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PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: It was Japan then, but in many ways it’s China now, Prime Minister. So, is this trek with Marape as your bodyguard key to keeping China at bay?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, the relationship with Papua New Guinea is very important and we signed an upgraded defence agreement when he was in Australia last December. Prime Minister Marape was the first Pacific leader to address our Parliament in February. I was the first foreign leader to address the Parliament here in Port Moresby last year. We are very close. Papua New Guinea, you can see from the island of Saibai in the Torres Strait. We are less than 1000 kilometres from the mainland of Australia, from Cape York. And so it’s a very important and close relationship that we have. It was certainly forged during World War Two and ever since then we’ve been mates and will continue to be so into the future.

STEFANOVIC: But has there been any guarantees from him that he would choose Australia over China as it continues its flirtations with many Pacific island nations?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, Prime Minister Marape, at the official state dinner last night, again referred to Australia as Papua New Guinea’s partner of choice when it came to national security. This is an economic, social and security relationship that is so important between our two nations. Of course, PNG received the independence from Australia 49 years ago. They, at the time of World War Two, were regarded as part of the Australian territories. And so this relatively young nation has achieved a great deal. Australia will continue to support PNG and PNG will continue to support Australia. I make this point, there is no country on earth, including Australia, which is more passionate about rugby league than PNG. You can’t help but notice people walking around in NRL jumpers and State of Origin jumpers. You only have to go a couple of hundred metres. It just shows how close the relationship is, through those personal relationships are really important.

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Source: Office of the Australian Prime Minister

Speaker: The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia

Format: Interview

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