Transcript
DON WISEMAN: It is always a packed agenda but at the top of everyone's minds will be climate change, particularly the Pacific involvement in the COP23 meeting in Bonn in November, which is to be co-chaired by Fiji. Pacific countries have been working through the year to forge a united approach to that meeting. There is also a lot of concern about the Australian attitude to climate change, with that country's Climate Ambassador facing a torrent of criticism on a tour of island countries recently over Canberra's aid to the new Carmichael/Adani coal mine. Security is also a major issue, and with the Pacific basking in the success of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, there is talk of a new collective arrangement to handle security concerns. As part of this there is talk of developing a common foreign policy. The Secretary-General, Dame Meg Taylor, said island countries needed to be more aware of their collective size and strength and recognise that they could achieve more together than they could individually.
JOHNNY BLADES: Can a collective foreign policy work?
DW: Well anything is possible I guess....in a lot of ways it makes sense, but an analyst of Pacific issues, Anna Powles of the Massey Centre for Defence and Security Studies said while common ground might be found on climate change, but this would be more difficult in matters like the Papua issue on which the Forum was divided.
Dr Powles also said new ways needed to be found to deal with transnational crime, but she said this also raised questions around matters such as jurisprudence, governance and policing.
JB: The Papua issue is particularly fraught for the Forum isn't it?
DW: Yes. Two years ago the Forum leaders agreed to send a fact finding mission to Papua to investigate the countless allegations of human rights abuses there. But Jakarta said no and the Forum appears not to have pressed the issue. It has certainly not had anything to say about the matter since, even though several members, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Tonga are strong advocates for the West Papuans.
JB: These annual get togethers typically have dramatic themes. Is that the case this year?
DW: The theme of the summit, chosen by the hosts, Samoa, is "the Blue Pacific: Our Sea of Islands - Our Security through Sustainable Development, Management and Conservation". And this reflects ongoing concerns at the struggle to manage the region's fisheries, worries about the potential impact of undersea mining, pollution and the concerns for the damage wrought by nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands and in French Polynesia. The Pacific has a big focus on trying to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals particularly in light of the mixed results for the region from the previous Millennium Development Goals. All of these are the Forum perennials and we can expect plenty of time to be spent on them.
JOHNNY BLADES: There are now 18 members of the Forum after the addition last year of French Polynesia and New Caledonia. Will this change the way the Forum is able to operate?
DW: It has to. The French territories are still largely run out of Paris and any claims that they are acting independently need to be taken with a grain of salt. The large colonial nations had always been shut out of the Forum, after it was set up because the French dominated Pacific Community was unable to criticise the French nuclear testing in the 1970s. There has been some criticism that France could have extra sway over fishing decisions in the Pacific.
JB: Will all the leaders be there?
DW: New Zealand is sending Gerry Brownlee because of the closeness of the election. He has only just started to get his head around Pacific issues so may not be ready to make a dramatic contribution. The Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has not attended a Forum since 2007 - a position he has maintained is in protest at the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand, so I would not expect him this time around, however we understand that Tonga's now interim Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva will be there. It is worth noting there will be heaps of other nations sending representatives, including Indonesia, China, the United States. And they will get around in 20 sleek new cars that China has given Samoa after a request from the country's government.
JB: And the prime minister of Samoa becomes the new chairman. What can we expect from him?
DW: Tu'ilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi says he wants to improve the ability of the regional body's administrative arm, the secretariat in Suva, to undertake research. He said the Forum is not as effective as it could be and tries to do too much. Tu'ilaepa says if the secretariat had more funding it could do more research into key issues such as climate change.
JB: Next year's Forum is set down for Nauru - is that a problem?
DW: Well to date the Forum has had little to say about the Australian run detention camps in both Manus and Nauru. It has also refused to condemn the controversies surrounding the move by the government on Nauru to suspend the bulk of the opposition several years ago and its moves against members of the judiciary. Whether these matters are still relevant in a year's time is anyone's guess, but a key issue for journalists is that Nauru has effectively banned journalists for the past two years by imposing a $US6000 non-refundable visa application fee. So that meeting could potentially be ignored by the media.
