The Yegiora Files

by Bernard Yegiora The publication of my article in the Australian Journal of International Affairs (Volume 79, Issue 6, 2025) coincides with a broader and more pressing issue for PNG: the country has engaged China for five decades, yet it has invested very little in building domestic China expertise capable of informing policy, mentoring scholars, and shaping long-term strategy. The article appears in a s pecial anniversary issue marking 50 years of PNG’s independence , guest edited by Dr Henry Ivarature . Anniversaries are not simply commemorative moments. They are opportunities to assess institutional capacity, policy maturity, and whether a country has developed the analytical tools needed to manage its most consequential external relationships. China is unquestionably one of those relationships. My contribution examines five decades of China–PNG relations , situating current debates within a longer historical arc. The core finding is straightforward: China’s presence in PNG is ...

 by Bernard Yegiora Strengthening the BA (PNG & International Studies) program requires more than mentoring systems within the four strands. It also requires forging strategic partnerships with organisations whose work aligns directly with the disciplines outlined in our PSD—International Relations, Political Studies, Community Development, and Culture Studies. These partnerships ensure that our units remain relevant, applied, and connected to the nation’s evolving development and governance landscape. Categorization of units in the Program Specification Document For the International Relations strand, government institutions responsible for diplomacy and national security are essential partners. The Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Prime Minister & National Executive Council (PM&NEC), and the National Intelligence Organization provide critical exposure to foreign policy formulation and national security coordination. Regionally, organisations such as th...

by Bernard Yegiora The BA (PNG and International Studies) program is anchored in four disciplinary strands—International Relations, Political Studies, Community Development, and Culture Studies. These strands form the academic framework of the program and are clearly articulated in the Program Specification Document (PSD). Each strand carries its own theoretical foundations and methodological expectations, requiring appropriate disciplinary leadership to maintain cohesion and academic integrity. Categorization of units in the Program Specification Document Strengthening the program now demands a structured academic mentorship system embedded within each strand. Strand leadership is not confined to classroom delivery. It involves guiding junior colleagues, protecting disciplinary standards, and sustaining the intellectual direction of the curriculum. This structured approach is essential for quality assurance and long-term program development. The International Relations strand provi...

by Bernard Yegiora PNG’s 2026 National Budget allocates K30.9 billion with education positioned as a flagship priority under the Reset PNG@50 framework. With K4.9 billion committed to the sector, the government has stated its intention to strengthen frontline delivery, expand access, and improve learning outcomes. TESAS, HELP, GTFS, STEM initiatives, and teacher salary support dominate the structure of expenditure, signalling continued investment in student access and school-level capacity. This is necessary, but it is no longer sufficient for the national skills pipeline. Screenshot from article publish on the TVWAN PNG News website The core weakness remains unaddressed: PNG does not have a systematic strategy to build its research workforce. TESAS and HELP are restricted almost entirely to undergraduate study, despite the fact that national development depends on a tertiary sector capable of conducting research, producing knowledge, and training the next generation of professionals....

 By Bernard Yegiora PNG is producing thousands of graduates every year from the University of PNG, Divine Word University, the University of Goroka, the University of Technology, and institutions such as the Pacific Adventist University. The volume is rising, yet national stakeholders continue to question the quality of outputs. The core issue is structural: PNG has no unified ecosystem that incentivises academic excellence, research productivity, and continuous professional development in higher education. Without a coordinated financing and remuneration framework, quality assurance becomes aspirational rather than operational. Screenshot of university logos from for this site: Link The Government has long prioritised Free Education and TESAS, but the investment pipeline ends at enrolment and graduation. There is no corresponding investment in the people who drive academic standards—university staff. Unlike the Department of Education, which operates a unified salary structure, c...

By Bernard Yegiora  The recent Post-Courier article “UoG warms up people to people bond with China” provides a snapshot of how China is embedding itself in PNG’s higher education sector. What may appear as a colourful cultural event—martial arts, Mandarin displays, and Chinese cuisine—is in fact part of a broader process of soft power projection. As my PhD research examines the influence of China’s Higher Education Exchange Programs on PNG–China relations, this article offers valuable evidence of how such programs are taking shape at the institutional and cultural level. University of Goroka Vice Chancellor Dr. Teng Waninga samples Chinese cuisine during the Sino–PNG cultural exchange, highlighting how food diplomacy complements language and education programs in shaping people-to-people ties. At the heart of the article is the framing of “people-to-people” diplomacy. This is central to my study, which looks at how exchange programs, scholarships, and language initiatives create ...

The National Rugby League (NRL) is proving itself to be more than a game—it is a soft power asset with ripple effects reaching far beyond Australian borders. Nowhere is this clearer than in PNG, where rugby league is not just sport but national culture. The viral circulation of a recent video from Western Highlands Province underscores how deeply embedded the NRL has become in PNG’s social fabric. Brisbane Broncos fans in Dei District burn a Panthers jersey after the NRL clash — a viral display of passion that shows how deeply rugby league shapes identity and rivalry in PNG. The footage shows Broncos supporters physically stripping a Panthers jersey from a rival fan and burning it in public, celebrating Brisbane’s win over Penrith. The video has gone viral on Facebook and WhatsApp groups, amplifying the spectacle far beyond Dei District. What might have been a local outburst of passion is now a transnational moment of rugby league politics, consumed, debated, and reshared thousands of...