Kieran Gilbert, Sky News Australia

Kieran Gilbert: Let's go the Minister who's handled the Government's negotiations on this, the Minister for the Pacific and International Development, Pat Conroy.

You heard there, Peter V'landys, talking about the soft power of this. It's an overt push into it, I guess, it's modernising the relationship as well. But PNG, as the Prime Minister put in the news conference, is really at our doorstep. There could not be a more important international partner than this one. Explain, if you can, for our viewers, why rugby league is the vehicle to do it.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy: Well, it's absolutely true. Rugby league is one of our critical vehicles for diplomacy into the Pacific. It's one of our critical advantages. We've made no secret the fact that we're facing permanent competition in the region for influence and to be partner of choice for the Pacific. And that's vital to our security. PNG is four kilometers from Australia. You could swim there if you weren't worried about crocodiles. Of course, you should be. And so, our security and prosperity is dependent upon us being the partner of choice for the region. And that's why this is one part of our much bigger Pacific policy.

So today Prime Ministers Marape and Albanese announced that a PNG rugby league team will be joining the National Rugby League in 2028. And that's all about deepening the people-to-people connections. When our futures are entwined together, we're looking to each other for our security and that makes Australia safer. So, today's announcement is about making Australia safer and engaging diplomatically better in the region.

Kieran Gilbert: Is there any guarantee that you can give what's been done to those that are going to travel to Port Moresby for rugby league matches? You know, it's not the - it's not the safest place in the world. In fact, in most of the international security assessments, it's one of the most dangerous cities in the world. So, you're sending many of our teams, support crews and so on, into Moresby on a regular basis in a couple of years. What guarantees can you give that they're going to be safe?

Minister Conroy: I'd make a couple of points. First off, there are tens of thousands of Australians who work in Papua New Guinea right now. If you go to Cairns Airport or Brisbane Airport, you'll see them, not all in high vis, often in other companies as well, who work in PNG right now. So, I'd make that as the first point. The second point is we're partnering with a Government that's making record investments in their own security. They've allocated lots of funds to build up their police force and we're supporting them.

Today, the bilateral security agreement that the two Prime Ministers signed last year entered into force. As part of that was a $200 million package to support growing the police force, growing forensics, the legal system, so that PNG can upgrade their security sector. We're helping train PNG recruits right now. Some of them have been training in Australia. We're funding retired police officers from Australia and other Commonwealth nations to fill the middle management roles in PNG. Why are we doing this? One, it's important that PNG be safe and secure. But secondly, our security depends upon their security. When you can cross the border on a tinny, you want to make sure that there's good security systems on both sides and that's why we're making this investment.

Kieran Gilbert: We know the links are very long in that sense as well from the fuzzy wuzzy angels, as they were known in World War II. The security links have been long running.

But can I ask you, this strategic trust agreement, which my understanding is it's been undertaken between the two governments at the highest level alongside this NRL deal. Is this all about China, that agreement on strategic trust, as it's put?

Minister Conroy: Well, the NRL agreement is underpinned by a common understanding of strategic trust. And what do I mean by that? That strategic trust is that the commitments given by Prime Minister Marape and his government that Australia is their security partner of choice, will continue. And as Prime Minister Marape made clear in the conference, our security is entwined. So, it's natural that our security partner of choice for PNG would be Australia. And he said that many times publicly. His Foreign Minister, as recently as this week, said that they would not be signing any security agreement with China or any other country in that region because their primary security partner, their security partner of choice is Australia. And that will continue. So, today's announcement is underpinned by that common strategic trust and it will continue.

Kieran Gilbert: And you can pull the funding at any point.

Minister Conroy: You can't be--

Kieran Gilbert: You can also pull-- Can't you pull support under this deal at any point if, you know, worse, if push came to shove.

Minister Conroy: The agreement does contain a clause for the Commonwealth Government to withdraw its funding. That is true, but I'm very confident that will never happen because that strategic trust will endure in perpetuity because physically, we cannot be separated. We're right next to each other. And secondly, having a PNG team join the National Rugby League is such a great idea. It is bound to succeed, especially with the resources and the policies that have been put in place. So, I'm confident that clause will never be needed. But obviously it is available.

Kieran Gilbert: Yeah. Just finally, I know many of our viewers would have spent time there as well in PNG and you see the State of Origin jerseys, the many maroon jerseys, some blue ones as well. What gives you confidence, confidence that such a disparate, diverse nation is going to embrace and get behind one team?

Minister Conroy: Well, that diversity is why I'm confident - Prime Minister Marape has a vision for a country where there's 830 languages across a thousand tribes. Sport has the power to unite. And I call it his version of Nelson Mandela vision. Nelson Mandela realised the successful Rugby World cup in 95 would heal some of the risks of a post-apartheid South Africa. And this vision that Prime Minister Marape has of bringing his country together to promote and support one team, like if you go to Queensland, people in Townsville or Cairns aren't always positive about people in Brisbane, but they're united in their love of that bloody Queensland Rugby League team when they're playing NSW. And I'm confident that PNG will similarly come behind. And this vision, it's also about economic development. You're going to see thousands of Australians travelling up for games, spending their money in the local economy. Spending - seeing hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure investment in Port Moresby. It'll make Port Moresby safer, it'll develop it economically and it'll bring our two peoples together, which makes Australia safer.

Kieran Gilbert: Minister Conroy, thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

Minister Conroy: Thanks, Kieran.