Australia is closing in on a multi-million-dollar deal that would see Papua New Guinea join the NRL. And the ABC can reveal a major security agreement is at the heart of the negotiations.
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00:00On the rugby field, it's a game of sport, but off the pitch, the contest is one of geostrategic
00:10influence.
00:11Australia is negotiating a deal that could see it provide up to $600 million in funding
00:16over 10 years to help PNG get a team in the NRL.
00:21In return, Australia wants a promise that PNG won't sign a security patch with China
00:27that would allow it to base police or military troops in the Pacific country.
00:32Australia's Minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, didn't give details about the security
00:36element but says the deal will help bring the two nations closer together.
00:40Only four kilometres separates the two countries.
00:43You could swim between the two countries if you weren't worried about crocodiles, and
00:47you should be.
00:48And rugby league is one element of our soft diplomacy.
00:52It comes at a time of intense geopolitical competition in the region after Solomon Islands
00:58signed a wide-ranging security patch with China in 2022.
01:02Minister Conroy met PNG's Prime Minister James Marape and NRL Chief Andrew Abdo on
01:08the sidelines of the Prime Minister's 13 rugby league games in Port Moresby yesterday.
01:13It's unclear exactly when the final deal will be announced, with negotiations ongoing, but
01:19all parties say they're feeling optimistic.