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[F.A.Q.] [Help]PNG Constitutional Planning Committee Report 1974 |
Constitutional Planning Committee Report 1974
CHAPTER 4
1. A citizen of Papua New Guinea should, we believe, be able to say proudly and surely that he or she belongs to Papua New Guinea. And, one of the main aims of this Report - upon which particular stress has been placed in the National Goals and Directive Principles proposed in Chapter 2, the Leadership Code in Chapter 3, and in our recommendation (in Chapter 7, "The Executive") that the Constitution should explicitly state that power belongs to the people - is to ensure that Papua New Guinea also belongs to its citizens.
2. Papua New Guinean citizens will have certain rights (and obligations) that will be theirs alone. Only Papua New Guinean citizens will have the right to vote at elections, or to stand, for local government bodies, provincial assemblies and the National Parliament. They will have the right to be appointed to posts in government and private enterprise for which they are otherwise qualified. They will be eligible for services and other benefits the government may provide - in health, education, and economic development. They will receive protection from the Papua New Guinea Government when they travel abroad on its passports. And, in turn, they will owe their country certain obligations - to pay taxes, to uphold its laws, and to serve it in peace and in war.
3. Foreign citizens are likely to be invited for some time to come to lend their skills for limited periods to assist us in our country's development. But their rights should be limited while they are with us in Papua New Guinea, as ours are when we go abroad.
4. The recommendations made in this Chapter are vital to the definition of the identity of the Papua New Guinea nation. They have been prepared after careful consideration of the proposals put forward and questions raised in the many hundreds of oral and written submissions that the Committee has received from people in all parts of the country. They will have a profound effect in shaping not only our own and our children's future, but upon that of our children's descendants. We believe that our primary responsibility is to the future, and in particular to the future of the majority of this country's inhabitants, the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. Their interests must be safeguarded above all.
5. Our overriding commitment to the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea does not spring from narrow self-interest, nor from any desire to distinguish between people on grounds of race or skin-colour. We have tried to make a frank and realistic assessment of our country's situation, and have held our assessment against the aspirations expressed in the National Goals and Directive Principles in Chapter 2 as well as the Human Rights and Obligations recommended in Chapter 5 for inclusion in the Constitution.
6. We believe that it would be contrary to the spirit of those goals and principles, rights and obligations if we were to make recommendations that simply legitimated present vested interests. We are also convinced that it would be wrong if we sought to overcome present inequalities and injustices by recommending that there be a distinction between different classes of citizens - for example, indigenous and non-indigenous citizens - as has been done in Malaysia and Fiji. The opportunities for citizens should be equal.
7. Our recommendations have been made on the basis that a real opportunity must now be given to our indigenous people to obtain their full share of the benefits of this country's wealth. Up until now it has been foreigners, most of whom happen to be of different racial groups from us Papua New Guineans, who have taken the overwhelming bulk of these benefits. This redistribution of wealth would be made virtually impossible if we immediately made citizenship of our country freely available to foreign citizens who have lived here for some years during the colonial era.
8. We have recommended that many people who are not wholly descended from the indigenous inhabitants of this country should be treated, from the very beginning of our country's independence, as if they were - provided that they themselves have not cast off their identification with the indigenous people, nor been eligible for benefits available to foreign citizens but not to indigenous Papua New Guineans.
9. The distinctions we make in our recommendations between different groups of people who are partly descended from Papua New Guinea's indigenous inhabitants are based on the degree to which they have, in fact, been identified with the vast majority of the country's population. Even those who have qualified for certain advantages under colonial rule have been granted concessions in our recommendations regarding the time they need to wait until they become eligible for our country's citizenship. However, we emphatically reject the suggestion that people who have enjoyed the privileges of foreign status under colonial rule should be able to enjoy the advantages of Papua New Guinean citizenship immediately and as of right. To allow them to do so would run counter to the spirit of our recommendations. It would represent a betrayal of the trust we hold on behalf of Papua New Guineans as a whole.
10. Those citizens of foreign countries who genuinely come to assist in the development of our country's rich natural and human resources will, we believe, be sympathetic towards our proposals. The Australian Government should also accept its responsibilities.
11. Citizens of foreign countries should be able to work here for limited periods and for specified purposes. They should help us to become self-reliant. If their desire to help us is sincerely held, they should not seek, nor should we too easily offer, rights to be exercised indefinitely by their descendants.
12. Our appreciation for the assistance of outsiders should not blind us to our people's longterm interests. These outsiders must not be allowed, either intentionally or unintentionally, to become obstacles to the advancement of our people. We believe that the conditions for becoming a citizen of Papua New Guinea should protect the rights of the indigenous majority. These conditions should not serve as a blind for the entrenchment of a small, privileged minority of foreign origin, unduly rich in money and skills, which by its presence and its activities limits the opportunities open to the vast majority of our people.
13. We believe that the conditions set down for becoming a citizen of Papua New Guinea should -
§ safeguard the longterm interests of the majority of our country's inhabitants;
§ contribute to overcoming the present serious imbalance in the distribution of benefits and opportunities in our society; and
§ preserve and enhance our people's sense of identity;
§ enable the Government's present localization policy in employment and business activity to be fully implemented.
14. A weak citizenship law will help no one. It will not serve the interests of our indigenous people. It will not serve those of the foreigners among us, nor those of overseas investors. If they are realistic, they will derive no sense of security from a citizenship law that our people feel fails to safeguard their own and their descendants' future.
15. Today, many of our people curse the day when our forefathers sold their land (and ours) for an axe or glass beads. Let us do what we can to ensure that our successors do not curse us for compromising their birthright through a weak citizenship law. Those foreign citizens who really seek to help us or to share our lot will understand why we must be careful in admitting them to citizenship. They will prize our country's citizenship all the more for the value that they see we place upon it. Neither they nor we would welcome the suffering and anguish which would occur if weak proposals were accepted now only to be questioned later.
16. People in all parts of the country have expressed strong opposition to the idea of dual citizenship. The task of developing our country requires courage and commitment. Those who would enjoy the benefits of citizenship must share in its responsibilities. We do not believe that it is possible to be fully loyal to two countries at once. We recognize that foreign citizens may be able to contribute much to our country. But they do not need to become citizens to do so. To provide for dual citizenship would contribute nothing to our country. It would only confer additional benefits upon the privileged and mobile. Those who claim the rights of citizenship must be fully committed to staying with us to meet their obligations as citizens.
17. There are, however, certain situations in which the acquisition of a second citizenship is unavoidable. We shall deal with them below.
18. The citizenship laws of a number of other countries - including Australia - also make it difficult to implement the single citizenship principle in Papua New Guinea. Australian citizens, for example, cannot give up their citizenship rights completely. Although they may formally renounce their present citizenship rights in order to take up Papua New Guinean citizenship, the way remains open to them to return to live in Australia and to easily regain their Australian citizenship. We have had to bear this fact in mind when making our recommendations as to the qualifications for naturalization.
19. The Committee proposes that there be three ways in which Papua New Guinean citizenship might be acquired:
§ automatically, by legal definition alone;
§ by registration, when a person's name is officially recorded in order to establish his or her citizenship; and
§ by naturalization, when a foreign citizen is able to meet the conditions for becoming, and is then made, a citizen of the country which naturalizes (or grants citizenship status to) that person.
20. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea will become citizens of Papua New Guinea as of right when our recommendations come into force. They will automatically become Papua New Guineans. They will not have to do anything in order to become citizens. They will simply be defined by law as citizens.
21. Any person who was born in Papua New Guinea before the citizenship law comes into force (on what we call in this Chapter "C-Day") shall be a citizen of Papua New Guinea if:
§ he or she is not a "real" citizen of a foreign country; and
§ he or she has at least two indigenous grandparents.
22. For the purposes of this provision, persons who are Australian citizens by virtue only of their birth in Papua, and persons who are Australian Protected Persons, are regarded as holding no real foreign citizenship, provided that they have not been granted the right to reside in Australia. They must be, in effect, people who have always been identified with the indigenous inhabitants of Papua New Guinea. An indigenous grandparent is defined here as a grandparent all of whose own grandparents were born in Papua New Guinea or "an adjacent area". By "an adjacent area", we mean Irian Jaya, the British Solomon Islands or the Torres Strait Islands.
