By GRACE TIDEN, POST COURIER

The East New Britain and New Ireland Autonomy committees are now working together to reach their common goal of achieving autonomy for their respective provinces.

The two provinces have been fighting for autonomy for more than eight years and despite assurances by a number of governments over the years to address their quests for autonomy, nothing has been done by the National Government to look into the issue.

Committee members including their chairmen, Sir Ronald Tovue for ENB and Sir Noel Levi for New Ireland and their technical staff together with East New Britain local level government presidents and senior government officials came together yesterday for their inaugural meet in Kokopo.

High on their agenda during the one-day meet was for each provinces to give a brief report on the status of their quest for autonomy, come up with a proposal to the National Government to allow a certain degree of autonomy to the provinces. This proposal may provide an attractive alternative form of government system to Bougainville.

The proposal is also for a combined NGI leaders forum to include governors and parliamentarians on the issue of autonomy and land and sea resources as stated under Section 42 of the Organic Law on Provincial Government and Local Level Government to be concurrent powers allowing provincial and LLGs to be consulted on their exploitation and benefit sharing with the National Government among others.

Discussions centred on issues concerning decentralisation of essential powers to the provinces, strengthening regional co-operation and partnership and power-sharing with the National Government.

Kokopo Town mayor Diuvia Kopman, who was speaking on behalf of ENB Governor and Kokopo MP Ereman Tobaining during the opening of the event, said the gathering was an important meeting of thinking people representing their two provincial governments who share a common aim.

Mr Kopman said the aim was to secure the ideal government system for their region and that the ideal government system that they secure will naturally build the ideal society that they desire, the ideal life style that they enjoy and the ideal legislative arrangements that will safeguard their interests in the future.

He said the ideal government system was the one that the two provincial autonomy committees have described in their respective concepts of power sharing, on greater autonomy.

Mr Kopman said this joint consultative meeting of the two provincial autonomy committees was a very good idea as well as a very important gathering of likeminded community leaders of the two provinces and that the two provincial governments have pursued provincial autonomy over a number of years separately and in slightly different ways.

Mr Kopman said four topics that were of interest include the discussion on ENB and New Ireland autonomy models with a view to agree on a hybrid model that will be attractive to the National Government.

The signing of the joint resolutions and communiqué was done during a dinner in the evening.