New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters says countries have the right to choose who enters their borders in response to reports that the Trump administration is planning to impose travel restrictions on three dozen nations, including three in the Pacific.

But opposition Labour’s deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni says the foreign minister should push back on the US proposal.

Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have reportedly been included in an expanded proposal of 36 additional countries for which the Trump administration is considering travel restrictions.

The plan was first reported by The Washington Post. A State Department spokesperson told the outlet that the agency would not comment on internal deliberations or communications.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Peters said countries had the right to decide who could cross their borders.

“Before we all get offended, we’ve got the right to decide in New Zealand who comes to our country. So has Australia, so has . . . China, so has the United States,” Peters said.

US security concerns
He said New Zealand would do its best to address the US security concerns.

“We need to do our best to ensure there are no misunderstandings.”

Peters said US concerns could be over selling citizenship or citizenship-by-investment schemes.

Vanuatu runs a “golden passport” scheme where applicants can be granted Vanuatu citizenship for a minimum investment of US$130,000.

Peters said programmes like that could have concerned the Trump administration.

“There are certain decisions that have been made, which look innocent, but when they come to an international capacity do not have that effect.

“Tuvalu has been selling passports. You see where an innocent . . . decision made in Tuvalu can lead to the concerns in the United States when it comes to security.”

Sepuloni wants push back
However, Sepuloni wants Peters to push back on the US considering travel restrictions for Pacific nations.

Sepuloni said she wanted the foreign minister to get a full explanation on the proposed restrictions.

“From there, I would expect him to be pushing back on the US and supporting our Pacific nations to be taken off that list,” she said.

“Their response is, ‘why us? We’re so tiny — what risk do we pose?’”

Wait to see how this unfolds – expert
Massey University associate professor in defence and security studies Anna Powles said Vanuatu has appeared on the US’ bad side in the past.

“Back in March Vanuatu was one of over 40 countries that was reported to be on the immigration watchlist and that related to Vanuatu’s golden passport scheme,” Dr Powles said.

However, a US spokesperson denied the existence of such a list.

“What people are looking at . . . is not a list that exists here that is being acted on,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, according to a transcript of her press briefing.

“There is a review, as we know, through the president’s executive order, for us to look at the nature of what’s going to help keep America safer in dealing with the issue of visas and who’s allowed into the country.”

Dr Powles said it was the first time Tonga had been included.

“That certainly has raised some concern among Tongans because there’s a large Tongan diaspora in the United States.”

She said students studying in the US could be affected; but while there was a degree of bemusement and concern over the issue, there was also a degree of waiting to see how this unfolded.

Trump signed a proclamation on June 4 banning the nationals of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A Papua New Guinea minister has raised concerns about “serious issues” at the PNG-Indonesia border due to a lack of proper security checkpoints.

Culture and Tourism Minister Belden Namah, who is also the member for the border electorate Vanimo-Green, voiced these concerns while supporting a new Biosecurity for Plants and Animals Bill presented in Parliament by Agriculture Minister John Boito.

He said Papua New Guinea was the only country in the Pacific Islands region that shared a land border with another nation.

According to Namah, the absence of proper quarantine and National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA) checks at the border allowed people bringing food and plants from Indonesia to introduce diseases affecting PNG’s commodities.

Minister Namah, whose electorate shares a border with Indonesia, noted that while the PNG Defence Force and police were present, they were primarily focused on checking vehicles coming from Indonesia instead of actively patrolling the borders.

He clarified the roles, saying, “It’s NAQIA’s job to search vehicles and passengers, and the PNGDF’s role is to guard and patrol our borders.”

Namah expressed concern that while bills were passed, enforcement on the ground was lacking.

Minister Namah supported the PNG Biosecurity Authority Bill and called for consistency, increased border security, and stricter control checks.

Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Outspoken Madang MP Bryan Kramer has been stripped of the Justice and Attorney-General ministries and given the Immigration and Border Security portfolio in a move seen as a demotion in Papua New Guinea’s pre-Easter cabinet mini-reshuffle.

