Correcting an error

The National Letters

LET me correct an error reported in last week’s Joint Supervisory Body meeting between the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and the national Government.
When agreeing to the questions that will be asked during the referendum, both Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and ABG President John Momis also decided that the post-referendum process would follow this path:

  1.  Bougainvilleans vote in the referendum;
  2.  Both the national Government and the ABG to negotiate on the referendum results; and
  3. The national Parliament makes the final decision.

This post-referendum process is inconsistent with section 341 of the PNG Constitution – Referendum results and implementation, which says:

  1. The national Government and the Bougainville Government shall consult over the results of the referendum
  2.  Subject to the consultation referred to subsection (1), the minister responsible for the Bougainville referendum shall take the results of the referendum to the national Parliament and the Speaker of the national Parliament shall furnish to the Bougainville executive a copy of the minutes of the relevant proceedings and of any decision made in the national Parliament regarding the referendum.

The above provision is very clear in that straight after the vote is taken, the next step is for the national Parliament to
ratify the results of the referendum.
Once the results are ratified by the national Parliament, the results of the national Parliament decision will be conveyed to
|the Bougainville Executive Council.
This will then be followed by consultations between the national Government and the Bougainville Government and if disputes arise, they will be referred to the Dispute Resolution Procedures, again through the Joint Supervisory Body.
The correct post-referendum process should be:

  1. People vote;
  2. National Parliament ratifies the referendum results; and
  3. Both the ABG and PNG Government to consult on the results.

This should be the correct process.
The next Joint Supervisory Body in Port Moresby next year is called to correct this error.

Mark Pohirora