Press conference, Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: I thank Minister Tkatchenko, my very good friend and co-chair, for hosting us today. I thank Papua New Guinea for welcoming Australia’s ministerial delegation to this, the 32nd Forum. It has been a very productive Forum, with a very strong focus on delivery. It’s one of our largest ministerial forums to date, and we appreciated the opportunity to meet with our colleagues. This is our 32nd Forum, but this is our first as Alliance partners, and our ambition for this Alliance is to strengthen our shared security, to advance our shared prosperity, and to deliver practical benefits for our people.

And the Ministerial Forum today was an opportunity to take stock of what we’ve done, and we’ve done a lot. But importantly, to look at and agree where we can do more. So we are increasing cooperation across defence and security, and the Deputy Prime Minister will say more about that. We’re increasing cooperation across the economy, across health, across education, labour, mobility and sport, and the range of outcomes today just confirms yet again how comprehensive our partnership is, how ambitious our Alliance is and how deep our friendship is. The Deputy Prime Minister will speak shortly about the recruitment pathway for PNG citizens to join the Australian Defence Force. I have also announced today a new 10-year Primary Healthcare for Papua New Guinea program, strengthening primary health services, particularly maternal and child health. And we are providing an additional million dollars to support the nationwide rollout by the PNG Government of the HPV vaccine, which protects women and girls from cervical cancer. We discussed expanding opportunities through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, and also the provision of additional Pacific Engagement Visa places for PNG citizens to Australia.

So these announcements are some of the work that has been done. They span different areas, but they share something in common. They are about making our partnership real in the lives of our people. And the strength of the Forum is not just any single announcement, but it is the breadth of what we are doing together. Ambition for the Alliance being turned into action. So I’ll just close by thanking again Justin, Deputy Prime Minister Rosso, for his friendship and leadership, and Papua New Guinea for welcoming us here to Port Moresby.

Justin Tkatchenko, PNG Foreign Minister: Thank you, Foreign Minister, Honourable Penny Wong, our Deputy Prime Minister of Australia as well. Thank you so much. This has been a very successful 32nd Ministerial Forum here in Papua New Guinea. We have made some major outcomes come to reality now in the different sectors of health, which was a big announcement made on health, especially for our rural women and for our children, and also for telecommunications as well.

Moving that forward under the Telecommunications Blueprint, to get cheaper, more affordable internet connections for our people, for business, for Papua New Guinea. And Australia will be there to assist us in a major way on that, and we will formalise that over the next coming weeks and months, with the Department of Communication and also the state-owned enterprises coming together to look after our people when it comes to ICT and so on. With that as well, we talked about higher education, of course, sports, which is a major contributor by Australia with the Chiefs going forward. And now that we’ve cleared the court case, we can announce it without fear or favour, seven o’clock tomorrow morning. So that’s won in the end. Thank you to the NRL and the Australian Government for fighting that for us to move that forward. We have always been the traditional Chiefs, and we’ll stay like that until we die, and for the future generations as well.

But going forward, this meeting strengthens our Alliance in more ways than you can possibly believe. And with that, it shows you how close Australia has got to Papua New Guinea. And the Marape-Rosso Government with the Albanese Government have been a strong advocate for good governance, for good relations, and that has come about with the strengthening and implementation now of the Pukpuk Treaty, and of course the Bilateral Security Agreement, which are going into their different phases of implementation.

We’re not looking back; we’re only looking forward. And when it comes to security of our two peoples and our countries, we must always put ourselves first. And now we have wanpela banis, tupela haus. It makes it so much easier for us to do many more things for the benefit of both our countries, and that comes down to immigration, to visas, that comes down to people-to-people relationships. And I want to say a big thank you to Minister Penny Wong, our Foreign Minister of Australia, and all her colleague ministers, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, that have all come here in the biggest number ever in the history of the Ministerial Forum, to make this work under our new Alliance, allies hand in hand, working together for the benefit of our people of Papua New Guinea and Australia for the long term, not the short term.
So, thank you very much.

Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister: Well, as both Penny and Justin have said, this is our first meeting of the Ministerial Forum as alliance partners. A relationship which, since 1975, has been a very deep and close relationship, is now a relationship where we have each other's backs. And so we are very pleased to be able to announce a number of initiatives in respect of what has played out as alliance partners. We're investing $110 million into infrastructure for the PNGDF. Under our alliance partnership, we are establishing the magani rotation, which will see around 130 personnel form a combat group, which will come here on three-month rotations for 100 days out of the 3rd Brigade based in Townsville.