Prime Minister James Marape announced the change along with four others last week, only a fortnight out from the start of the 2022 national general elections campaign with the writs being issued next week on April 28.

The other changes are: Westly Nukundj to Provincial and Local-Level Government Affairs, replacing Pila Niningi, who takes over Kramer’s former portfolio; Sohe MP Henry Amuli takes on Commerce and Industry, left vacant following the death of William Samb (Goilala MP); and Daulo MP Pogio Ghate replaces Chuave MP Wera Mori as Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change.

Mori resigned from the cabinet a month ago to lead the Country Party into the elections.

New minister for Provincial and Local-Level Government Affairs Nukundj, last night thanked the government for having trust in him.

“I thank the prime minister for recognising my potential in elevating me to a senior ministry to be in charge of all the provincial and local level governments,” he said.

“I will discharge my duties to the very best of my knowledge, experiences and ability.”

Ministers Amuli and Ghate are first-term MPs.

Elevated to cabinet
They are being elevated to cabinet for the first time.

This is Marape’s fourth cabinet reshuffle since he became prime minister two years ago.

He appeared evasive when asked about the sudden changes with the election just days away.

Marape just said the changes were “necessary” to maintain cabinet.

“We had to fill the vacancies left in key portfolios and we had to have ministers who could have oversight on the portfolios so that work continues as we get into the election period,” he said.

He said the experience of each of the politicians was needed in their new portfolios.

“It is the prerogative of the prime minister, and while I respect the hard work of all three ministers the rotation of the key ministries comes at a time we are heading to the election,” Marape said.

‘Stand watch at immigration’
“We want to maintain work at the local level government, stand watch at immigration and maintain our laws, that is the reason for change.

“The changes have nothing to do with performance.

“They have all performed well in their key sectors but I felt these key sectors needed a change.

“I know the two new ministers, I know they are capable of heading the ministries they are taking care of.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea and neighbouring Indonesia have been discussing a potential reopening of their shared border.

The border was officially closed early last year due to the covid-19 pandemic, but the illegal movement of people back and forth has continued across the porous international boundary.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape met with Indonesia’s Ambassador in Port Moresby, Andriana Supandy, and agreed that the border must be properly policed to prevent the spread of covid-19.

Indonesia’s heath system is being stretched with high covid infection rates, and PNG has also struggled to contain the spread of the virus.

No date has been given for when the border may reopen officially.

In others areas discussed, Supandy proposed for the two countries to enter into a Free Trade Agreement to boost trade and commerce, citing the potential as demonstrated in the success of vanilla trade between PNG and Indonesia.

The ambassador also informed Prime Minister Marape that Indonesia has already ratified the Border and Defence Cooperation Agreement and Land Border Transport Agreement and was awaiting PNG to do the same.

He said these agreements would pave the way for a more robust bilateral tie between the two countries.

On West Papua, the diplomat said that Indonesia appreciated the consistent position that PNG government has taken in acknowledging that the western half of New Guinea was an integral part of Indonesia.

He said the West Papuan self-determination demands remained an internal issue for Indonesia to resolve.

A release from Marape’s office also said both countries had discussed the need for joint cooperation in power connectivity to areas in PNG’s Western and West Sepik provinces.

Military donation
The Indonesian military has donated an aircraft engine to the PNG Defence Force Air Transport Squadron for one of its aircraft to be used for operations in the 2022 general election.

Marape also confirmed yesterday that US$14 million would be ballocated in 2021 and 2022 to ensure all aircraft were ready to be used next year.

The The National newspaper reports Marape saying the aircraft would also be used in enforce transborder security.

The head of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant-General Joni Supriyanto, arrived on a Lockheed C-130H Hercules in Port Moresby yesterday with the engine.

