WikiLeaks cable: Frictions could derail Pacific Island forum
This is one of the diplomatic cables about New Zealand held by Wikileaks.
October 18, 2006
SUBJECT: NZ WORRIES FRICTIONS COULD DERAIL PACIFIC ISLAND FORUM
Classified By: DCM David J. Keegan,for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (C) Summary: New Zealand is working behind the scenes to help ensure that frictions over the Solomon Islands and
other regional issues do not derail the October 23-26 Pacific Island Forum (PIF) meetings. PMs Clark and Howard are
scheduled to discuss their goals for the meeting by telephone on October 18. NZ officials would like leaders to commit
to streamline PIF architecture within the next few years without endorsing any specific proposals, and to agree on a
format for future Pacific Forum Dialogue (PFD) meetings. On the Pacific Plan, NZ would like to see the PIF agree to
examine the potential benefits of integrating regional transportation, information technology and communications. New
Zealand officials intend to offer a new visa program for seasonal agricultural workers from the Pacific Islands, which
should complement Australia's plan to finance regional training centers for skilled labor. End Summary.
Tensions in the Air
2. (C) On October 17, DCM and Pol-Econ Couns discussed New Zealand's goals for the PIF meetings with Deputy Foreign
Secretary Alan Williams and Heather Riddell, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Pacific Division.
Williams said the GNZ is concerned that regional tensions have the potential to make the PIF meetings complex and
contentious. PM Clark will call PM Howard this Friday to discuss ways to prevent a dust-up as well as to discuss other
goals for the meetings.
3. (C) Williams said conflicts between the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and GOS, as well
as Papua New Guinea's role in helping suspended GOS Attorney General Moti escape to the Solomons, are both potential
flashpoints that GNZ fears could cause the Melanesian countries taking an "us vs. them" stance at the meetings. This
could prevent the PIF from endorsing RAMSI's work and erode the Mission's ability to operate. NZ believes one possible
solution is to have regular consultations between the Solomons, RAMSI, and the PIF, to "provide a circuit breaker on
Solomons/RAMSI tensions. The Melansian Spearhead Group went to Canberra recently to discuss this idea. Williams
acknowledged that Australia might be anxious that the proposal would undermine RAMSI, but this possibility could be
minimized through careful planning. Another possibility would be to put a PIF representative in Honiara. Virtually every
PIF country has a role in RAMSI, and more dialogue would put a helpful regional "fingerprint" on the Mission, said
Williams.
4. (C) Riddell and Williams downplayed rumors that the PIF will vote to replace Forum Secretary General Greg Urwin as an
anti-Australian gesture, although Melanesia may run another candidate to symbolically "stir the pot." There are no
serious candidates out there, Riddell said. She also said she does not believe that recent anti-Government remarks by
Fiji's military commander Bainimarama posed an immediate threat to the PIF or the GOF, although NZ is watching the
situation closely. Bainimarama will be in the Middle East for the next three weeks, she added. (Yesterday, Foreign
Minister Peters issued a statement strongly condemning the Commodore's remarks. This morning, PM Clark told a local
radio news program that she took Bainimarama's threats seriously.)
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NZ Agrees with US on Regional Institutional Reform
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5. (C) Riddell said GNZ agrees with the USG view (reftel) that streamlining the PIF by consolidating existing
organizations could have legal and financial implications for non-PIF members. For this reason NZ does not want the PIF
to endorse any specific proposals at next week's meetings. But streamlining is an idea "long overdue," and GNZ therefore
would like leaders to establish a task force and give it a fairly short time frame within which to make its report.
Riddell said NZ hopes the work could be done in two to three years, but she acknowledged this was ambitious.
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PIF Needs to Endorse PFD Restructuring and the Pacific Plan
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6. (C) Riddell said that the PIF Senior Officials' meeting she attended had made good progress in suggesting ways to
maximize PFD meetings, but it is now up to the leaders. New Zealand's goal is for leaders to support the findings of the
PFD review, acknowledging there are some practical issues to work through. If the PIF and the PFD endorse the broad
proposal, they could then work inter-sessionally on additional "tweaks," and implement the plan by next year's meeting.
Riddell said GNZ does not believe that a new format will in itself maximize PIF/partner interaction, but it will be a
good start.
7. (C) Noting the Pacific Plan's goal of regional integration, Riddell said GNZ will propose the PIF focus on the
potential impact on PIF countries and the region of integrating three key sectors: information technology and
communications, energy, and transportation. She said that it was impossible to focus on the 24 goals laid out in the
Plan, which clearly cannot all be priorities.
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Labor Mobility
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8. (C) According to Williams and Riddell, NZ and Australia both plan to introduce new measures to respond to PIC
leaders' interest in improving conditions for regional labor mobility. On the day of our meeting, NZ Government
Ministers met to approve a plan to encourage NZ farmers and vintners to employ Pacific Islanders as short term
agricultural workers. GNZ issues about 90,000 temporary visas annually for seasonal work, mostly to those already here
on working holiday or tourist visas. Just under 6 percent are issued to Pacific Islanders. Under the new scheme, if
accredited employers can demonstrate there are no Kiwis available to do the work, the Government will provide them with
the names of eligible Pacific Islanders. This presumably will be easier for the farmers than locating workers from
around the country.
According to Williams, Australia plans to offer funding for regional training centers, making it possible for more
skilled Pacific Island workers to migrate to find work because they have the skills Australian and other foreign
employers seek, not because of nationality preferences.
Williams said that GNZ will implement its program with deliberation, to avoid potential problems. GNZ also wants to be
careful to be seen as complementing Australia's approach, rather than as more open to PIC workers than Australia. Both
proposals serve different needs, said Williams, so should complement rather than compete with each other.
McCormick
ENDS