The federal opposition has attacked the Prime Minister for leaving Papua New Guinea on Wednesday without signing a long-awaited defence treaty, branding it a "serious foreign policy embarrassment".
Anthony Albanese had been expected to sign the Pukpuk Treaty — named after the pidgin word for crocodile — during his visit. Instead, Australia and PNG signed only a communiqué.
The treaty would commit both nations to defend each other in the event of a military attack and has been widely seen as a counter to China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
PNG Prime Minister James Marape told reporters the deal would proceed after Cabinet approval, stressing that "Australia is our security partner of choice" while emphasising the idea originated with PNG.
"It was not Australia's proposal. Australia never asked for this. I want to say thank you very much, my brother," Mr Marape said.
"Part of this constructed defence treaty is not an isolated defence treaty program, working with our police, working with our judiciary, working with full government of the law and justice sector. In the next 10 years, we want to deliver PNG a safer country for all the children of this country to be safe."
The Coalition seized on the absence of a signed treaty, arguing Mr Albanese has "failed to plan for the risks in our region".
In a joint statement, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash and Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor accused the Prime Minister of being "more interested in chasing the optics with signing ceremonies in the Pacific and photos opportunities, than doing the substance of the work needed to line these agreements up properly".
"After the recent delay in concluding the Vanuatu agreement, this is just another embarrassment of the Prime Minister's own making. Why did the Prime Minister say the treaty would be signed before it had been agreed to? Why did the Deputy Prime Minister flag the finalisation of this agreement for months for it to stumble at the last hurdle?" they said.
Government ministers downplayed the delay, insisting the treaty had been finalised and would be signed "following cabinet processes in both countries".
"We have been open and transparent. We hit a logistical delay," Labor's Minister for Pacific Affairs, Pat Conroy, told the ABC.
"The cabinet of PNG was scheduled to consider the treaty on Monday. Unfortunately most of their ministers had left Port Moresby to go to their home provinces to celebrate Independence Day and that meant they did not have a quorum to consider the treaty."
Mr Albanese also rejected suggestions the outcome was a setback, calling it "perfectly understandable" that PNG's cabinet had focused on independence celebrations.
He stressed the treaty text had been agreed to, with the communiqué outlining "precisely what is in the treaty".
"We're releasing that for everyone to see today and this is very positive, very positive. There is no downside in this whatsoever," the Prime Minister said in Port Moresby.
Australia has been moving to shore up influence in the Pacific through deals including a climate pact with Tuvalu and a migration agreement with Nauru, part of a broader push to counter China in the region.
Nonetheless, the treaty delay marks the second time in two weeks Mr Albanese has returned from the Pacific without a signed deal, after a $500 million security pact with Vanuatu was postponed earlier this month.
Mr Marape said PNG Defence Minister Billy Joseph would soon begin a diplomatic "roadshow" to explain the agreement, starting in Beijing.
The Coalition warned the lack of a signed treaty underscored the stakes in the Pacific.
"Our region faces growing pressure from authoritarian powers who are determined to shape the Pacific in ways that don't align with our values or interests. This is a contest for influence, and we must move from rhetoric to reality in how we respond," they said.
