Joint Doorstop, Papua New Guinea

Subjects: Helen Haines incident; Australia-PNG relationship; PNG Ministerial Forum; ADF Recruitment; Pukpuk Treaty; PNG Chiefs NRL team

JUSTIN TKATCHENKO, PNG FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, good morning everybody, and it's a pleasure to have the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Australia here with all the other Ministers, which is quite a huge number of nine, for the Ministerial Forum here in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This is where we get together as brothers and sisters, as two nations joined together to discuss our issues for the benefit of our people of both countries. And once again, this is a continuity of strengthening our relationship, taking it to the next level. Remember now, Papua New Guinea are allies, allies to Australia. Our relationship has gone to the highest level ever. And since then, we are taking our relationship in all sectors of what we do to another level, through health, education, security, to ensure that our region and the Pacific and our two countries are safe and sound and prosperous now and into the future for both Australia and Papua New Guinea. So we look forward to the forum and the outcomes that will come forward for the benefit of both countries.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Justin. It's fantastic to be here in Papua New Guinea today. Thank you very much for your welcome. Let me start by expressing our shock about the events that occurred yesterday in respect of our friend and colleague Helen Haines, the member for Indi. Helen was elected to the Parliament first in 2019 and since then she has been a beacon of decency within our Parliament. And I know that all of our colleagues today are feeling a deep sense of shock about what has occurred. Very mindful that the Prime Minister, the Minister for Home Affairs are very much dealing with this issue, that investigations are now very much underway and they will continue. But our thoughts in this moment are very much with Helen for her speedy recovery, her return to Parliament and of course with her family. Having said that, it is so important that we're here for the 32nd annual Australia PNG Ministerial Forum. Today there are eight ministers from Australia who have come to participate in this forum. It is our 32nd, but it is our first as allies, which very much changes the character of our relationship. We have always been the deepest of friends. Now we have each other's back. That's what it means to be allies. We very much forward to having conversations about how we take our alliance forward. We're looking forward to talking about how we can directly recruit Papua New Guineans into the Australian Defence Force. Very much looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast for the PNG Chiefs and we are excited about the beginning of the PNG Chiefs in the NRL in 2028. We'll also talk about the economic relationship between our two countries. We are Papua New Guinea's largest trading partner, its largest investment partner. We are so pleased to be here. We do not do this with any other country other than Papua New Guinea, and we are very much looking forward to the next two days.

PENNY WONG, FOREIGN MINISTER: Thanks very much. Well, first, can I associate myself with Richard's remarks in relation to the awful news about Helen Haines and the attack on her. Our thoughts are with Helen, they are with her family, they are with her community. And as Richard said, there are investigations underway. There will be more said about this later, but right at this moment our thoughts are with Helen and her family and friends. We are a country that lives in peace. We respect each other and it is so important that we hold on to those values. In relation to being here, can I say how fantastic it is to be back here in Papua New Guinea and I thank Justin for welcoming us. Thank you, Governor. It is wonderful to be here with this delegation of Australian Ministers to lead with a delegation of Papua New Guinean ministers for our Ministerial Forum, and this is the first forum we have had as allies. Prime Minister Marape speaks about two houses and one fence. Richard speaks about having each other's back. Being allies goes to what we do together, but it also goes to how we do it. How we do it together, how we talk, consult, engage, implement respectfully and jointly. And I'm very much looking forward, as I know all of my colleagues are, to the engagement today. It is also so good to see my counterpart, Justin. Justin is a personal friend. He's also a friend of Australia's and he is a great representative of your country and he's been so instrumental in the work we are doing in the Forum. So thank you for everything today, Justin, and thank you in advance for what we're going to do. Today, I look forward to chairing with you the Ministerial Forum.

PAT CONROY, MINISTER FOR PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS: It's again a great pleasure to be in Papua New Guinea and I begin by associating myself with the remarks of the Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister about how people are still processing the shock of what is an awful event and it will cast a fall pall on everything that Australian parliamentarians do for a long, long time. Nevertheless, it is a great joy to be in Papua New Guinea.  Our ally, our closest neighbour, our former colony is something that Prime Minister Marape reminds not just Papua New Guinea or Australians about, and that provides a special bond and a special obligation between our two countries to work for our joint potential. Over the next couple of days, the Ministerial Forum will be focused on how we implement the agreements that we've entered into, because fine words on paper are important, but implementation is even more important. And we've made strong progress on the Bilateral Security Agreement. We're making progress on the Alliance, and the Deputy Prime Minister alluded to ADF recruitment in his remarks. Implementation must be the North Star of everything we do so that the people of both Papua New Guinea and Australia see the close benefits from our close relationship. Then tomorrow morning will be the culmination of that close relationship. The Papua New Guinea Chiefs entering the National Rugby League in 2028 will be a milestone for both nations. It will bring together the 1,000 tribes and 800 languages of Papua New Guinea into a nation being driven by support for one team. It is Prime Minister Marape’s Nelson Mandela vision and tomorrow's announcements will be a critical milestone in that achievement and I'm really looking forward to that. And I should also congratulate PNG for beating Lebanon on the weekend in the Rugby League World Cup. A great achievement, even though they had a bit of inside information from the [inaudible] family, but that's fine to be friendly.  But PNG, the Kumuls came through, so it's a great joy to be here today. Thank you very much.

MARIAN FAA, ABC NEWS: Marian Faa, ABC News. As it’s been mentioned, the major part of the Pukpuk Treaty is the military recruitment piece. How many Papua New Guineans is Australia aiming to recruit into the ADF during the pilot program and how does the ADF plan on achieving that?

RICHARD MARLES: So look, we'll have more to say about this this afternoon when we've had our discussion and we do our press conference, so I'm loathe to get in the way of that. But we see this as a really important opportunity for both countries. This is an important opportunity in terms of building the numbers within the Australian Defence Force from an Australian perspective. But it's also a great opportunity for Papua New Guineans to not only gain employment, but gain fantastic capability and fantastic skills. And most importantly, what this is, is an enormous statement about our two countries as allies. There is nothing more profound than wearing one's nation's uniform. And for Papua Guineans to be standing there, side-by-side with Australians, to be supporting that one fence around both of our countries is a huge thing. 

MARIAN FAA: May I just ask, this morning it's been reported that the target is around 100 recruits in the pilot program. Can you confirm that number?

RICHARD MARLES: Well, we'll be talking about this as we announce it later today.

JOURNALIST (NBC): [Inaudible]. What steps is the Australian Government taking to ensure the upcoming ADF recruitment under the Pukpuk Treaty is strictly merit-based, transparent and independently assessed?

RICHARD MARLES: Well, firstly, in respect to the first part of the question, obviously that is an issue which is being worked through by the PNG government. We very much respect that process. In terms of recruitment into the ADF, it will very much be a process which is transparent, which is merit-based, and we're really excited about what this will mean in terms of having a young Papua New Guineans with a capability serving in the Australian Defence Force.

JOURNALIST: Apart from just infrastructure development for the PNG Defence Force, what other capabilities are you looking to develop or enhance in the PNG Defence Force?

RICHARD MARLES: Well, firstly, we have provided support in terms of the infrastructure for the PNG Defence Force as you said, and we're really excited about the progress of the Goldie Barracks, and we'll be talking, no doubt, about the development of Hella as well. But we're looking about building capability within the PNG Defence Force across all the services. In the maritime domain, in aviation and across the army. Through our exercises, through our Pacific Patrol Boat Program, our Pacific Maritime Support Program I should say, and through what we are doing in supporting the aviation team here, it is about across the full domain of the PNG Defence Force, building its capability.

ENDS