Australia and Papua New Guinea have moved to deepen their strategic alliance, announcing major defence, education, and humanitarian commitments at the 31st Australia–PNG Ministerial Forum held in Canberra.
Australian Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said the forum marked a significant milestone, being the first since both countries formalised their Alliance Agreement two weeks ago.
“Today is a very significant meeting, because it comes two weeks to the day after our two countries signed an Alliance. Today will be the first Ministerial Forum of new allied partners,” Marles said.
He announced that Papua New Guineans with permanent residency in Australia will be eligible to join the Australian Defence Force from 01 January 2026 as part of efforts to operationalise the new alliance.
“We will be establishing a taskforce around the recruitment of Papua New Guinean citizens directly into the Australian Defence Force. That taskforce will have its first meeting this year,” he said.
Australia also unveiled a $7.7 million (US$5 million) project to build a 200-bed training facility at Goldie River Barracks and a $2.2 million (US$1.43 million) commitment to design new barracks for PNG’s Third Brigade in Hela Province.
Marles confirmed Australia will train six PNG pilots per year starting next year, and provide training for engineers and aircrew to boost PNG’s air capability. He also announced the delivery of 3,500 rifles to the PNG Defence Force over the next four years, supported by new armoury infrastructure, worth $35 million (US$22.79 million) in total.
“These are important steps forward in operationalising the Alliance. This builds on a deeply integrated defence relationship we’ve developed over 50 years,” Marles said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the alliance reflected a new era of trust and shared responsibility between the two nations.
“As Prime Minister Marape described it, he talked about this being one big fence, securing two houses,” Wong said.
She announced a $150 million (US$97.70 million) education and skills package to strengthen PNG’s workforce and a $25 million (US$16.28 million) humanitarian and disaster relief initiative to bolster the country’s disaster response capacity.
“This delivers on our commitment to increase education spending to $100 million (US$65 million) per year under our Development Partnership Plan,” Wong said.
PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko described the alliance as a partnership built on equality and shared goals.
“It is no mistake why we’re here. We have now taken our relationship with Australia to the next level, especially as an alliance together,” Tkatchenko said.
He said the Ministerial Forum would focus on “implementation, getting the job done, making things happen and implementing what we set out to achieve.”
Australian Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said peace and security between the two nations were deeply connected.
“Only four kilometres separate the two nations. You could swim there if you weren’t worried about crocodiles,” he said.
Conroy confirmed the humanitarian support package would fund new emergency warehouses in PNG and a twinning partnership between PNG’s National Disaster Centre and Australia’s Emergency Management Agency.
He also announced that Australia would supply 4,500 new uniforms to the PNG Defence Force, identical in quality to ADF uniforms, bearing a distinct PNG design.
“Security goes beyond physical security; it goes to economic security,” Conroy said, noting Australia’s role as PNG’s largest trading and investment partner.
PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph said the alliance symbolised decades of cooperation dating back to World War II.
“From the days when we had a war in 1942 up to now, PNG and Australia have grown from strength to strength. The relationship has been really good,” Dr Joseph said.
PNG deputy Prime Minister John Rosso said the treaty was a natural extension of a long-standing partnership between the two nations.
“Whilst we concentrate on the treaty, I think this is more than just the Treaty. It’s the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea that’s been ongoing for 50 years,” Rosso said.
He said Australia’s assistance in infrastructure, security, and sport would continue to strengthen people-to-people ties.
“The NRL is a great achievement. It will make and strengthen relationships between both countries. We love our rugby league, similar to Australians,” Rosso said.
The forum ended with both governments reaffirming their commitment to deliver on defence, development, and economic cooperation, marking a new phase in one of the Pacific’s most important bilateral relationships.
