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Billy Joseph

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Billy Joseph
Headshot of Joseph wearing a suit and sunglasses
Joseph in August 2025
Minister of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 19, 2024
MonarchCharles III
Prime MinisterJames Marape
Preceded byWin Bakri Daki
Deputy Chairman of Economic Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 9, 2022
Personal details
BornWilliam Billy Joseph
(1984-09-24) 24 September 1984 (age 41)
CitizenshipPapua New Guinea
PartySocial Democratic (DS)
EducationUniversity of Papua New Guinea
OccupationPolitician

William Billy Joseph (born 24 September 1984) is a Papua New Guinean politician and former surgeon who currently serves as the Minister for Defence of Papua New Guinea since 2024. First elected in the 2022 Papua New Guinean general election to represent the Nipa-Kutubu District, he became deputy leader of the Social Democratic Party. Following a cabinet reshuffle on January 19, 2024, he was appointed the Minister for Defense, taking over from Win Bakri Daki.

Early life and education

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William Billy Joseph[1] was born on 24 September 1984.[2] Joseph holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Papua New Guinea School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and went on to become a medical doctor. Upon his election in 2022, he was the fourth doctor in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.[3]

Political career

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In the 2022 Papua New Guinean general election, Joseph was elected as MP for the Nipa-Kutubu District. In an interview with The National, he stated that work in politics was an extension of medical work, as doctors "deal with all kinds of problems that people bring to the hospital". He cited violence against women and outdated medical infrastructure as examples of such problems, noting how the COVID-19 pandemic had strained the medical system.[3] He joined fellow doctors Wabag MP Dr. Lino Tom, Tewai-Siassi MP Dr. Kobby Bomareo, and Abau MP Dr. Sir Puka Temu in Parliament.[4]

That September, he became Deputy Chairman of Economic Affairs, and joined the Parliamentary Committee on Law and Order, Public Works and Public Accounts. He is Deputy Party Leader of the Social Democratic Party.[5]

Minister for Defense

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He was appointed Defense Minister during the shuffle of the PNG Parliament's cabinet on January 19, 2024, and began his term on the same day under the Marape-Rosso cabinet.[6][7]

After the 2024 Enga landslide, he flew to the site in a helicopter and took some pictures of the damage.[8] He then went to Yambali where he gave a check of 500,000 kina for buying supplies for 4,000 displaced survivors.[9][10] Joseph met with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi and Chinese Ambassador to PNG Zeng Fanhua. There, they discussed about supplies for the damage.[11]

On March 19, 2025, Joseph went to The 2nd Japan Pacific Islands Defense Dialogue and met Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara with the goal of improving defense relations with Japan.[12]

During the same month, he announced 'Operation Planti Balus'. The goal of this operation was to provide transportation supplies to rural areas of PNG. He also helped manage activities leading up to the 50th anniversary of PNG's Independence. The operation officially started from September 3 and ended on September 5.[13]

Foreign relations

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Billy Joseph (center) with Papua New Guinean, New Zealand, and Australian officials in April 2024.

Australia

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Main article: Australia–Papua New Guinea relations

On February 20, 2025, Joseph and Australian Minister for Defense Richard Marles began discussing a new defense treaty between the two nations.[14] In June 2025, Joseph went to Canberra for the 2025 Defense Conference ‘Preparedness and Resilience’ meeting. He went on the Stop the World! Podcast, hosted by ASPI, with the Deputy Party Leader of the Social Democratic Party to discuss the Pukpuk Treaty.[15][16] In July 2025, Australian war games were held. Part of the war games were held in PNG, with negotiations for a new military treaty between the two nations underway.[17]

During the 2024 Egna Landslides, Australia promised to give $2,300,000 AUD in necessary aid and supplies.[18][19]

On September 13, 2025, Joseph and Marles made an agreement to integrate the Australian and PNG militaries, which was a blow to Chinese influence in the Pacific.[20] This coincided with the 50th anniversary of PNG's independence.[21][22] The treaty was officially signed on September 15.[23][24] On September 19, China responded with a warning claiming that the treaty undermined PNG's own influence.[25]