23. There are persons in every village and clan in this country who are knowledgeable in local history and tradition. In cases of doubt, their assistance should be invaluable in determining whether or not the grandparents of a person's grandparents were born in Papua New Guinea or an adjacent area. And, our reference to "an adjacent area" is deliberate. We make it in order to avoid trying to draw too fine a line between people for whom four generations ago, the boundaries drawn up for our country by the colonial powers had no meaning.
24. After C-Day, a child born in Papua New Guinea of a citizen parent should, we believe, become a citizen of Papua New Guinea automatically. So should the locally-born child of a person who would have become a Papua New Guinean citizen had he or she not died. However, should a child who becomes an automatic citizen of Papua New Guinea after C-Day for some reason hold a second citizenship, he or she must renounce it and swear allegiance to Papua New Guinea within one year of turning eighteen, or within such further period as the Minister responsible for citizenship matters allows.
25. A few people who would otherwise be entitled to automatic citizenship will have been born overseas. They may thereby have acquired a foreign citizenship. This category of people would include some whose parents were or are only temporarily absent from Papua New Guinea at the time of their birth, and people whose parents have taken up permanent residence abroad.
26. We do not believe that children born abroad should be deprived of the right they would otherwise have had to claim Papua New Guinean citizenship. However, Papua New Guinea ought not to assume responsibility for, nor grant full citizenship rights to, the foreign-born offspring of its citizens without question. It seems only reasonable to us to require that their parents provide some indication that they actually want their children to be identified with Papua New Guinea.
27. We therefore recommend that persons born outside Papua New Guinea before C-Day who would otherwise have been automatic citizens of Papua New guinea should have to be registered as Papua New Guinean citizens within one year of C-Day. Those born after C-Day should be registered within one year of their birth. In accordance with our recommendation that no citizen of Papua New Guinea should in principle hold a second citizenship, both groups should be required to renounce any foreign citizenship they may have acquired by virtue of being born abroad within one year of becoming eighteen years of age (or such further period as the Minister responsible for citizenship matters allows). In the case of those persons who will be eighteen years of age or over at C-Day, the renunciation should be made within one year of C-Day.
28. Provision should also be made for a further category of people to become Papua New Guinean citizens by registration: children born before C-Day but aged less than eighteen years at C-Day, who have a foreign citizenship and at least one parent who is a citizen of Papua New Guinea. Like other children who have more than one citizenship, they should be required to renounce their foreign citizenship within one year of turning eighteen (or soon afterwards) if they wish to retain their rights as Papua New Guineans.
29. Under the recommendations made above, children born after C-Day of a citizen parent will automatically become citizens of Papua New Guinea if they are born in the country, and will be eligible for registration as Papua New Guinean citizens if born abroad. Persons aged more than eighteen years at C-Day who do not qualify for automatic citizenship or for citizenship by registration under the terms of the recommendations made above should, we believe, have to apply for naturalization if they wish to become Papua New Guinean citizens. Under colonial rule, they had advantages open to them that were not available to those people who will qualify for automatic citizenship on C-Day. However, children with a citizen parent and foreign citizenship of their own and who will be aged less than eighteen years on C-Day are in a different category. They have not grown up with all of the advantages enjoyed by foreigners under colonial rule, nor with the full rights of a citizen after C-Day. We do not recommend that these children should automatically become Papua New Guinean citizens. However, we do not think it reasonable, either, to deprive them of the opportunity children born after C-Day of a citizen parent will have of becoming Papua New Guinean citizens. We therefore recommend that parents who are themselves citizens of Papua New Guinea should be able to register such children as citizens on or after C-Day.
30. The recommendations that we have made above should enable the overwhelming majority of the people descended from the original inhabitants of Papua New Guinea to become automatic citizens on C-Day. A small number of these people will have to have their names registered in order to obtain the status of citizens. The children under eighteen years of both of these groups will have a similar right to Papua New Guinean citizenship as their parents. There is, however, a small minority of people in this country who may wish to become citizens of Papua New Guinea but will not qualify automatically under the preceding proposed rules. They include people of predominantly or exclusively foreign descent, as well as some people with two indigenous grandparents who have obtained a foreign citizenship or a right of residence in a foreign country in ways other than those provided for under the preceding recommendations. If these people wish to become citizens of Papua New Guinea, they will have to apply for naturalization. So will other foreign citizens whether they have lived in Papua New Guinea before C-Day, or come here afterwards.
31. The process of naturalization normally involves a person who is a citizen of one country (or the parent of that person) making a deliberate decision to apply for the citizenship of another country. Certain of the recommendations that we have made as to the conditions for naturalization apply to all foreign citizens, including people with two indigenous grandparents who seek to gain, and former citizens wishing to regain, Papua New Guinean citizenship. A small number of people who were born in Papua New Guinea and who do not hold a real foreign citizenship will also have to apply for naturalization if they wish to become citizens of our country.
People born in Papua New Guinea who have no real foreign citizenship but do not become citizens automatically or by registration
32. As has been mentioned in paragraph 28 above, there are among us some people who were born in Papua New Guinea, are not Australian citizens with a right of residence in Australia, but do not have two indigenous grandparents. They are the descendants of people who came to Papua New Guinea during the colonial era, and settled here. We are unsure of the exact number of people in this category, but some Malays, some Chinese and some people with only one indigenous grandparent are included among them. They are either Australian citizens by virtue only of their birth in Papua, or Australian Protected Persons because they were born in New Guinea. They will not become Papua New Guinean citizens automatically or by registration.
33. We do not accept the argument that Papua New Guinea should grant automatic citizenship or citizenship by registration to these people. Neither we nor our forebears had a part in bringing their foreign-born ancestors to Papua New Guinea, nor in deciding on what terms they might settle here. We consider that Papua New Guineans should know whether or not these people are truly willing to adapt themselves to the new circumstances of a post-colonial society and to make a deliberate choice to live here on that basis.
34. We believe that as the outgoing colonial power, Australia has the main responsibility for these people and that it has the obligation to ensure that they do not become stateless. We have noted that Australia has recently become a signatory to the International Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness under which contracting States which are signatories are obliged not to deprive a person of his nationality in circumstances which would mean that he would be made stateless (except in very special circumstances which are not relevant here). As all of the people in the above category are at present either Australian citizens by virtue of their having been born in Papua or are Australian Protected Persons by reason of their having been born in New Guinea, we believe the relevant provisions of the Convention would, if they were now in effect, oblige Australia to grant them full Australian citizenship rights and privileges on C-Day. Whilst it is true that the Convention will not actually come into force for a further eighteen months, we believe that, in the circumstances, Australia is morally bound to comply with the requirements of that Convention as they affect this group of people, especially as the Australian Government signed the Convention at a time when it was well aware of the possibility that some people born in Papua New Guinea might be left stateless on C-Day if Australia deprived them of their present status on that day.
35. We recommend that special provision be made to enable this group of people to apply for citizenship earlier than most other people who will not become Papua New Guinean citizens automatically or by registration. Specifically, we recommend that they be able to apply for naturalization after only three years actual residence in this country commencing on or after C-Day. During these three years, both they and we will have a reasonable opportunity to assess their place in an independent Papua New Guinea.
36. As a general rule, citizens of foreign countries who wish to become naturalized Papua New Guinean citizens should have to wait eight years after C-Day. The first eight years immediately following C-Day should provide descendants of the original inhabitants of this country with an opportunity to begin to assure their rightful place in our nation. This qualifying period should allow adequate time for foreign citizens to adapt themselves to an independent Papua new Guinea, and for Papua New Guineans to see how they fit in.
