Australian professor and two local researchers held hostage in Papua New Guinea released

Foreign minister Penny Wong says all hostages, including a New Zealand-born Australian academic, have been freed

Australia's foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has said all hostages taken by a Papua New Guinean criminal gang have been released, including an Australian academic, and will be reunited with their families.

Thank you to PNG's Government for its leadership in securing a safe & peaceful resolution," Wong tweeted on Sunday afternoon.