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Economy

An Australian gift of guns to Papua New Guinea must not end up in the wrong hands

Australia must not ship 3,500 rifles to Papua New Guinea’s defence force until the country can prove its armouries can keep the weapons secure, three Australian researchers said.

Source: Lowy Institute · August 20, 2026 at 1:08 AM · AI-assisted report

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An Australian gift of guns to Papua New Guinea must not end up in the wrong hands
Image: lowyinstitute.org

CANBERRA, 20 AUGUST 2026 —

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Australia must not ship 3,500 rifles to Papua New Guinea’s defence force until the country can prove its armouries can keep the weapons secure, three Australian researchers said.

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The warning follows a March statement by Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Peter Polewara, PNG’s Defence Force chief, who said state armouries were already leaking weapons to civilians and warlords in Enga province. According to the ABC, Polewara told reporters that checkpoint seizures showed “some of the weapons from the military have changed hands into the warlords.”

Australia plans to deliver the rifles under the Pukpuk defence treaty signed in October 2023. Canberra has said the transfer will be managed in line with its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty. The treaty requires Australia to assess whether the weapons would undermine peace and security, could be diverted for crime or violence, or used for gender-based violence.

PNG’s Police Minister, Sir John Pundari, last week called illegal firearms the country’s “enemy number one,” linking them to tribal fights, murders, rapes, armed robberies and drug trafficking. Research by Philip Alpers for the Small Arms Survey in 2003 found about 75% of high-powered weapons in Southern Highlands province originated from PNG security forces, not cross-border smuggling. A 2024 ABC report said the pattern remains unchanged.

An Australian Defence Force spokesperson told Australian Defence Magazine in April that Australia had spent years upgrading PNG Defence Force armouries under its Defence Cooperation Program. Upgrades included magazine refurbishments, alert systems for breaches, and ongoing maintenance. But Polewara said in March there were no plans for Australia to help upgrade storage to hold the new rifles.

Under the Arms Trade Treaty, Australia must conduct an independent assessment of storage security before authorising the transfer. The researchers say no such assessment has been publicly discussed or commissioned. They also note that PNG’s 2005 National Guns Control Committee made 244 recommendations, including stricter armoury controls, yet none have been tabled in parliament.

PNG is running a gun amnesty and buy-back scheme, asking civilians to surrender illegal firearms. The scheme relies on public trust that surrendered weapons will not be replaced by new ones from insecure state stockpiles. Shipping rifles without verified secure storage would undermine that trust, the researchers said.

Australia should publicly state that no rifles will be shipped until PNG demonstrates, through independent verification, that storage is secure and can prevent diversion.

Reporting based on Lowy Institute. Figures and claims are subject to revision as the story develops. DomainFork publishes editorial context, not investment advice — see our editorial standards.