Pacific Notes
Pacific Notes
Sept/Oct
Australia
Relations With Pacific Improve On Paper, Deteriorate In Capitals
An Australian soldier in Solomon Islands. The Australian 2007 Defense Update says the Australian Defense Force can expect to be engaged in the Pacific Islands region on a frequent basis. Photo: ADF
Australia’s relations with its nearest Pacific Island neighbors have been under even more scrutiny than usual in recent months, as the country’s domestic political players shadow box their way
towards the next national election.
Relations with Solomon Islands worsened after controversial Solicitor General Julian Moti was finally sworn in, and Canberra and Fiji’s post-coup administration are still poles apart. Meanwhile,
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer pledged new and expanded assistance for Nauru and the Tongan Business Reconstruction Fund during quick visits to those nations.
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In July the 2007 Australian Defense Update was released by Prime Minister John Howard. The document predicts Australia will often be called on to take the lead in restoring security in the immediate region, including the South Pacific.
And it asserts that neighborhood challenges will increasingly mean the defense force will become involved in “whole of government” operations with the military operating with civil agencies to create the foundations for sustained economic growth.
The impact of climate change has become an important issue on the Australian domestic political landscape, provoking a rare real point of difference between the policies of the incumbent government and the opposition Labor Party, which at the time of going to press, was polling well ahead of Howard’s Liberal-National coalition.
“Our responsibility to Pacific Island states is for the Australian government to get its head out of the sand on climate change,” Opposition leader Kevin Rudd says. “I’m bringing about an effective regime for global emissions reduction. Should we form the next government of Australia you will see a level of diplomatic activism on this question which we haven’t seen in a decade.” He adds it would be backed up by A$150 million (US$127.8 million) to assist Australia’s neighbors prepare for climate change, and that his government would ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
Otherwise there are some subtle changes in the Labor Party’s newly
released foreign policy plan for the Pacific. Rudd says the priorities will be tackling the collapse in primary education, primary health care, urban male youth unemployment through targeted public works programs, microfinance, to build basic infrastructure, continue the emphasis on good governance “with a new focus on training regional leaders,” and continuing provision of effective security assistance and capacity building with local police.
What actual difference this raft of papers and policies might make to Australia’s relationships depends ultimately on how it handles its relationships in Suva and Honiara and other centers across the Pacific Islands.
It can point to one tangible achievement in recent months at least. The Australia-Pacific Technical College opened its doors to its first students. While the college came from somewhat controversial
beginnings, perceived as being a hasty response to Pacific Islands’ pressure for an opening of Australian labor markets—a request opposed in 2006 and still resisted—there are hopes across the region that it will deliver real benefits.
—Samantha Magick
Region
'Recognized Seasonal Employer Scheme' Underway
The much anticipated Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme kicked off by the New Zealand government in conjunction with the country’s viticultural and horticultural industries and Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu earlier this year, is now in full swing.
Viticultural contracting company Vinepower recruited 20 Tongan workers to its Marlborough-based operation in the South Island in early July.
A high-powered Vinepower delegation hired 20 workers from Lapaha and Kolovai in Tonga. While there, company management met with Tongan Prime Minister Fred Sevele, Labor and Commerce Minister Lisiate ‘Akolo and Princess Siu’ilikutapu. By the end of the month the workers had flown to New Zealand to begin their seven month stints as laborers, the first to pass the strict screening process under the RSE scheme.
According to the Department of Labor, as of August, “nine companies have achieved RSE status, five of which are from the Marlborough region” known for its vineyards, fruit orchards and winemaking. “Two have the ability to recruit, which includes Vinepower while another 19 applications are in the pipeline.”
Social development and employment minister, David Benson-Pope says that the scheme is designed to give employers strong incentives to train and up skill locals, and fully utilize what manpower is already available, before looking for labor abroad.
Companies such as Vinepower must also supply adequate accommodation and transport to and from work for its workers. Because the residency requirements are that the workers must return after their contracts, the company must also pay for the return airfare.
Vinepower Director Jason Kennard has hailed the RSE scheme, saying it will be a positive boost for the horticulture and viticulture industries particularly in building closer ties between the contractor and growers. Vinepower specializes in “management and contracting services to cover all vineyard activities including hand planting, development, canopy management, hand harvesting.”
Workers will mainly be used for grape harvesting “pruning, wrapping, strip and trimming work.”
