Doorstop, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Andrew Hill, CEO PNG NRL bid: So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming, on behalf of the PNG NRL bid. I know I've spoken to just about all of you in the last ten days. Some of you have actually come prepared to ask some questions tonight. The Prime Minister is still about five or ten minutes away, so I will take this opportunity to do some media now.

With us is Minister for the Pacific and International Development, the Honourable Pat Conroy. Wonderful opportunity for the bid to host the Minister, representing Prime Minister Albanese and of course the Australian Government. And a man who does not need much introduction in PNG is Mr Wapu Sonk, the Chairman of the PNG NRL bid. No other role, just the Chairman of this wonderful bid.

So, tonight is an opportunity for us to introduce the bid to the corporate leaders of PNG and in government. It is really day one, we've announced the bid some time ago. We've spent a lot of time getting ready and I know many of you have been reporting on the pilot program we started on Monday and thank you for that tremendous coverage. So, I will hand over to you now to ask questions of both the Minister and the Chair. Thank you.

Journalist: Chairman, Terry from TV One. Thank you for your time. And also Minister, welcome. Just give us for starter, just give us a heads up on where we are at since the bid was launched and I know there's a lot has happened behind the scenes, but just give us a heads up to where we are at the moment moving forward.

Wapu Sonk, Chairman PNG NRL bid: Thanks for that question. Basically, the bid is since April of last year, when the directors were appointed. We've been basically working with all the stakeholders, meaning Australian stakeholders, NRL, the Australian Government, PNG Government, PNG stakeholders. Most of it has been really about listening because there's a lot of bids that have failed. We also ran a bid program here. This is the second round. So, what we did is to really do a lot of consulting and also get the structures right. Get the structures right, so it will stand up for corporate compliance management of that NRL bid.

It's actually a company we are creating, it's not just a team. So, we had to get the governance structures right whilst listening to how we can best put our foot forward. So, where we are now is actually the launch. The announcement that government made last year was just appointment and expression of a desire to have a NRL team in the Australian comp, the NRL comp. So, what we are here to do now is to actually launch that because we've done all the listening, we've done all the planning, and now we are ready to then start the program and we've identified where the key elements are and where we fall short. And we've started to work with that and last week we've started that program. You've seen that. So, basically where we are at is actually, as the CEO was saying, day one, which is to launch it, and then we'll start to roll it up leading up to 2025.

Journalist: [Indistinct] How much will it cost for Papua New Guinea [indistinct] the assistance that the Australian Government has asked [indistinct]?

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy: Well, the NRL are working through their own internal process. They haven't started the process of inviting applications for an 18th franchise, but it's very appropriate and very prudent of PNG to form this consortium to get all the ducks lined up, because there are other bids out there.

What we've said and Prime Minister Albanese, when he had the privilege of being the first foreign leader to address the Papua New Guinea Parliament, he said, in the heart of your democracy, that the Government of Australia wants to see a Papua New Guinea team playing in our National Rugby League competition. We want to see it happen and we're here to support it where it makes sense. Ultimately, it's a question for the NRL, but we're supporting it. And ways we're supporting is growing the player pipeline and lifting the performance centre.

So, we've supported the Prime Minister's XIII games. Earlier this year, actually, when Prime Minister Albanese visit, we announced funding to have annual schoolboys and schoolgirls tours of Australia and Papua New Guinea. And tonight, in my speech, but I'm happy to give you an advanced flavour of it, I'll be announcing five and a half million Australian dollars of further support, responding to a request from Mr Sonk and the consortium to invest in a few things.

One of them is to help fund the business case. Secondly is to fund a schoolboys and schoolgirls competition, because we need that elite pipeline. And third is to provide seed funding for a skills academy, a centre of excellence, because there's no point having a franchise if we don't have Papua New Guineans ready to play. And Justin Olam, as you all know, was the first Papua New Guinean to play all his junior football here and then enter the NRL. If you think about someone like David Mead, who left when he was 14 or 15, we want those players to stay in Papua New Guinea for all their juniors and come through the team. So, I'm really proud to announce that five and a half million dollars and as a token of our support, because we can't think of anything that will bring the people of Australia and Papua New Guinea closer together than a rugby league team here.

Journalist: Mr Sonk, [indistinct].

Wapu Sonk: Yeah, I can't speak for the Government. All we know is that when the board was announced last year, there was a commitment of 30 million kina. But that has not come forward yet. So, we have basically been starting to operate with the funds from PNG Rugby League and some funds from Kumul Petroleum to help run the program and get a bid to where it is now. So, as far as the Government of Papua Guinea, we'll hear from them, so we can't pre-empt what will come.

Journalist: Chairman, there's a lot of dynamics, I mean, like, fundamentals of getting the bid up and running now in place, moving forward. Now, how confident is the Government - getting a look in from NRL from the Australian NRL?

Wapu Sonk: From all our listening that we have done so far. First thing first, there is room for an 18th team. That's consistent messaging we're getting from NRL itself. Second thing is that we got two governments, the Australian Government and the PNG Government, supporting a PNG team to be the 18th team. And the third thing is that we have the facilities here.

In the previous round, we did not have stadiums. We now have stadiums, okay? We didn't have the Junior Development Program. We've started that now. So, we've basically looked at what actually makes an NRL team bid to be successful, what are key elements, we've looked at that we're working on it where we fall short. So, we're hoping that with all those different elements being in place, we can be successful in 2025.

Journalist: Minister, I hope you see the other counter, big bidders from the other - like New Zealand, and also from within Australia as well. Just give us a heads up on that.

Minister Conroy: Well, there's plenty of interest around the 18th franchise and I've seen all sorts of people putting their hand up, whether it's the North Sydney Bears, or a team in WA, or in New Zealand. And I respect their passion. I grew up in an area that was North Sydney Bears territory and they lost their team, so I understand their passion. And what I say to them is they will all make excellent options for the 19th or 20th teams.

As Prime Minister Albanese said, I want to see the 18th team in Papua New Guinea with a Papua New Guinean identity. And so those other franchises, I respect them, but I also don't want them trying to say, well, we'll play a couple games in Papua New Guinea and that'll satisfy people. I want to see a team with a Papua New Guinean identity playing in the NRL to honour the shared history between our two countries. Like, we are the closest of neighbours and the dearest of friends. Only four kilometres separates our two countries and I can't think of anything that will bring our countries closer together than this team. And that's the position of myself. And as Prime Minister Albanese said he wants to see it happen.

Journalist: There was also talk about having an all-Pacific team as well, bidding for the NRL, but I don't know.

Minister Conroy: Well, I think what I'd say is there's opportunities to further develop rugby league in the Pacific. I'm really proud of the fact that 50 per cent of NRL players are of Pacifika heritage. I think that is awesome. And if you look at the way Samoa performed in the World Cup last year, there's 100,000 Australians of Samoan heritage and all of them came out the week of the grand final and you knew them. So, there's plenty of growth of rugby league in the Pacific, but we're here talking about a Papua New Guinean franchise and I think that's really important that we concentrate on that.

Journalist: [Indistinct] what's the timeline [indistinct]?

Wapu Sonk: Yeah. So, I think the message we're getting from NRL is that by 2025, they would like to issue their licence and maybe 2027 the team to be in the comp. So, two years after licence run, team can be in the competition. That's a timeline that we're working against.

Minister Conroy: Any more questions?

Andrew Hill: I think we're done.

Minister Conroy: Excellent.