Australia–Papua New Guinea Relations
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Foreign relations Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
exist between
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. Papua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour (roughly 3.75 km separates the two countries at
Saibai Island Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai (), is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guine ...
in the
Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, ˆzen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...
) and a former colony of Australia. Both nations share the same
continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
in the
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
region. Papua New Guinea has developed much closer relations with Australia than with
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, the only country which it shares a land border with. The two countries are
Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...
s. In contemporary times, Papua New Guinea is one of the largest recipients of Australian aid. Some critics have pointed to instances where this has led to an outsized Australian influence on Papua New Guinea politics.


History


19th and 20th century history

The southern half of eastern
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
(the
Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the ...
) was annexed by the
Colony of Queensland The Colony of Queensland was a colony of the British Empire from 1859 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Australia, Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony included the present-day Queensland, ...
in 1883, on behalf of the British Empire. This annexation however, would not be ratified by the United Kingdom, and the land was placed as a
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...
. After federation, the land would soon come under Australian administration in 1902, following a formal annexation by the United Kingdom. In 1920, Australia was given a
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
mandate to rule
German New Guinea German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...
, and in 1945, Papua and New Guinea were combined in an administrative union. The Papua and New Guinea territories consisted of more than 800 different tribes. Papua New Guinea remained an external territory of Australia up until 1975, where under Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...
, parliament passed the
Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 The Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Australia. It replaced the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949, and changed the status of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea to that of an independent Papua New Guin ...
, withdrawing Australian power over the territory. Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth nation on 16 September 1975. The two countries retained close relations, with Australia supplying development aid. Papua New Guinea's political institutions are modelled on the
Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...
, the same system that is used by Australia. In February 1977, Australia and Papua New Guinea signed the "Agreement on Trade and Commercial Relations between the Government of Australia and the Government of Papua New Guinea (PATCRA)", establishing a free trade area between the two nations. In 1987, the two nations signed the Joint Deceleration of Principles Guiding Relations Between Australia and Papua New Guinea. In September 1991, Australia and Papua New Guinea signed the "Agreement on Trade and Commercial Relations between the Government of Australia and the Government of Papua New Guinea (PATCRA II)", expanding upon the previous agreement from 1977.


