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Fiscal Decentralisation in a Divided State: Bougainville in Papua New Guinea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Satish Chand
Satish Chand*
Affiliation:
School of Business at the University of New South Wales, based at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra
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Abstract

Is fiscal decentralisation in a polity divided by languages, cultures, tribes, and geography a means to nation-building or a route to secession? I consider the case of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea to provide nuanced information on the above question. This case study reveals that fiscal decentralisation, agreed to as part of a peace agreement signed in 2001 following a decade-long civil war in Bougainville, provided the opportunity for national consolidation. However, tensions surrounding the implementation of arrangements for budgetary support of Bougainville are forcing further fracturing. A definitive answer to the question of whether fiscal decentralisation helped or hindered nation-building will be provided by the referendum, due by mid-2020, when the people of Bougainville will have the option to vote for independence from Papua New Guinea.

Type
Article
Information
Federal Law Review , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 541 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 The Australian National University

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Footnotes

*

I am grateful to Christine Bell, Usman Chohan, Ron Levy, Anthony Regan, Thomas Webster, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Views expressed and remaining errors are those of the author alone, however.

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30 Bougainville Peace Agreement 2001 (Papua New Guinea) 30 August 2001 (‘BPA’).

31 BPA ss 1–3.

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35 Ibid s 3(7).

36 Organic Law on Peace-Building in Bougainville—Autonomous Bougainville Government and Bougainville Referendum 2002 (Papua New Guinea) (‘Organic Law’).

37 BPA s 137.

38 Organic Law s 38.

39 BPA s 141(a); Organic Law s 41.

40 BPA s 141(a); Organic Law s 41(3)(b).

41 Organic Law s 41(4).

42 Ibid s 44.

43 BPA s 149.

44 Ibid s 150.

45 Organic Law s 117(8)(a)(iii).

46 BPA ss 151–5; Organic Law s 48(2)(a).

47 Organic Law s 49(1).

48 BPA s 171.

49 Ibid ss 134, 149.

50 Ibid s 156.

51 Organic Law s 49(2).

52 BPA s 136; Organic Law s 39.

53 See Bougainville News, Bougainville News 2 of 3 Coverage of #JSB meeting Arawa June 29 (1 July 2018) <https://bougainvillenews.com/2018/07/01/bougainville-news-2-of-3-coverage-of-jsb-meeting-arawa-june-29-read-or-download-president-momiss-speech-at-opening-joint-supervisory-body-meeting/>.

54 This view was widely reported in the print media and online: see Bougainville News, Bougainville News Alert: Agreed Record of Outcomes #JSB Meeting Arawa June 29 (30 June 2018) <https://bougainvillenews.com/2018/06/30/bougainville-news-alert-agreed-record-of-outcomes-jsb-meeting-arawa-june-29-plus-president-momis-at-joint-supervisory-body-meeting-claims-png-government-owes-bougainville-1-billion-kina-under-th/>.

55 Joint JSB Resolutions (Papua New Guinea—Autonomous Bougainville Government) 15 December 2017 s 4.4(iii) (‘Joint JSB Resolutions’).

56 PNG National Constitution s 331.

57 BPA ss 263–4.

58 PNG National Constitution s 329.

59 Constitution of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville 2004 (Autonomous Region of Bougainville) s 153(1)(a).

60 Joint JSB Resolutions acknowledges the tensions around the value and release of Restoration and Development Grants (RDG). It decided, as a compromise, on a figure of K437 million to be paid in 2018 and 2019. It was also agreed that: ‘the two governments must … assess the economic situation in the country and ability of the National Government to meet its commitment and stand ready to review the commitments under this compromise’: at s 4.4(v).

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62 Spanish Constitution (Spain) ratified on 7 December 1978 s 156.1.

63 The details on the financial arrangements are provided in the Organic Law on the Financing of the Autonomous Communities 1980 (Spain).

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