Central Province (Papua New Guinea)


Central Province is a province in Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast of the country. It has a population of 237,016 people and is in size. The seat of government of Central Province, which is located within the National Capital District outside the province, is the Port Moresby suburb of Konedobu. On 9 October 2007, the Central Province government announced plans to build a new provincial capital city at Bautama, which lies within Central Province near Port Moresby, although there has been little progress in constructing it.
Whereas Tok Pisin is the main lingua franca in all Papua New Guinean towns, in part of the southern mainland coastal area centred on Central Province, Hiri Motu is a stronger lingua franca.

Districts and LLGs

Each province in Papua New Guinea has one or more districts, and each district has one or more Local Level Government areas. For census purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units.
DistrictDistrict CapitalLLG Name
Abau DistrictAbauAmazon Bay Rural
Abau DistrictAbauAroma Rural
Abau DistrictAbauCloudy Bay Rural
Goilala DistrictTapiniGuari Rural
Goilala DistrictTapiniTapini Rural
Goilala DistrictTapiniWoitape Rural
Kairuku-Hiri DistrictBereinaHiri Rural
Kairuku-Hiri DistrictBereinaKairuku Rural
Kairuku-Hiri DistrictBereinaKoiari Rural
Kairuku-Hiri DistrictBereinaMekeo Kuni Rural
Rigo DistrictKwikilaRigo Central Rural
Rigo DistrictKwikilaRigo Coastal Rural
Rigo DistrictKwikilaRigo Inland Rural

Provincial leaders

The province was governed by a decentralised provincial administration, headed by a Premier, from 1976 to 1995. Following reforms taking effect that year, the national government reassumed some powers, and the role of Premier was replaced by a position of Governor, to be held by the winner of the province-wide seat in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.

Premiers (1976–1995)

PremierTerm
Gau Heno1976–1978
Rina Nau1978–1982
Kone Vanuawaru1983
Reuben Taureka1983–1984
Kone Vanuawaru1984–1987
Emmanuel Ume1988–1991
Isaiah Oda1991–1993
Paul Kipo1993–1995

Governors (1995–present)

PremierTerm
John Orea1995–1997
Ted Diro1997–1999
Ajax Bia1999
Opa Taureka1999–2002
Alphonse Moroi2002–2012
Kila Haoda2012–2017
Robert Agarobe2017–

Members of the National Parliament

The province and each district is represented by a Member of the National Parliament. There is one provincial electorate and each district is an open electorate.
PremierTerm
Central ProvincialRobert Agarobe
Abau OpenPuka Temu
Goilala OpenWilliam Samb
Kairuku-Hiri OpenPeter Isoaimo
Rigo OpenLekwa Gure