Opening remarks, Manus Island

SUBJECTS: Lombrum Joint Initiative; PNG-Australia relationship. 

MARLES: Prime Minister Marape, Minister Joseph, Governor, CDF, and to all distinguished guests who are here – rainwater is the giver of life, and so I think we can take the rain that occurred in exactly the right moment as being the very best moment for the future of the Lombrum Naval Base. It certainly has created a moment that we will never forget. At the height of the storm, I managed to take some selfies with Billy and with James, which I’ve now sent to both of them, but they are definitely going to be memorable moments for us – adding to a long history of memories in this place. It really is great to be back here in Manus. It’s great to be back here in Papua New Guinea. Today really is a moment of enormous significance in the relationship between Australia and PNG – the opening of the Lombrum Naval Base.

At $503M AUD, more than a $1B Kina, this is the biggest infrastructure investment that Australia has ever done in the Pacific – full stop. But this place is a place of great consequence. We’ve seen it in the history of the Second World War. At the end of the Second World War, this was the largest US naval base outside of the United States, and with Seeadler Harbor in this northern spot of Papua New Guinea, it really is the gateway to the Western Pacific. As a result of what we have built here together with Papua New Guinea and with the United States, what we have now is a remarkable asset that all of us will be able to use going forward. It is really exciting to think about the way in which we will be able to use this facility in all of our strategic thinking and in all of our strategic operations – between ourselves and PNG, but also with the United States. As the Prime Minister has said, it’s also worth thinking about the former immigration facility Lorengau, because that also has really great potential – working in combination with the Lombrum Naval Base. Here together, what we can look forward to is our two defence forces training together, exercising together, operating together, building skills together, and becoming much more engaged and interoperable – and that’s really at the heart of what this represents. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Marape and Prime Minister Albanese, we are seeing an energy in the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG the like of which we have not seen since 1975. It is really significant. In January, Minister Joseph and I commenced negotiations for a Defence Cooperation Agreement, which we intend to sign prior to the 16th of September, the Independence Day of PNG. This updates the Status of Forces Agreement, which goes right back to 1977 – but that agreement, along with so much more that we are working on together between our two governments, makes it really clear to me that this – the 50th year of PNG’s independence – will be the most significant year in the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG since independence in 1975. It is going to be transformational, and it transforms the relationship to a place where it rightly should be.

The opening of this facility today is the beginning of that process. This is a relationship which is not defined by being close friends – because we are much more than that. It is a relationship defined by being family. Our two nations are tight. We walk step-by-step. We are the closest of family. And in this moment, in a world which is increasingly challenging, unpredictable, and volatile, it is a moment where family sticks together – and that’s what this year represents. I’m so looking forward to being back here for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of PNG independence. We will have big things to announce in combination with the anniversary, and really, today is the first step in that process. I’m so excited about what this facility will do in the future and what it represents as a tangible expression of the closeness of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Thank you.

ENDS