37. A further important reason for having a substantial qualifying period for foreign citizens derives from the ease with which Australians who have taken up a second citizenship may resume their Australian citizenship, even if they have previously renounced it. This provision is of great significance to Papua New Guinea because the vast majority of the foreign inhabitants of our country are Australians. They have been publicly assured by the former Minister for Immigration, Mr Grassby, and by senior Australian officials, that they will retain certain preferential rights to permanent residence in Australia and to Australian citizenship even after they have given up that citizenship. The main effect of this provision upon Papua New Guinea is to weaken substantially our country's ability to enforce the single citizenship principle. It has made plain the need to set rather stringent conditions for the acquisition of Papua New Guinean citizenship by naturalization.
38. Of course, time spent as a resident of a country does not in itself indicate the real nature of a person's commitment. The Committee has recommended that applicants for naturalization should have to fulfil a number of other conditions (many of which are commonly included in a country's citizenship law) before they can become Papua New Guinean citizens.
39. We recognize, too, that there are foreign citizens who have ties with this country which should also be taken into account when they apply for naturalization. We have in mind people with two indigenous grandparents who have for some reason acquired a foreign citizenship; the foreign spouses of Papua New Guinean citizens: certain inhabitants of the territory formerly known as Netherlands New Guinea; and foreign residents who have lived among us continuously for more than twenty years before C-Day. These people should, we believe, be given certain concessions as to the time they must wait before they can apply for Papua New Guinean citizenship. Nonetheless, all people in these groups - except for some Irianese who will qualify on C-Day - should have to wait for a time after C-Day - until they and the majority of our country's inhabitants have been able to take one another's measure in the circumstances of independence.
40. There are a number of people with two indigenous grandparents who will neither become citizens automatically under the above recommendations nor be eligible to become citizens by registration on C-Day. They will have acquired a foreign citizenship not simply because they were born abroad. If they wish to become Papua New Guinean citizens, they should, like other foreign citizens, have to seek naturalization.
41. Among the people in this category will be Papua New Guineans married to foreign citizens who have obtained the citizenship of their spouses; certain people who, being partly of foreign descent, have been able to obtain full Australian citizenship rights (through being granted a Right of Residence in Australia, or being registered or naturalized as Australian citizens); and the children of people in both categories. Many of these people made a deliberate choice to forsake their Papua New Guinean heritage for a foreign citizenship, while others have been brought up having the advantages that have gone with a foreign status under colonial rule. In the case of the people of mixed origins, the possession of a Right of Residence in Australia has carried with it very significant advantages not available to indigenous Papua New Guineans, such as the right to an expatriate salary and other conditions of service, putting them in an income bracket far above Papua New Guineans holding similar positions. The children of these foreign citizens have also been privileged by comparison with the indigenous majority.
42. These people should not, we believe, be able to acquire Papua New Guinean citizenship on C-Day. They have not been fully identified with our country. Indeed, many of them have deliberately set themselves apart from the mass of the people. Taking a realistic view, we believe full account should be taken of the attitude of our people to those who, having been born here, have had the benefits of foreign citizenship but now wish to have the advantages of Papua New Guinean citizenship. Unless our people are satisfied that such people are now genuinely committed to this country, they are unlikely to accept them, whether or not they hold citizenship of this country.
43. Nonetheless, the people in this group do retain ties here which distinguish them from complete foreigners with no relatives here. We therefore recommend that they should have to wait five years after C-Day before they can apply for naturalization as Papua New Guinean citizens. During that period, the necessary changes of attitude can be made by both groups.
44. Of course, some of the above group of foreign citizens will be people who did not themselves choose to apply for full foreign citizenship rights. And some of them may be people who have conscientiously declined to accept the advantages of foreign status in order to identify themselves with the indigenous majority. The Committee recommends that those in this group who have always identified themselves with a Papua New Guinean community, should be eligible to apply for Papua New Guinean citizenship after three years residence following C-Day.
45. In order to be eligible for naturalization three years after C-Day, those foreign citizens with two indigenous grandparents should establish to the satisfaction of the Minister responsible for citizenship matters that they did not themselves seek a foreign citizenship, and that they have always identified themselves with a group of indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. They will be people whose parents sought a foreign citizenship on their behalf of who have inherited it in some other way, but who have never exercised any of the rights associated with it, nor accepted any of the privileges or other benefits which are available to those who hold that citizenship.
46. We have recommended that any of the following actions should disqualify an applicant for naturalization under this provision:
§ acceptance of a position in public or private employment with a salary and conditions attached which were not applicable to or received by indigenous Papua New Guineans at the relevant time;
§ voluntary voting in an election restricted to citizens of the country for which the applicant is a citizen; and
§ obtaining social service benefits restricted to citizens of the other country.
47. Upon considering applications made under this provision, the Minister responsible for citizenship matters should also take into account as factors militating against treating an applicant for citizenship as a person who has always identified himself with an indigenous Papua New Guinean community:
§ significant property or business interests which an applicant may have in the country of which he is a citizen;
§ numerous or lengthy private visits made as an adult to the country of which he or she is a citizen (other than visits to obtain medical treatment or education which was not available in Papua New Guinea at the time);
§ a lack of meaningful social relationships with those who are entitled to Papua New Guinean citizenship automatically.
It should, however, be clearly understood that a person who is disqualified by one fo the above factors can still be granted citizenship after five years actual residence in Papua New Guinea, commencing on or after C-Day.
48. Another group of people who should not have to wait eight years after C-Day before being able to apply for naturalization comprises those indigenous people from Irian Jaya (formerly Netherlands New Guinea) who sought permanent refuge in our country before the United Nations General Assembly formally took note on 19 November 1969 of the Report of the Secretary-General on the fulfilment of his tasks under the Indonesian-Dutch Agreement of 15 August 1962. We recognize our cultural and ethnic affinity with these people, and believe that they should be able to apply for Papua New Guinean citizenship on C-Day, or eight years after they took up permanent residence in our country, whichever is the later date. We consider that they should not obtain citizenship automatically, or by registration, but that they should be granted this concession.
49. A further group of people who should not have to wait for eight years after C-Day comprises the foreign-born spouses of Papua New Guinean citizens. They should, we believe, have to wait only five years after C-Day before they can apply to be naturalized. People who seek to be naturalized under the terms of this recommendation should have been married, and lived together with their spouses, for at least two years before they make application. This qualification is designed to ensure that the marriages of people who seek to take advantage of this concession are genuine. The Committee is determined to see that marriage is not used by foreign citizens as a device for obtaining Papua New Guinean citizenship more quickly than otherwise.
50. There are a few foreign citizens who have lived and worked among us for so long that they have come to regard Papua New Guinea as their only home. We believe that some recognition should be made of their special situation, but not to such an extent that sentiment outweighs our responsibility to the long term interests of our people, as there are some expatriates who have lived here many years and now have dominant economic power and influence which we do not wish to entrench or legitimise. We therefore recommend that a foreign citizen, both of whose parents were foreign citizens at his or her birth, should be eligible to have the qualifying period before application can be made for naturalization reduced by one year for each twenty years that he or she has lived in Papua New Guinea before C-Day.
51. With the exceptions spelt out above, foreign citizens should have to wait eight years after C-Day before they can apply for naturalization as Papua New Guinean citizens. However, while we hold firmly to the view that a qualifying period of time is necessary, it is in the final analysis the heartfelt commitment to our people and the challenges which lie ahead that matter most. We firmly reject the notion that the residential requirement should, as a rule, take into account a period before C-Day. Their privileged life during the colonial period has not prepared the foreign residents in our country for life in an independent Papua New Guinea. The only people who should receive any concession in respect of time spent in Papua New Guinea before C-Day are certain Irianese and foreign residents of more than twenty years standing. They should be able to apply for naturalization a little more quickly than other foreign citizens.
52. Until very recently we, the descendants of the original inhabitants of this country have had no effective say in determining who should and who should not be able to come to our country and live among us. The Committee is also convinced that the experiences, acquaintances, and familiarity with the people and conditions of colonial times often provide little evidence of the commitment that will be required of all citizens of our independent nation. We believe that it is proper that fulfilment fo the residential requirement should, as a general rule, begin on C-Day, when the citizenship law made by our people takes effect.