21st century history

Relations between Prime Minister
Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 25 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the " father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...
(PNG) and Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
(Australia) were often strained, a strain which culminated in Somare being barred from entering Australia. In 2001, relations were very good. A detention centre was built on
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
, in Papua New Guinea, as part of Australia's "
Pacific Solution The Pacific Solution is the name given to the Australian Government, government of Australia's policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centres on island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Austral ...
". Refugee claimants seeking
asylum in Australia Asylum in Australia has been granted to many refugees since 1945, when half a million Europeans displaced by World War II were given asylum. Since then, there have been periodic waves of asylum seekers from South East Asia and the Middle East, ...
were sent to Manus Island (or
Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...
), and Australia paid for the costs of their detention, providing Papua New Guinea with economic aid. The last inmate was Aladdin Sisalem, who was kept in solitary confinement from July 2003 until he was finally granted asylum in Australia in June 2004. Australia continued to pay for the upkeep of the empty detention centre until late 2007. In March 2005, Somare was required by security officers at
Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, total amounting to more than 22.7 mill ...
, Australia, to remove his shoes during a routine departure security check. He took strong exception to what he considered a humiliation, leading to a diplomatic contretemps and a significant cooling of relations between the two countries. A protest march in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
saw hundreds march on the Australian High Commission, demanding an apology. In 2006, tensions between Papua New Guinea and Australia worsened due to the "
Julian Moti Julian Ronald Moti, QC , CSI (2 June 1965 - 21 December 2020) was the Attorney General of the Solomon Islands. He was born in the Colony of Fiji and educated in Australia. Moti worked as an adjunct professor of law at Bond University on Austral ...
affair". Moti, a close associate of
Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is a Solomon Islander politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2024. He served as the prime minister of Solomon Islands for a total of nine years from 2000–2001, 2006–2007, 2014–2017 ...
, the then Prime Minister of the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
, was arrested in Port Moresby on 29 September 2006 under an Australian extradition request to face child sex charges in relation to events in
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
in 1997. After breaking bail conditions and taking sanctuary in the Solomon Islands High Commission, he was flown to the Solomon Islands on a clandestine PNG Defence Force flight on the night of 10 October, causing outrage on the part of the Australian government. Australia then cancelled ministerial-level talks in December and banned senior Papua New Guinea ministers from entering Australia. In 2007, both prime ministers faced elections. Somare was re-elected, but Howard was defeated and succeeded by
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...
. Rudd soon set out to mend Australian-PNG relations. He met his Papua New Guinean counterpart in
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
in December 2007 to resume normal diplomatic relations. In March 2008, Rudd visited Papua New Guinea."Papua New Guinea and Australia"
, ''The National'', 7 March 2008
In 2013, under Prime Ministers
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...
(Australia) and
Peter O'Neill Peter Charles Paire O'Neill (born 13 February 1965) is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2011 to 2019. He has been a Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pangia since 2002. He was a fo ...
(PNG), the two nations signed the Joint Declaration for a New Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership. This was an evolution of the previous agreement, the 1987 Joint Deceleration of Principles Guiding Relations Between Australia and Papua New Guinea. It was reported in November 2019 that Australia would directly loan Papua New Guinea $US300 million, via
Export Finance Australia Export Finance Australia, formerly known as the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC), is an Australian government agency responsible for supporting the country's export activities. It operates under the Export Finance and Insurance Co ...
. In August 2020, Prime Ministers
Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...
(Australia) and
James Marape James Marape (born 24 April 1971) is a Papua New Guinean politician who has served as the prime minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the el ...
(PNG) signed the Papua New Guinea-Australia Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership, to expand further upon ties existing between the two nations. Upon announcing that Australia would support Papua New Guinea's efforts in the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, then-Prime Minister Morrison described the nation as "family". Morrison stated that the public health assistance was "in Australia's interests," adding it was "equally oour PNG family who are so dear to us". In 2023, prime ministers
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
(Australia) and James Marape (PNG) signed a security agreement, with Marape touting the deal as showing the two are "brother and sister nations". Albanese added that "For our interests going forward, we have no closer friends than Papua New Guinea". In December 2024, PNG reached an agreement to join Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), securing a landmark deal worth A$600 million over ten years to establish a team in Port Moresby by 2028. In return, PNG committed to prioritising Australia as its primary security partner and refraining from forming security ties with China. This agreement, while shrouded in confidentiality, stipulated that Australia could withdraw funding and the NRL team if PNG entered a security pact with any nation outside the "Pacific family," excluding China. The agreement also highlighted Australia’s increasing influence in the Pacific, countering China’s growing presence in the region, while raising questions about PNG’s sovereignty and its future security partnerships. In February 2025, Australia & Papua New Guinea announced talks on a full defence treaty. Both countries already had a defence cooperation deal, and the goal of the full defence was to enhance military cooperation & interoperability, as per Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles. The treaty planned to deepen integration between the two nations' defence forces. Papua New Guinea Defence Minister Billy Joseph stressed close ties with Australia, calling them "tied to the hips".


Polls

In a 1997 poll of students at the
University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...
, nearly three-quarters of respondents had favourable feelings about Australia, with Australians being seen by respondents as friendly and hard-working with a love of sport. In a 2022 poll by Australian research group the
Lowy Institute The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in ...
, 61% of respondents had a favourable view of Papua New Guinea. The only other countries from
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
included in the poll were
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
, which had a 67% rating, and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, which was the most favorably viewed country by Australians with a 86% rating.


See also

*
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
*
Colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
*
Politics of Papua New Guinea The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic multi-party system, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Papua New Guinea is an independent Commonwealth realm, with the ...
*
Politics of Australia The politics of Australia operates under the written Australian Constitution, which sets out Australia as a constitutional monarchy, governed via a parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition. Australia is also a federation, where pow ...


External links


Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinean High Commission in Australia


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Australia-Papua New Guinea Relations
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
Bilateral relations of Papua New Guinea Relations of colonizer and former colony