Abstract
Local governments were established in Papua New Guinea during the colonial period. By the time of independence in 1975, a new tier of subnational bodies, area authorities, had been created to provide some coordination of local government activities at the administrative district level.1 Following independence, a system of provincial government was introduced, within a unitary constitution. In each of the former administrative districts, renamed provinces, an elected provincial assembly was established, and substantial powers were transferred to the provincial governments, though the national government maintained overriding authority.
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© 1999 Mark Turner
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May, R.J. (1999). Decentralization in Papua New Guinea: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. In: Turner, M. (eds) Central-Local Relations in Asia-Pacific. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27711-7_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27711-7_6
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