Aussie foreign

Opinion

Aussie foreign secretary visits the SPC

Australian Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade Philip Flood paid a four-day visit to Noumea in April to meet with French and New Caledonian representatives and dis cuss, amongst other things, Australia’s involvement in the Pacific Islands region.

The visit. Flood’s first to New Caledonia, also saw him spend ing a day at the South Pacific Commission to visit programmes and discuss Australia’s involvement with the organisation. The secretary, who was accompanied by his wife, allocated part of the afternoon to address SPC staff, discuss the purpose of his visit and answer questions on Australia’s link with the organisa tion, funding and Australian involvement in issues of media interest.

Flood said Australia had what he called “an abiding interest” in promoting regional economic stability and growth. Australia’s aid to the South Pacific from 1996 to 1997 was over $5OO mil lion (including its $5O million in defence co-operation to Papua New Guinea). Flood said this allocation held steady despite strin gent budgetary pressures.

Australia currently contributes over 35 per cent to the SPC core budget. But whether or not this percentage will decrease following the organisation’s annual conference in Canberra in October this year remains to be seen.

Flood would not comment on the topic, saying it was a mat ter to be decided in Canberra. However, he indicated that the question of whether it was “healthy” for his country to contribute such a large percentage would definitely arise at the Canberra talks.

Flood maintained his country’s commitment to the SPC and confirmed that Australia expected to provide over $7 million to the organisation in 1996-1997, substantially complemented by

extra-budgetary funding.

He said, in providing assistance to the Pacific, the SPC offered several advantages for Australia, particularly because its membership includes the full run of Pacific Island countries and territories and because of its ability to meet the specific needs of the region. “The SPC is establishing itself as a model for others

to follow through a process of reform and sharper concentration of effort,” he said. “We take our membership and support for these organisations very seriously and, consequently, we have worked hard to ensure they are cost effective and contribute effectively to the regional process of economic reform and devel opment. “An important principle is that a dollar not well spent in one area is lost to other priority programmes. Organisations can not be all things to all people and choices have to be made about prioritisation.”

Flood said the SPC’s fisheries programme topped the list of Australia’s funding priority areas to the organisation, stating: “The effective and sustainable management of fisheries resources is of central concern to the long-term wellbeing of many island countries. “Given that many Pacific Island coun tries are relatively resource poor, Australia considers that sus tainable management of the fisheries resource is a vital means of achieving sustainable economic development in the region.”

Flood also named the SPC health sector as a priority area in Australia’s aid programme to the region and said Australian assistance had a strong focus on primary and preventive care and

building local capacities.

He said his government was keen to see the revised AusAID/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)funded Pacific Islands Forest and Trees Support Programme deliver real outcomes in terms of improved commercial logging practices and better overall forest management.

He also highlighted the importance of the SPC’s socio-eco nomic programme which constitutes statistics, demography, cul ture, women and youth. In addition, the organisation’s Community Education Training Centre (CETC) in Suva has also received extra-budgetary Australian funding.

Following his address. Flood answered questions from SPC staff on topics which inlcuded the “closure” of some of the ser vices of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), the Bougainville crisis in terms of Australia’s “special relationship” with Papua New Guinea, Australia’s trade with the islands in terms of the replacement of the SPARTECA agreement and the influence of money power by large donors.

On the subject of Radio Australia and the decision not to shut down the service after weeks of speculation and uncertainty, the secretary said Radio Australia was run as an independent entity by the ABC and its future funding levels would be announced during the May budget.

Flood did not comment on SPARTECA, saying the agreement was being studied in Canberra.

On the possibility of the United Kingdom returning as an SPC member, Flood said he could not comment because it was a mat ter for the UK to determine.

However, SPC Director-General Bob Dun says the return of the UK to the SPC would be a great vote of confidence in the Pacific in light of its historical ties to Britain.

“Membership of the SPC is a very cost-effective way of con tributing to development in the Pacific Islands,” he said.

Australia’s consul-general in New Caledonia, Graeme Wilson, said his country was prepared to take a “fairly positive” view of new membership provided it was “cost effective”.

“For instance, Chile has, in the past, expressed an interest in joining the organisation and, no doubt, this interest will continue given Chile’s commitment to the Pacific region,” he said. ■

Debbie Singh

Spc, Noumea