Bougainville has taken a step closer towards full independence after the Papua New Guinea government agreed to table the 2019 autonomous region's referendum results in parliament following talks in Christchurch this week.
The non-binding referendum in Bougainville had voted 97.7 per cent in favour of independence from the rest of the country which is separated by sea.
A consensus between the parties following several reports out of PNG has been reached, despite talks being closed to the media.
Former New Zealand governor-general, Sir Jerry Mateparae, moderated the talks with support from United Nations officials at the Burnham Military Camp, where critical talks in 1997 helped end the Bougainville civil war.
It is the third round of discussions to resolve how the 2019 referendum results are tabled in the Port Moresby parliament.
Former president of Bougainville Island, John Momis, emerged from the opening day saying he told delegates to "take the bull by the horn" and confront issues without further delay, according to the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.
He said both governments have agreed to present three highly pivotal documents to the Papua New Guinean national parliament which includes the moderator's report from Mateparae and the parliamentary bipartisan committee's findings, in addition to the Bougainville referendum vote.
Other options towards full independence which were put on the table included self-government in free association, similar to the Cook Islands relationship with Aotearoa/New Zealand.
However Bougainville president Ishmael Toroama came out before the talks, saying the autonomous region would not accept a governance model that did not grant full sovereignty.
In 2021, Bougainville's leaders and Papua New Guinea's government agreed on a process that has taken four years so far which would ultimately culminate in a "declaration of independence".
Copper and gold-rich Bougainville is aiming to achieve sovereign membership of the UN prior to the end of 2027 too.
Bougainville regional MP Peter Tsiamalili Jr has backed the ambitions, adding he represents the wishes of the people which voted for independence six years ago.
However the PNG government has spoken previously over credible fears that independence for Bougainville would encourage other provinces to seek autonomy.
The Solomon Island province of Choiseul stated through its premier earlier this year that it intends to join Bougainville in its push for nationhood, owing to its historically close ties to the autonomous region.
New Ireland province, which sits across from Bougainville in the Bismarck Archipelago, has made no secret of its dissatisfaction with Port Moresby, and its desire to control more of their own affairs.
But the Bougainville Minister of Independence Implementation, Ezekiel Massat, says Bougainville's status is constitutionally "ring-fenced" and is not setting a precedent for other provinces.
"Under the Bougainville Peace Agreement, independence is a compulsory option," he said.
Bougainville, whose independence movement started six decades ago, first declared its own independence in 1975 as the Republic of the North Solomons – 15 days after PNG gained theirs from Australia – in anticipation of joining the British Solomon Islands, who share ethnic and linguistic traits and a close proximity to the current-day Solomons.
