Western Province (Papua New Guinea)

Western Province Fly River Province
Flag
Western Province in Papua New Guinea Western Province in Papua New Guinea
Coordinates:
Country	Papua New Guinea
Capital	Daru
Districts	List North Fly Middle Fly South Fly
Government
• Governor	Ati Wobiro 2012-
Area
• Total	98,189 km2 (37,911 sq mi)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	201,351
• Density	2.1/km2 (5.3/sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)

Western Province is a coastal province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Papua. The provincial capital is Kiunga,. The largest town in the province is Tabubil. The provincial government has purported to change the name of the province to the Fly River Province, but this remains unofficial as names of provinces are set out in the Constitution of Papua New Guinea and changes must be made according to the constitutional amending process.

Geography and ecology

Western Province covers 99,300 km² and is the largest province in Papua New Guinea by area. There are several large rivers that run through the province including the Fly River and its tributaries including the Strickland and Ok Tedi rivers, the largest lake in Papua New Guinea Lake Murray is also in Western Province.

In the province is the only part of Papua New Guinea which possesses land west of the 141°E line that divides it from Indonesian Western New Guinea. This is a small section of territory bordered by the Fly River.

The Tonda Wildlife Management Area in the south-western corner of the province is a wetland of international importance and the largest protected area in Papua New Guinea.

Demographics

There were 153,304 inhabitants counted at the 2000 census. The provincial capital is Daru. Other major settlements are Kiunga, Tabubil, Ningerum, Olsobip and Balimo.

Economy

The Ok Tedi Mine

The major economic activity in the province is constituted by the Ok Tedi Mine, initially established by BHP and the subject of considerable litigation by traditional landowners both in respect of environmental degradation and disputes over royalties. It is currently operated by Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML).

Politics

The Western provincial government has, like the governments of North Solomons, Chimbu and Northern Provinces, attempted to change the name of the province. The government uses the term Fly River Provincial Government. However, not having been accomplished by way of constitutional amendment, the change is unofficial.

Districts and LLGs

File:Wpdistricts1.svg

District map of Western Province

There are three districts in the province. Each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For census purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units.

District	District Capital	LLG Name
North Fly District	Kiunga	Kiunga Rural
		Kiunga Urban
		Ningerum Rural
		Olsobip Rural
		Star Mountains Rural
Middle Fly District	Balimo	Balimo Urban
		Bamu Rural
		Gogodala Rural
		Lake Murray Rural
		Nomad Rural
South Fly District	Daru	Daru Urban
		Kiwai Rural
		Morehead Rural
		Oriomo-Bituri Rural

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. The following table lists Members before and after the 2007 general election.

Electorate	Previous member (party)	2007 winner (party)
Western Provincial	Bob Danaya (PNGLP)	Bob Danaya (PNGLP)
Middle Fly Open	Roy Biyama (URP)	Roy Biyama (URP)
North Fly Open	Martin Tabi (PNC)	Boka Kondra (elected as Independent then joined PNC)
South Fly Open	Conrad Haoda (PNC)	Sali Subam (NA)

See also

• Hindenburg Range
• Hindenburg Wall
• Star Mountains
• Kiunga-Tabubil Highway