The Australian Government is disappointed and concerned by the Papua New Guinea Parliament's vote to delay national elections for six months. Questions have been raised in Papua New Guinea about the constitutionality of this decision.
While we respect Papua New Guinea's sovereignty, as a strong supporter and long-time friend of Papua New Guinea, Australia believes that the elections should be held on time, in accordance with the Constitution.
Papua New Guinea's democracy has to date had a good record of holding elections on time.
Australia has provided substantial practical support to enable elections to proceed as scheduled. We recently agreed to additional assistance of up to 30 Australian Civilian Corps personnel for the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission and an air support mission. This support is more significant than for any previous election.
We note the previous assurances of the Papua New Guinea Government that the election would be held on time and hope the Government will give this decision further consideration.