Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea

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Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea
Type
Type
Unicameral legislature
History
FoundedOctober 1951 (October 1951)
DisbandedMay 1964;60 years ago (May 1964)
Succeeded by House of Assembly
Leadership
Assistant Administrator [b]
Structure
Seats29 [c]
Papua and New Guinea Legislative Council, 1951.jpg
Appointed member political groups
Administration (16)
  •   Official/Ex-Officio Members (16)

Other (12)

President (1)

Length of term
For elected members (3), less than three years
Elections
Appointed member voting system
25 appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Administrator
Elected member voting system
First-past-the-post in three electorates
Constitution
Constitution of Australia

The Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea was a legislative body in Papua New Guinea between 1951 and 1963. It was established by the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 of Australia, which provided for the combined administration of the Territory of Papua and Territory of New Guinea under the United Nations trust territory system. It had the power to make Ordinances for the "peace, order and good government" of the territory, subject to the assent of the Australian-appointed Administrator. [1]

The Legislative Council initially consisted of 28 members and the Administrator: sixteen "official members" representing the Territorial administrator, three non-official elected members, three non-official members "representing the interests of the Christian missions in the Territory", three non-official native members, and three other non-official members. [1] As a result, it was considered to be largely dominated by the Australian administration. [2]

The first elections were held in 1951, with the first council sittings beginning in November 1951. In the first elections, there were only 664 people on the electoral roll in Papua, 537 on the New Guinea mainland and 496 in the New Guinea islands, with "not much more than half of those enrolled" voting. The Australian administration surrendered its majority in reforms in 1960 following international pressure for decolonisation, which increased membership to 37: 14 nominated officials, 12 elected members and 10 non-elected members, at least five of which were required to be indigenous. [3]

It was abolished in May 1963 and replaced by the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea (with effect from 1964) following a United Nations Trusteeship Council report that had recommended the establishment of a parliament in the territory. [3]

Related Research Articles

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The House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea was the legislature of the territory of Papua and New Guinea from 1964 to 1972. Before 1964, the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea sat from 1951 to 1964 under the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949. After independence in 1975, the legislature was renamed from the House of Assembly of Papua New Guinea to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Temporary Executive Authority</span> Administrative body of Western New Guinea (1962–1963)

United Nations Administered West New Guinea refers to the period between 1 October 1962 and 1 May 1963 when Western New Guinea was administered by the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in accordance with in article two of the New York Agreement reached between the governments of the Netherlands and Indonesia in August 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Dean (politician)</span> Australian politician

Roger Levinge Dean, CBE was an Australian politician and public servant. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1964, representing the New South Wales seat of Robertson for the Liberal Party. He later served as Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1964 to 1970 and as Australia's consul-general in San Francisco from 1970 to 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Cleland</span> Australian administrator

Brigadier Sir Donald Mackinnon Cleland, was an Australian soldier and administrator.

This is a list of members of the Northern Territory Legislative Council from 10 December 1949 to 28 April 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Papua New Guinean general election</span>

General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea for the first time on 10 November 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1954 Papua New Guinean general election</span>

General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 2 October 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Papua New Guinean general election</span>

General elections were held in Papua and New Guinea on 27 August 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 Papua New Guinean general election</span>

General elections were held in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea between 15 February and 15 March 1964. They were the first elections in the territory held under universal suffrage. Voter turnout among enrolled voters was 65%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Barrett</span> Australian politician

Donald Barrett was an Australian planter, army major, politician and sports coach in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly in two spells between 1951 and 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Reeve</span> Australian public servant

Harold Hastings Reeve was an Australian public servant. He was briefly Administrator of Nauru in 1949, before joining the civil service in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1950, where he held several senior positions until his retirement in 1966, including serving in the Legislative Council and House of Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Keith McCarthy</span> Australian public servant

John Keith McCarthy was an Australian public servant in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He rose to become Director of Agriculture, also serving as a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly. In Papua New Guinea, he was known as 'Papa Bilong Ol'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gunther (public servant)</span> Australian public servant

Sir John Thomson Gunther was an Australian public servant who spent most of his career in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Holding several key roles in the territory's civil service, he was also a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly from 1951 to 1966.

Basil Edward Fairfax-Ross was an Australian businessman who spent much of his career in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. He served as a nominated member of the Legislative Council from 1951 to 1963.

Vin ToBaining was one of the first six elected indigenous members of the colonial-era Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea, between 1961 and 1963. Subsequently, he was involved in the formation of the Pangu Party in 1967, which went on to form the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) when the country became independent in 1975.

References

Notes

  1. In Part V – Division II – Section 43 of the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 Jack Keith Murray, as Administrator of the Territory, is the President of the Legislative Council.
  2. As Section 43 (Papua and New Guinea Act 1949) states: “In his absence, the senior official member of the Legislative Council who is present shall preside.” That role being the Assistant Administrator.
  3. Including the Administrator (President of the Legislative Council) the numder is 29. This number of seats was in the first sitting of the Legislative Council. It later expanded to hold thirty-seven seats.

Citations

  1. 1 2 "Papua and New Guinea Act 1949". Federal Register of Legislation. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  2. May, Ronald James (May 2004). State and Society in Papua New Guinea: The First Twenty-Five Years. ISBN   9781920942052.
  3. 1 2 Les Johnson. Westminster in Moresby: Papua New Guinea's House of Assembly 1964–1972 (PDF).