A Trial Separation


Book Description

When it came in September 1975, Papua New Guinea's independence was marked by both anxiety and elation. In the euphoric aftermath, decolonisation was declared a triumph and immediate events seemed to justify that confidence. By the 1990s, however, events had taken a turn for the worse and there were doubts about the capacity of the State to function. Before independence, Papua New Guinea was an Australian Territory. Responsibility lay with a minister in Canberra and services were provided by Commonwealth agencies. In 1973, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam declared that independence should be achieved within two years. While Australians were united in their desire to decolonise, many Papua New Guineans were nervous of independence. This superlative history presents the full story of the 'trial separation' of Australia and Papua New Guinea, concluding that -- given the intertwined history, geography and economies of the two neighbours -- the decolonisation project of 'independence' is still a work in progress.




ANGAU


Book Description

When Clarrie James went off to war with a thousand mates of 53 Battalion, little did he know how many of the coming days would be spent alone. The battalion spent most of its time in Port Moresby but before the Japanese landed in Papua, the author transferred to Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU). He ended up in the highlands of New Guinea - a lone white man administering 'one man law'. This fine book describes the transition of one young man from ordinary soldiering to a life of self-reliance and making his own - sometimes vital and life-saving decisions.




International Status in the Shadow of Empire


Book Description

This book offers a new account of Nauru's imperial history and examines its significance in the history of international law.




Law and Order in Polynesia


Book Description




Sovereignty, Statehood and State Responsibility


Book Description

This collection of essays focusses on the following concepts: sovereignty (the unique, intangible and yet essential characteristic of states), statehood (what it means to be a state, and the process of acquiring or losing statehood) and state responsibility (the legal component of what being a state entails). The unifying theme is that they have always been and will in the future continue to form a crucial part of the foundations of public international law. While many publications focus on new actors in international law such as international organisations, individuals, companies, NGOs and even humanity as a whole, this book offers a timely, thought-provoking and innovative reappraisal of the core actors on the international stage: states. It includes reflections on the interactions between states and non-state actors and on how increasing participation by and recognition of the latter within international law has impacted upon the role and attributes of statehood.







Customary Land Tenure and Registration in Australia and Papua New Guinea


Book Description

The main theme of this volume is a discussion of the ways in which legal mechanisms, such as the Land Groups Incorporation Act (1974) in PNG, and the Native Title Act (1993) in Australia, do not, as they purport, serve merely to identify and register already-existing customary indigenous landowning groups in these countries. Because the legislation is an integral part of the way in which indigenous people are defined and managed in relation to the State, it serves to elicit particular responses in landowner organisation and self-identification on the part of indigenous people. These pieces of legislation actively contour the progressive evolution of landowner social, territorial and political organisation at all levels in these nation states. The contributors to this volume provide in-depth anthropological case studies of social structural and cultural transformations engendered by the confrontation between states, developers and indigenous communities over rights to customarily owned land.




The Chronicle of a Young Lawyer


Book Description

“The volcanic political atmosphere in the bubbling cauldron of the caldera that was the Gazelle Peninsula came to a head in December 1969.” This unique book tells the story of the day-to-day life of a young criminal circuit lawyer from Tasmania, Kerry Dillon, some 50 years ago in a country where many people lived as generations before had lived, back into the mists of time. Employed as a 22-year-old lawyer in the Office of the Public Solicitor, WA Lalor, in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, Kerry travelled the country on Supreme Court criminal circuits from 1969 to 1971, appearing as counsel for Indigenous people accused of serious criminal offences, including stealing, rape and wilful murder. Written as a chronicle, this account features descriptions of criminal cases in major centres and in remote places only accessible by small planes. It depicts the clash of cultures as Australian criminal law was introduced, and there is valuable material on the application of the rule of law in the emerging nation. “The differing ways of life between Papua New Guinean communities, and the wide variation in the character of their interactions with Europeans and the Administration, was a significant part of the complex environment in which Kerry’s experiences in the country took place and which his account illustrates.” – Michael Adams QC