Joe Lera

Last updated

Joe Lera (born 18 January 1961) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a United Resources Party member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since 2012, representing the Bougainville Regional seat. Although regional members generally assume the position of Governor, due to the existence of the devolved Autonomous Bougainville Government Lera is referred to as the "Regional Member for Bougainville". He has been the Minister for Bougainville Affairs in the government of Peter O'Neill since April 2016. [1] [2] [3]

Lera is from Siwai in South Bougainville. He trained as a teacher at Vunakanau in East New Britain before returning to Bougainville to work as a teacher in 1976. [4] Lera undertook adult matriculation at the University of Papua New Guinea, studied a Bachelor of Education degree at UPNG and Macquarie University in Australia before studying a master's degree in education at UPNG and the University of Goroka. He worked for the UPNG Open College flexible learning system for fifteen years, with his roles including director of their Buka campus and associate director professional and continuing education of the OC system, based at the main campus in Port Moresby. [1] [5] In 2007, he left the Open College system to serve as southern region commissioner for the Autonomous Bougainville Government, taking a significant pay cut. [6] [4]

As an ABG commissioner, he initially oversaw the construction of government office accommodation and housing at Buin in South Bougainville, but faced major challenges in relation to water supply, power supply to Buin township, and a lack of roadmaking machinery in response to maintenance requests. [7] [8] [9] [10] By 2009, he reported that he had "completed 310 projects", including "61 feeder roads and 249 projects in primary schools, health centres, law and justice centres, school staff houses, aid posts, a successful cocoa pod-borer awareness throughout the districts, coffee workshops, sports, community outreach projects , long term impact projects that are still in progress and workshops to help the rural villagers on daily hygiene these were in the districts of Buin, Siwai and Bana." [4] He subsequently left the ABG, serving as chief executive director of Oil Search Limited's community development division. [1]

Lera was elected to the National Parliament at the 2012 election, winning the Bougainville Regional seat for the United Resources Party. [11] He sought to shift the Open College campus from Buka to a temporary campus at Arawa in Central Bougainville and use the existing Buka facilities for a higher education institute catering to all seven Papua New Guinean universities. He also attempted to convince other institutions to open Bougainville campuses, claiming success when the International Training Institute opened their Kokopau campus in Buka. [12] [13] [14] In September 2013, he signed an agreement with Digicel on improving telecommunications services on Bougainville. [15] By July 2014, he won landowner approval for a revised polytechnic institution, the "Bougainville Higher Education, Science and Technology Institute", to be located at Manetai, with the site reportedly being levelled for construction in mid-2015. [16] [17]

In April 2016, Lera was appointed Minister for Bougainville Affairs in the government of Peter O'Neill. [2] In June, he fulfilled a commitment to reimburse the Java Community for the cost of restoring the Java Bridge near Panguna. [18] On June 17, 2020, Lera resigned [19] to contest the 2020 Autonomous Bougainville elections where he finished in sixth place. [20]

Related Research Articles

Autonomous Region of Bougainville Autonomous region of Papua New Guinea

Bougainville, officially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island, while the region also includes Buka Island and a number of outlying islands and atolls. The interim capital is Buka, though it is expected that major government services and buildings will be moved to Arawa, following reconstruction.

Bougainville Island Main island of the Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. It formed the main landmass of the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land measures 9,300 km2 (3,600 sq mi). The population of the province is approximately 300,000, which includes islets such as the Carterets. Mount Balbi on the main island at 2,715 m (8,907 ft) is the highest point. Much smaller Buka Island, c. 500 km2 (190 sq mi) lies north across the 400–500 m (1,300–1,600 ft) wide Buka strait. The Buka strait, despite its narrowness, is unbridged; however, regular ferries operate between the key settlements on either side and Buka Town has the main northern airstrip/airport.

Provinces of Papua New Guinea

For administrative purposes, Papua New Guinea is divided into administrative divisions called provinces. There are 22 province-level divisions, which include 20 provinces, the autonomous region of Bougainville and the National Capital District of Port Moresby.

History of Bougainville

Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea (PNG), has been inhabited by humans for at least 29,000 years, according to artefacts found in Kilu Cave on Buka Island. The region is named after Bougainville Island, the largest island of the Solomon Islands archipelago, but also contains a number of smaller islands.

Bougainville Labour Party (BLP) is a political party in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

New Bougainville Party (NBP) is a political party in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.