He said transporting the overhauled Casa aircraft engine to PNG “would enhance relationship and cooperation between the armed forces contributing to security and stability in the region”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Social media is abuzz with comments from some concerned locals. The island’s 10 volunteer puna cannot effectively manage supervised quarantine at the homes of returning travellers.

Others argue the country’s border should be closed down until the situation in Auckland is under control.

READ MORE: Covid spread could ‘decimate’ Pasifika, Māori communities, warns Tukuitonga

Opposition health spokesperson Selina Napa said the health ministry Te Marae Ora’s statements about border controls did little to reassure vulnerable communities.

Concerns were heightened now, knowing 91 people who came in on the last two flights to the Cook Islands were not tested for covid on arrival.

“We were all led to believe that we now had the capacity to test for covid-19,” Napa said.

“Many people are now really alarmed and want our border to close until the situation in New Zealand is brought right under control and there is absolutely zero community transmission.

Welfare of Cook Islands people
Napa said she and Opposition leader Tina Browne believed NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had the welfare of Cook Islands people at the forefront of her decision-making.

“Given what has unfortunately happened, I am hoping Prime Minister Ardern will choose to bring in the strictest of measures for travel between our countries and stop all travel from New Zealand to here,” she said.

“Don’t take any risks with the lives of our people.”

Ardern’s spokesperson confirmed a scheduled visit by officials to plan an air-bridge had been called off.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Tepaeru Herrmann also issued a statement, saying both governments were acutely aware the re-emergence of covid-19 in New Zealand was always possible – the Auckland covid cases reaffirmed the importance of remaining vigilant.

Prime Minister Henry Puna has emphasised the covid-19 outbreak is a fluid situation and further developments will reflect what is happening in New Zealand.

Government would reassess the risk every day, Cabinet would be briefed, and the community would be updated.

‘Need to maintain our hygiene’
“We need to maintain our hygiene and physical distancing practices, this is critical to keeping our people safe,” Puna said.

Four people from the same family in South Auckland have tested positive for Covid-19 via community transmission, with no known links to the country’s border or international travel.

The wider-Auckland area has gone into Level 3 lockdown for three days, while the rest of New Zealand is at Level 2.

And news that a Pasifika family is at the centre of the new outbreak has health professionals in the area reeling.

South Auckland is made up of New Zealand’s biggest Pacific population including a large number of Cook Islands Maori families.

Pacific Cooperation chair John Fiso said an outbreak could have devastating consequences.

Some families live in substandard housing, under the breadline and many do not access health care due to fear and cost.

High risk areas
“It is my worst fear that we have a substantial covid outbreak in these high density, high needs and therefore high risk areas. Our government should share this concern,” he said.

“We simply cannot let this happen.”

Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran said he would be quite comfortable if the travel bubble between New Zealand and Cook Islands was delayed.

However, he said he felt sorry for people who were looking forward to an overseas holiday.

Cook Islands Tourism chief executive Halatoa Fua would not be drawn on the air-bridge delay, saying Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown and Secretary of Health Dr Josephine Aumea Herman’s comments were sufficient for now.

This Cook Islands News article is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The lack of testing of staff at New Zealand’s border is extraordinary, a prominent epidemiologist says.

Health officials are frantically trying to trace the origin of the covid-19 cluster in Auckland, which could have come from the border.

Otago University professor Sir David Skegg told RNZ Morning Report reports show more than 60 percent of staff working at the border have never been tested.

LISTEN: ‘I hope we can lead the world again in stamping out an outbreak’ – Sir David Skegg on Morning Report (12′ :42″)

“I was really shocked to hear the Director-General of Health say a week or two ago that they were aiming to test people [border workers] every two or three weeks. Every two or three weeks frankly would be quite inadequate.

“But it now turns out that nothing like that was being achieved and I see the reports that more than 60 percent of people working at the border have never been tested.”

Weekly testing for frontline staff working at the border should have been compulsory as stringent border protection is vital for New Zealand’s elimination strategy, Skegg said.

