title: Indigenous Motu-Koita Self-governance in the National Capital District of Papua New Guinea: A Journey of Contestation and Resurgence. Oregena no ota? Edekaha baitalaomu? (Where are we going?)
Creators: name: Delaney, Adam
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2024

description: "Indigenous Motu-Koita Self-Governance in the National Capital District of Papua New Guinea: A Journey of Contestation and Resurgence. Oregena no ota? Edekaha baitalaomu? (Where Are We Going)?" Adam Vai Delaney, HDR Scholar, Centre for Indigenous Policy Research, College of the Arts and Social Sciences The Australian National University, Canberra. ___________________________________________________________________________The establishment of a colonial centre, and decolonisation of Port Moresby in the National Capital District (NCD) raised new challenges and questions on exercising self-determination by the Indigenous Motu-Koita people, the customary owners of lands and waters on which Port Moresby has been established as the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Expansion of the city has taken place regardless of the best interests of the Motu-Koita. The establishment of Port Moresby as 'capital city' is central to understanding how an indigenous people can progressively be undermined by governmentality and the powerful discourse of 'nation's capital' and 'national interests.' Through a Motu-Koita lens, this research traces back the arduous, political self-governance journey of the Motu-Koita to overcome subjugation by colonial administrations and subsequent governments of the PNG nation-state as they constructed the city. The intersecting consequences and implications for their self-governance are considered over different stages in their journey. The findings raise issues and contribute to wider understanding about how indigenous people exercise self-determination in an intra-cultural and inter-cultural nation-state, within urbanising contexts. The thesis provides evidence and analysis of how Motu-Koita self-governance was shaped historically and unpacks Motu-Koita's assumptions and perceptions of the contemporary governance architecture of the NCD. The thesis probes into theoretical cues of Motu-Koita's collective positionality, over many decades, and the resurgence in Motu-Koita self-governance. Using Motu-Koita's evidence and insights drawn from in-depth interviews, a critique of historical documents, international academic research, official reports, government legislation, and case studies, the thesis elucidates how principles and concepts of subsidiarity, self-governance, autonomy and self-determination have been constructed and deployed within the governance environment of the urban capital. The research interrogates the political ontology of "special case" propounded by national governments, and its application politically to conciliate 'special treatment' of the Motu-Koita. In 2007, PNG's national parliament passed the Motu Koita Assembly Act (2007), establishing a Motu Koita Assembly to provide for the Motu-Koita to govern their areas. However, the discourse on siahu (power) and relative autonomy remains an unsettling colonial paradox, where other interests and intense societal challenges have significantly hindered Motu-Koita's capacity to genuinely govern their places. The thesis argues and shows that the marginalisation and disempowerment of the Motu-Koita by national governments have contributed to Motu-Koita people being embedded within a disabling political positionality over decades. The thesis reveals that the nation-state had not accorded the Motu-Koita a "special case." Rather, the thesis findings argue the need to deconstruct the colonial legacy of governance for the Motu-Koita, and move beyond simplistic expectations of 'decolonisation,' in order to fully recognise the resurgence of governance that continues to motivate Motu-Koita people. The analysis concludes that cultural considerations remain integral to Motu-Koita self-governance and that the Motu Koita Assembly Act (2007) has to be duly respected by national authorities and reinforced with the mandate to strengthen self-governance capabilities, authority, and power-sharing between Motu-Koita and national authorities in the NCD.