Nauru Still Flightless

Nauru

The region’s longest air strike drags on into its sixth month.

By Robin Bromby

AIR NAURU seems unlikely to re sume commercial operations for some time both New Zealand and Australia have withdrawn the airline’s certification. Air Nauru has been grounded commercially since May, its problems symptomatic of the economic malaise that afflicts this tiny republic.

Both the airline and the national ship ping company are believed to have lost rel atively huge sums in recent years, indicative of what recently leaked Aus tralian Foreign Affairs documents char acterised as waste and extravagance by the islanders, squandering the vast phosphate income that once gave them the highest per capita income in the world. Such have been the losses on Air Nauru that one Aus tralian Government official said the strike was “the best thing that could have hap pened” an situation that should at least reduce Nauru’s deficit this year.

The majority of Air Nauru pilots struck in May after the secretary of the Nauru Airline Pilots’ Association (NAPA), Cap tain Thomas Reid, was dismissed by the island’s government concerned that op erational deficiencies were compromising the safety of the airline. Since then, the air line has been operating flights with the four pilots still on staff.

In June, the New Zealand Ministry of Transport (which administers Nauru’s civil aviation regulations) withdrew the airline’s Air Service Certificate because it could not meet the Ministry’s interna tional air transport standards. This led to Australian authorities withdrawing Air Nauru’s Air Operator’s Certificate, the piece of paper that permits an airline to carry passengers on a fare-paying basis.

A spokesman for the Australian Civil Aviation Authority told Pacific Islands Monthly that the concern was for the safety of fare-paying passengers. “The airline’s in a state of collapse,” he said.

Before the dispute with its pilots, Air Nauru operated three Boeing 737 aircraft to Sydney, Melbourne, Guam, Hong Kong, Tarawa, Honiara and Auckland. For a country with just 5000 nationals, it was a network that indicated high ambitions. Air Nauru certainly lost a great of money, though how many millions is not known: the Nauruan administration of President Hammer Deßoburt maintains great se crecy about its finances.

Regardless of its rather uncertain fu ture (it is understood attempts to recruit new pilots who would have replaced those who went on strike and were then sacked have been unsuccessful), Air Nauru is be

having as if it will soon be operating im ternationally again: it has decided to renew the lease on its Sydney sales office.

Nauru’s Consul-General in Mel bourne, Mr Lawrence Stephen, con firmed that Air Nauru’s jets were operating private flights at least to Melbourne. These flights enable Nauruans to travel to and from the island, and carry provisions and mail. Mr Stephen said otherwise he has been told nothing about what is happening.

The nation’s shipping line, Nauru Pa cific, it also understood to be losing sub stantial sums: hardly surprising, considering its operational procedures.

Nauru Pacific runs two small, non-con tainerised vessels, Eigamoyia and Eigigu.

One agent who deals with the company told Pacific Islands Monthly that the ships “go when they want to and rarely have a schedule. They’re incredibly vague.” The first he knows that one of Nauru Pacific’s ships is reaching Melbourne is when a telex arrives advising that the ship will be re ceiving cargo.

The ships often stay at berth in Mel bourne until they have enough cargo: sometimes six days, each day notching up high berth fees in port (the same agent’s Papua New Guinea trade ships take on cargo for a maximum of three days). Most

of the cargo for Nauru is loose and has to be packed before being stowed. He says there is rarely any cargo coming the other way, and that as far as he can tell the ves sels sail mostly empty on the Nauru-Mel bourne leg. “It’s a very strange shipping line,” the agent added.

It’s clear the Nauru Government is be ginning to be concerned about the nation’s long-term viability. In February 1987, President Deßoburt called for islanders to tighten their belts, to stop expecting the government to pay for everything includ ing new houses, and to work harder than they have been doing.

During a recent visit to the island by Australia’s new Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Gareth Evans, the republic’s act ing President, Buraro Detudamo, report edly agreed that Australia could inspect Nauruan financial records as part of a proposed aid package. For years Pacific politicians and diplomats have speculated that Nauru’s investment, which includes a 52-storey tower in Melbourne, property and several hotels, includes many that have actually lost money.

If Australia does eventually get to see what the Nauruans have done with all their money, the real future of Air Nauru should at last be revealed. □