New Guinea has been inhabited by various peoples from throughout Asia for some 10,000 years. Its recorded history began with the visits of Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century, followed by Dutch traders. The Dutch East India Company took control of the western half of the island, which became a colonial possession attached to the Dutch East Indies in 1828. The territory was then split between the British and Germans in the 1880s until after World War I, when it was transferred in its entirety to the control of Australia, endorsed by a United Nations mandate. Most of it was occupied by
the Japanese during World War II.
After 1945, New Guinea reverted to Australian administration before the granting of independence in 1975. Michael Somare, previously Chief Minister, assumed the post of Prime Minister. Somare remained in power until 1980, when Sir Julius Chan’s conservative People’s Progress Party (PPP) came out of opposition to form a government. Since then, Papua New Guinea’s domestic politics have been dominated by the struggle between Chan, Somare and the third major political figure of recent times, Mekere Morauta, leader of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), which was formed from dissidents of both PPP and the country’s third main political party,
Pangu Pati, in 1992. Since the 1987 general election, which left no party in overall control, all governments have been composed of coalitions. The current administration, which was elected in June 2002, is headed by Somare, who is now serving his third term as premier.
Irrespective of its make-up, the main problem for successive governments has been how to make the most of Papua New Guinea’s abundant natural resources, in order to finance the country’s much needed development. The country also has a unique natural environment that should be preserved. This has involved a balancing act in accommodating the mining companies, ensuring that the benefits of their activities accrue to the Papuan people, while protecting the environment. This worked reasonably well during the early years of independence.
Unfortunately, at the end of the 1980s, it then fell apart spectacularly, due to developments on the island of Bougainville, which lies just off the coast of the main part of Papua and hosts one of the world’s largest copper mines. This is the source of one-third of Papua’s export income. In 1989, local landowners raised complaints about the pollution caused by the mine and the lack of financial benefit to the local economy. Violence broke out between the two sides and forced the closure of the mine in May 1989. The government sent in troops, who were confronted by a secessionist insurrection in the form of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA). In May 1990, Bougainville declared independence – no one recognized it, apart from the Solomon Islands, which has close links with Bougainville.
Over the next 10 years, the government tried a variety of methods to suppress the rebellion, including classic techniques drawn from counter-insurgency manuals, such as government-run ‘care centers’, to which many thousands of people were forcibly moved, in order to break their contacts with the BRA guerrillas. The final stages of the conflict were marked by a major political scandal involving the use of foreign mercenaries hired by a British company, Sandline, to train government troops and support military operations. This precipitated a major confrontation between the government and the army in 1997. The army came out on top, in the process acquiring a new-found influence in Papuan politics, to which all governments must now pay heed. The conflict was finally resolved in April 1998 – a timely event, given that the accord was signed shortly before Papua New Guinea was hit by a unique and devastating series of natural disasters, including drought, flooding and tidal waves.
Papua’s fortunes have improved little in the last few years however, and the country now seems indefinitely caught up in the spiral of inter-communal violence and economic decline which afflicts much of the south-west Pacific. At the end of 2003, the Australian government, which is now asserting itself as a regional power, arranged for the despatch of 300 police and security officers to Papua: it was made clear to the government in Port Moresby that continuing Australian financial aid was conditional of their accepting the security package. Government: Papua New Guinea has a unicameral parliamentary system, with executive power nominally held by the British Crown, represented by a Governor General. Legislative power rests with the 109-member parliament. The local government system underwent extensive reform in 1995, when the 19 directly elected provincial governments were replaced by new regional authorities.
GovernmentPapua New Guinea has a unicameral parliamentary system, with executive power nominally held by the British Crown, represented by a Governor General. Legislative power rests with the 109-member parliament. The local government system underwent extensive reform in 1995, when the 19 directly elected provincial governments were replaced by new regional authorities.
EconomyAlthough Papua New Guinea has been described as ‘a mountain of gold floating on a sea of oil’, it is a poor country and most of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. The most important commercial cash crops are copra, coffee, cocoa, timber, palm oil, rubber, tea, sugar and peanuts.
However, the gradual discovery of exploitable mineral deposits has transformed the country. Papua New Guinea boasts the largest known supply of low-grade copper, the entire production of which is exported to Western Europe and Japan under long-term contract, and accounts for three-quarters of the country’s export earnings.
Other identified mineral deposits include gold and chromite. Some oil and natural gas has also been located. Light industry has grown steadily, mostly to meet consumer demands: the construction industry, printing, brewing, bottling and packaging are among these. Papua New Guinea’s attempts to develop a tourist industry have been undermined by a lack of basic infrastructure and, more importantly, political stability. The country is always subject to the vagaries of the climate and natural phenomena – in recent years, it has suffered drought, flooding and an earthquake.
During the past few years, the government has managed to stabilize the economy, cutting the budget deficit, reducing inflation and stabilizing the currency. The economy is forecast to grow by 4.5% in 2007, with inflation remaining low at 1.5%.
Papua New Guinea belongs to the Asian Development Bank and the South Pacific Commission.
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