53. In addition to time spent in our country, we believe that applicants for naturalization should have to satisfy other conditions too. Time spent in our midst does not in itself indicate how committed to our country an applicant really is, nor is it the only factor to be considered in deciding whether he is, generally, a suitable type of person to enter our community on a permanent basis.
54. We must be satisfied that those who seek our citizenship are genuinely concerned with the welfare and progress of our people; that they understand and respect us and are able to communicate with ordinary people; and that they are capable of contributing to our country's development. They should therefore be able to supply to the Minister responsible for citizenship matters evidence that they are not only of full age and capacity, but that -
§ they are of good character;
§ they are unlikely to become a charge on public funds;
§ they intend to reside permanently in Papua New Guinea;
§ they respect the cultures of our people;
§ they speak and understand Pidgin, Hiri Motu or a local vernacular, so that they can communicate effectively with the citizens of our country;
§ they have an adequate knowledge of our country's history and customs and of its citizens' rights and duties; and
§ they are acceptable (as citizens) to citizens in the area where they live.
Intending citizens should, in short, know the rights and obligations of citizens in relation to the national government, and they should be able to live and work in harmony with the ordinary people of Papua New Guinea.
55. We do not believe that applicants for naturalization should have to chew betel-nut, wear tapa cloth, or engage in traditional rituals. But they must, we believe, demonstrate a genuine respect for the ancient wisdom and ways of our people. Before they apply for naturalization, they should, where possible or unless exempted by the Minister responsible for citizenship matters, attend courses on the rights and duties of Papua New Guinean citizens, and the history and customs of our people.
56. Potential citizens should possess skills and personal qualities that will be of benefit to our country. They should, in turn, be able to see Papua New Guinea as a country that offers them a satisfying future life. We do not believe that our country should accept as citizens people who are likely to become liabilities to us. Nor do we believe that people who seek no more than short term advantage should have the rights of citizens.
57. We naturally accept that applicants for citizenship will have normal human frailties. But we have an obligation not to admit to citizenship people who are likely to contribute little that is positive to our development. However, the Minister responsible for citizenship matters should have the power to exempt applicants with two indigenous grandparents from the requirement of full possession of the mental faculties.
58. We also recommend that, in accordance with normal international practice, applicants for naturalization should be able to apply simultaneously for naturalization of any of their children aged less than eighteen years.
59. We acknowledge that we have not made it easy for citizens of foreign countries to become Papua New Guinean citizens. However, we have been concerned to be realistic. We do not believe that there is any merit in recommending relatively weak conditions for naturalization only to see, as has happened in some countries, sincerely lodged applications never processed. Recommendations that produce such a result would be unfair to would-be applicants, and irresponsible for us to make.
60. We believe that applicants who have met all of the formal requirements have the right to have their applications processed within a reasonable period. They should not be worried unnecessarily by a prolonged failure to determine the results of their applications. We therefore recommend that all applicants for naturalization should be informed by the responsible Minister within one year of submitting their applications whether or not they are to be granted Papua New Guinean citizenship.
61. We have referred above to a Minister responsible for citizenship matters. Obviously, it is essential that there be such a Minister, as the granting of citizenship is an important executive act, and the administration of the citizenship law will be a major function in a ministerial portfolio. We believe that the Minister should be advised by a special five-member Advisory Committee on Citizenship Matters. For the first ten years after the Constitution comes into force, this Committee should consist exclusively of indigenous Papua New Guineans. Thereafter, its members should be people who have acquired their Papua New Guinean citizenship automatically.
62. We believe that the establishment of this Advisory Committee, together with the detailed provisions concerning naturalization which we have recommended should be included in the Constitution and our citizenship law will minimize the scope for arbitrary administrative discretion in dealing with applications for citizenship by naturalization. Under our recommendations we believe that those who may be considering applying for naturalization would be in a good position to assess whether or not it is realistic for them to do so, particularly in regard to the period of residence which they must complete before being eligible to apply for citizenship.
63. Neither personal whim nor arbitrariness should be allowed to enter into the determination of as serious a matter as an application for citizenship. Each application must be carefully considered on its merits. That is why we have recommended the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Citizenship Matters, and specified in detail conditions for naturalization.
64. The members of the Advisory Committee on Citizenship Matters should be people of undoubted integrity and high standing in the community at large. They should comprise two members of the National Parliament appointed for the life of the parliament, and three other people appointed for terms of six years. They should be appointed by the National Executive Council upon consideration of a submission made by the responsible Minister. In preparing this submission, the Minister should consult the Permanent Parliamentary Committee concerned with citizenship matters in the manner recommended in Chapter 14, "General".
65. The Committee believes that, as a matter of principle, citizens should not be readily deprived of their citizenship. That is one of the reasons why we do not want to make it easy for foreign citizens to be naturalized. Foreign citizens should have to demonstrate a strong commitment to our country before they can apply for naturalization. And, in admitting them to citizenship, we must recognize that our country is making a commitment to them.
66. However, in keeping with our firm opposition to dual citizenship, we recommend that any person who, while a Papua New Guinean citizen obtains a foreign citizenship, or deliberately exercises a right which is exclusive to citizens of another country, should be deprived of Papua New Guinean citizenship. It is, of course, possible that a Papua New Guinean citizen may acquire a foreign citizenship or exercise rights exclusive to citizens of another country inadvertently. If so, then he or she should not be deprived of our country's citizenship.
67. In particular, we believe that Papua New Guinean citizens should not take (or agree to) any action other than marriage which confers a foreign citizenship upon them or entitles them to exercise rights exclusive to citizens of another country. In addition, Papua New Guinean citizens should not -
§ make an oath or affirmation, or declare or acknowledge allegiance, to a foreign country (or the head of that country);
§ enter or serve in the armed services of a foreign country except with the prior approval of the National Executive Council;
§ vote in an election restricted to foreign citizens; or
§ travel on a valid passport describing them as citizens of a country other than Papua New Guinea.
If a Papua New Guinean citizen does any of these things deliberately, then he or she should be deprived of our country's citizenship. We recommend a proviso, however, which would enable the responsible Minister to allow a person to retain his citizenship of Papua New Guinea even though he has carried a foreign passport, if to deprive him of his citizenship on this ground would be unjust.
68. In addition, naturalized Papua New Guinean citizens should be deprived of their citizenship if they are found guilty in a court of law of -
§ sedition or treason; or
§ obtaining Papua New Guinean citizenship by false representations, fraud, or concealment of a material fact.
Persons found guilty of these offences will have betrayed the trust that the people of Papua New Guinea placed in them when they originally accepted them as citizens.
69. Firm as our belief is that Papua New Guineans should not be too readily deprived of their citizenship, we do not seek to prevent those citizens who wish to cut their ties with us from renouncing them. Any citizen should, we believe, be able to renounce his or her Papua New Guinean citizenship, but only in order to obtain another citizenship. We have an obligation to the international community not to allow our citizens to make themselves stateless.
70. In making our recommendations regarding loss of Papua New Guinean citizenship, we have borne in mind the possibility that the National Parliament may wish to make provision in ordinary law for citizenship to be lost in ways additional to those specified above. We believe that the Constitution should not preclude this possibility, but all laws dealing with loss of Papua New Guinean citizenship should allow for a right of appeal to the National Court by any person who believes that a decision to deprive him or her of Papua New Guinean citizenship has been wrongly or unjustly made.
71. Under our recommendations, it would take a deliberate action on the part of a citizen for him to lose his Papua New Guinean citizenship. We believe that this is only proper. But, by the same token, we believe that those of our country's citizens who deliberately renounce their citizenship or knowingly enjoy rights exclusive to citizens of a foreign country should be treated as the foreign citizens they chose to be if they seek to resume their Papua New Guinean citizenship. They should be required to apply for naturalization.
72. Naturalized citizens who have forsaken their Papua New Guinean citizenship and later seek to resume it, should have to reside in Papua New Guinea for a further eight years before they can apply for naturalization again. People who first acquired their Papua New Guinean citizenship either automatically or by registration should have to wait for five years after they return to Papua New Guinea after living abroad. But a person who became a citizen automatically or by registration, is married to a foreign citizen on or after C-Day, leaves the country and assumes the citizenship of the spouse, should, if the marriage breaks down, be able to regain Papua New Guinean citizenship only three years after returning here.
