Decisions by the Bougainville parliament can be overidden by the national parliament, the Papua New Guinea prime minister says.
Panguna mine. Photo: Wellington Chocolate Factory
Peter O'Neill made the comment to news agency Reuters after the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) announced earlier this month that it was placing an indefinite moratorium on a resumption of mining at Panguna.
Its president, John Momis, said the ABG imposed the ban as it did not want to disrupt preparations for Bougainville's independence referendum next year.
Grievances caused by the mine were central to the outbreak of civil war in 1989, a 10-year conflict that cost over 20,000 lives.
When asked about the moratorium, Mr O'Neill said that the "constitution and the overall legislation from the national government is the one that underpins all the other legislation".
"It's subject to the main laws," he said.
The vast Panguna copper and gold mine once generated nearly half of PNG's annual export revenue.