PNG Police Strengthened Through Regional AFP Leadership Training

Papua New Guinea police officers have joined counterparts from across the Pacific in an intensive leadership training program in Cairns, Australia, aimed at strengthening frontline policing and regional cooperation.

 PNG Police Strengthened Through Regional AFP Leadership Training/Photo by AFP

The initiative, delivered under the Pacific Frontline Leadership Program by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), brought together officers from PNG and several island nations to build leadership capacity and reinforce professional policing standards.

Participants spent a week exchanging experiences, sharpening leadership skills and building networks that are expected to improve collaboration among Pacific law enforcement agencies.

Among those who took part were officers from the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, PNG Customs, and other regional forces including Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Vanuatu Mobile Force officer Batina Narweyeng described the experience as transformative, saying she would return home with renewed focus and responsibility.

“As I head back home, I carry more than lessons learned, I carry new mindset, stronger purpose and responsibility to lead with integrity, empathy and action in every step I take,” she said.

Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Sergeant John Lokumana also reflected on the training, highlighting the importance of leadership built on support rather than authority.

“I am able to take away a quote ‘great leadership is not about power. It’s about empowering your team’. I hope for the best leadership to my workplace on my return,” he said.