73. In making our recommendations as to the conditions that applicants for naturalization should be required to fulfil, we have kept uppermost in our minds our firm conviction that the rights and interests of the people who will become automatic citizens or qualify for citizenship by registration should be safeguarded above all. Foreign citizens who seek to become Papua New Guinean citizens should be required to provide evidence of a genuine commitment, freely given, to living among us after independence and assisting in our country's development. The conditions recommended by the Committee are intended to achieve these ends.
74. However, the Committee also recognizes that provision should be made to enable foreign citizens with special ties to Papua New Guinea to live and work in our country while they are qualifying for naturalization. The government has an overriding obligation to bring all areas of our society, including the economy and public employment, under the control of Papua New Guinean citizens. But, it would be self-defeating if the Committee allowed this obligation to be implemented in such a way that foreign citizens with real personal bonds to this country were unable to qualify for naturalization at all.
75. We therefore recommend that those foreign citizens who are ordinarily resident in Papua New Guinea on C-Day and who wish to apply for naturalization when they have completed the required period of residence should be given special protection while they are waiting to fulfil those residential requirements.
76. The Committee has given careful consideration to the question of who should be protected, and the kinds of protection they should be afforded. Our country cannot afford to have foreign citizens who do not sincerely intend to become citizens take advantage of this provision. It would also be wrong to make of potential applicants for naturalization a privileged class. The interests of the country's citizens must be protected.
77. The Committee therefore recommends that foreign citizens who are ordinarily resident in Papua New Guinea on C-Day and who intend to apply for naturalization should be able to make a declaration within one year of C-Day to the effect that they intend to apply for naturalization as soon as they have fulfilled the appropriate residential qualification. The declaration should be forwarded by the person before whom it is made to the Minister responsible for citizenship matters, and a copy to the Advisory Committee on Citizenship Matters. If the Minister, after receiving the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, is satisfied that the declaration is made in good faith and fulfils the other conditions recommended above, he may have the name of the person who made the declaration entered in a special register. A potential applicant for naturalization whose name is entered in this register should then be entitled to continue in employment in the same position, or a position equivalent to that which he or she held when the declaration was made, but on the same salary and conditions as a Papua New Guinean in the same position. The promotion rights of a person whose name has been registered as recommended above should be limited in the same way as are those of other foreign citizens.
78. Care should be taken to ensure that people who are afforded the special protection recommended above do, in fact, intend to become Papua New Guinean citizens, that they adhere to the conditions laid down for those who are registered in this way, and that they are likely to prove acceptable when they become eligible to make application for citizenship. We therefore recommend that the Minister responsible for citizenship matters should have the power to have a name struck from the register if -
§ a person has been convicted of an offence which carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment (or more);
§ a person is no longer employed, or is no longer receiving a salary and other conditions of service applicable to citizens doing the same work; or
§ a person has done or agreed to any act before or since registration, which if he were a citizen of Papua New Guinea, would (or could) lead to him being deprived of his citizenship.
Persons whose names have been removed from the register because they have committed an offence, carrying a penalty of six months imprisonment (or more) should be able to appeal to the Minister to have their names restored to the register. In other cases, the Minister responsible for citizenship matters should give persons whose names are being considered for de-registration an opportunity to reply to any allegations made against them. In either case such people should be able to appeal against the Minister's decision to the National Executive Council.
79. Except as recommended above, the Committee does not believe that special privileges should be granted to resident non-citizens after C-Day. Foreign citizens other than those provided for above have no special claim upon this country. And, no foreigner should have rights greater than those that we have recommended. Papua New Guinea should regulate the entry and activities of foreign citizens as other countries do. Our government has an obligation to increase citizen participation in the country's economy and the conduct of our nation's affairs.
80. In light of the recommendations made above, it is worth noting that the Employment (Training and Regulation) Ordinance 1971, which provides for localization of employment private enterprise, does not apply to persons who took up residence in Papua New Guinea before May 1972.
81. We believe that political office in Papua New Guinea should, in principle, be reserved for our citizens, and that all qualified citizens should be eligible to stand for election. We should not allow citizens of foreign countries to stand for election, and to participate in the conduct of our nation's affairs. Almost no other country allows it. We should not allow it. To do so would be a denial of our sovereignty.
82. However, certain people who will not qualify for citizenship on C-Day have been freely elected to our national parliament and to membership of local government bodies by our people. They should, we believe, be able to serve out the remainder of the terms for which they were elected. They should not, however, be allowed to stand again after C-Day unless they have become Papua New Guinean citizens.
83. Further, we believe that non-citizens should not be allowed to hold executive office in, or to preside over, our National Parliament, area authorities, provincial or district governments, or legally recognized local government bodies. The people of our country did not elect them directly to such positions. They hold them because they were elected by members of these bodies. They should, we believe, resign from these offices at C-Day, and be replaced by citizens. They may, however, remain as ordinary members of the National Parliament, or of the other bodies specified above, until fresh elections are called.
84. Our country stands on the threshold of independence. The Papua New Guinea citizenship law will form part of the foundations of our country's freedom, independence and identity as a nation state. It is an essential part of those foundations because it states in law who the people are who belong to Papua New Guinea. These people will be the citizens of Papua New Guinea.
85. We believe that the objective of Papua New Guinea's citizenship law must be to restrict the rights and obligations of citizenship to those whose allegiance is to Papua New Guinea and to Papua New Guinea alone. The Constitution and other laws of our country must be designed to serve the needs of the citizens. The government must be their government, be responsive to their demands and act in their interests. When the government allows foreigners to enter Papua New Guinea to work and live here, or to operate business here, it should do so only because it believes this to be in the interests of the citizens, and not because the government feels that it has any obligation to help foreigners.
86. The recommendations made in this Chapter spell out who we believe should be entitled to become Papua New Guinean citizens as of right, and who should be eligible for naturalization. In arriving at these recommendations, we have borne in mind the need to ensure that those who seek to enjoy the privileges of citizenship will also accept its obligations.
87. The Committee has received many hundreds of written submissions on citizenship. In total they have borne the names of thousands of people. Together with the thousands of verbal submissions made to us at the numerous public meetings we have held, they represent an attempt by our people to determine their own future: and, in particular, to define who should and who should not be able to claim a Papua New Guinean identity.
88. The people of Papua New Guinea have told us clearly and firmly that they do not believe that a person can be fully committed to more than one country. In making this point, they have frequently resorted to imagery; no man, it is said, can stand in more than one canoe.
89. The economic and social circumstances of our country have played a major part in shaping the recommendations contained in this Chapter. As we pointed out in our Second Interim Report, two-thirds of the developed section of our economy is controlled by Australian companies and individuals. Much of the remainder is controlled by other foreigners. Socially, our people have still not achieved full recognition as having equal status with foreigners.
90. The Australian citizenship law (and that of other countries too), has not made our task any easier. But, it has highlighted one of our problems. The knowledge that they can readily resume their Australian citizenship at any time may provide reassurance to people who do not have faith in Papua New Guinea, or who do not prize our country's citizenship as we do. However, to us, this same fact has only served as a reminder - of the difficulty of implementing the principle of single citizenship. We have therefore exercised the utmost care in our attempts to secure the rights of our Papua New Guinean people.
91. The rights of the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea must be paramount. We believe that opportunity must be equalized, by granting certain economic, political and social rights exclusively to those who really belong to this country. In making our recommendations accordingly, we are enabling long standing government policies of localization to continue to be fully effective for a few more years. We are not being racist, as some of our detractors would like to make out.
92. We have deliberated long and carefully the recommendations contained in this Chapter, and have sought to exercise our responsibility to the majority of our people, and their descendants as best we can. We are concerned to protect, and to further, their interest. We have recommended that the place of birth of the grandparents of a person's grandparent, not his race ethnic origin or lifestyle, should determine who can and who cannot claim Papua New Guinean citizenship as of right. And, we have treated people with one or two foreign ancestors in exactly the same way as people with none - unless they have both in law and in fact, citizenship of another country which makes them eligible for privileges which have not been available to people identified as Papua New Guineans.
