Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea, which entered into force on 15 February 1985.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to defining the maritime boundaries between Papua New Guinea and Australia, the Treaty protects the ways of life of traditional inhabitants in the Torres Strait Protected Zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Treaty\u2019s unique provisions allow Torres Strait Islanders and Papua New Guineans from Treaty Villages free movement across borders for traditional activities, such as traditional fishing, cultural and religious ceremonies, social gatherings and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is particularly important to reflect on the Treaty\u2019s success this year as we look forward to marking the 50th Anniversary of Papua New Guinea\u2019s independence in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Torres Strait Treaty recognises the kinship between our two countries and our people, reflecting the deeply important relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea as neighbours, friends and equals.<\/p> \u201cWe will continue working closely together to advance our shared interests and ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pacific.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe arrangements in the Treaty are a reflection of the thousands of years of engagement and cultural connection that exist between Papua New Guinea and Australia.<\/p> \u201cAustralia remains committed to the Torres Strait Treaty, and its assurance to empower our First Nations people and preserve their traditions, as the longest continuous culture on earth.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea, which entered into force on 15 February 1985. In addition to defining the maritime boundaries between Papua New Guinea and Australia, the Treaty protects the ways of life of traditional inhabitants in the Torres Strait Protected Zone. The Treaty\u2019s … Continue reading “40th anniversary of the Torres Strait Treaty”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31372,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31371\/revisions\/31372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}