Australia's Prime Minister has indicated that while her country is opposed to the death penalty, any decision by Papuan New Guinea on whether to implement it won't affect Australian Aid to that country.
This assurance was given by the Julia Gillard at the end of her first visit to PNG.
PNG's national executive council is working on legislation to reactivate PNG's death penalty which has been dormant since the 1950s.
Ms Gillard says that Australia is not questioning PNG's right to implement the death penalty but rather openly expressing its universal opposition to the death penalty.
She says Australia will continue its aid relationship in PNG, focussing on areas such as education and health, and increasingly in empowering females by improving their access to educational opportunities and to maternal health.