93. The Committee has also specifically declared its opposition to the creation of different classes of citizenship. In principle all Papua New Guinean citizens should have equal rights and obligations. In making this recommendation, we have sought to eliminate race as a determinant of status in our society.
94. Yet it is common knowledge that race has been a major factor in defining who has had access to many rights and privileges, under colonial rule. A truly multi-racial society is one in which all citizens, regardless of race, have equal rights and duties in fact as well as in law. Those critics of our proposals who would label them "racist", and seek to undermine them by attempting to contrast them with their own version of a "multi-racial" society, should first ask themselves whether the rhetoric they employ masks a desire to entrench certain privileged interests after independence. We doubt whether many of these people are really ready to live in a society which embodies the values and aspirations set forth in the National Goals and Directive Principles we have recommended for inclusion in our country's Constitution.
95. We do not believe that our people want a multi-racial society such as that in some South American countries, for example, where social injustice is rife and the original inhabitants of the country are in a grossly inferior position. The Committee is not against multi-racialism, but it wants to see a multi-racial society based on equality and justice. We have a long way to go yet.
96. The submissions we have received show that our people are opposed to a weak citizenship law that would simply perpetuate the very substantial advantages presently enjoyed by a small minority of this country's inhabitants, most of whom have foreign citizenship rights. As the history of other recently independent states indicates, such a law would ultimately provide security for no-one. It would simply compromise the long term interests of us all. A realistic assessment will lead foreign investors and foreign citizens working in our country to the identical conclusion.
97. After C-Day, we will be able to ascertain more clearly than we can now exactly who is really committed to the future of our country, and who only appears to be. Among the residents who will not qualify for Papua New Guinean citizenship on C-Day, those who are really with us will be prepared to wait until they are eligible to apply. They will understand the problems we face in gaining control over our country's destiny, and in equalizing opportunity among all of our people. They will be prepared to stand beside us in good times and bad, and not to run. Foreign citizens will still be welcome in our country too - for purposes and periods of time that contribute to the long term welfare of the citizens of Papua New Guinea.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. In principle, Papua New Guinean citizens shall hold no other citizenship.
Note: For the purposes of the recommendations in this Chapter, citizenship of the Commonwealth of Nations shall not be regarded as "another citizenship".
2. A person born in Papua New Guinea before the date on which the citizenship law comes into force (referred to below as "C-Day") who -
(a) has two indigenous grandparents; and
(b) has always had "no real citizenship"; shall automatically become a citizen of Papua New Guinea on C-Day.
Note: In this Chapter -
(i) a person "has no real citizenship" if -
§ he has Australian citizenship by virtue only of his birth in Papua, and does not have a right of residence in Australia; or
§ he has the status of an Australian Protected Person by virtue of his having been born in New Guinea, and does not have a right of residence in Australia.
(ii) "indigenous grandparent" means a grandparent all of whose own grandparents were born in Papua New Guinea, or in an "area adjacent to Papua New Guinea".
(iii) an "area adjacent to Papua New Guinea" means the province of Indonesia known as Irian Jaya, the British Solomon Island Protectorate, or that part of Australia known as the Torres Strait Islands.
(iv) "right of residence in Australia" includes a Right of Residence in Australia formally granted by the Australian Department of Immigration, which enables a person granted that right to live (permanently) in Australia and, if he is a public officer, to receive the salary, allowances and other conditions of service which are received by Australian born, registered, notified or naturalized Australian citizens who hold the same (or an equivalent) position.
(v) a "public officer" is a person who is employed by a government department or a statutory authority of the Papua New Guinean Government, the former Australian Administration of Papua New Guinea or the Australian Government.
Persons born in Papua New Guinea after Citizenship Day
3. (1) Subject to clause (2) of this recommendation, a person born in Papua New Guinea after C-Day one of those parents -
(a) is, at the time of his birth; or
(b) but for his death would have been, at C-Day, a Papua New Guinean citizen, shall automatically become a citizen of Papua New Guinea at birth.
(2) Where clause (1) applies to a person who has become, at the time of his birth, a citizen of a country other than Papua New Guinea, his Papua New Guinean citizenship ceases at the expiration of one year after he reaches the age of eighteen years unless, before the expiration of that period (or such further period as the Minister responsible for citizenship matters allows) -
(a) he renounces his foreign citizenship; and
(b) takes an oath or makes an affirmation of allegiance to Papua New Guinea.
Note: In this Chapter -
(i) if a parent of a child born in Papua New Guinea after C-Day dies before the birth of that child, and at the time of his death the parent is a Papua New Guinean citizen, the child shall automatically be a citizen of Papua New Guinea at birth.
(ii) a child born in Papua New Guinea after C-Day who has no other citizenship, or no known citizenship, shall be deemed to have a Papua New Guinean citizen parent, and shall therefore become a citizen of Papua New Guinea automatically.
(iii) "the Minister" means the Minister responsible for citizenship matters.
4. (1) Subject to clause (2) of this recommendation, a person born outside Papua New Guinea before C-Day who, had he been born in Papua New Guinea would have had "no real citizenship" may, if he has two indigenous grandparents, upon application made in accordance with law within one year of C-Day (or within such further period as the Minister allows), be registered as a Papua New Guinean citizen.
(2) Where clause (1) applies to a person who has become at the time of his birth, a citizen of a country other than Papua New Guinea, his Papua New Guinean citizenship ceases at the end of one year after he reaches the age of eighteen years unless, before the end of that period (or such further period as the Minister allows) he
(a) renounces his foreign citizenship; and
(b) takes an oath or makes an affirmation of allegiance to Papua New Guinea.
5. (1) Subject to clause (2) of this recommendation, a person born outside Papua New Guinea after C-Day who, had he been born in Papua New Guinea would automatically have acquired Papua New Guinean citizenship may, upon application made on his behalf in accordance with law, be registered as a Papua New Guinean citizen within one year of his birth, (or within such further period as the Minister allows).
(2) Where clause (1) applies to a person who has become, at the time of his birth, a citizen of a country other than Papua New Guinea, his Papua New Guinean citizenship ceases at the end of one year after he reaches the age of eighteen years unless, before the end of that period (or such further period as the Minister allows) he -
(a) renounces his foreign citizenship; and
(b) takes an oath or makes an affirmation of allegiance to Papua New Guinea.
Registration of certain children of citizens, born before C-Day
6. (1) Subject to clause (2) of this recommendation, a parent who is a citizen of Papua New Guinea may, on or after C-Day, upon application made in accordance with law, register as a Papua New Guinean citizen any of his children under the age of eighteen years born before C-Day, whether within or outside Papua New Guinea, who have a foreign citizenship.
(2) A person who is registered as a Papua New Guinean citizen in accordance with clause (1) above shall cease to hold Papua New Guinea citizenship at the end of one year after he reaches the age of eighteen years unless, before the end of that period (or such further period as the Minister allows), he -
(a) renounces his foreign citizenship; and
(b) takes an oath or makes an affirmation of allegiance to Papua New Guinea.
7. A person who is not entitled to Papua New Guinean citizenship automatically or by registration may become a citizen only by naturalization in accordance with the Constitution and any law.
Persons born in Papua New Guinea before C-Day who are not Papua New Guinean citizens automatically, but have "no real citizenship"
8. (1) A person born in Papua New Guinea before C-Day who is not entitled automatically to Papua New Guinean citizenship at C-Day but who, on that day, has "no real citizenship" shall be eligible to apply for naturalization as a Papua New Guinean citizen upon completion of three years actual residence in Papua New Guinea, commencing on or after C-Day.
(2) To ensure that no person to whom clause (1) above refers is rendered stateless on C-Day, the Papua New Guinea Government should request the Australian Government to ensure that those in that group who are already Australian citizens retain that citizenship after C-Day, and those of them who are at present Australian Protected Persons become Australian citizens on C-Day.
