Aus–PNG Network Emerging Leaders Dialogue 2026 Joint Communiqué.
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Bilums to boardrooms: The business of Australia–Papua New Guinea relations
From 4–8 May 2026, nineteen emerging leaders from Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) came together in Cairns (Gimuy), Queensland, for the Emerging Leaders Dialogue, convening under the theme “Bilums to boardrooms: The business of Australia–Papua New Guinea relations”.
The dialogue contained deep insights and reflections on the state of the bilateral relationship, the implications and necessity of continual cultural understanding and respect, and the need for ambition and persistence to foster a relationship of equal value and opportunity for people on both sides of the Torres Strait.
The Emerging Leaders wish to communicate the following as essential for building stronger business and people-to-people links between Australia and Papua New Guinea, and for the positive development of the bilateral relationship.
A partnership that cannot hold an uncomfortable conversation is not a partnership in full. The cohort proposes that the two countries’ governments, institutions, and the emerging leaders themselves commit to a relationship resilient enough to deliver and receive hard truths about shared history, unmet obligations, and the respective shortfalls of each country, in the knowledge that doing so reflects the strength of the partnership, not a threat to it.
The bilateral relationship has evolved substantially since Papua New Guinea’s independence in 1975. From colonial administration to nation-building partners, and now allies, it continues to mature. The language, architecture, and delivery of the relationship must also follow suit, and reflect genuine partnership and equal effort. The cohort proposes greater deployment of the “PNGAus Partnership” logo for all collaborative activity, including that delivered by local contractors. This logo should be a quality mark, a signal that PNG communities have determined their own priorities and taken ownership of their development agenda, with Australian investment enabling that work.
Australia’s technical assistance programs represent a significant and genuine investment in Papua New Guinea’s institutional development. The cohort proposes that both governments ensure these programs are designed with deliberate transition plans and with clear milestones for when functions move to PNG professionals and institutions. The goal of every technical assistance engagement should be to make itself redundant. Papua New Guinea’s government and institutions must equally commit to absorbing and leading that transition as a sovereign priority.
The bilateral relationship is underpinned by partnership agreements that mandate genuine engagement from both sides. Where Australian government agencies, businesses, and institutions are present and active in bilateral forums, PNG counterparts must be equally present, equally prepared, and equally invested. Partnership is not a one-sided commitment. The cohort proposes that PNG institutions treat their participation in bilateral engagement not as optional or ceremonial, but as a sovereign responsibility to the people the relationship is meant to serve.
Both countries bring distinct cultural frameworks to professional and commercial settings. Neither is more legitimate than the other, and neither should be expected to disappear at the boardroom door.
Significant gaps exist in how Australian workplaces and institutions account for Papua New Guinea’s cultural priorities, including compassionate leave, community obligations, and communication norms. Equally, PNG professionals and institutions benefit from understanding the cultural frameworks within which Australian business and government operate.
The cohort proposes that both sides more actively pursue cultural literacy, recognising and respecting differences as a feature of the relationship, not an obstacle to it. In international settings, cultural practices are routinely accommodated without question. This relationship deserves no less.
Relationships are strongest when they are personal, not just institutional. Formal opportunities for Australians and Papua New Guineans to meet, connect, and build relationships at every stage of life exist, but remain limited in number and reach. The cohort proposes that both governments increase investment in people-to-people programs across all age groups. Building relationships earlier creates a more durable foundation for the bilateral relationship.
Formal registration and identification are the bedrock of an individual’s participation in society. The cohort proposes that the PNG government prioritise the development and overhaul of its national citizen registration and identification systems as a sovereign priority, with Australia providing targeted technical and financial support to accelerate that work. Stronger identification systems will expand the foundation for Papua New Guineans to participate fully in bilateral trade, investment, and the people-to-people links that benefit both countries.
The cohort proposes an annual young chambers of commerce dialogue between PNG and Australia, creating a sustained forum for the next generation of business leaders to build relationships and identify collaborative opportunities. The cohort commits to initiating this, and identifiable members of this cohort will drive it forward.
SMEs will be the primary drivers of business-to-business links between both countries. Organisations such as Pacific Trade Invest, the PNG Investment Promotion Authority, and Austrade make up the architecture for bilateral trade facilitation. The cohort proposes that both governments ensure these services are actively promoted to SMEs, assisting them in identifying entry points into each other’s markets, navigating accreditation and certification pathways such as food safety and ISO standards, and removing barriers to entry.
Members of the PNG diaspora are active nodes of bilateral engagement, connecting capital, culture, and community in ways that no government program can replicate. The cohort proposes that bilateral frameworks and engagement actively incorporate and better leverage the participation of the diaspora. This means identifying and engaging diaspora organisations, such as the PNG Diaspora Business Council of Australia, as formal partners in trade, investment, and community initiatives.
Papua New Guinea is an underappreciated investment destination. The cohort proposes that both governments explore mechanisms to channel Australian capital into PNG start-ups and SMEs, including converting the PNG National Stock Exchange (PNGX) into an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-accessible index fund and establishing a dedicated PNG start-up index fund on the ASX. Micro-investment platforms enabling small-scale contributions to PNG real estate and infrastructure development are also worth exploring.
Money laundering and cyber-enabled financial crime pose shared risks to both countries and to the integrity of the bilateral economic relationship. Papua New Guinea’s grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force in February 2026 reflects gaps in its own anti-money laundering framework, and remediation is a sovereign responsibility. However, Australia has a clear stake in supporting this remediation to achieve bilateral trade and investment ambitions.
The cohort proposes that both governments look beyond traditional law enforcement cooperation to deepen agency-to-agency collaboration on emerging threats, including through technology and intelligence-sharing frameworks. The Australia–Papua New Guinea Bilateral Security Agreement provides a foundation for this, but the economic and financial dimensions of security deserve greater emphasis within it.
