Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s aid for Kiribati is being reviewed after its President and Foreign Minister cancelled a meeting with him last week.

Terms of Reference for the review are still being finalised, and it remains unclear whether or not funding will be cut or projects already under way would be affected, with Peters’ office saying no decisions would be made until the review was complete.

His office said Kiribati remained part of the RSE scheme and its eligibility for the Pacific Access Category was unaffected — for now.

Peters had been due to meet with President Taneti Maamau last Tuesday and Wednesday, in what was to be the first trip by a New Zealand foreign minister to Kiribati in five years, and part of his effort to visit every Pacific country early in the government’s term.

Kiribati has been receiving increased aid from China in recent years.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Peters said he was informed about a week before the trip President Maamau would no longer be available.

“Around a week prior to our arrival in Tarawa, we were advised that the President and Foreign Minister of Kiribati, Taneti Maamau, was no longer available to receive Mr Peters and his delegation,” the statement said.

‘Especially disappointing’
“This was especially disappointing because the visit was to be the first in over five years by a New Zealand Minister to Kiribati — and was the result of a months-long effort to travel there.”

The spokesperson said the development programme was being reviewed as a result.

“New Zealand has been a long-standing partner to Kiribati. The lack of political-level contact makes it very difficult for us to agree joint priorities for our development programme, and to ensure that it is well targeted and delivers good value for money.

“That’s important for both the people of Kiribati and for the New Zealand taxpayer. For this reason, we are reviewing our development programme in Kiribati. The outcomes of that review will be announced in due course.

“Other aspects of the bilateral relationship may also be impacted.”

New Zealand spent $102 million on the development cooperation programme with Kiribati between 2021 and 2024, including on health, education, fisheries, economic development, and climate resilience.

Peters’ office said New Zealand deeply valued the contribution Recognised Seasonal Employer workers made to the country, and was committed to working alongside Pacific partners to ensure the scheme led to positive outcomes for all parties.

Committed to positive outcomes
“However, without open dialogue it is difficult to meet this commitment.”

They also said New Zealand was committed to working alongside our Pacific partners to ensure that the Pacific Access Category leads to positive outcomes for all parties, but again this would be difficult without open dialogue.

The spokesperson said the Kiribati people’s wellbeing was of paramount importance and the terms of reference would reflect this.

New Zealand stood ready “as we always have, to engage with Kiribati at a high level”.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

ABC PACIFIC BEAT: By Marian Faa, Prianka Srinivasan and Belinda Kora

Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister has stepped aside after a widespread backlash to comments he made in defence of a video his daughter posted on TikTok.

Justin Tkatchenko called critics of the video “primitive animals” during an interview with the ABC on Wednesday.

The comments have been labelled racist and insulting, and sparked protests in PNG throughout the day, as well as calls for him to resign.

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, Tkatchenko said the decision to step aside was not easy.

“I’m stepping aside as foreign minister so that our country can move forward and that I can also clear my name and also clear the doubt and the misinformation that is out there, that is causing great grief to everyone concerned,” Tkatchenko said.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape will take over as foreign minister as the nation prepares for a historic visit by US President Joe Biden and other Pacific leaders on May 22.

Tkatchenko has been closely involved in negotiating major defence and security agreements between PNG and the United States.

‘Clear the air’
He said he wanted to “clear the air” ahead of the visits.

“I do not want to disturb this event. We have done all the hard work already. Now, it’s the finalisation of the leaders arriving in the next coming days,” he said.

“For me to step aside is the right thing to do. So that we can clear the air and make sure that all these issues that arose from misinformation, finally sorted out once and for all.”

Marape thanked Tkatchenko for his decision.

“I want to commend the minister for putting the interest of the country ahead of his own,” he said.

“I will take charge of the foreign affairs ministry and ensure that all the preparations for the upcoming historical visits remain on track in the next few days.”

Opposition wants to deport Tkatchenko
Justin Tkatchenko was born in Australia but has lived in Papua New Guinea for 30 years and is a citizen.

“The last thing is that I’m going to destroy my beautiful home and ruin my reputation at the same time,” he said.

“I have six beautiful children, and a wife who are all Papua New Guinean and the last thing that I would call Papua New Guineans is primitive animals.”

