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Place Names Act 1965

Chapter 318.

Place Names Act 1965.
Certified on: / /20 .


INDEPENDENT STATE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA.

Chapter 318.

Place Names Act 1965.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS.

INDEPENDENT STATE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA.

AN ACT

entitled

Place Names Act 1965,

Being an Act to make better provision for the naming of places in Papua New Guinea, and for other purposes.

  1. INTERPRETATION.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears–

“the Committee” means the Place Names Committee established by Section 3;

“place” includes a Local-level Government area, city, town, township, goldfield, mineral field, area of land, locality, mountain, hill, peak, range, pass, glen, valley, forest, river, stream, creek, ford, lake, lagoon, marsh, strait, reef, island, bay, harbour, cape, promontory, port, landing place, aerodrome, permanent mark, school, road, street, lane or other topographical feature;

“the regulations” means any regulations made under this Act;

“this Act” includes the regulations.

  1. APPLICATION TO THE STATE.

This Act binds the State.

  1. PLACE NAMES COMMITTEE.

[1](1) A Place Names Committee is hereby established.

(2) The Committee shall consist of–

(a) the Surveyor General, who shall be the Chairman; and

(b) an anthropologist from the National Museum and Art Gallery; and

(c) an officer of the Department of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council; and

(d) a member of the staff of the National Cultural Commission; and

(e) an officer of the Department responsible for Provincial Affairs; and

(f) a member of the staff of the Summer Institute of Linguistics; and

(g) an officer of the National Statistical Office; and

(h) a surveyor from the Department responsible for Works; and

(i) the Director of the National Mapping Bureau.

(3) The members of the Committee referred to in Subsection (2)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) shall be appointed by the Minister by notice in the National Gazette.

  1. DEPUTIES.

(1) The Minister may, by notice in the National Gazette, appoint a person to be the deputy of a member of the Committee.

(2) The deputy of the Surveyor General shall be a registered surveyor.

(3)[2] [3]The deputy of a member referred to in Section 3(2)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) or (i) shall be a person from the same establishment as the member of the committee for whom he is the deputy.

(4) The deputy of a member has, in the event of the absence of a member from a meeting of the Committee, all the powers and functions of the member.

  1. SECRETARY TO THE COMMITTEE.

The Minister may appoint an officer of the Department to be the Secretary to the Committee.

  1. PROCEDURES, ETC., OF THE COMMITTEE.

(1) The Chairman or, in his absence or inability to act, the deputy of the Chairman shall convene meetings of the Committee from time to time as required.

(2) At a meeting of the Committee–

(a)[4] three members, of whom one is the Chairman, are a quorum; and

(b) all matters before the meeting shall be determined in accordance with the majority of votes; and

(c) the Chairman has a deliberative and, in the event of an equality of votes on a matter, also a casting vote.

(3) Subject to this Act, the procedure at a meeting of the Committee is as determined by the Committee.

  1. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE.

The powers and functions of the Committee are–

(a) to adopt rules of orthography and nomenclature, and to standardize pronunciation, in respect of place names in the country; and

(b) to investigate and determine the priority of the discovery of any geographical feature; and

(c) subject to this Act, to consider and determine any proposed alteration in a place name; and

(d) to assign a name to any place in the country; and

(e) to alter the name of any place in the country by substituting another name, or by correcting the spelling of the name; and

(f) to omit from official maps and records the name of any place; and

(g) to prepare and maintain a gazetteer; and

(h) to make inquiries and recommendations on such matters relating to the naming of places in the country as are referred to it by the Minister; and

(i) to prepare and publish an index of names and places in the country with a record of their origin and history; and

(j) to investigate and determine, as far as possible, the locality and the boundaries of any area covered by a place name; and

(k) to exercise and perform such other powers and duties as are conferred or imposed on it by this Act or any other law.

  1. REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OF CERTAIN INSTRUMENTS.

No instrument shall be made under any law assigning a name to, or altering the name of, a city, town or Local-level Government unless the question of the name has been referred to the Committee and the Committee has approved the name.

  1. NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPROVE, ETC., PLACE NAME.

Where the Committee proposes to approve, assign or alter a name under this Act–

(a) it shall cause to be published in the National Gazette, and in a newspaper circulating in the neighbourhood of the place, a notice of its intention to do so, specifying in the notice the proposed name or alteration or where details of it may be obtained; and

(b) it shall cause a copy of the notice to be–

(i) displayed as soon as practicable after its publication, at the Subdistrict Office situate at or nearest to the place; and

(ii) kept so displayed until the expiration of a period of one month from the date of its publication in the National Gazette or in the newspaper, whichever is the earlier.

  1. OBJECTION TO PROPOSED NAME OR ALTERATION.

(1) A person objecting to a proposed name or alteration may at any time within the period of one month referred to in Section 9 give to the Secretary to the Committee written notice of his objection setting out the grounds of the objection.

(2) As soon as practicable after the expiration of the period of one month referred to in Section 9, the Committee shall inquire into and dispose of all objections made under this section, and shall report in writing to the Minister, setting out the grounds of the objections and its decision.

(3) After such inquiry as he thinks proper, the Minister may confirm, modify or reverse the decision of the Committee, and his decision is final.

  1. IF NO OBJECTION, COMMITTEE’S DECISION TO BE FINAL.

If no objection is received by the Committee within the period of one month referred to in Section 9, the decision of the Committee as to the proposed name or alteration is final.

  1. PUBLICATION OF FINAL DECISION AS TO NAME OR ALTERATION.

(1) The Committee shall cause notice of the decision of the Minister, or if there has been no objection the decision of the Committee, in respect of a proposed name or alteration to be published in the National Gazette.

(2) A copy of the notice published under Subsection (1) shall be–

(a) displayed as soon as practicable after its publication, at the Subdistrict Office situate at or nearest to the place concerned; and

(b) kept so displayed until the expiration of a period of one month from the date of its publication.

(3) The decision of the Minister or of the Committee, as the case may be, takes effect on the date specified in the notice under Subsection (1), being a date not earlier than three months after the date of publication in the National Gazette, under Section 9, of the notice of intention to assign or alter the name.

  1. PUBLICATION OF GAZETTEER, ETC.

(1) The Committee may cause to be published a gazetteer or index of names of places prepared by it under this Act.

(2) A copy of any such gazetteer or index purporting to have been published by or on behalf of the Committee is, until the contrary is proved, sufficient evidence that the names in the gazetteer or index, as the case may be, are approved for the purposes of this Act.

  1. ANNUAL REPORT.

The Chairman of the Committee shall, as soon as practicable after 30 June in each year, prepare and furnish to the Minister, for presentation to the Parliament, a report on the proceedings of the Committee during the year ended on that date.

  1. REGULATIONS.

The Head of State, acting on advice, may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters that by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and in particular for–

(a) prescribing any forms or other documents required for the purposes of this Act; and

(b) prescribing the form of and the method of keeping any records to be kept by the Committee for the purposes of this Act; and

(c) regulating the procedure of the Committee; and

(d) providing such other matters as are necessary for the efficient discharge by the Committee of its duties and functions under this Act.


Office of Legislative Counsel, PNG

  1. [1]Section 3 repealed and replaced by Place Names (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 13 of 1993), s1.
  2. [2]Section 4(3) repealed and replaced by Place Names (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 13 of 1993), s2.
  3. [3]Section 4(3) repealed and replaced by Place Names (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 13 of 1993), s2.
  4. [4]Section 6(2)(a) amended by Place Names (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 13 of 1993), s3.

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