Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister wants Labor to win Australian election

Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister says he personally hopes Labor wins the Australian election, stating the incumbent government had done “a tremendous job” of rebuilding relationships in the Pacific. He also confirmed PNG’s cabinet had cleared the way for negotiations on a new treaty that would see Papua New Guineans serve in the Australian Defence Force. PNG’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told the ABC the Labor government had taken a “whole different perspective” towards the region since coming to power in 2022. Australia’s relationship with the Pacific became a key issue during the last election, when Solomon Islands signed a…