photo - The Australian
While Murray McCully is dreaming about 2014 in Afghanistan he has another debacle on his hands with Fiji. I have posted extensively on developments that have seen China take a forward role in Fiji at the expense of Australia and New Zealand and it is our attitudes towards Fiji that are to blame. Given that we won’t change our ways it seems we have a foreign policy of enabling China’s hegemony to extend in the Pacific.
Fiji’s interim government has accused New Zealand of snubbing it by not attending the Engaging Fiji meeting in Nadi.
The five-member Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) group cancelled its summit in Fiji this month amid lobbying for it to be postponed, and concerns about democracy and governance.
Suva responded by expelling Australia’s acting high commissioner and announcing that its own meeting of Pacific leaders, to be called Engaging Fiji, would go ahead next week regardless.
Fiji’s self-appointed Prime Minister Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama accused New Zealand and Australia of causing problems with the MSG.
There are good people working in Frank Bainimarama’s government – good Australians! Chief censor and media strategist Australian Sharon Smith-Johns sounds like the right person for the job! So is the other Australian Peter Thomson who is UN representative in New York.
(And the Solicitor-General Christopher Pryde is a Kiwi so not all those who in the Fijian Government are in the Military).
Sir Paul Reeves told Mike Hosking on NewstalkZB a few weeks ago that he would like to return to Fiji if invited. Sir Paul could have gone over to today’s Engaging with Fiji special meeting in Fiji – the replacement for the Melanesian Spearhead meeting that Vanuatu Prime Minister aborted at the last minute. Twist in the tale – the Vanuatu Foreign Minister is now attending the replacement meeting and NZ and Oz should have been there too.
This is a missed opportunity. The NZ Government should not have snubbed today’s Fiji meeting.
Even better are a series of interviews with Commodore Bainimarama by Graham Davis that go with the Fiji stories published in The Australian today.
The Dictator on Pacific Relations one is good – Frank has a sense of humour about the Samoan Prime Minister. He says Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has done no reforms in his country – just changed the driving side of the road!
People, particularly those who never venture past the beltway do not get Fiji. These videos should give readers a far better understanding than the dribbles from our own media. Make no mistake, our continued non-engagement with Fiji will ensure than the Melanesian nations, at least will move further away from New Zealand and Australia, and into the arms of China and the non-aligned movement. The Pacific is changing and all we do is stand by and watch. From my perspective Fiji looks more and more attractive as a place to live. At least their government takes the hard decisions.
Interview with the dictator
FIJIAN dictator Frank Bainimarama explains in an exclusive interview with The Australian why Australia's Acting High Commissioner Sarah Roberts was expelled.
The dictator on strained ties
Frank Bainimarama talks about Fiji's strained relations with Australia.
The dictator on Pacific relations
Frank Bainimarama talks about Fiji and the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
The dictator on democracy
Frank Bainimarama talks about his plans to restore Fiji to democracy.
The dictator on the media decree
Fijian dictator Frank Bainimarama explains why he believes the media decree is necessary.
The dicatator on the economy
Frank Bainimarama discusses the Fijian economy.
