973 and full independence in 1975.
Prime Position
In 1977 the first post-independence elections were held, confirming Somare as prime minister, a position he held until 1980, then again between 1982 and 1985, 2002 and 2010, and briefly again in early 2011. Other powerful political leaders of PNG since 1975 have included Julius Chan, prime minister from 1980-82, 1994-97 and again briefly later in 1997. Paias Wingti was prime minister from 1985-88 and 1992-94.
Conflict
These leaders were faced with strong challenges, including the Bougainville secessionist conflict, which ran from 1989 until a ceasefire in 1998 and a peace agreement in 2001. This conflict, under which the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) fought government troops, killed about 20,000 people, including the premier, Theodore Miriong, who was assassinated in 1996. Bougainville held its first autonomous elections in 2005, voting in Joseph Kabui, the former BRA leader, as local president. Kabui died in office in 2008.
In the first decade of the 21st century the government in Port Moresby continued to struggle with political instability, as violence accompanied both elections and everyday life. Australian police forces were deployed to the country in 2004 to combat violent crime but then withdrew. In 2011 a political crisis erupted, in which Peter O’Neill was elected prime minister by parliament, while Somare insisted he was still prime minister.
This stand-off was resolved in 2012, when fresh parliamentary elections were called. O’Neill emerged triumphant, and still holds the office today. The next general elections are scheduled for 2017.
Executive Powers
As a member of the Commonwealth, PNG’s head of state is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in the country by the governor-general (GG). The GG is directly elected by PNG’s parliament for a six-year term and may be re-elected only once, provided he or she secures a total of a two-thirds majority in parliament. The post is currently held by Michael Ogio, who became acting GG in 2010 when the position became vacant. Ogio was then elected in his own right in 2011.
The GG’s powers are, like those of the monarch he or she represents, largely ceremonial, with executive power residing in the government, led by the prime minister. The prime minister is the leader of the party or coalition of parties within parliament that can command a majority, with the post currently held by O’Neill. The GG appoints the prime minister according to the will of parliament, and may also dismiss him or her in the same way. The prime minister appoints a Cabinet, known as the National Executive Council (NEC), consisting of the heads of ministries and other government agencies.
The Cabinet that was appointed following the last elections, in 2012, consists of 32 ministers, one of whom is also the deputy prime minister, and the prime minister himself. Since independence, all governments have been coalitions, including the current one, meaning that ministerial portfolios are held by a variety of different parties.
The NEC is the country’s supreme policy- and decision-making body, with the power of appointment within it a key pillar of prime ministerial authority. The Cabinet passes bills to parliament for debate and voting, with parliament a unicameral body, meaning that once through parliament, bills are referred to the GG for signing and then become law.
A constitutional amendment passed after the 2012 elections gives protection to the government against votes of no-confidence by prohibiting such votes for the first 30 months of the new administration. The rule was introduced to prevent short-lived governments, with no-confidence votes historically frequent since independence.
Parliamentary Democracy
The National Parliament of PNG consists of 111 members, who serve five-year terms, elected by universal suffrage under a limited preferential voting system.
This group is divided into 89 members of parliament (MPs) elected from single-member constituencies and 22 elected from single-member provincial divisions. These divisions are the 18 provinces of PNG, plus the autonomous province of Bougainville and the Port Moresby National Capital District (NCD). Members who are elected as provincial division representatives also become governors of their provinces, unless they are appointed to the NEC, in which case one of the constituency MPs is elected to be the governor. The National Parliament is unicameral, meaning that bills which pass a vote in the house do not need referral to an upper chamber, but can go directly for signing into law.
The last parliamentary election was held from June 23-July 6, 2012, with the extended voting period a result of the extreme logistical difficulties of holding a ballot in such inaccessible geography – a factor which caused some controversy. The elections were overseen by the PNG Electoral Commission, which declared O’Neill’s People’s National Congress Party (PNCP) the largest grouping when all the votes were counted. The PNCP won 27 seats and 24.3% of the vote. The second-largest party was the Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party (THEP), with Don Polye as its parliamentary group leader. The THEP won 12 seats and 10.8% of the vote.
