Howzat: Australia funds Pacific sport on road to 2032
Australia will fund the development of Pacific athletes to bolster their medal chances at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Anthony Albanese announced a $15.6 million investment in high-performance sport in his latest bout of sports diplomacy at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau.
The soft power spending plays to a shared love of sport in the region.
"As we move forward in planning for Brisbane 2032, Australia looks forward to welcoming the best of the best sporting talent from the Pacific and supporting them to go for gold," Mr Albanese said.
The new funding is a drop in the ocean compared to the $600 million rugby league pact that will bring an NRL team to Port Moresby in 2028.
That investment includes $290 million for the PNG Chiefs and $250 million towards growing rugby league in the region.
The latest pledge will help Pacific athletes train for and attend the 2027 Pacific Games, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the 2029 Pacific Mini Games and other key events through to 2030.
The government's step-up in sports diplomacy has been welcomed by Bond University assistant professor Stuart Murray, who said Australia's strategic thinking in the build-up to the Sydney Olympics was non-existent.
"Governments that used to get big events like the Olympics ... their (diplomatic) thinking was sporadic, jingoistic, very national and opportunistic."
Australia's thinking now is built around a "green and gold decade" of events through to 2032, finding ways to include the region and bolster ties.
"Aussies love sport and they want to help their neighbours but there's a human security side too - how can we use the vehicle of rugby league to help girls and women in Papua New Guinea, with horrendous rates of violence?
"How can we use sport as a way to boost education to reduce violence?"
Dr Murray said funding that allowed Pacific athletes to compete under their own flags would be especially welcome.
"There's a huge amount of stuff we do out into the Pacific ... including grabbing talent," he said.
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