Note: In this Chapter -
(i) a period of "actual residence" means a period of physical residence, but includes periods of absence (from Papua New Guinea) for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment or education which, in the opinion of the Minister responsible for health or education (as the case may be) it is not practicable for the person to obtain in Papua New Guinea, or absences for the purpose of carrying out government business at the direction of the Papua New Guinea Government.
(ii) the Committee recommends that to satisfy the requirement of completion of a particular period of actual residence in Papua New Guinea a person must complete that period which is applicable to him within a period of time which exceeds it by not more than twenty-five percent. For example, if the period of residence applicable to a particular person is eight years actual residence, he must complete that period within ten years of commencing it.
9. (1) Subject to clauses (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this recommendation, a person who has a foreign citizenship on or after C-Day shall be eligible to apply for naturalization as a Papua New Guinean citizen after he has completed eight years actual residence in Papua New Guinea commencing on or after C-Day.
(2) (a) subject to paragraph (b) below, and to his making a declaration in accordance with law that he believes he is able to meet all of the conditions for naturalization in these recommendations, a person born before C-Day, (either within or outside Papua New Guinea) who has two indigenous grandparents and, at C-Day, holds a foreign citizenship, shall be eligible to apply for citizenship by naturalization after completing five years actual residence in Papua New Guinea commencing on or after C-Day.
(b) a person who, under clause (a) above, would be eligible to apply for Papua New Guinean citizenship at the expiration of five years actual residence in Papua New Guinea, commencing on or after C-Day, shall, if he establishes to the satisfaction of the Minister that -
(i) became a foreign citizen otherwise than by any voluntary act on his part;
(ii) he has always identified himself (since he reached voting age) with an indigenous Papua New Guinean community; and
(iii) he has not at any time since he reached voting age except under compulsion of law -
§ exercised any right; or
§ accepted any privilege or other benefit,
to which possession of that foreign citizenship entitled him or gave him access;
be eligible to apply for Papua New Guinean citizenship by naturalization after completing three years actual residence in Papua New Guinea commencing on or after C-Day, provided that the acceptance and use of a passport shall not be treated as a bar to a person satisfying the criteria in sub-paragraph (iii) above.
(c) without limiting the generality of paragraph (b) above, the following persons shall not be eligible to apply for naturalization under that paragraph -
(i) a person who has accepted a salary, allowances, and other conditions of service in either public or private employment which are, or have been at any time while he has been accepting them (whether before or after C-Day), received by other foreign citizens holding the same or an equivalent position, but not by persons who qualify automatically for Papua New Guinean citizenship under Recommendations 2 and 3 above;
(ii) a person who has voted in a national, provincial, state or local election in the country in respect of which he holds citizenship rights, unless voting in those elections is compulsory (by law) or is open to all Commonwealth citizens or British subjects; and
(iii) a person who has obtained social service benefits by virtue of his citizenship from the government of the country of which he is a citizen.
(d) in determining whether or not an application for naturalization as a Papua New Guinean citizen under paragraph (b) of this recommendation satisfies the criteria in that paragraph, the Minister shall take into account as negative factors -
(i) significant property or business interests of the applicant in the country of which he is a citizen;
(ii) numerous visits, or visits of substantial duration (taken separately or cumulatively) which the applicant has made to the country of which he is a citizen (since he reached voting age) for private purposes other than to obtain medical treatment or education which, in the opinion of the Minister responsible for health or education, (as the case may be), was not at the relevant time available in Papua New Guinea; and
(iii) a lack of meaningful social relationships with individual persons who qualify as automatic Papua New Guinean citizens, or with groups of those persons.
Note: In this Chapter -
(i) an "indigenous Papua New Guinean community" means - a tribe, moiety, clan, sub-clan or other customary social or landholding group indigenous to Papua New Guinea; and
(ii) a person who -
§ has Australian citizenship by reason of having been born in Papua; or
§ is an Australian Protected Person by reason of having been born in New Guinea; and
§ has been granted a Right of Residence in Australia;
is deemed to hold a "foreign citizenship".
(3) A person born in the territory formerly known as Netherlands New Guinea, but now known as the province of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, who has two indigenous grandparents and has resided continuously in Papua New Guinea since before 19 November, 1969 shall, subject to his making a declaration in accordance with law that he believes he is able to meet all of the conditions for naturalization, be eligible to apply for naturalization as a Papua New Guinean citizen either on C-Day or after having completed eight years actual residence in Papua New Guinea, whichever date is the later.
Note: The 19th November, 1969 was the date on which the United Nations General Assembly resolved to take note of the report of the Secretary General on the fulfilment of his tasks under the Indonesian-Dutch Agreement of 15th August, 1962.
(4) A foreign citizen who marries a Papua New Guinean citizen shall, if he makes a declaration that he believes he is able to meet all of the conditions for naturalization, be eligible to apply for citizenship by naturalization after completing five years actual residence in Papua New Guinea commencing on or after C-Day, provided that the applicant and his spouse have been married for not less than two years at the time the applicant submits his application, and that the applicant and his spouse have been "living together as husband and wife" throughout that period.
Note: The phrase "living together as husband and wife" should be defined in the Constitution in broad terms so as to allow for normal separations for reasons of health, education, employment commitments, etc.
(5) A foreign citizen both of whose parents, at the time of his birth, were foreign citizens, who has, at C-Day, completed not less than twenty years actual residence in Papua New Guinea shall, if he makes a declaration that he believes he is able to meet all of the conditions for naturalization be eligible to apply for naturalization as a Papua New Guinean citizen earlier than would have been the case but for this provision. The reduction in the period required to satisfy the residential qualification shall be on the basis that the period of residence which would otherwise have been required for eligibility for citizenship shall be reduced by one year in respect of each twenty year period during which the applicant actually resided in Papua New Guinea prior to C-Day.
10. In addition to the requirements of residence set out in Recommendation 9 above, an applicant for naturalization shall satisfy the Minister that -
(a) he is of voting age and of full capacity;
provided that a person who is born in Papua New Guinea and has an indigenous grandparent may be exempted by the Minister from the requirement of full capacity;
(b) he is of good character;
(c) he is unlikely to become a charge on public funds;
(d) he intends to reside permanently in Papua New Guinea;
(e) he respects the cultures of Papua New Guinea;
(f) he can adequately speak and understand Melanesian Pidgin, Hiri Motu or Motu, or another Papua New Guinean language;
(g) he has an adequate knowledge of Papua New Guinean history and customs and of the rights and duties of citizens, having, if practicable, attended a course of study in these matters; and
(h) his application has the approval of the community of citizens in the area in which he lives.
Note: (i) in this recommendation, "adequately" means - with a degree of proficiency sufficient to enable him to converse freely with persons who speak and understand a particular language;
(ii) provision should be made by law for a local government council or other recognized local body exercising governmental functions, a provincial or district government, or an area authority to issue a certificate that a person's application for citizenship has the approval of the community of citizens in the area in which he lives; and
(iii) "recognized local body exercising governmental functions" means a local government council or local political organization which has been given legal recognition either in national or provincial legislation and which exercises governmental functions.
11. A foreign citizen parent who applies for naturalization as a Papua New Guinean citizen may simultaneously apply, in accordance with law, for the naturalization of any of his children under the age of eighteen years.
Note: The Committee does not recommend that any criteria for naturalization of children be included in he constitution, but leaves open the possibility that some criteria may be laid down in ordinary legislation.
12. The Minister shall ensure that an applicant for naturalization is advised with the year after the making of the application, of the result of that application.
13. The citizenship law shall be administered by the Minister who shall be advised by an Advisory Committee on Citizenship Matters -
(a) on matters concerning citizenship and naturalization generally, and on such specific matters as are referred to it by the Minister;
(b) on all applications for registration of persons as citizens;
(c) on all applications for naturalization;
(d) on all matters concerning the registration and deregistration of intending citizens; and
(e) on such other matters relating to the citizenship law as are provided for by law.
14. (1) The Advisory Committee on Citizenship Matters shall comprise five members, each of whom is a Papua New Guinean citizen.
(2) Two of those members shall be members of the National Parliament who shall hold office during the life of the parliament in which they are appointed.
(3) The other three members of the committee shall, subject to law, hold office for six years.
