NEWSROOM: 09 March - 22 March 2008

Australia should consider Pacific Workers scheme
20 March 2007 - Source: Radio Fiji Broadcasting LTD

Economist Dr Wadan Narsey says Australia should seriously consider starting to adopt a Pacific Island Workers Scheme like that adopted by New Zealand.

Dr Wadan Narsey says it is rather encouraging to see that the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is interested to start the similar scheme taken by NZ in Australia.

Dr Narsey told Radio Fiji News in the case of New Zealand, the Helen Clark government cannot pressure Fiji in anything because it refused to take in any workers from Fiji in the first place.

“It is very important that Fiji is considered for this scheme and you look at the experience so far with NZ, the case for this Pacific Island seasonal work scheme has been made for some years now.

“The benefits are very oblivious for both the Pacific Islands and for Australia and NZ, NZ has kept Fiji out. The problem in the strategies, if the country is not enjoying the benefits, then NZ cannot exercise any lever on Fiji,” he added.

Dr Narsey says if Australia starts with the Pacific Island Workers Scheme then count Fiji in the tactics of pressuring Fiji to return to a democratically elected government works.

“If Australia is willing to except Fiji workers on the Pacific Island seasonal labour scheme then at some point in time, it can say to Fiji, if you’re keeping the promises that you have made, then we have to keep Fiji workers out of this.

“Then it will be painful for us because by at that time the workers will have to enjoy the benefits of working. It is very important that Fiji makes a very special effort and that Australia to think strategically about the scheme and not exclude from the scheme,” he added.

Australia has historic chance in Pacific relations, says think tank
20 March 2007 - Source: Radio New Zealand International

A report from an Australian think tank says the new Rudd Government has an historic opportunity to make a positive difference to the prospects of Pacific Island countries.

An independent taskforce, brought together by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says the way forward is for Australia to embrace regional integration, including the opening of its borders to Pacific workers.

It says this new focus should include way to develop an enabling security that would avoid the need for regional assistance mission such as RAMSI in Solomon Islands.

The taskforce manager, Anthony Bergin, says Australia is at a window where it can develop its relations with the Pacific.

“We need to put the people back into our Pacific policy. That is, that we need to, in a measured way, open our borders to allow Pacific Islanders, for example, to work more easily in Australia, and Australians to work more easily in the Pacific Islands and that generally we should be growing an interchange, a crossflow of people between Australia and the Pacific.”

Anthony Bergin

Australian government renews commitment to fight TB in Pacific
18 March 2007 - Source: Radio New Zealand International

The Australian Government has reiterated its commitment to fighting tuberculosis in the region.

Last year, it was estimated that tuberculosis had infected 50 percent of Papua New Guinea’s population and continued to spread.

It is also a significant problem in the Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

The Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, says Australia is aware of the importance of integrating the response to HIV and TB as people with AIDS are 50 times more likely to contract TB.

He says people need to be reminded that tuberculosis remains a significant global problem.

“People think that tuberculosis is a problem that’s been solved because it’s essentially been solved in Australia and people are not aware that there is a very serious tuberculosis issue in our region here in the Pacific, and that there are dangerous new strains of drug resistant tuberculosis in our region.”

Bob McMullan says TB kills 2-million people every year, which is unacceptable when it preventable and curable.

Experts to help address New Caledonia's tick fever situation
16 March 2007 - Source: Oceania Flash

A team of Australian top experts is scheduled to fly to New Caledonia at the weekend to assist local authorities contain and possibly treat a contamination from the tick fever, following the introduction of bulls from Australia in November last year.

Oceania Flash reports the "assessment mission" is to be headed by the veterinary in chief at Australia's health and quarantine services, the Australian government said in a release from its Nouméa Consulate General.

Earlier this week, New Caledonia's local government took a series of drastic steps in response to the situation.

But on the official level, both New Caledonia's government and Australian authorities are stressing the situation is the result of "shared responsibilities" and is to be solved through a cooperative approach.

New Caledonia's agriculture minister Eric Babin on Thursday welcomed the announcement of the Australian team's visit.

But he stressed it would remain to be seen whether the solution envisaged and usually practised regarding the tick fever in Australia could be applied to New Caledonia.

"They have an approach of treating the animals whereas we, in New Caledonia, have a policy of complete eradication of the disease", the minister said.

New Caledonia's animal health and quarantine authorities have on Tuesday swiftly moved to damage control mode after it was discovered that Australian-imported cattle had introduced the rare tick fever, thus jeopardizing the whole livestock in the French Pacific territory.

After it was established that an infected, Australia-imported bull had contaminated at least one local animal, emergency animal health measures have been put into place to contain a potential outbreak.

Local authorities already estimated that up to 10 percent of the whole livestock could be affected.

The 43 Australian bulls arrived in New Caledonia on November 23, 2007.

But apparently contrary to the procedure, they had been injected, in a manner of vaccine, with germs of the tick fever.

New Caledonian authorities said at the time, the accompanying certificates and declarations upon entry into New Caledonia falsely stipulated that the animals had never been vaccinated and had never come in contact with ticks.

Earlier this week, back in Australia's federal capital Canberra, agriculture minister Tony Burke told parliament one of the possibilities would be to treat affected cattle in New Caledonia with a chemical called Imazol, which would kill the tick fever organisms in the cattle and prevent further transmission of the disease to ticks.

Burke admitted in Parliament during question time that the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) had allowed Australian cattle to be exported to New Caledonia in November after being vaccinated against the disease, even though they should have been submitted to a chemical drenching treatment.

“While information on this issue is still coming to hand, it seems clear, first of all, that there was a certification error by AQIS, and that as a result of that error there may be a significant impact on the beef industry in New Caledonia.”

Burke said he had had a meeting late Tuesday with French ambassador François Descoueyte to discuss Australian efforts to repair the damage caused by the bungle.
He assured Australia would meet all of its obligations towards the government of the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia.

New Caledonia's animal health and quarantine authorities have on Tuesday swiftly moved to damage control mode after it was discovered that Australian-imported cattle had introduced the rare tick fever, thus jeopardising the whole livestock in the French Pacific territory.

After it was established that an infected, Australia-imported bull had contaminated at least one local animal, emergency animal health measures have been put into place to contain a potential outbreak.

On Tuesday, New Caledonia's government had passed emergency regulations that de facto set up exclusion zones for New Caledonia's 17 cattle farms that have been in contact with one or several of the 43 Australia-imported animals.

All bovine cattle are to be isolated and all suspect animals will be culled, Babin said.
All pastures are also closed to grazing for a duration of up to ten months, so that any tick that could be there cannot contaminate more animals.

Buffer "protection" and "surveillance" zones also surround the exclusion zones so as to prevent any spread to neighbouring farms.

No animal can leave or enter these zones, except if it is to be transported to a slaughterhouse.

It is forbidden to transport, sell and give away cattle feed or equipment and even soil under any form, the local government also resolved.

Meanwhile, samples have been sent to two laboratories, one in Australia, another one in Montpellier (France) for further analysis.

If it is then established that the virus is the same as the one that killed the animal on Friday last week, then up to six thousand animals (including the 43 Australian imported animals) could be culled as a precautionary measure.

Animal health authorities have however reassured that the resulting beef meat would present no danger for human consumption.

New Caledonia stakeholders have already labelled the situation a "catastrophe".
Local authorities already estimated that up to ten percent of the whole livestock could be affected.

The 43 Australian bulls arrived in New Caledonia on November 23, 2007.
But apparently contrary to the procedure, they had been injected, in a manner of vaccine, with germs of the tick fever.

New Caledonian authorities said at the time, the accompanying certificates and declarations upon entry into New Caledonia falsely stipulated that the animals had never been vaccinated and had never come in contact with ticks.

"The Australians should never have let these animals be exported, because they did not fit the protocol, even though they had certified it", an angry New Caledonian agriculture and fisheries minister Eric Babin told local television on Tuesday.

"And we, on our side, we certainly should have been more vigilant and not trust a stamp on the first page. We should have checked more closely", he admitted.

Tick fever, also known as babesiosis, can devastate cattle herds.

It occurs in eastern and northern Australia and despite being under control, costs the Australian beef industry up to US$26 million a year, The Australian newspaper reported on Wednesday.

An earlier outbreak of babesiosis occurred in New Caledonia some 20 years ago, but since then, the French territory was free from the parasite-transmitted disease.

