Economy

Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea must be one of the government’s highest foreign policy priorities. It is long past time for the relationship to mature and transition from aid donor and aid recipient status. Australia and PNG must now engage as full economic partners.

Papua New Guinea is at a crossroads today: the country is poised to enter a period of unprecedented economic prosperity, led by the PNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that is being developed by ExxonMobil. Revenue from this project is expected to double PNG’s GDP growth, and a second LNG project in the Gulf province, being developed by...

Currently in the midst of its longest period of expansion since the country achieved independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea’s economy has grown every year since 2003, buoyed by developments in the energy and mining sectors. In 2011 PNG reported GDP growth of 8.9% – one of the highest rates in the world – due largely to strong domestic demand as a...

Separated only by the Torres Strait – a distance of 150 km – Papua New Guinea and Australia have translated their geographic ties into political and economic cooperation. Indeed, Australia has long been PNG’s largest export market, while also being its biggest source of imports. Australian companies are also heavily represented in PNG and around...

Occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and hundreds of adjacent smaller islands, Papua New Guinea is an important exporter of metals ( particularly gold and copper) and agricultural products such as coffee and palm oil. The country is also set to become a major exporter of gas, which expected to significantly increase the size...