15. (1) Subject to clause (2) of this recommendation, the members of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed and removed in accordance with law by the National Executive Council after considering a submission by the Minister.
(2) Before making a submission under clause (1) above, the Minister shall consult the Permanent Parliamentary Committee concerned with citizenship matters as to -
(a) nominees for appointment to the Committee; and
(b) the removal of any member of the Committee.
16. (1) Subject to clause (2) below, any Papua New Guinean citizen who obtains the citizenship of another country, or exercises a right which is exclusive to citizens of another country, shall, unless -
(a) he has obtained a foreign citizenship by reason only of his marriage to a person who holds that citizenship; or
(b) he establishes to the satisfaction of the Minister that this right was exercised inadvertently or under compulsion of law,
he automatically deprived of his Papua New Guinean citizenship.
(2) Clause (1) above, of this recommendation does not apply to a person who is under nineteen years of age and, under these recommendations, may hold dual citizenship until the expiration of one year after he reaches eighteen years of age.
(3) Without limiting the generality of the provisions of clause (1) above, a person who is a citizen of Papua New Guinea ceases to have that status if -
(a) he takes an oath or makes an affirmation, or makes any declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance to any foreign country or to the sovereign or head of any foreign country;
(b) he does or agrees to any act other than marriage by which he becomes a national or citizen of a foreign country;
(c) he enters or serves in the armed forces of a foreign country except with the prior specific authority of the National Executive Council;
(d) he votes in a national, provincial, state or local election in a foreign country except where that country allows voting in such elections by Commonwealth citizens; and
(e) he travels under the protection of a valid passport of a foreign country in which he is described as a national or citizen of that country, provided that the Minister may, in his discretion, allow a person who would otherwise lose his Papua New Guinean citizenship by virtue of this provision, to retain it in circumstances where it would be unjust for the person to be deprived of his citizenship.
Note: This clause does not apply to a person who does or agrees to any of the acts referred to above, under compulsion of law.
(4) A naturalized citizen who is found by a Court -
(a) to have committed treason or sedition (as defined by law); or
(b) to have obtained or held Papua New Guinean citizenship by false representations, fraud or concealment of a material fact,
shall automatically be deprived of his citizenship.
(5) A Papua New Guinean citizen of voting age and full capacity may renounce his citizenship in order to obtain another citizenship.
(6) Parliament may prescribe by law grounds additional to those in clauses (1), (2), (3) and (4) above, upon which a citizen of Papua New Guinea may be deprived of his citizenship but any such law shall not affect persons who are under voting age, shall provide for a person to be entitled to make representations to the Minister before any decision is made under that law to deprive him of his citizenship, and shall also provide for a right of appeal to the National Court by an aggrieved person against deprivation of his citizenship resulting from any such decision.
17. A person who has renounced or otherwise lost his Papua New Guinea citizenship may regain it -
(a) in the case of a naturalized citizen, only after fulfilling the residential qualifications applicable to foreign citizens and satisfying the other conditions for naturalization of such citizens; and
(b) subject to Recommendation 18 below, in the case of a citizen who originally obtained his Papua New Guinean citizenship automatically or by registration, and who obtained a foreign citizenship whilst residing in a foreign country, if he has completed five years actual residence in Papua New Guinea after resuming residence in Papua New Guinea.
18. A person who -
(a) was originally a citizen of Papua New Guinea automatically or by registration;
(b) on or after C-Day has been married to a foreign citizen;
(c) has acquired the citizenship of the country of which his spouse is a citizen;
(d) experiences a breakdown in his marriage; and
(e) returns to Papua New Guinea after residing in a foreign country; shall be eligible to regain his Papua New Guinean citizenship after completing three years actual residence in Papua New Guinea following his re-establishing Papua New Guinea as his real place of residence.
Note: In this recommendation, "real place of residence" shall be taken to have the same meaning as it has in the Electoral Ordinance, 1963 as amended.
19. Until the expiration of a period of ten years commencing from C-Day, all members of the Advisory Committee shall be persons who became citizens automatically.
20. (1) A foreign citizen ordinarily resident in Papua New Guinea on or after C-Day, who may be eligible to apply for naturalization after completing a period of actual residence in Papua New Guinea commencing on or after C-Day may, within one year of C-Day, in accordance with law, make a declaration before a person prescribed by law, that he intends to apply for Papua New Guinean citizenship as soon as he has fulfilled the residential qualifications applicable to him for this purpose.
(2) A declaration made under clause (1) above, shall be forwarded by the person before whom it is made to the Minister (and a copy of it to the Advisory Committee), as soon as practicable after it is made.
(3) Upon satisfying himself that -
(a) the person who made the declaration was ordinarily resident in Papua New Guinea on C-Day;
(b) that the declaration has been made in good faith; and
(c) that the person making the declaration may be eligible to apply for naturalization after completing a period of actual residence in Papua New Guinea;
the Minister may cause such particulars concerning the declarant as are prescribed by law to be entered in a register of intending applicants for citizenship (referred to below as "the Register") provided for by law.
(4) (a) a person whose name is entered in the Register provided for in clause (3) above who, at the time -
(i) he made the declaration of his intention to apply for citizenship; and
(ii) his name was entered in the register;
is in public or private employment, working under the same conditions of service as are (or would be) applicable to Papua New Guinean citizens holding the same position as is held by that person, shall be entitled to protection from being deprived of his position, or of an equivalent position to which he may be transferred, under a law providing for localisation, pending determination of his application for naturalization by the Minister. A person who fails to apply for citizenship within one year of being eligible to do so, shall not be entitled to protection from being deprived of his position in public or private employment under this paragraph.
(b) a person referred to in clause (1) above, shall have only those rights to promotion to which foreign citizens are entitled.
(5) Subject to clause (6) below, the name of a person who has been registered in accordance with this recommendation may be removed from the register by direction of the Minister in any of the following circumstances -
(a) if he is convicted of any offence which is punishable by imprisonment for a maximum period of six months or more;
(b) if the Minister is satisfied that the person is no longer working on a salary and other conditions of service applicable to Papua New Guinean citizens holding the same or an equivalent position; or
(c) if the Minister si satisfied that either before or after the date of his registration as an intending Papua New Guinean citizen the person has done or agreed to any act which, if he were a citizen of Papua New Guinea, would (or could) cause him to lose his citizenship.
(6) Before giving a direction under clause (5) above, the Minister shall give the person concerned a reasonable opportunity to make representations to him either orally or in writing concerning any alleged grounds for removal of his name from the register.
(7) Any person who is aggrieved by a direction of the Minister under clause (5), may appeal against the direction to the National Executive Council, the decision of which is final.
Note: A distinction has been made between appeals against Ministerial directions for
(a) deprivation of citizenship; as opposed to
(b) deregistration under this recommendation;
on the grounds that deprivation of citizenship is a more fundamental matter than deregistration under this recommendation, and it is therefore more appropriate that the National Court should deal with an appeal against deprivation of citizenship.
21. In principle, only citizens shall be eligible to stand for and to hold elective political office.
Note: In this recommendation, "elective political office" means membership of the National Parliament, a provincial or district assembly or area authority, local government council or other recognized local body exercising governmental functions.
22. Any person who, at C-Day, is not a Papua New Guinean citizen but holds office as a member of the National Parliament, of an area authority, of a provincial or district assembly, or as a councillor of a recognized local body exercising governmental functions shall, subject to the proviso below, be entitled to retain that office until the next election for that office, as if he were a citizen,
provided that at C-Day he relinquishes any executive political office he has held prior to that day.
Note: "executive political office" means any office which involves executive responsibilities and is held by an elected member of the National Parliament, of a provincial or district assembly, of an area authority, or by a local government councillor or a member of a recognized local body exercising governmental functions. The term includes the offices of Minister of the National Parliament, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of each Committee of the National Parliament, the president or chairman and other executive members (including executive committee members) of a provincial or district assembly, or area authority, or of a local government council or recognized local body exercising governmental functions.
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URL: http://www.paclii.org/pg/CPCReport/Cap4.htm