Documents on Australian Foreign Policy Australia and Papua New Guinea, 1970-1972: The transition to self-governance

DFAT Documents on Australian Foreign Policy, Australia and Papua New Guinea, 1970 - 1972 is the second of three volumes on on Papua New Guinea and its transition to self-government. This era saw monumental change in the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea as PNG went from a territory firmly controlled by Canberra to self-government in 1975. Documents outline the role of Australian Prime Minister John Gorton who quickened the pace of change following a visit to PNG by Gough Whitlam at the start of 1970, and the Australian ministers and officials who worked constructively with their PNG counterparts, including Andrew Peacock, at territories minister from early 1972.

The late Bruce Hunt was a Research Fellow in the School of History, College of Arts and Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He had a BA (Hons) from Sydney University and a PhD from the University of New England. He was an officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) from 1974 to 2011. In addition to Port Moresby, he served overseas in Bonn, Harare and Tel Aviv and as High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga. He was Director of the PNG Section in DFAT from 1990–1994 and from 2000–2003. Stephen Henningham is a specialist historian in the Historical Research Section in DFAT. He has a BA (Hons) from the University of New South Wales and a PhD from the Australian National University (ANU). He served in Noumea as a policy officer, in Port Moresby as Deputy High Commissioner, in Ho Chi Minh City as Consul General, and in Samoa as High Commissioner. He was a South Pacific specialist at the Office of National Assessments in 1987–1988 and worked on South Pacific politics and history at the ANU from 1988 to 1995. 

Part 1 ‘What unity there is has been imposed by the Administration’: Key Developments in Papua New Guinea in 1970 Documents, January–December 1970 Part 2 ‘Sooner rather than later’: Key Developments in Papua New Guinea in 1971 Documents, January–December 1971 Part 3 ‘Most important: establishment of relations of mutual confidence between our governments’: Key Developments in Papua New Guinea in 1972 Documents, January–December 1972