No deferring referendum: Temu

BOUGAINVILLE Affairs Minister Sir Puka Temu says the Bougainville Referendum must not be deferred and it should be fully funded.
Sir Puka in his brief to Parliament yesterday said the referendum needed to be delivered on schedule.
Having recently visited Bougainville, Sir Puka spoke of meetings and discussions he held with various groups, including the Bougainville Referendum Commission and the Autonomous Regional of Bougainville government.
“The referendum is a non-binding referendum and it has to be negotiated before it comes to Parliament to be ratified.
“It’s going to be a negotiated outcome that will come before the floor of Parliament for us leaders to ratify.
“The referendum commitment must be done under a peaceful process; that is the bottom line of the peace agreement.
“In everything that we do, peace must be maintained.
“Our job is to work together with everybody on Bougainville to make sure that the referendum process is concluded,” Sir Puka said
He said two big events are being planned to take place soon, the national reconciliation programme and the ex-combatant speace programme.
Sir Puka said a date was yet to be confirmed and he was now in the process of mobilising resources with the help of the Australian and New Zealand governments.
“These are very important because that will set the pace and guarantee the security and the referendum process.
“The Bougainville Referendum Commission is in a very tight time frame in terms of resources.
“It was established in June, 2017 and time has caught up with the team that they have gathered to manage this process.
“We are working closely with BRC to ensure that they deliver everything,” he said.
Sir Puka will present a detailed report to Parliament at a later date.