We have seen a power of work done here in PNG to finalise the implementation arrangements to have the Pukpuk Treaty come into force, and we really thank both Justin, John, Elias and all the ministers for the work that they have done in respect of that. And most significantly, today we are announcing that we are commencing the process of recruiting Papua New Guineans directly into the Australian Defence Force. From the 16th of November we will be opening applications for Papua New Guineans to join the Australian Defence Force. We will undertake – as part of a pilot to introduce this, we will be having two cohorts of roughly 50 people each undertake a 16-week course here in PNG after which, they will then be taken into– having successfully completed that course– into the ADF. That course will be done in two cohorts. The first will occur next year from May, with a 16‑week program, which means that by this time next year we anticipate that there will be Papua New Guineans who will be wearing the uniform of the Australian Defence Force. We will be recruiting from universities to start with: from the University of PNG, the Pacific Adventist University, and the University of Technology Lae. We will be seeking to ensure that the representation of those people is across all the provinces of PNG. And we will then be doing a similar cohort of 50 people in 2028. So around about 100 people over the next two years. Now I want to highlight that this is a pilot program. This is about proving the concept, making sure that we get it right from the outset, making sure that this succeeds at the beginning. But this is a pilot project where we anticipate doing this recruitment at scale. In time, it is our ambition to be recruiting thousands of Papua New Guineans directly into the Australian Defence Force. We also announced last year that permanent PNG residents in Australia would be eligible to join the Australian Defence Force. Around 40 permanent residents from Papua New Guinea who are in Australia right now have taken up that opportunity. They are going through the process. And so it's actually our hope that from that cohort, we will see the first Papua New Guineans directly recruited into the Australian Defence Force in fact, in a matter of months.

This is a really significant step forward in relation to the way in which the Australian Defence Force recruits, but also the relationship between our two countries. In respect of all of those who serve in the Australian Defence Force, they will be provided with temporary visas at the outset, but they will be taking out Australian citizenship in a relatively short period of time, but they will maintain their PNG citizenship as well. They will be dual citizens. And so these recruits will literally be the embodiment of the alliance between Australia and PNG. A cohort of personnel who at once are both citizens of PNG and Australia, who are defending both of our houses surrounded by one fence. And so this is a really significant step forward. And again, I want to thank all those here in PNG who have put in such an effort to get to this point. What we're doing here today is planting a seed, and it is just the beginning. As I say, it's a pilot program, but I really hope that 10 years from now we look back at this moment, knowing what has ensued, and see that today is in fact the beginning of a very, very substantial step in respect of the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG. A relationship which is now an alliance partnership. Finally, let me just very much thank both Justin and John. You have been partners in what we are doing here. This idea came from Papua New Guinea itself. I remember having this conversation with John as he put the proposition to me. So that is the way in which we are dealing with it. But it is a really great idea which has come from PNG, and it is going to transform our relationship. Thank you.

John Rosso, PNG Deputy Prime Minister: Thank you, Richard and Penny. Welcome to the shores of Papua New Guinea. As always, you guys are no strangers with your ministerial delegation here. We warmly welcome you guys. It's been another successful 32nd Ministerial Forum. Ministerial Forum, since 2022, has grown from strength to strength and is the basis of a relationship that crosscuts a lot of factors and enhances the relationship, the partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea. It encompasses the partnership that we hold close to our chest and the relationship we hold with Australia. Today, the 32nd meeting has been, in my view, very successful as always. We have a big– shouldn't say big– but an expanded Australian contingent here, and that has grown from strength‑to‑strength. The relationship, likewise, has grown from strength‑to‑strength. The outcomes are very successful. We are quite happy with the outcomes and we look forward to deepening our mutual partnership moving forward. The outcomes, as Deputy Marles has pointed out, is very successful in a wide facet of relationships: defence, police, security, communications, and healthcare, education. And the twinning between Australia, the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea has never been stronger.

As Deputy Marles pointed out, having Papua New Guineans inside the Australian military is not just only about Australia; it's also about Papua New Guineans learning skill sets, gaining skills, and bringing them back here to Papua New Guinea. It's about remittance that comes back to Papua New Guinea. It's about learning. It's about training. It's about interoperability. It's about a partnership between both nations. We fought together in Kokoda in 1942. Before that, we had serious relationships together. That relationship, those partners walking side‑by‑side up to the day we got independence from Australia, that relationship has now grown ever stronger. Australia will always be there, Papua New Guinea will always be there, working hand‑in‑hand, side‑by‑side with our country and partnerships between both nations. And this relationship, having the defence force– having Papua New Guineans into the Australian Defence Force will strengthen that relationship, like what it has done with the PALM Program, the PEV program, the health sector programs, the education programs and the infrastructure programs that Australia continues to walk side‑by‑side with us, helping us develop as a nation. And in return, we walk that path with Australia, helping them also. A stronger Papua New Guinea, a secure, stable Papua New Guinea is beneficial to Australia. Likewise, a stronger, solid, stable Australia is beneficial to Papua New Guinea. Our paths are aligned, and as the Prime Minister said, we are joined at the hips. Thank you very much.

