By FREDERICK PUNANGI
There is so much hype about the NRL and Papua New Guinea’s plans to field its own team, PNG Chiefs, in the world’s premier rugby league competition in 2028.
Investing A$600 million in this sporting venture is a very measured strategic security policy approach by Australia’s Labor Government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
As I have alluded to previously, the Australians have finally woken from a long slumber and are scurrying to fill some strategic gaps before these dissipate with aggressive Chinese diplomatic maneuvering in PNG and the Pacific Islands Region.
Rugby league diplomacy is a particularly interesting weapon of choice for Australia in PNG. Our love and passion for the game is unparalleled elsewhere.
Currently, there is a huge cultural disparity between our two nations. Interestingly, other Pacific Island nations enjoy friendlier hospitality in Australia than Papua New Guinea, its closest neighbor.
Hence, the Albanese Government took urgent measures to close this gap and grabbed the opportunity to create a strong cultural bond through our rugby league psyche and mindset. By pumping massive Australian taxpayers’ funds into the PNG NRL venture, Canberra has virtually captured this rugby league mad nation.
When we stack up some of Australia’s abhorrent strategic diplomatic failures in PNG, the Albanese Government stands to make amends with the hugely popular rugby league diplomacy.
Undoubtedly, the PNG NRL coup is set to become Australia’s “jewel in its diplomatic crown”, which will be a win-win situation for both nations if it is played out diligently with purpose and humility.
However, the measured strategic diplomatic policy approach taken by the Australian political leadership is most likely to miss its target.
A cultural linkage through rugby league diplomacy that precipitates desirable strategic outcomes for Canberra is most unlikely as it is fanning out at the moment.
Much of the funding support from the Australian taxpayers will fund a lavish lifestyle for NRL stars who are contracted to play for the PNG Chiefs, when the team enters the competition in 2028.
PNG Chiefs players will enjoy tax-free salaries, expensive accommodation and other benefits. Adding to these costs are Australian NRL consultants layered throughout the PNG NRL and the PNG Chiefs franchise. Nothing is being mentioned of a costly and labyrinthic security setup to protect Chiefs’ players and their families.
For starters, this disenfranchises the very act of rugby league inclusivity and propels these players into stardom.
For the love and passion for the sport in PNG, is this really the setup we want for the development of the sport in this impoverished nation of 10 million?
Rugby league is not just a sport in PNG. It is fast becoming a way of life for our young people and much of our population in rural communities throughout the country. A rugby league culture has evolved that has engulfed entire communities and traversed cultures and traditions.
The game is played and watched with almost religious fervor everywhere. The allure of the game unifying and inspiring a nation, as diverse as PNG, is enormous.
A rugby league review report presented to former Sports Minister Don Polye, who commissioned the review, the highlighted the need for the National Government to engage in a collaborative partnership with the PNGRFL and other high value partners, including the NRL, as the PNG NRL bid was in progress.
The review report said that in order to develop and sustain a “rugby league eco-system” that can positively foster a growth chain for rugby league excellence, this collaborative partnership was desirable. But this does not seem to be the case now.
Government intervention has to be resolute with a view to developing rugby league[fp1] infrastructure. It has to partner with the PNGRFL and development partners to invest in this eco system, to facilitate an enabling environment for the game to gain a threshold in growth and excellence.
With the right mix of investment and support for the game, the rugby league eco-system can create a positive socio-economic environment at the base level, where our communities are. The potential for the National Government to leverage the synergies available in this eco-system for positive socio-economic programs, such as incubating rural SMEs, exists.
In military parlance, the evolving rugby league eco-system has a huge potential to have a positive “force multiplier effect” on our local communities.
This in essence is why the Australian taxpayers AUD$600 million needs to be realigned and invested to meet longer term rugby league growth and to target PNG’s prosperity and development aspirations.
If the NRL Bid Agreement has a specific clause that restricts PNG from entering into any specific agreement with our largest trading partner, China, then we have definitely undermined our own sovereignty for some rugby league megalomaniac setting in PNG.
The Government must have an oversight role in this to ensure this partnership promotes our development aspirations through the proposed rugby league eco-system and to ensure that our people do not remain detached and disenfranchised by a highly exclusive and monetized structure.
The author was a member of the 2023 rugby league review committee commissioned by the Sports Minister. He is the former Secretary for Defense. He is currently the founder and Executive Director of Pacific Strategic Security Analysis Group (PSSAG). His email address: fmpunangi@gmail.com