Papua New Guinea’s mining laws currently prevent women from working in mines. This is just one example of broader structural barriers to women’s economic participation in the country. The cohort proposes that Papua New Guinea prioritise the review and reform of these barriers, and that Australia actively champion this through its development programming, investment frameworks, and bilateral dialogue. Unlocking women’s participation is not a women’s issue. It is a national economic imperative.
The PALM scheme is currently demand-driven on the Australian side, with PNG workers filling unskilled, low-skilled, and semi-skilled labour shortages in agriculture, food processing, aged care, hospitality, and tourism. There is no deliberate strategy for the skills those workers bring home.
The cohort proposes that both governments treat PALM scheme participation as a circular investment that upskills PNG workers in priority areas. PALM already places PNG workers in tourism and value-added processing, both identified as national priorities in PNG’s Medium Term Development Plan IV (2023–27), alongside SME growth. Upskilling under PALM should be deliberately aligned with these priorities, equipping returning Papua New Guineans with the skills their country needs to deliver its own development agenda, not just fill Australian labour gaps.
Papua New Guinea has benefited from new mobility pathways, including the Pacific Engagement Visa. The significance of the bilateral relationship justifies a dedicated PNG-focused visa to deepen people-to-people links. The cohort proposes that both governments commit to a long-term ambition of more streamlined movement arrangements, with the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand as the benchmark for what close neighbours can achieve.
As a near-term step, both governments should consider a dedicated Papua New Guinea Engagement Visa. Such a pathway, as recommended by policy experts, would give Papua New Guineans greater certainty and access, commensurate with the closeness of the two countries.
The cohort proposes that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) establish a regional office in Cairns — a city with deep geographic, cultural, economic, educational, and people-to-people links with Papua New Guinea and the broader Pacific region. As Australia’s closest major city to Port Moresby, Cairns is the natural gateway for servicing the bilateral relationship.
A DFAT presence would strengthen operational foundations, support the business community, and signal genuine commitment to the relationship beyond Canberra.
Queensland’s Teacher Rapid Response Team places teachers in high-need schools on a short-term basis. The cohort proposes that Papua New Guinea be included in the catchment of this program, with Australian teachers taking up short-term placements in Papua New Guinea’s rural and remote schools, working alongside available staff to build local capacity.
The ANU–UPNG Partnership demonstrates the potential and value of sustained exchanges between Australian and PNG academic institutions. For more than a decade, it has operated through teaching placements in UPNG, collaborative research and outreach, and further study and exchange visits to ANU.
The cohort proposes that this model be deliberately expanded so that PNG academics also have the opportunity to take up teaching positions at Australian universities, and that similar arrangements be extended to other Australian and PNG tertiary institutions. PNG academics and professionals bring distinct knowledge and expertise, and Australian universities stand to gain from engaging their perspectives seriously.
Digital capability is the foundational skill set needed to live, learn, and work in an increasingly digital world. AI literacy is the narrower ability to understand, use, and critically evaluate artificial intelligence. As businesses in both countries become more digitally integrated, the bilateral relationship presents a natural opportunity to share knowledge and build capacity together, particularly through business training programs that help SMEs navigate the online marketplace. A shared focus on AI fraud awareness is important, given the exposure of individuals and small businesses in both countries to AI-enabled scams and other digital threats.
The arrival of the PNG Chiefs brings significant investment into the economy. PNG businesses and communities should be owners of the club’s success, not passive recipients of its spending.
The cohort proposes that a local business committee of PNG SMEs be established to identify and coordinate economic opportunities around the Chiefs, drawing on knowledge and experience from Australian rugby league communities and businesses that have built successful local economies around their clubs.
The PNG diaspora, with its cross-cultural knowledge of both markets, is well-placed to support this work.
A bilum is made of thousands of individual threads. Each thread in the Australia–Papua New Guinea relationship matters. This cohort, and the generations that follow, must keep weaving.
This communiqué was produced by the 2026 cohort of the Emerging Leaders Dialogue, a flagship program of the Aus–PNG Network, hosted at the Lowy Institute.
Convenors:
Oliver Nobetau, Program Director, Pacific Islands Program
Sarah Thompson, Project Director, Australia-Papua New Guinea Network
Dr Connor Graham, Research Fellow, Pacific Islands Program
Serena Sasingian, FDC Fellow, Pacific Islands Program
The Australia-Papua New Guinea Network acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of the land on which the 2026 Emerging Leaders Dialogue was held, the Djabugay; Yirrganydji; Bulwai, Gimuy Walubara Yidinji; Mandingalbay Yidinji; Gunggandji; Dulabed and Malanbara Yidinji; Bundabarra and Wadjanbarra Yidinji; Wanyurr Majay; Mamu and NgadjonJii peoples. We extend this respect to all elders past and present, and other First Peoples within the region.
The Australia-Papua New Guinea Network would like to thank the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for its support. The Network also wishes to recognise the contribution of Senator the Hon. Nita Green, Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, Tourism and Northern Australia,
Dr Justin Lee, First Assistant Secretary, Pacific Melanesia Division, The Cairns Institute, Cairns Regional Council, Pacific Trade Invest, Papua New Guinea Diaspora Business Council of Australia, Tanks Arts Centre, Trade and Investment Queensland, TradeLinked Aus-PNG-Pacific, and all other supporters who helped with the delivery of the 2026 Emerging Leaders Dialogue.
About the authors
Oliver Nobetau
Oliver (Oli) Nobetau is Pacific Islands Program Director at the Lowy Institute.
Sarah Thompson
Sarah Thompson is a Research Associate in the Pacific Islands Program and the Project Director of the Australia–Papua New Guinea Network at the Lowy Institute.
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