Australia has signed a deal to fund a new Papua New Guinea team to join Australia's National Rugby League 2028 competition. The deal is about more than sport; a parallel strategic deal was signed to ensure the Pacific island nation keeps Australia as its major security partner.
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00:00Rugby has long been popular in Papua New Guinea, but the nation's favourite sport didn't have a professional team until now.
00:07The Prime Minister of neighbouring Australia, Anthony Albanese, has announced that Papua New Guinea will be joining Australia's National Rugby League, known as the NRL.
00:16And we are united, of course, by a love of rugby league.
00:21And that's why I'm delighted to announce the Australian Government is supporting a PNG team to join the National Rugby League competition from 2028.
00:32The 10-year deal will cost the Australian Government over US$380 million.
00:38Halfways is the majority of the expenditure. We want to set up the schools with rugby league, we want to take retired players into the schools, we want to set up weekend competitions. It's a massive project.
00:51And it will provide a major boost for Papua New Guinea's economy, with home games set to be played in the capital, Port Moresby, where residents are already enthusiastic about the prospect.
01:01The impact it will bring to the country is enormous, in terms of tourist dollars, kina-wise. And the excitement that is going to field around the country will be really exciting.
01:15But this deal is not just about sport. Parallel to the NRL deal, Australia and Papua New Guinea signed another strategic security agreement, further to one signed last year.
01:26Reaffirming its partnership with Canberra in all matters including policing, military, climate change, economic and cyber security. This, boosting Australia's influence in the region.
01:37We're working behind, and I want to appreciate Australia Government for the bilateral security agreement we signed. It was signed one year earlier than these announcements. It is all working hand in hand, neatly, to make Port Moresby safe.
01:50Security analysts say the NRL deal is interlinked with the security pact. And there are media reports that if Papua New Guinea does anything that endangers the strategic agreement, including signing separate security deals with China, the plug will be pulled on the NRL deal.
02:06This is something that Australia definitely has a comparative advantage over. Particularly, I guess, with the rugby league. It's not like China can offer an alternative rugby league competition for a PNG team to play in. So it's something that can cut across a lot of different boundaries or obstacles that you would have to face when dealing generally in diplomacy and engaging.
02:27Although the Papua New Guinea team won't be on the field until 2028, these deals have already begun to secure Australia's strategic position in the region. But as residents celebrate the news of their inclusion in the professional league, the agreement hinges on Papua New Guinea playing to Australia's security rules.
02:44Scott Huang and Rosie Grenninger for Taiwan Plus.