Bougainville independence not 'play thing'

Bougainville residents will have a long awaited independence referendum next year to decide whether to leave Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea's prime minister has warned foreigners shouldn't treat the prospects of an independent Bougainville as a "play thing".

The autonomous region of Bougainville, which has a population the size of Hobart, is due to have a referendum on whether to become independent next year.

PNG signed a peace agreement with Bougainville in 2001 after a decade-long civil war which shut down the giant copper-gold Panguna mine.

Peter O'Neill insists his government will uphold the agreement and hopes the referendum can be conducted in a peaceful manner that doesn't disrupt business on the island.

There were prerequisites to the referendum going ahead including the establishment of the rule of law and disposal of weapons.

A question to put to the people still has to be developed, he said.

Mr O'Neill hit out at foreign interference over the referendum.

"It is not about independence - it is about what is best for the Bougainville people," Mr O'Neill told the Australia-Papua New Guinea business forum in Brisbane.

"Australian and New Zealand media are very obsessed with the idea of independence, for them it's some play thing."

He flagged after the vote in 2019 the outcome must be endorsed in PNG's national parliament.

"I can assure you every member of parliament will vote in the interests of unified and harmonious country," Mr O'Neill said.