Australian PM Congratulates all RAMSI members
14 March 2007 - Source: Australian High Commission (Samoa)

The Australian Prime Minister, Hon Kevin Rudd has congratulated all members of Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) police, soldiers and civilians for their efforts in rebuilding Solomon Islands.

Speaking during a brief visit to the mission’s headquarters in Solomon Islands, Mr Rudd said it was the individual efforts of every member of the mission whether they were from Australia, New Zealand or around the region in partnership with the people of Solomon Islands that really made the difference.

“We as politicians and diplomats can agree on a course of action, we can even sign documents but unless you…come into the field and actually do the job, then the brave pronouncements of Prime Ministers end up meaning nothing."

Describing RAMSI as a great example of regional cooperation, Mr Rudd said he wanted to personally thank all those Pacific Islanders who had contributed to RAMSI.

“To our friends from the Pacific Island Forum (countries) can I say this is a wonderful example of cooperation across our great Pacific region… as an arrangement coordinated through the Pacific Islands Forum.”

“As members of the Pacific Islands Forum community of nations, where ever you come from across our region through your participation in RAMSI here, I would like to express my personal appreciation and that of my government, for your work in the field.”

Mr Rudd also made particular reference to New Zealand as a key partner in RAMSI.
“It’s really important for us to be working with the Kiwis around the region and around the world.”
To his own countrymen and women, Mr Rudd said that he understood their mission had been "difficult, challenging work”.

“When we look back at how difficult circumstances were not so many years ago and look at the measures of progress and achievement this is a tribute to your combined professionalism and I thank you for that.”

Mr Rudd said RAMSI would remain in Solomon Islands for as long as it was welcome and for as long as it had a job to do.

“(Based on) my discussions with the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, its quite plain to me that we are welcome and that RAMSI is welcome and it continues to do a good job and that will remain the case into the future.”

The countries that make up the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands are Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
 

Nauru Asks For Australian Assistance Over Arson Attack
12 March 2007 - Source: Nauru Government Media Release

The Government of Nauru has asked Australia to provide arson specialists to assist in its investigations into a fire on Friday night which severely damaged the island's main police station.

A team of four AFP personnel, including two arson investigators will arrive in Nauru early tomorrow morning (Tuesday) to join the investigating team.

Nauru's acting police minister, Mathew Batsiua, said it was suspected the incident was linked to a handful of disgruntled people who have long standing issues against the present reformist government and unfortunately it seems that they are being encouraged to cause disruption by their member of Parliament and opposition leader Rene Harris.

"At this stage, all we can confirm is that substantial damage was caused to the police building and that we have our suspicions about who was behind the incident, which is why we have asked for specialised arson investigative resources to help us bring those responsible to justice," Mr Batsiua said.

"These few people are rapidly wearing down the patience of the vast majority of Nauruans and this has become very obvious in the widespread condemnation which has emerged since Friday night's incident," Mr Batsiua said.

The acting minister confirmed that there had been earlier threats made against a number of government-owned utilities leading up to the fire, which had resulted in a heightened police presence over the weekend.

He said if evidence was found to positively identify the suspected arsonists, they would be charged under laws introduced in 2007 which provided very heavy jail sentences for those convicted of offences.
 

Rudd vows to help Pacific more
10 March 2007 - Source: ABC News

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has wrapped up his two-nation tour of Australia's Melanesian neighbours by saying that if Australia does not do more to help the Pacific develop it will pay dearly in the long run.

Answering questions at a news conference in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara, Mr Rudd said that his Government was intending to forge new Pacific Development Partnerships with the island nations of the region.

He defended spending more aid money in the Pacific while tightening the budget at home, arguing that if the nations of Melanesia like Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands disintegrated then that would be bad for the region and bad for Australia.

And he raised the prospect of a flood of Melanesian refugees heading for Australia's shores if their countries fell apart.

Mr Rudd also defended the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission (RAMSI) against a submission by the Solomon Islands Attorney General's chambers holding Australia liable for compensation for the damage done during Honiara's riots in 2006, on the grounds that RAMSI was responsible for security.

"From the perspective of the Australian Government there is no case to answer," he said.

Mr Rudd thanked Solomon Islands Prime Minister Derek Sikua for the support he is given RAMSI since December.

Mr Rudd announced that he had won the support of the Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for Australia to host next year's Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting.
 

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