New Zealand
Managing ‘Significant Challenges’
New Zealand’s Winston
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New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters spoke to Pacific Magazine’s Peter Rees on the state of his country’s relations with the Pacific.
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Winston Peters: New Zealand Aid (NZAID) has a NZ$10.1 (US$7.2) million annual bilateral aid program with Tonga that is focused on education, economic and political reform, and improving access to water on the outer islands.
Following the rioting and destruction in Nukualofa in November, New Zealand immediately responded to the Tongan government’s request for assistance and provided $500,000 to cover the cost of specialist advice to feed into the recovery process. This advice covered the areas of revenue loss, insurance loss adjusters, prosecution, defense, and constitutional reform.
Since November, our international aid and development agency, NZAID, has conducted extensive discussions with the Tongan government over the sort of assistance that will be most useful in helping ordinary people recover from the riots.
Following these discussions, a further package of assistance of around $2 million is to be provided, which will assist businesses to rebuild. The fund will target small to medium businesses, and will offer a business advisory service, loan subsidies for up to two years, and a credit guarantee scheme. The work is also supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
There are other initiatives being explored, including a joint Australia/NZ Police mission to assess possible assistance to the Tongan Police Force.
The recovery process will be long, and there is a great deal of damage to be fixed, not just in terms of physical infrastructure but also economic and social damage. New Zealand continues to be ready and willing to assist as Tonga takes the first steps towards recovery.
PM: Is New Zealand’s stance on Fiji likely to change given the outcry by some parts of the New Zealand business community with interests in the region on New Zealand’s own sanctions against Fiji? Will New Zealand try and work with the interim administration or not?
WP: New Zealand stands firm on its stance on sanctions. Any future review of the appropriateness of its sanctions will be undertaken in conjunction with progress toward a return to constitutional democracy.
PM: Does the New Zealand government subscribe to the concept of an “arc of instability” as it is described in Australia, encompassing Melanesia and now Tonga?
WP: The Pacific region as a whole faces significant challenges. These include problems of poor governance arising from weak institutions of state, capacity and human resource constraints, and an uneasy tension between traditional wantok power systems and contemporary demands for transparent, accountable government.
Added to this are pressures of population increase or decline; social trends such as poor education, health and employment prospects; youth alienation; land and ethnic issues, and increased poverty.
While every country in the region is different, and not all display these vulnerabilities to the same degree, these are all factors that could potentially contribute to instability in the Pacific. Melanesia has shown itself to be particularly vulnerable.
PM: What would you expect to happen in the case of Tokelau (which will hold a self-determination referendum in November) over the next several years?
WP: If the referendum decides on a move to self-government, the arrangements for this will be put in place so the change of status can take place around mid-2008. Not a great deal will change if this occurs as Tokelau already is exercising almost all of the functions of self-government.
In the coming years the major challenge for both Tokelau and New Zealand will be to develop and encourage activities that support Tokelau’s ongoing viability and development.
There are many facets to this ranging from an enhanced shipping service, better education and health services, development of village infrastructure, economic development, and environmental protection. We will be seeking to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the realities that Tokelau and its people face, and a determination to give strong, well-coordinated support across the full spectrum of Tokelau’s needs.