Fijian mercenaries in Bougainville

Relationships between Fiji and Papua New Guinea became strained in November 2005 in the wake of reports that 9 Fijian soldiers believed to be mercenaries had reportedly entered the disputed territory of the Kingdom of Me'ekamui on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea illegally and were arming and training a private militia on the island of Bougainville.

Flag of Bougainville

The Flag of Bougainville is a symbol of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. It was originally adopted in 1975 by the secessionist Republic of North Solomons.

John Tabinaman was the Acting President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, from 7 June 2008 to 6 January 2009.

Peter Sobby Tsiamalili was the Papua New Guinean civil servant who served as the first chief administrator of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) following successful elections in June 2005. Tsiamalili also served as a diplomat and ambassador representing Papua New Guinea abroad in Fiji and Belgium.

Ezekiel Massat is a Bougainvillean lawyer and politician. Massat was appointed the Vice President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville by President James Tanis on January 19, 2009. Bougainville is an autonomous region within Papua New Guinea.

Buin, Papua New Guinea

Buin is a town on Bougainville Island, and the capital of the South Bougainville District, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. The island is in the northern Solomon Islands Archipelago of the Melanesia region, in the South Pacific Ocean.

John Momis is a Bougainvillean politician who served as the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea between 2010 and 2020.

Upe Traditional Bougainvillean headdress

The upe is a traditional headdress worn by men in parts of Bougainville to symbolise their transition to adulthood. The term is also used to refer to the process of undergoing the transition and to the initiates themselves.

Bougainville conflict 1988–1998 armed conflict in Papua New Guinea

The Bougainville conflict, also known as the Bougainville Civil War, was a multi-layered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), and between the BRA and other armed groups on Bougainville. The conflict was described by Bougainvillean President John Momis as the largest conflict in Oceania since the end of World War II in 1945, with an estimated 15,000–20,000 Bougainvilleans dead, although lower estimates place the toll at around 1,000–2,000.

John Bika was a Bougainvillean politician.

Lauta Atoi is a Papua New Guinean politician and rugby league player. He was a People's National Congress member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2011 to 2017, representing the electorate of North Bougainville Open. His name is sometimes spelled as Louta Atoi.

Timothy Masiu is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2016, representing the electorate of South Bougainville Open for the People's Progress Party (2016–2017) and National Alliance Party (2017–present).

Rose Pihei is a politician in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. She was a member of the Bougainville House of Representatives from 2010 to 2015, representing the South Bougainville (Women's) constituency.

COVID-19 pandemic in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The Autonomous Region of Bougainville's confirmed its first case of the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, August 7, 2020, in Arawa, Bougainville. The documented arrival of COVID-19 in Bougainville occurred just before the start of the Bougainvillean general and presidential elections, which took place over the course of three weeks beginning on August 12, 2020, and ending on September 1, 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hon. Joe Lera, MP". National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Community leader congratulates Lera". PNG Post-Courier. 14 April 2016.
  3. "Nominations By Electorate" (PDF). PNG Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Big pay cut to serve his people". PNG Post-Courier. 23 November 2009.
  5. "Open college director gets new posting". PNG Post Courier. 12 January 2005.
  6. "ABG swears in new heads". PNG Post-Courier. 7 March 2007.
  7. "Buin upgrades accommodation". PNG Post Courier. 7 November 2007.
  8. "A cry for help". PNG Post Courier. 18 December 2007.
  9. "US Ambassador meets Torokina leaders". PNG Post Courier. 23 September 2008.
  10. "Power for Buin town". PNG Post-Courier. 28 October 2009.
  11. "Amet loses Madang seat in PNG election". Radio New Zealand News International. 30 July 2012.
  12. "Lera invites institutions to ARB". PNG Post-Courier. 4 January 2013.
  13. "Institutes for AROB". PNG Post-Courier. 15 March 2013.
  14. "Institute opens B'ville campus". PNG Post-Courier. 5 November 2013.
  15. "Communication to address illiteracy in Buka". PNG Post Courier. 25 September 2013.
  16. "Bville to set up institution". PNG Post-Courier. 30 July 2014.
  17. "B'ville polytech college still taking shape". PNG Post Courier. 21 July 2015.
  18. "MP Lera commits to bridge repair by Java locals". PNG Post Courier. 8 June 2016.
  19. https://www.thenational.com.pg/lera-to-resign-from-seat/
  20. https://postcourier.com.pg/toroama-leads-presidential-race/
National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
Preceded by
Fidelis Semoso
Member for Bougainville Regional
2012–2020
Incumbent