Fiji

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In April 2024, Joseph and Home Affairs Minister of Fiji Pio Tikoduadua discussed re-establishing the defense relationship between PNG and Fiji after Joseph made a visit to the Taskforce Command Headquarters in Nadi, Fiji.[26] Joseph had also expressed his interests many times in maintaining strong ties between the two by participating in events like the United Nations and their peacekeeping operations.[27]

Indonesia

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In July 2025, Joseph visited Jakarta with Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to discuss stronger defense ties. They discussed further implementing the Defense Cooperation Agreement, which had been signed in 2010 and ratified by Indonesia in 2012.[28]

Singapore

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In June 2025, Joseph went to Singapore for the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue to discuss security trends. He held bilateral meetings from the sidelines of IISS with representatives of New Zealand, Singapore and Chile.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Admin (19 January 2024). "NEC Appoints Six New Ministers to Cabinet - National Information Center". Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  2. ^ "MINISTER JOSEPH ANNOUNCES MAJOR PROJECTS FOR NIPA-KUTUBU | The PNG Bulletin". The Sunday Bulletin. 25 September 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Another doctor in House". The National. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  4. ^ "Another Medical Doctor Enters PNG Parliament". PNG Health Watch. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Hon Dr Billy M Joseph MP". ASPI. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Hon. Dr. Billy Joseph, MP - Eleventh Parliament of Papua New Guinea". www.parliament.gov.pg. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  7. ^ pcAdminPNG (18 January 2024). "Daki out, Dr Joseph in as Defence minister". Post Courier. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  8. ^ "More than 700 villagers in PNG's Southern Highlands affected by flooding". RNZ. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Formally asking for help, Papua New Guinea says Friday's landslide buried more than 2,000 people". PBS News. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  10. ^ "'We cannot live here': Australian ministers visit PNG landslide zone". SBS News. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Chinese government reinforces support with relief supplies to PNG". NBC PNG. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Japan-Papua Niugini Minister's Meeting". Japan Ministry of Defense. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  13. ^ National, The (19 September 2025). "'Operation Planti Balus' in August | The National". Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Australia, Papua New Guinea vow to strike defense treaty". Voice of America. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Papua New Guinea Defence Minister Billy Joseph on the march towards a security treaty". ASPI. 18 June 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  16. ^ "PNG AND AUSTRALIA DISCUSS DEFENCE TREATY". www.pngbusinessnews.com. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  17. ^ Palmer, Joseph (20 February 2025). "PNG to partly host Australia's biggest war games amid Pacific security push". Sky News Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  18. ^ "'We cannot live here': Australian ministers visit PNG landslide zone". SBS News. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  19. ^ Faa, Marian (20 June 2024). "Australia to provide $2 million in extra funding to assist with PNG's landslide recovery". ABC News. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  20. ^ McIlroy, Tom (16 September 2025). "Australia and PNG will agree to defend each other from military attack as China's Pacific influence grows". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Australia and PNG's militaries to become 'totally integrated'". ABC News. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  22. ^ "Albanese says Australia-PNG defence treaty on par with US and New Zealand". SBS News. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  23. ^ Doherty, Ben (23 August 2025). "'Diplomatic knife fight' over PNG enters new phase with deepening Australia defence deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  24. ^ "After Five Decades, It Comes To This: The PNG-Australia Pukpuk Treaty | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  25. ^ "China Warns Papua New Guinea Over Australian Defense Deal". The Defense Post. 19 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  26. ^ Reddy, Navnesh (14 April 2024). "Fiji, PNG renew defence ties". The Fiji Times. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  27. ^ Reporter, Staff. "PNG, Fiji Military Leaders Meet to Strengthen Defence Cooperation". One Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  28. ^ "Indonesia, Papua New Guinea eye stronger defense ties". Antara News. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  29. ^ "Minister attends security conference | The National". 26 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
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