He said the comments were directed at “cyber trolls” who attacked his daughter over a TikTok video she posted while accompanying him on a trip to the coronation of King Charles III.

The video, which was tagged #aussiesinlondon, flaunted cocktails and lavish meals at first-class airport lounges on the 4.3 million kina (NZ$2 million) taxpayer-funded trip.

“The people I made the comments to — individually — were those that were attacking my daughter on social media, putting up disgusting posts against her for doing absolutely nothing wrong,” he said.

‘Frustrated and angry’
“As a father, I was so frustrated and angry with the comments, sexual comments, violent comments, all sorts of comments that you would never want your daughter or any other woman or girl to be treated like to go through.

“To the people of Papua New Guinea, I sincerely apologise if you think that I meant bad to you … It was not intentioned at all for Papua New Guineans.”

In a statement last night, Marape said he was offended by Tkatchenko’s comments but called for forgiveness.

Tkatchenko said he was not the subject of any investigations.

PNG opposition leader Jospeh Lelang welcomed Tkatchenko’s decision to step aside.

“However, [he] will still be referred to the Citizenship Board to determine his citizenship status and be deported. We will have nothing less than that,” he told ABC.

While popular in his electorate of Moresby-South, Tkatchenko attracted controversy as the minister in charge of purchasing 40 custom-made Maserati luxury cars when PNG hosted the APEC summit in 2018, costing taxpayers 20 million kina (NZ$9.2 million).

Michael Kabuni, a former politics lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea, said online media had played an unprecedented role in placing pressure on him to resign.

“Social media is beginning to shape the politics in ways we’ve never seen in past years,” he said.

Republished from ABC Pacific Beat with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister has vehemently defended his daughter against a furious backlash to a Tik Tok video she posted as part of PNG’s official delegation to King Charles III’s coronation.

The video posted by Savannah Tkatchenko flaunts extravagant meals in first class airport lounges and “elite” shopping experiences at luxury brands on the taxpayer-funded trip.

“We did some shopping around Singapore airport at Hermes and Louis Vuitton. For those of you that don’t know, Singapore airport shopping is so elite,” she said in the clip.

Savannah Tkatchenko attended the coronation in London alongside her father, Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, and two other officials.

The video has garnered widespread criticism in PNG, with commentators saying money for the trip should have been spent on improving healthcare, education and other services in the impoverished county.

Speaking to ABC’s Pacific Beat, Minister Tkatchenko said critics of the video were “primitive animals” with “nothing better to do”.

He said his daughter did not actually purchase anything at some shops featured in the video.

Speaking to ABC’s Pacific Beat, Mr Tkachenko said critics of the video were “primitive animals” with “nothing better to do” 😳 https://t.co/lO1wEpBJkd

— Ben Packham (@bennpackham) May 10, 2023

‘My daughter is devastated’
“My daughter now is totally devastated. She is traumatised by some of the most ridiculous and useless comments that I’ve seen,” he said.

“Jealousy is a curse. And, you know, these people clearly show that they have got nothing to do in their lives.”

About 40 percent of Papua New Guineans live below the basic needs poverty line, according to World Bank data published in 2020.

Tkatchenko said his daughter was selected to attend the coronation in the place of his wife, who could not make the event.

“The best next person in my family was my eldest daughter, who is a qualified lawyer by profession,” he said.

“We went to London, we attended all the meetings and events, and she represented her country without fear or favour to the highest degree and honour.”

PNG social justice advocate and former election candidate Tania Bale said the minister’s response was “tone deaf”.

Fuuurious online backlash in PNG after FM Justin Tkachenko’s daughter posted a TikTok video of her (taxpayer funded) trip to London to attend the King’s Coronation. FM has responded angrily, saying his daughter has copped online abuse from “useless” people and “primitive animals” https://t.co/e6f7GCswOJ

— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) May 10, 2023

‘Completely offensive’
“It’s completely offensive to the people of Papua New Guinea and the suffering that we’re going through. It shows complete contempt for us,” she said.

“There’s just a big disconnect with what I’m seeing in this video of super luxury . . . and you contrast that with how our people actually live.”

According to local media, the coronation cost PNG taxpayers 6 million kina (NZ$2.7 million) — half of which was spent on an in-country celebration attended by Prime Minister James Marape.

