Oceania | Politics | Oceania

Bougainville Needs a Credible Timetable for PNG’s Independence Vote. Australia Can Help.

Canberra should stay out of what Port Moresby decides on Bougainville, but it can push for a concrete timeline for the decision.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape (right) and Bougainville’s President Ishmael Toroama hold up the Melanesian Agreement, which recognized the legitimacy of the 2019 independence referendum, June 26, 2025.

In September, Kokoda constituency in Bougainville declared itself “independence ready.” At the ceremony, Ishmael Toroama, president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, pledged funding for a hospital and a police station. 

Similar ceremonies are being held across Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Each carries the same message: the long road from civil war to self-determination is nearing its end.

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In September, Kokoda constituency in Bougainville declared itself “independence ready.” At the ceremony, Ishmael Toroama, president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, pledged funding for a hospital and a police station. 

Similar ceremonies are being held across Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Each carries the same message: the long road from civil war to self-determination is nearing its end.

97.7 percent of Bougainvilleans voted in favor of independence in........

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