By postcourieronline
Copyright postcourier
AUSTRALIA marks Papua New Guinea’s 50th anniversary of independence on September 16 with a major commitment to build a new wing for PNG’s National Parliament.
The total costs will be determined following consultations with PNG on scope and design.The partnership reflects Australia’s role in helping establish PNG’s democratic institutions decades ago.
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said to mark PNG’s 50th anniversary of independence, the Australian Government will support the construction of a new wing for the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.
The current building is overcrowded during sitting periods and requires additional office accommodation.
Australia helped to establish the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea in 1964, which was a key step toward self-governance. After independence, the National Parliament of PNG was established.
The National Parliament building was officially opened by (then) His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, on 8 August 1984, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port Moresby. Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke attended the opening, along with other Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting leaders.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was honoured to be the first foreign Head of Government to address the PNG Parliament, in January 2023. Prime Minister Albanese reflected on the responsibility of governments to defend the democracy of the people we serve within our national parliaments and the power to change people’s lives for the better.In tur
n, Prime Minister James Marape became the first Pacific leader to address Australia’s Parliament in 2024. In his remarks, Prime Minister Marape observed that a society only grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. This new investment in the infrastructure of PNG’s democracy will benefit future generations of Papua New Guineans.
The National Parliament of PNG was designed by Australian architect Cecil Hogan. Its design reflected a building that not only served as the seat of government but also embodied the rich cultural diversity of PNG. Hogan’s design incorporated architectural elements from PNG’s four regions in the four wings of the design.
The concept of yumi stap wantaim – side by side, step by step – will be adopted in the design and delivery of the new ministerial wing. Local tradespeople, artisans, designers, workers and craftspeople will be involved to the greatest possible extent, and the design will be extensively consulted.
“Our support for the expansion of Parliament House is an investment in Papua New Guinea’s democracy and sovereignty that will benefit future generations,” Prime Minister Albanese said.
“At a ceremony held in Port Moresby on the day of independence in 1975, Australia’s then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam observed ours is ‘a relationship of equals, based on mutual respect, understanding and trust,” Albanese said.
“As close neighbours and warm friends, the future prosperity of our two nations are bound together.”
This investment recognises our common understanding of the democratic principles that underpin the modern Australia-PNG relationship, and the role of our parliaments in reflecting the voices of our people. PNG’s National Parliament has served as the home of PNG’s democracy since independence, and the home of PNG’s democratic values.
PNG’s independence was – as then-Prime Minister Whitlam said on 16 September 1975 – “an idea whose time had come”. Australia will continue to walk with Papua New Guinea side by side and step by step.
