Canberra, 19 September 1968
Confidential
Papua and New Guinea politics
I met Mr Michael Somare, the Pangu Pati leader, socially in Canberra on the evening of 19th September. After becoming acquainted I mentioned Mr Paul Lapun’s call for a referendum on the future of Bougainville.1 Somare admitted to some embarrassment over the issue and said Lapun had not discussed the matter with the party beforehand. He did not think Pangu would start promoting separatist tendencies, and illustrated his view with some light hearted ridicule of the idea of a Republic of the Sepik. Somare admitted however that he had been unaware of separatist sentiment on Bougainville and said he hoped to visit the island in the near future.
Other remarks of interest by So mare were as follows—
(1) Pangu had consolidated its Parliamentary ranks with a membership of 10, but about 14 other MPs were showing sympathy and leaning towards the party. He thought 3 or 4 might formally join the party’s Parliamentary ranks during the next few months. As it was, numbers of unaffiliated MPs were attending the party’s meetings to discuss legislation.
(2) He thought the idea of political parties was still suspect amongst the Highland members, and that many of the latter were beginning to resist being organised by European members. He also thought resentment was building up at the way some official members played on the ignorance of Highland members in presenting legislation.
(3) He complained of the time allowed for MPs to consider legislation, claiming that it was normal for them to have no more than three days between first seeing a bill and voting on it for the final time. When told this was often also the case in Australian parliaments, he wondered if more time could not be given in Port Moresby because of the lack of political experience and limited amount of party organisation amongst its parliamentarians.
(4) Pangu hoped that some form of self government might be introduced before or during 1972. He would like to then see all portfolios except the Treasury and Attorney-General’s being in the hands of full Ministers appointed by the Assembly; and the House having full powers except for external affairs, defence and security. He was, however, not optimistic about this coming about and didn’t see Pangu obtaining more than one or two positions in the next Select Committee on Constitutional Development.
(5) He thought that outside the Vanimo area there was little awareness or concern amongst the people of the Territory for West Irian causes.
[NAA: A1838, 689/1 part 4]
1 Separatistism had been growing in Bougainville in 1968. A TIC paper of September commented: ‘During recent months, Missionaries, Councils and Members of the House … have advocated early independence or secession by Bougainville … Independence in association with the B.S.I.P. was fostered by Roman Catholic priests such as Father Mahoney … The independence/secession move has been highlighted by a political meeting in Port Moresby on 8th September, 1968, attended by two Bougainville M.H.A.’s, Paul LAPUN and Donatus MOLA, and about 20 people from Bougainville, at which a resolution was passed to the effect that Bougainville M.H.A.’s should move in the House … for a referendum to be conducted in Bougainville, in one or two years time … It was stated in the resolution that there is a growing feeling among many people of Bougainville that they should be “masters of their own destiny” and have “full control over their own affairs”. This was subsequently taken up in the House of Assembly where Lapun was asked to reconcile the efforts being made towards national unity—i.e. his sponsorship of a Bill to introduce a single name for T.P.N.G.and his suggested referendum. In reply, Lapun stated that he considered that the referendum in no way conflicted with his Bill’ (TIC paper no. 3/68, ‘Situation report on the Bougainville District’, 12 September 1968. NAA: A452, 1968/4999). In DOET, a ‘note for possible question’ on the matter was prepared for Barnes. It asserted that exploitation of the copper deposits was ‘critical to the economic development of the Territory’; that the benefits of the copper would go to the Solomon Islands if Bougainville joined the Protectorate (and in which case land owners would be worse off due to special provisions which had been inserted into PNG law); and that Australia, with the support of the Trusteeship Council, aimed for national unity of the whole Territory. In marginalia, Warwick Smith added that the ‘unity of PNG could be threatened’ by a persistent secession campaign (note by Ballard, 11 September 1969, NAA: A452, 1968/5430).