Statement by the Regional Member for Bougainville

The Hon. Joe Lera, MP

Enhancing National Government and ABG Cooperation

With the recent release of the ABG Strategic Development Plan, I consider it timely that as Regional Member that I make a few short remarks on how the National Government and the ABG can work together to more effectively advance the interests of Bougainville through aligning efforts to the expressed needs of our people.

The development of the ABG Strategic Development Plan is a significant achievement. I want to place on record my admiration for the work of the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, the Hon. John Momis MHR and his Government, for the leadership they have shown in drawing together this important foundational document which marries up Government priorities with the expressed needs of our people. The fact is that up until the finalization of this important Plan, those of us representing Bougainville in the National Parliament lacked a clear reference point on which to anchor our support.

The ABG Strategic Development Plan changes this.

As National Government Members of Parliament, I and my fellow representatives from North, Central and South Bougainville have an important and unique role to play. On the one hand, we are there to ensure that the interests and expressed needs of the people of Bougainville have a voice in the National Parliament. On the other hand, we are there to hold the National Parliament to account on the very clear and expressed obligations contained in the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

As Regional Member that has always been my mandate. I commit again here and now to continue such work. We are all Bougainvilleans, whether we are from the far reaches of the Atolls or the distant wards of the South and we all have an obligation to work together in the interests of Bougainville for a bright, successful and prosperous future.

This concept of “One Bougainville” is important to me as Regional Member. As we prepare for the referendum and continue on our journey to self-determination, we must create and enhance a sense of what it is and means to be Bougainvillean. We must avoid the pitfalls of the past and resist the temptation to regionalise. For it is a fact that for us to be strong and meet the challenges of the future we must be united.

There are too many lessons from elsewhere in the world for us not to heed this warning. We must unite, embrace what we have in common and work together as one to return Bougainville to the shining jewel it once was in our beautiful Pacific region.

It is in that context that the ABG Strategic Development Plan has the opportunity to help all of us, National and ABG Members of Parliament alike, to work together for a common goal. The plan, which contains for the first time, a holistic and comprehensive list of actions, provides that common reference point. Whether we seek to progress the development of critical infrastructure, advance economic development, build our social institutions or lay the foundations for strong and effective government, the Plan outlines the steps that must be taken.

For my part, I commit today to working with my ABG counterparts to do what I can as the Regional Member for Bougainville to advance the expressed desires of our people, as outlined in the Strategic Development Plan. I also call on my fellow National Government Members of Parliament to do the same.

By working together as one, and using the road map we now have at our disposal, we have a unique opportunity to advance the interests of all Bougainvilleans. Let us not fail, and lets us not let our people down. Let us restore Bougainville as a beacon of hope where all Bougainvilleans, young or old, can feel safe in the knowledge that Bougainville has a bright and prosperous future.

God bless you all, and may God bless Bougainville.

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