Journalist: PNG has one of the most expensive telecommunications [inaudible]

Foreign Minister Wong: First, in another act of leadership, the blueprint was, in fact, commissioned at the request of Papua New Guinea. Deputy Prime Minister Rosso and Foreign Minister Tkatchenko last year said to us this needed to happen. And the reason it needed to happen is precisely for the reasons you refer to, which is Papua New Guinea has insufficient rollout of internet connectivity, and that is holding the country back. Holding the country back in terms of development, but also in terms of the provision of services such as healthcare. So we are very determined collectively to change that, and we’re pleased that that blueprint will become publicly available, and people will have the opportunity to look at the various elements of the changes proposed in that. You asked about the Coral Sea Cable. You know that that is an important investment by Australia because we recognise we need cable in order to improve connectivity, but we also have to get all of the settings right, and that is the work that is being done, and we’re very pleased to be part of it.

Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: The Telecommunications Blueprint that was initiated by the Marape-Rosso Government to have better clarity of ensuring cheaper internet connection, giving better internet connection for investment, for the economy, to make it grow, to make it bigger. That was done so we can see where the issues are, where the problems are, how to rectify it. And we are pleased to say Australia has adopted the telecom blueprint, and it will be released to the public for everybody to consume, and it’ll be part of the communiqué that we will be signing. And that’s very important. People need to know facts and figures, and why we initiated this telecom blueprint, so that we can get it right. We can do it right for our people, and so that we can put ICT at another level like never before. So, with that, the Australian Government have come in in a big way to make it work, to provide competition, very healthy to have competition in this environment, to keep the prices down, to keep everybody honest and to make it happen for our people.

Journalist: PNG’s parliament is expected to take a vote on whether to grant Bougainville independence. If that vote doesn’t go in Bougainville’s favour and the region of Bougainville makes a unilateral declaration of independence, how is Australia going to engage with Bougainville and respond to Bougainville’s claims of sovereignty?

Foreign Minister Wong: The position we have expressed in relation to this is very simple. This is a matter for the parties, both the Bougainville side and PNG to resolve and to negotiate, and we respect that process.

Journalist: Prime Minister Marape’s opening remarks asked the Australian Government to consider similar visa arrangements like what PNG has with New Zealand. What is your response to this proposal?

Foreign Minister Wong: This has been an issue which Deputy Prime Minister Rosso and Minister Tkatchenko have, and others have, raised with us over some time. And as a consequence, we have put in place a set of arrangements for Papua New Guinea which no other country has. These include the NRL visa. These include, I think it’s called the IMMI App to make it easier for Papua New Guineans to come to Australia or to deal with the immigration process. So we also have the largest cohort of Pacific Engagement Visas provided to Papua New Guinea of any country in the Pacific, and that reflects the special relationship we have. And those visas do give those Papua New Guineans who receive them access to Medicare, education from arrival. It’s an ongoing discussion and an ongoing priority for the PNG side, and we understand that. And they’ve asked us to look at some other possibilities, and we’ve indicated we will do that, recognising we have a broader set of immigration principles that we have to apply, but we recognise the special relationship we have with PNG as our ally. It’s reflected in some of the unique visa categories that are provided to Papua New Guineans, but we are open to the further discussion that’s been requested.

Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: Just adding on to Minister Wong’s explanation as well. Papua New Guinea has always put PNG first when it comes to ensuring an easier access into Australia. And now that we have an Alliance and we’re allies, allies in respect to, you know, we’re brothers and sisters. There’s nothing between us. We make things happen. We’re honest. We resolve our issues, like what we’ve just done today with the Ministerial Forum.

One of those came under sports diplomacy, and sports diplomacy meaning for the first time ever, a Papua New Guinean in 2028 can get a 12-month visa, multiple entry, stay for 30 days, for no work, for 75 kina. Now that’s that. Usually you’re paying triple, more than that, and the process is quite stringent. But because of the NRL, because of the Chiefs, because of the relationship we have with Australia, we want to make this work. That allows now for thousands of Papua New Guineans that want to go for a football holiday and watch the Chiefs play, available now. So that’s been already approved and done. That’s ready to roll out when the Chiefs run out on the ground in 2028. So these are just some of the visa aspects that we’re looking at. But that’s through sports. The others, as general tourists and others, we have problems. Our NID system is corrupt. Our birth certificate system is corrupt because people are getting away with putting false identifications, so Australia is wary of that. So we have to get our act together to fix those issues so that Australia trusts our paperwork and documentation we’re giving, so that they can let those people through. So it’s an ongoing process on both sides, which we have to get our act together and make it happen, and, and we’ll surely do that.