He said he has heard that people have declined tests and some of the contracting companies declined to implement testing.

Agreed to blood tests
“For many years there have been industries where if you work in a particular industry you agree to have blood tests or whatever to make sure you are not getting exposed to particular risks and I think it is absolutely vital for our elimination status to have the most stringent protections at the border.”

He said the virus had clearly been spreading for some time, and New Zealand would be extremely lucky if it had not spread outside Auckland.

Skegg said New Zealand had beaten covid before and “we can do it again” but it was important to learn from the mistakes.

“Not just the breach at the border, but also the fact that there have been such delays in detecting this because of a lack of testing,” he said.

It would be interesting to know if any of the cases of community transmission had sought a covid test but had been declined by a doctor, he said.

Skegg said we have let ourselves down with complacency and “we’ve acted as if we’re bullet proof”.

“Complacency is one of our national characteristics, sadly.”

Alert level depends on new cases
He said the alert level change will depend on where the new cases are revealed today.

“I’d be very surprised if the current restrictions aren’t at least continued, if not increased,” he said.

He said security needs to be ramped up at the border to detect any covid cases as soon as possible.

New Zealand also needs to ensure that sufficient masks are available and to ramp up contact tracing, he said.

Skegg said everyone should be downloading the contract tracing app, which was a long way from perfect but the best New Zealand has.

It is vital for the whole country to use the same QR code which fits with the government’s app and shops should get rid of any that are non-compliant, Skegg said.

He said people should be wearing masks if they are going to be in indoor locations where they are going to be close to other people because it has been known for some time that masks are effective is hampering covid’s spread.

He said New Zealand has enjoyed a period of normality which is exceptional around the world and hopefully the country would learn from this mistake and get over it very quickly.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• All RNZ coverage of Covid-19
• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

“There cannot be any complacency or missteps once our border controls are eased. The risks need be managed as well as possible,” said the country’s largest and most influential newspaper in an editorial today.

“There is time to ensure entry processes are running smoothly before the next big step.”

READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – US coronavirus deaths near 120,000

The Herald gave its verdict in the wake of a series of shock border lapses in a week that catapulted the country from virtually a 28-day covid-free status to nine active cases – four in the last two days. All are directly travel-related cases.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at her news briefing today that the government was extending a ban on cruise ships and updating its health order to make clear that travellers may be required to take multiple tests.

This followed weekend reports that Auckland’s covid-19 isolation facilities had reached capacity, with 4272 New Zealanders in managed isolation and almost 900 more expected to arrive in the country in the next two days.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the first case today was a teenage girl who arrived in New Zealand on June 13 and was travelling with her family, who have tested negative so far, reports RNZ News.

Runny nose, or no symptoms
They were staying at the Novotel Auckland Airport hotel.

Dr Bloomfield said the teenager’s only symptom was a runny nose. The second case was a man in his 30s who had arrived from India on June 15.

He was staying at the Grand Millennium in Auckland and had no symptoms.

“Fortunately,” said The Herald today, “in terms of new coronavirus infections, we have so far avoided much damage after the case of two sisters from Britain [last week] revealed that the isolation and testing systems had not been working properly…

“It is not as though other countries which have largely subdued covid-19 have avoided hiccups either.

“China has battled a spike in Beijing. South Korea had to hose down a virus flare-up centred around nightclubs.

“Germany has hundreds of new cases linked to abattoirs.

“Australia’s outbreak is at a low level, but it is still experiencing new infections and has more than 400 active cases.

Trump’s political rally
“As we held crowded Super Rugby Aotearoa matches for a second weekend, the United States debated the wisdom of President Donald Trump holding an indoor political rally in Oklahoma yesterday, which is experiencing a rise in coronavirus cases.

“On Saturday, the US gained 32,000 new cases – the most in a day since May 1. The states of most concern are Texas, Florida, and Arizona.

What the saga of the two travellers from Britain and other such stories had told New Zealand, The Herald said, was that the public’s trust was easily shaken.

