SENIOR law and justice leaders from across Papua New Guinea have reaffirmed their commitment to work together to strengthen community safety, improve access to justice and deliver better outcomes for Papua New Guineans.
The recent Australia–Papua New Guinea Law and Justice Partnership (APLJ) Strategic Program Governance Meeting, reviewed progress under the APLJ program that has supported 227 activities across national agencies, provinces and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. More than 9,500 people across Papua New Guinea (PNG) have directly benefited from the program over the past 12 months.
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Justice and Attorney General and Co-Chair of the meeting, Mr Stanley Raka, said the meeting reinforced the sector’s shared commitment to delivering the priorities already agreed through the National Coordinating Mechanism.
“The progress we have seen over the past year demonstrates the strength of the partnership in the law and justice sector. As we move into the next phase of implementation, it is important that we continue to focus on initiatives that deliver lasting improvements for our institutions and for the communities we serve.”
A key discussion at the meeting was around strengthening sector performance, accountability, and evidence-driven delivery through a shared research and reporting agenda. For the first time since 2014, PNG’s law and justice sector is restoring annual performance reporting. Agencies have begun providing baseline data for the new Annual Performance Report, which will bring together information from sixteen law and justice agencies.
Director of the Law and Justice Sector Secretariat, Mr Joe Saferius, noted that collaboration across agencies was essential to achieving lasting results.
“I always say that the law and justice sector’s collective mission is a just, safe and secure society. But no individual agency can deliver that; it’s not possible. Therefore, I acknowledge the whole-of-sector commitment to support this work together. These meetings give us the opportunity to ensure our activities are aligned and working towards achieving our shared objectives, outcomes and vision.”
The meeting also confirmed Australia and PNG’s activity plan for the upcoming year, with more than PGK 50 million committed to a broad portfolio of activities including infrastructure, technical assistance, and strategy development and implementation.
The Australia–PNG Law and Justice Partnership is a PNG law and justice sector-led initiative, with programs identified through the National Coordinating Mechanism and delivered in partnership with sector agencies. Australia is proud to support practical, locally-led efforts that improve coordination and outcomes across the law and justice sector.