South Pacific: The legacy of Sir Julius Chan: Founding Father of Papua New Guinea
Fairfax Media Archives
The passing of former Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan on January 30th 2025 was a poignant moment for the people across Papua New Guinea. He was an instrumental, renowned and at times controversial figure in Papua New Guinea’s politics who along with other founding fathers led the independence and self-determination movement of the island in 1975 from Australia as the administrative State.
As Papua New Guinea celebrates its 50th year of independence, Prime Minister James Marape shares the legacy of Chan as “not just a leader; he was a statesman of great wisdom and resilience, a man who dedicated his life to the service of our country”. Papua New Guinea’s nation-building project offers valuable insights into leadership, exemplified by a figure who reshaped the country through economic reforms while navigating political and social challenges, including the Bougainville Civil War.
Early Life and Political Career
Chan was born August 29, 1939, on Tanga Island, North-west of mainland Papua New Guinea. This island would later become New Ireland, and Chan would later become the Provincial Governor. His Father was a Chinese immigrant to Papua New Guinea and his mother was an indigenous woman native to Tanga Island. The historical context of early 1940’s Papua New Guinea still under colonial rule is important in shaping Sir Julius Chan’s relationship with Australia during his prime ministership. Under the colonial administration of Australia, Papua New Guinea lacked independence, self-determination and a sense of identity on the international stage.
Furthermore, the prelude of Imperial Japan’s expansion into Papua New Guinea, and the outbreak of the Papuan Campaign in 1942 until 1943. This led to the allied belligerents of Australia, Papua, New Guinea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands being against the forces of Imperial Japan. These developments in Chan’s early years shaped his understanding of Papua New Guinea's importance to independence in forming decisions around economics, politics and security. In his teenage years, Chan studied in Brisbane and referred to his school days in Australia as the happiest days of his life, leading to study at the University of Queensland.
In 2016, Journalist Sean Dorney wrote alongside Chan a biography titled ‘Playing the Game’. The book is clearly from Chan’s perspective and seeks to justify the decision-making and leadership during the turbulent period of Papua New Guinea’s independence in 1975 and the decade-long conflict with Bougainville which resulted in Chan standing down as Prime Minister following public outcry and international pressure.
Critics of Chan have long argued his strict stance on land ownership in 1972 during his time as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister was detrimental to Papua New Guinea’s natural environment and economic development. With PNG being an island with an abundance of natural resources, mining companies purchased land and under law were entitled not to pay for using the country’s resources as they owned the resources by owning the land. In a time of forming statehood and independence, the finances from mining and resources invested towards development initiatives may have stabilised Papua New Guinea for future economic uncertainty. Despite his strict stance on ownership, Sir Julius Chan, alongside Sir Michael Somare, Papua New Guinea’s first Prime Minister, emerged as a trailblazer and reformer, playing a pivotal role in leading the successful independence movement of 1975.
The Sandline Affair
Sir Julius Chan was elected in his second term as Prime Minister in 1994 on the promise of economic management, and more importantly, resolving the Bougainville conflict by the following election in 1997. The conflict in the small island state had been raging on for nearly six years, with large casualties between the Bougainville Revolutionary Army and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. On one hand, the BRA relied on guerilla tactics due to the asymmetry of the two belligerents. The PNG Defence force relied on traditional, and at times excessive uses of force to seek victory in achieving the political aims of Port Moresby. The conflict was the most violent in Oceania since Imperial Japan’s occupation of the region during World War II.
By 1996, the conflict had prolonged much of the national focus leading to a decline in public sentiment and support for ongoing military action in Bougainville. Protests outside parliament in Port Moresby were becoming a regular occurrence, with Chan losing favor as the leader of Papua New Guinea. Furthermore, Chan remained firm in his strategy to end the conflict, a dichotomy of violence to secure a lasting peace through an increase in military operations and intensity.
Chan appointed Major General Jerry Singirok to end the conflict through escalatory action including a strategic focus on securing the Panguna copper mine. Interestingly, the outbreak of conflict in 1988 occurred due to local grievances about the environmental degradation and exploitation caused by the operational management of the mine by Rio Tinto in conjunction with the PNG Government. With the prolonging of conflict, Chan went to Australia and met with Prime Minister John Howard, to request “military support from Australia, but when that was not forthcoming, we had to explore other options”.
The secret decision by Chan in conjunction with his Finance Minister and Defence Minister to hire a British Private Military Company, Sandline to provide operational support and to train the PNG Defence Force would mark the end of his Prime Ministership. When the story broke about this secret deal between the PNG Government hiring mercenaries to secure Bougainville, Chan lost favour domestically and internationally. Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed concerns about the rapid militarisation of PNG and that it could create an arms race across the region. Significant concern was placed around PNG’s border with Indonesia. Chan responded that the relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia was “paternalistic”, reflecting the colonial legacies before 1975. Major General Jerry Singirok who was placed in charge of the PNG Defence Force defied orders from Port Moresby and Chan, and publicly denounced Chan and his ministers for the decision tying the $36 million contract with Sandline as ‘corrupt’. Singirok called for the resignation of Chan. Julius Chan and the ministers would later resign over the ordeal, and the conflict would end in 1998.
Reflections
Sir Julius Chan continued his public service in PNG by serving as the Provincial Governor of New Ireland. In his later years, Chan gave candid interviews reflecting on his legacy. On the Bougainville conflict, Chan’s strategic objective was “to just destroy it (Bougainville)- enough to psychologically tell the people it was time for peace”. When asked about the future of Papua New Guinea, Chan remained pessimistic of the trajectory of the country given the rampant corruption at all levels. His advocacy for education across PNG is vital towards “improving human capital”.
Chan’s legacy as a leader and statesman for Papua New Guinea remains complex and at times, contradictory. With PNG entering an important year for celebrating independence as well as the potential ratification of the 2019 Bougainville Referendum for Independence, Chan serves as a reminder of bold decision-making, political resilience and pursuit of progress in bettering the lives of Papua New Guinea.