“Quick action to arrest a slide is then essential. The Prime Minister appears to understand that,” the newspaper added.

“Basic and obvious competence is the secret sauce any government and ministry need to maintain trust.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It all boils down to this: The timeline of latest revelations suggests National Party MPs placed their want to GET their opponents – the Ardern Government – ahead of concerns that Covid-19 was potentially un-contained and again infecting New Zealanders. Is this a step too far for the Todd Muller-led party?

We are debating the issue where two women, who had recently arrived from the United Kingdom and were in isolation, were released on compassionate grounds to travel freely between Auckland and Wellington to visit a dying parent – this while infected with the Covid-19 virus.

In the latest revelations to Parliament on Thursday June 18, 2020 (the Government revealed) National Party MP Chris Bishop had lobbied for the two women asking officials to  “expeditiously” consider releasing the women from quarantine so they could visit their dying parent.

While Bishop was just doing his job, it set in train a failure by New Zealand officials to follow Government instructions to keep those who have recently crossed our borders isolated and quarantined. That is, until international travellers have proved to be free of Covid-19.

Earlier this week, National MP Michael Woodhouse delivered a bombshell in Parliament. He revealed that two women – who had recently arrived in New Zealand, who had travelled from the United Kingdom to New Zealand via Doha (in Qatar) and Australia – had been released early from quarantine prior to their Covid-19 status being determined.

Woodhouse revealed, citing a “reliable but confidential source” that the two women had now presented as Covid-19 positive, that they had borrowed a car from a friend, had got lost on the Auckland Motorway, were in physical contact with that friend, and had driven from Auckland to Wellington.

As Radio New Zealand reported: Woodhouse said:

“They called on acquaintances who they were in close contact with and that was rewarded with even more close contact – a kiss and a cuddle.” The source also told him the women had borrowed the car, raising the question of whether there was further undisclosed contact.

Once in Wellington, they had visited their dying parent before tests showed they were carrying the deadly virus. It was not clear how many New Zealanders they had actually come into contact with – some reports suggested up to 320 people had potentially been infected with the Covid-19 virus.

Woodhouse’s claims rocked the government. Reeling and on the back-foot, Ministers, including the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, scrambled to gather information. Later that afternoon, it was confirmed that Woodhouse was correct. Health officials were summoned. Breaches of the Government’s strict controls were discovered.

The Prime Minister, clearly appalled and fed up with having earlier received official assurances that the controls were being followed, was later informed that that was not the case. Her response? She ordered the military to replace public servants, that Air Commodore Digby Webb would oversee and manage the quarantine and isolation control requirements.

Throughout Wednesday National MPs, supporters, some commentators, and a tribe of social media zealots called for the resignation of the Health Minister, David Clark. The Prime Minister refused and stood by her minister stating he was a part of efforts to fix this issue, and not a part of the problem.

BUT, what Woodhouse did not reveal, was that one of his fellow National Party MPs, Chris Bishop, had lobbied to have the two women released early so they could drive from Auckland to Wellington.

Here’s the crucial timeline as Bishop has now confirmed:

To RadioNZ’s Checkpoint he said:

On Friday (June 12) a “mutual friend” sent him a Twitter message describing to him the plight of the two women who had arrived in NZ to see their dying parent but who were in secure quarantine while their parent’s condition was deteriorating.

“I said [to the mutual friend] they should send me an email.”

“I was contacted on Friday night by the two women via email, when I saw the email on Saturday afternoon I forwarded it to the email address provided to MPs for that purpose, and asked the officials to look at it ‘expeditiously’, I think was the language used.”

Afterwards, Bishop said he emailed the women back to let them know he had passed on their request, and their correspondence ended after that with the pair thanking him.

Bishop added: “I did what MPs are … obliged to do and dozens of MPs from around the Parliament will have done over the last three months or so, I’ve dealt with probably hundreds of inquiries and forwarded them on to the appropriate address, everything from essential businesses to immigration matters through to this case.”

Now, that may have been the case. MPs are often compelled to act on the interests of constituents and citizens. And, it should be said, Chris Bishop is a hard working and well-respected member of Parliament.

But this is where the snakes and mirrors creeps in.

Every Tuesday morning, when Parliament sits, National MPs hold a caucus meeting where, in private, they discuss, among other things, party issues and organise what information they will raise in Parliament later that day.

It is reasonable to realise, on the morning of Tuesday June 16, while at caucus, National’s MPs will have discussed the bombshell. At caucus they would have decided who among them would deliver the blow, a strategy would have been decided upon on how the politics of it all would be handled.

And here, it is likely, where National decided to sit on information until it set this political dynamite alight in the debating chamber.

As vital hours passed, it appears National placed political interests ahead of the public interest.

National’s MPs knew, as the good New Zealand public knows, that Covid-19 is the most deadly virus to have swept the world in our lifetimes. The pandemic is raging offshore as you read this.

It appears, National MPs, and its leadership, willingly withheld information it had acquired from its “reliable but confidential source” from health officials and the Government.

As they stated later, hundreds could have caught Covid-19 in the days the two women were among our communities. And as Radio New Zealand’s political editor Jane Patterson wrote: “The next few days will be crucial. Testing and contact tracing that will be frantically happening should give us a better idea of whether this is limited to just the two women, or if the failures at the border are going to have more wide-reaching consequences.”

Time, when it comes to Covid-19, is crucial.

Morally, on being informed of the two women having tested as Covid-19 positive, National should have immediately informed the Prime Minister’s office of the issue, called a press conference where it cited their informant, exposing the Government’s officials for having placed New Zealanders at further risk, and claimed the political highground.

Instead, it sat quiet, while the hours ticked away, while New Zealanders who may have been in contact with the infected women went about their daily tasks, contacting others, placing more people at risk.

If Covid-19 gets away on us again, New Zealand could return to lockdown. That would cause huge strain on an already strained economy and could see more New Zealanders die.

National’s decision is, in my opinion, beyond dirty politics. It exposes a party to being prepared to put New Zealander’s lives at risk just so it can deliver a political hit job.

In defence of his own actions, on Thursday MP Chris Bishop said: “This was a desperate attempt by the government to distract away from their incompetent management at the border and I think it’s frankly pretty disgraceful that an MP doing their job is being dragged into this.”

Bishop, in my view, on the evidence available so far, has little to apologise for. He was doing his job. But as for National’s leadership team, rather than the Minister of Health resigning, decency would insist they should front-up to explain why they put Kiwis lives at risk by holding on to that crucial information. On the information at hand, it is they, rather than the Minister of Health David Clark, who should resign.

But we all know – despite this revelation – they will not.

Ref. Parliament TV, Oral Questions, Todd Muller to the Prime Minister, June 17, 2020.

Ref. Parliament TV, Oral Questions, Michael Woodhouse to the Minister of Health, June 17, 2020.

Ref. Radio NZ (Morning Report, S Ferguson IV Michael Woodhouse),  (7:26 am on 18 June 2020).

Ref. Parliament TV, Oral Questions, Michael Woodhouse to the Minister of Health, June 18, 2020.

Ref. Parliament.nz oral questions, June 17, 2020.

Homegrown Australian television shows to the tune of $17.1 million will be broadcast in the Pacific in a bid believed intended to stymie China’s diplomatic and media rise in the region.

Shows such as The Voice, Border Security, Neighbours and are to be offered as the main fare to people who barely understand Australian culture, although Border Security could cause some animosity to those Pacific people who are denied entry into Australia.

However, some of those critical of the move say the funds could have been better used to develop Pacific broadcasting capabilities, strengthen independent journalism in the region or showcase content more relevant to Pacific audiences.

READ MORE: ‘Neighbours is irrelevant to most Pacific Islanders’

At the 2018 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) meeting in Nauru, New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would spend $10 million on a Pasifika channel for the region over the next three years.

He said at the time that the plan would improve both the production of more Pacific content, including news and current affairs.

“The expansion of the Pasifika TV service will dramatically improve the way in which New Zealand content is delivered across the Pacific,” Peters said at the time.

“While the existing service has demonstrated its ability to lift broadcasting and journalism in the region, it is the natural next step to promote the production of more Pacific content, including news and current affairs.”

Australian contrast with NZ approach
In contrast, Australia intends broadcast hours of Australian-made content and bombard the Pacific Islands in a bid to combat China’s charm offensive in the Pacific.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Alex Hawke said the “PacificAus TV initiative is a terrific demonstration of shared cultural ties and links between Australia and the Pacific”, while Australia’s Foreign Minister, Senator Marise Payne, said: “Having the opportunity to watch the same stories on our screens will only deepen the connection with our Pacific family,” as ABC reported.

However, Jemima Garrett, co-convenor of the Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative and a former Pacific correspondent for the ABC, said the initiative was a welcome recognition that Australia should have a broadcasting voice in the Pacific, but it needed additional programmes to be fit for purpose.

“Australia needs to talk ‘with’ not ‘to’ our region and include the rich diversity of Australian voices and voices from the region,” Garrett said.

“Watching rich, white people renovate their homes will not ‘deepen the connection’ with the Pacific or overcome perceptions that Australia can be paternalistic. Nor will providing Border Security in a region in which visa access is a sore point.

“If the PacificAus TV initiative is about building relationships, then co-productions made by Australian and Pacific media companies working together are the way to go.

“Currently the initiative does not provide for the involvement of Australia’s Pacific communities or for the involvement of the ABC, SBS or National Indigenous Television or independent producers with an interest in the region,” she said.

‘Lukewarm’ reaction in Fiji
Meanwhile, Shailendra Singh, head of the journalism programme at the University of South Pacific in Fiji, said the reaction to the news in Fiji had been “lukewarm”.

“Money certainly would have been put to better use developing local content,” he said.

“Even if the strategy meets Australia’s geopolitical needs, does it meet the needs of Pacific Islanders? Is Australia putting its needs ahead of the Pacific? These are some of the questions that people are asking,” he said.

“There is already some grumbling about cultural imperialism through media. This on top of long held concerns about the ratio of local versus foreign content.

“Some feel media is already too commercialised. There is already too much sports and entertainment in comparison to news. In Fiji Rugby sevens had been called the opium of the people because of slavish coverage,” he said.

“So even if the strategy meets Australia’s geopolitical needs, does it meet the needs of Pacific Islanders? Is Australia putting its needs ahead of the Pacific?” he asked.

“Money certainly would have been put to better use developing local content. In developing local content one can also develop local journalists and journalism. The benefits are both visible and tangible.

‘Great local analysis’
“Some great analysis written by local journalists have been published. Why was this working model bypassed?” he asked.

“Soft power move? That seems the obvious explanation. What is the gain for Australia in getting Pacific populations hooked on Neighbours?

“It is a bit baffling but no doubt the Australian government has thought over this carefully before unleashing this grand plan on us.

“It is not clear how the Chinese feel about it. They have reserved comment so far,” the academic said.

Dan McGarry, the former media director at the Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper, wrote that the announcement seemed “silly, seen from here”.

“Pacific islanders want news, they want weather updates, especially during cyclone season. But language and cultural differences make shows like Neighbours irrelevant to most islanders. Entertainment wasn’t what we asked for (except for The Voice – everyone loves that).”

The question is whether Australia was trying to curry favour as China is seen to be pandering to the Pacific media.

China regularly pays for Pacific journalists to visit China on see-for-themselves excursions as evidenced by nearly a dozen journalists from print media organisations in the Pacific going on a 10-day tour in Beijing in mid-2016.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz