Bougainville

The president of Bougainville has paid tribute to the Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency for its efforts to combat gender based violence.

An MP says he believes the Papua New Guinea government is not interested in Bougainville, as the region prepares for an independence referendum scheduled for later this year.

Landowners near the long-closed Panguna mine in the Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville continue to scrap over who the legitimate owner is.

Bougainville is planning to ask donors to help fund referendum preparations as it says the Papua New Guinea government has failed to meet its commitments.

The president of Bougainville, John Momis, says the lack of funding from the Papua New Guinea government for referendum preparations is becoming desperate.

PNG police are arresting people in Bougainville for brewing and selling of homebrew and possession of other illicit drugs.

A senior official in the Bougainville government says more delays to funding will have far-reaching implications on the PNG province's ability to achieve a quality outcome in the referendum vote.

Papua New Guinea's shadow justice minister Kerenga Kua says MPs must put more effort into grappling with implications of the Bougainville referendum.

The Bougainville public service has been encouraged to maintain solidarity within its ranks and foster the aspirations of the Bougainville people.

A member of the PNG government says Bougainville has not received all its funding because it has not spent what money it did get properly.

Bougainville's Arawa District Hospital in Papua New Guinea is facing an acute staff shortage amid a surge in patients.

The Bougainville regional MP, Joe Lera, says former rebel groups in the south of the autonomous region in Papua New Guinea have committed to the referendum process.

The deputy leader of the Papua New Guinea opposition says people on Bougainville are increasingly keen to vote for full independence.

The Papua New Guinea National Airport Corporation has agreed to let the Buka Airport on Bougainville stay open and continue operating.

The chief secretary of Bougainville, Joseph Nobetau, is appealing to landowners on the Papua New Guinea island to allow fencing to be built around Buka airport.

The two main airports on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have reportedly been shut down by law and order concerns.

Bougainville's MPs go into a Budget debate this week knowing that they will have much less money to allocate because the Papua New Guinea government has not made a constitutionally guaranteed grant.