Tkatchenko said he could not confirm reports that PNG Governor-General Bob Dadae also took a delegation of between 10 and 30 people to the coronation, saying the trips were “completely separate”.

“We attended the coronation because of our connection with the monarchy, the connection with the Commonwealth. It’s very straightforward. It’s nothing to hide,” he said.

Lae resident Laurence, who did not want to use his last name out of fear of reprisal for speaking out, said the spending did not seem justified.

Facing ‘a lot of issues’
“The country is facing a lot of issues and that sort of money should be spent on other services in a country instead of for just a single event or trip,” he said.

The video has now been removed from Tik Tok and Savannah Tkatchenko appears to have deleted her account.

Minister Tkatchenko said the coronation visit was a success for PNG.

“I hold my head up high. We had a fantastic coronation. Papua New Guinea was represented at the highest order. The King was so impressed,” he said.

The ABC has contacted Savannah Tkatchenko for comment.

Republished from ABC Pacific Beat with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio will attend the Pacific Islands Forum in Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s stead as she recovers from covid-19.

In a statement confirming the move this afternoon Aupito, who is also the Associate Foreign Minister, said he looked forward to the opportunity to talanoa with Pacific Island counterparts at the forum in Fiji next week.

“This will be the first in-person meeting of Forum Foreign Ministers since 2019,” he said.

“It has been challenging to bring all ministers together given the impact of the global pandemic and a number of national elections under way in the Pacific, but this talanoa is essential for our region.”

Mahuta said the forum was at the heart of New Zealand’s engagement with the Pacific, and this meeting came at a “critical time” considering the climate change challenge.

She confirmed over the weekend she had tested positive for covid-19, and would be unable to attend.

Aupito said the response to broader security challenges — including maritime surveillance and illegal fishing — economic resilience, and natural disaster response were also pressing issues that would be discussed.

The Forum will also be attended by heads of state, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Leaders’ meetings will take place from Monday to Thursday next week, July 11-14.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) has urged its members to boycott a media conference for a visiting Chinese delegation in protest over “ridiculous” restrictions.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi leads the high-level delegation which arrives in Solomon Islands today.

Wang is expected to sign a host of new agreements, including the security pact that has sparked anger in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

MASI president Georgina Kekea said it was disappointed that the media were only allowed limited access to the visit.

Kekea said Solomon Islands was a democratic country and when media freedom was dictated on someone else’s terms, it impeded the country’s democratic principles.

“The Chinese delegation’s visit is an important and historical one for our country and our members play an important role in making sure it provides the right information and awareness on the importance of the visit to our people,” she said.

She said only two questions could be asked, one from a local journalist directed to the Solomon Islands foreign affairs minister, and one from Chinese media, directed to their foreign affairs minister.

“How ridiculous is that? If we want to interview our foreign affairs minister, we can just do it without the event,” she said.

‘What’s the purpose?’
“What is the purpose of hosting such an event for the press when they are only allowed one question and directed to their foreign minister only?”

Kekea said even the discriminatory manner in which journalists were selected to cover the event did not bode well with the association.

“MASI thrives on professional journalism and sees no reason for journalists to be discriminated against based on who they represent. Giving credentials to selected journalists is a sign of favouritism,” she said.

“Journalists should be allowed to do their job without fear or favour.”

She said the reason given that the arrangements were done that way because of covid-19 protocols did not stack up.

“We have community transmission, people are crowded in buses, shops, markets, banks and so forth, so this is a very lame excuse,” she said.

Kekea said press freedom is enshrined as a fundamental element in the Solomons’ constitution.

‘MASI defending democracy’
“Same as the prime minister has defended democracy in Parliament after the November riots, MASI is also defending democracy in this space,” Kekea said.

She added that the boycott was not to disrespect the government or its bilateral partners in any way, but to showcase the media’s disagreement in this matter.

Solomons Islands opposition leader Mathew Wale has again raised concerns at the secrecy surrounding links with Beijing.

Wale said only a few top aides know what is in the agreements, and that there’s no justification for the secrecy.

“Solomon Islands is a democratic country, owned by the people and they are entitled to know what is being transacted in their name,” he said.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz