What Are the Five National Goals and Directive Principles?

The National Goals and Directive Principles are the answer the Constitutional Planning Committee gave to a question most constitutions never ask out loud: what is this country for? They are set out in the Preamble to the Constitution, and every governmental body has a duty under section 25(2) to apply and give effect to them.

Goal 1 — Integral human development

The first goal is for every person to be dynamically involved in the process of freeing himself or herself from every form of domination or oppression, so that each person can develop as a whole person in relationship with others.

It calls for education based on mutual respect and dialogue; encouragement of all forms of beneficial creativity, including sciences and cultures; improvement in nutrition and public health; recognition of the family unit as the fundamental basis of our society; and development taking place primarily through Papua New Guinean forms of social and political organisation.

Goal 2 — Equality and participation

The second goal is for all citizens to have an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the development of our country. Its twelve directives are the most detailed of the five, and several are quoted regularly in litigation and policy:

• equal opportunity to take part in political, economic, social, religious and cultural life;
• political structures allowing substantial decentralization of all forms of government activity — the constitutional root of the provincial and local-level government system;
• equitable distribution of incomes and benefits among individuals and throughout the country;
• equalization of services, and equal access to legal processes for every citizen;
• equal participation by women citizens in all political, economic, social and religious activities;
• every citizen to be able to participate, directly or through a representative, in the consideration of any matter affecting their interests;
• universal literacy in Pisin, Hiri Motu or English, and in tok ples;
• recognition that a complete relationship in marriage rests on equality of rights and duties of the partners.

Goal 3 — National sovereignty and self-reliance

The third goal is for Papua New Guinea to be politically and economically independent, with an economy basically self-reliant. It calls for leaders to be committed to the Goals and to make all decisions in the national interest; for strict control of foreign investment capital; for the State to control and actively participate in the national economy, in particular in major enterprises exploiting natural resources; and for no investment, military or foreign-aid agreement to be entered into that imperils self-reliance or that may lead to substantial dependence on any country, investor, lender or donor.

Goal 4 — Natural resources and environment

The fourth goal is for the country’s natural resources and environment to be conserved and used for the collective benefit of us all, and replenished for the benefit of future generations. It calls for wise use of resources on and under the land and seabed, in the sea and in the air, held in trust for future generations; conservation of the environment and its sacred, scenic and historical qualities; and adequate protection for valued birds, animals, fish, insects, plants and trees.

Goal 5 — Papua New Guinean ways

The fifth goal is to achieve development primarily through the use of Papua New Guinean forms of social, political and economic organization. It calls for a fundamental re-orientation of the institutions of government, commerce, education and religion towards participation, consultation and consensus; emphasis on small-scale artisan, service and business activity; recognition that cultural, commercial and ethnic diversity is a positive strength; and for traditional villages and communities to remain viable units of Papua New Guinean society.

What legal weight do the Goals carry?

Section 25(1) makes them non-justiciable — you cannot bring a claim that the State has failed to achieve them. But three exceptions do real work, and they are covered in detail in can I enforce the National Goals?:

1. Section 25(2) imposes a duty on all governmental bodies to give effect to them within their powers.
2. Section 25(3) requires laws and powers to be read, applied and enforced in the way that gives effect to the Goals, where that reading is reasonably open.
3. Section 25(4) requires the Ombudsman Commission and leadership tribunals to take the Goals fully into account.