Strong leadership requires continuous learning and knowledge-sharing. Recently, Jimmy Rupavele, senior lawyer at Papua New Guinea’s Office of the Public Solicitor, and Stacey Levakia Wali, Acting Director of the PNG Centre for Judicial Excellence, joined a cohort of 13 legal professionals from PNG, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands for an intensive Train the Trainer program in Melbourne.
Hosted by the Victorian Bar, this initiative equips experienced Pacific lawyers with advanced advocacy skills and the capacity to train others—strengthening courtroom proficiency across the region.
The program, delivered in partnership with the PNG National Judicial Staff Services Centre for Judicial Excellence and the Pacific Justice Sector Programme, combined practical workshops, courtroom observations, and briefings from Australian judges. It reflects ongoing Australian support through the Australia–PNG Law and Justice Partnership, which aims to enhance access to fair, effective, and inclusive justice services in PNG.
By empowering senior lawyers to become trainers, this initiative builds sustainable legal expertise that bolsters the rule of law and judicial capacity throughout the Pacific.