This meant that the remaining 70 seats were dispersed among 19 other parties and 16 independents. Five of these other parties secured more than 5% of the popular vote – the PNG Party (eight seats and 7.2% of the vote); the National Alliance Party (NAP, seven seats and 6.3% of the vote); the United Resources Party (also seven seats and 6.3%); the People’s Party (six seats and 5.4%); and the People’s Progress Party (also six seats and 5.4% of the vote).
The PNCP was asked to form a government, and set about building a coalition. Since then, various parties have been present in the government, including the NAP and the THEP. The latter, however, was expelled in September 2014, with one of its leading members – the deputy prime minister, Leo Dion – resigning to join the PNCP; he remains in the Cabinet today. This illustrates the fluid nature of alliances and affiliations in PNG’s politics. In early May 2015 Polye was the leader of the opposition, with the THEP in an opposition coalition with the Pangu Party (also known as Pangu Pati), which was founded by Somare and had once been the party of government, but which won only one seat in 2012.
Just before the election, Prime Minister O’Neill established an anti-corruption initiative, known as Taskforce Sweep, which subsequently made a number of high-profile arrests. The taskforce was then shut down by the prime minister in 2014, however, following allegations against himself and that it was being used for political ends.
Local Authorities
PNG is currently divided into four regions, within which the 22 provinces, the Autonomous Province of Bougainville and the NCD reside. The regions have no political representation, while the provinces have an elected governor, who is also their representative in the National Parliament, and an elected Provincial Assembly. The provinces are divided into a total of 89 districts, with each of these split into local level government (LLG) areas, with a total of 325 of these, countrywide.
Provincial governments enjoy some tax-raising powers, while also having responsibilities in education and the local economy. In addition, they work with the LLGs on local transport, water supply, health, waste disposal and a range of other local government services. LLGs have the power to raise revenue, while also receiving funds from the national government. This was partly cut in 2014, however, with the LLG Service Improvement Programme being brought to an end, while the district-level Service Improvement Programme was ramped up.
The 2012 elections for provincial government and the LLGs were marked by disturbances, with several being later declared invalid. In May 2015 Bougainville held separate elections. The autonomous region has its own administration, the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), which is headed by an elected president, with executive powers. The ABG’s legislature is the House of Representatives, with 39 elected and two ex-officio members.
In the 2010 ABG elections, former governor John Momis was elected president, defeating the incumbent, James Tanis. Some 342 candidates are running in the 2015 elections, including eight who are running against the current president. As in the National Parliament, MPs experience a high churn rate in Bougainville, with approximately 75% of the incumbent representatives losing their seats in 2010.
Third Estate
PNG’s judicial system is headed by the Supreme Court, with the underlying law of the land consisting of the constitution, the customary law of PNG’s inhabitants and English common law, as at the date of independence.
The Supreme Court acts as the appellate court for the National Court, PNG’s superior trial court. Under this come district courts, under stipendiary magistrates, and under them village magistrates’ courts. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the constitution and can give advisory opinions on the legality of legislation. The National Court hears cases connected to disputed elections.
Enforcing changes in the law in remote villages has also sometimes been challenging, particularly regarding local beliefs in sorcery, while laws designed to combat violence against women have also proven difficult to enforce. PNG remains a society highly troubled by crime.
Outlook
The year ahead is likely to see PNG benefit from the further development of its hydrocarbons sector, fuelling the growth of its economy as a whole. The government is also expected to face continued political and legal challenges. Several court cases against leading political figures remain outstanding, with the impact of these on the functioning of the executive uncertain, and on the independence of the judiciary expected to be troubling.
Nonetheless, PNG has come far since gaining independence 40 years ago. The solid growth of recent years now has to be channelled in the most effective manner possible into social and economic development, from Port Moresby to the remotest villages. Achieving this task was never going to be a straightforward matter, with PNG’s leaders confronted by challenges that few governments elsewhere in the world have to face. Yet progress is being made, and hopes are high for more in the year to come.
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