Vinepower had originally sought workers from Fiji, but Fiji is not part of the RSE scheme as a result of sanctions imposed by New Zealand after last year’s military coup.
Vinepower’s workers can expect to earn NZ$1,000 (US$765) gross a week, not counting the free accommodation and transport. As a result, revenue in the form of remittances is expected to impact significantly on the economies of Tonga and other island nations taking part in the scheme.
The RSE scheme in its current form expects to bring 5,000 workers from the Pacific to supply labor for the vine and fruit industry. New Zealand is currently experiencing unprecedented low unemployment with labor demands exceeding supply.
Support for the RSE scheme to include more nations is
already building up momentum with a call for a labor mobility arrangement with Australia and New Zealand on the agenda for October’s Pacific Forum meeting in Tonga.
'Recognized Seasonal Employer Scheme' Underway
 |
| Tongan workers arrive in Marlborough to begin work at Vinepower. PHOTO: NZ Department of Labor |
The much anticipated Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme kicked off by the New Zealand government in conjunction with the country’s viticultural and horticultural industries and Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu earlier this year, is now in full swing.
Viticultural contracting company Vinepower recruited 20 Tongan workers to its Marlborough-based operation in the South Island in early July.
A high-powered Vinepower delegation hired 20 workers from Lapaha and Kolovai in Tonga. While there, company management met with Tongan Prime Minister Fred Sevele, Labor and Commerce Minister Lisiate ‘Akolo and Princess Siu’ilikutapu. By the end of the month the workers had flown to New Zealand to begin their seven month stints as laborers, the first to pass the strict screening process under the RSE scheme.
According to the Department of Labor, as of August, “nine companies have achieved RSE status, five of which are from the Marlborough region” known for its vineyards, fruit orchards and winemaking. “Two have the ability to recruit, which includes Vinepower while another 19 applications are in the pipeline.”
Social development and employment minister, David Benson-Pope says that the scheme is designed to give employers strong incentives to train and up skill locals, and fully utilize what manpower is already available, before looking for labor abroad.
Companies such as Vinepower must also supply adequate accommodation and transport to and from work for its workers. Because the residency requirements are that the workers must return after their contracts, the company must also pay for the return airfare.
Vinepower Director Jason Kennard has hailed the RSE scheme, saying it will be a positive boost for the horticulture and viticulture industries particularly in building closer ties between the contractor and growers. Vinepower specializes in “management and contracting services to cover all vineyard activities including hand planting, development, canopy management, hand harvesting.”
Workers will mainly be used for grape harvesting “pruning, wrapping, strip and trimming work.”
Vinepower had originally sought workers from Fiji, but Fiji is not part of the RSE scheme as a result of sanctions imposed by New Zealand after last year’s military coup.
Vinepower’s workers can expect to earn NZ$1,000 (US$765) gross a week, not counting the free accommodation and transport. As a result, revenue in the form of remittances is expected to impact significantly on the economies of Tonga and other island nations taking part in the scheme.
The RSE scheme in its current form expects to bring 5,000 workers from the Pacific to supply labor for the vine and fruit industry. New Zealand is currently experiencing unprecedented low unemployment with labor demands exceeding supply.
Support for the RSE scheme to include more nations is
already building up momentum with a call for a labor mobility arrangement with Australia and New Zealand on the agenda for October’s Pacific Forum meeting in Tonga.
—Peter Rees
Palau
Human Trafficking Convictions, But Deeper Problem
When four foreign business executives were sentenced in May to between one and 20 years in jail on human trafficking charges by Palau courts, it was intended to send a strong message that human trafficking will not be tolerated in the republic.
The owner, managers and recruiter of the Carnival Bar in Malakal were convicted on the evidence of 10 female workers who had fled from their housing compound and sought refuge at the Philippine Embassy and Roman Catholic Church in Palau.
Typically the young women targeted by the trade are
young and naïve, and often are single mothers with heavy
financial obligations.
One of the Carnival Bar victims told Pacific Magazine recently that the job opportunity as described to her in the Philippines “was a dream chance to earn enough to support my baby.” On accepting the position, she met two other young women at Manila airport who had met the same recruiter. Excited about their good fortune, the flight to Koror seemed short. They were met in Palau and driven directly to the Carnival Restaurant where the employee barracks was also located. Thirty young women worked at the bar, 23 from China and seven were Filipinas. A manager or “mama-san” from the Philippines was in charge of supervising them. The owner of the operation was from Taiwan and the overall manager from China.
