Australia has agreed to financially support Papua New Guinea (PNG) to develop a team that will compete in the National Rugby League (NRL).
However, the deal is contingent on Australia remaining PNG's security partner of choice over China, SBS News understands.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his counterpart James Marape announced on Thursday that the partnership would support a PNG team to start playing in Australia's premier rugby league competition from 2028.
"Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and PNG deserves a national team," Albanese told reporters on Thursday.
"The new team will belong to the people of Papua New Guinea. It will call Port Moresby home. I know it will have millions, literally, of proud fans barracking for it from day one."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right), during a press conference with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape in Sydney. Source: AAP / Mark Baker/AP
"It unites us, and it inspires us. It crosses borders and it fills bridges. In competing against each other, we learn from each other."
The Australian government will contribute $600 million over 10 years for PNG to develop the team and associated facilities in Port Moresby.
Albanese said the partnership is about economic development, the relationship between the two countries' peoples — and Australia's relationship with the wider Pacific.
"The partnership will support young people in the Pacific, girls and boys, women and men to play rugby league with a focus on PNG but also on Fiji, Tonga and some more," he said.
"It will complement our existing health and education programs in the Pacific and create new opportunities for women and girls to get involved as well."
PNG's prime minister Marape said the team deal was "monumental" and "will stand as pivotal in anchoring the PNG-Australia relationship".
He said the partnership would benefit both countries.
"It was strategic in the sense that we belong to one region. Our shared space is important in a world that is currently conflicted all over," he said.
"We want to preserve our Pacific — safe, peaceful, good for us all to live in, especially our children."
'Australia is PNG's security partner of choice'
SBS News understands PNG has agreed to sign an agreement on what's being called "strategic trust" between the two countries.
The deal would be contingent on Australia remaining the security partner of choice over China.
Australia will also be able to pull out of the deal at any time, SBS understands.
When asked about the details of the deal, Albanese said that "Australia is PNG's security partner of choice".
He referenced a separate bilateral security agreement, signed with PNG a year ago, which was made public and also came into force on Thursday.
"It's certainly not a secret that our relationship is so strong, that we work together, and part of that working together is because of our common values," he said.
"We're both great democracies. We both share a commitment to human rights. We both share market-based economies that are important as well. Our agreements go to the full range of relationships between two nations."
Marape noted the bilateral security agreement was signed before the NRL commitment, and shows that the two nations "want to have synergy".
"It was itself in PNG's strategic national interests to have synergy with compatible police and military," he said.
"We made this deliberate choice to have Australia as a security partner of choice, in the first instance. That doesn't stop us from relating with any nation — especially our Asian neighbours."
Marape said China is a "great trading partner", but in security, closer to home, "we have this synergy".
"Our shared territory needs to be protected, defended, policed."
Opposition queries details of deal
The Opposition has welcomed the deal but said it will seek clarification on how the $600 million will be spent, along with other details of the deal.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham said his side of politics had "long held the view that sport can be a powerful tool for fostering deeper connections between nations".
However, he said that a "detailed breakdown from the government on how these funds will be allocated is essential to build confidence in both Australia and PNG".
Opposition spokesperson for sport Anne Ruston said PNG's "inclusion in the NRL will go a long way in strengthening ties between our two countries" but echoed Birmingham's sentiments on the deal's details.
"Australians deserve further transparency on the costs and details associated with this taxpayer-funded commitment," she said.
