Thirty-one-year-old Benjamin Bofeng is the second lawyer from the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission to attain a Master of Laws and Development from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
From a mixed parentage of East Sepik, Morobe and Western Highlands, Bofeng is a recipient of the 2020 Australian Awards Scholarship.
He successfully completed the 15 month-long program in March 2021.
Bofeng said the program critically considered the theory of development through law with an emphasis that sustainable means and local PNG ways of attaining development should be prioritised instead of merely relying on introduced, foreign ideas.
“The program has assisted me to give back to CLRC and the nation by ensuring that law reforms and reviews should consider development of laws in a PNG-centric manner, with the focus on developing local jurisprudence in PNG,” Bofeng stated.
Now promoted to senior legal officer within the drafts and advisory division, Bofeng thanked the governments of Australia and PNG for the scholarship and CLRC as the facilitator.
“It has always been the focus of past and current management to provide opportunities for further studies so that as an organisation, we create a conducive environment for staff to prosper and progress.”
He said plans are underway for similar long-term studies for more staff next year.