He was appointed district commissioner in 1974 for East New Britain Province in which capacity he received Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Rabaul, at the time the provincial capital, in February, 1974.

[1][2][3][4] Rabaul was considered a stepping stone for many civil servants and Bouraga's next posting was to become secretary to the prime minister, Michael Somare, who had been impressed with his performance in East New Britain.

He was then appointed commissioner of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary on 3 May 1979, resigning on 17 February 1982 after a disagreement with the police minister, Warren Dutton.

[5] In 1982 he became the MP for the National Capital District regional seat and was immediately appointed as minister of finance.

Leaving that position in 1985, he was appointed a member of the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts, until the end of that parliament in 1987.