The new recruits were put to “work” the night of their arrival. The interviewee said she knew something was wrong when she was given a very revealing evening dress to wear and realized that the restaurant had no kitchen, place settings or even tablecloths. All the girls sat in a “bull pen” to the side of the entrance, segregated by ethnicity.
That first night she was locked in a room with a man. When she cried and protested, the “mama-san” who was in the adjoining room with another customer, told her “this is why you are here, to make money by making customer happy” and relocked her into the room.
Two months later, she and 14 other women escaped from the Carnival to the local Roman Catholic Church and Philippine Embassy. The resulting charges by Palau’s attorney general ended in convictions with fines and jail sentences.
The Carnival Restaurant now has a new owner, new name and more Chinese and Filipina staff.
—David MihoHuman Trafficking Convictions, But Deeper Problem
When four foreign business executives were sentenced in May to between one and 20 years in jail on human trafficking charges by Palau courts, it was intended to send a strong message that human trafficking will not be tolerated in the republic.
The owner, managers and recruiter of the Carnival Bar in Malakal were convicted on the evidence of 10 female workers who had fled from their housing compound and sought refuge at the Philippine Embassy and Roman Catholic Church in Palau.
Typically the young women targeted by the trade are
young and naïve, and often are single mothers with heavy
financial obligations.
One of the Carnival Bar victims told Pacific Magazine recently that the job opportunity as described to her in the Philippines “was a dream chance to earn enough to support my baby.” On accepting the position, she met two other young women at Manila airport who had met the same recruiter. Excited about their good fortune, the flight to Koror seemed short. They were met in Palau and driven directly to the Carnival Restaurant where the employee barracks was also located. Thirty young women worked at the bar, 23 from China and seven were Filipinas. A manager or “mama-san” from the Philippines was in charge of supervising them. The owner of the operation was from Taiwan and the overall manager from China.
The new recruits were put to “work” the night of their arrival. The interviewee said she knew something was wrong when she was given a very revealing evening dress to wear and realized that the restaurant had no kitchen, place settings or even tablecloths. All the girls sat in a “bull pen” to the side of the entrance, segregated by ethnicity.
That first night she was locked in a room with a man. When she cried and protested, the “mama-san” who was in the adjoining room with another customer, told her “this is why you are here, to make money by making customer happy” and relocked her into the room.
Two months later, she and 14 other women escaped from the Carnival to the local Roman Catholic Church and Philippine Embassy. The resulting charges by Palau’s attorney general ended in convictions with fines and jail sentences.
The Carnival Restaurant now has a new owner, new name and more Chinese and Filipina staff.
French Polynesia
20 Die In Air Moorea Crash
French Polynesia experienced one of its worst air crashes ever when an Air Moorea Twin Otter aircraft plunged into the ocean off Moorea August 9 shortly after takeoff, killing all 20 people on board.
The fatalities included
a number of French Polynesian civil servants, two European Commission staff, two Australian tourists, local citizens including a child and 52-year-old pilot Michel Santurenne.
“French Polynesia is in mourning, it is wounded in its flesh and in its heart, and the memory of this deep wound will stay forever embedded in our collective memory,” President Gaston Tong Sang said during two days of state-mandated mourning.
As we went to press, investigators were still trying to recover the aircraft’s voice recorder and four bodies.
—Samantha Magick20 Die In Air Moorea Crash
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| Bodies and pieces of the Air Moorea aircraft were brought ashore on Moorea. PHOTOS: Oceania Flash |
French Polynesia experienced one of its worst air crashes ever when an Air Moorea Twin Otter aircraft plunged into the ocean off Moorea August 9 shortly after takeoff, killing all 20 people on board.
The fatalities included
a number of French Polynesian civil servants, two European Commission staff, two Australian tourists, local citizens including a child and 52-year-old pilot Michel Santurenne.
“French Polynesia is in mourning, it is wounded in its flesh and in its heart, and the memory of this deep wound will stay forever embedded in our collective memory,” President Gaston Tong Sang said during two days of state-mandated mourning.
As we went to press, investigators were still trying to recover the aircraft’s voice recorder and four bodies.
