This is the first of my next three columns outlining changes in New Zealand’s place in the world. I start close to home – in the Pacific where a significant political realignment is challenging New Zealand’s foreign policy.
There are fierce debates over the future of the Pacific Islands Forum, the pre-eminent inter-governmental body for the Pacific. New Zealand and Australia are receiving sharp criticism for abandoning the Pacific on climate change, most recently from the Fiji Prime Minister. The criticism is justified. NZgovernment policies have allowed greenhouse gas emissions to increase by 42% since 1990, an increase of 20% since 2008 when the National government came into office.
The government has also failed to support the Pacific’s proposals for emissions cuts and support for vulnerable countries to cope with climate impacts in UN climate change negotiations. A strong global agreement in December this year is crucial to protect the Pacific islands and their communities from dangerous cyclones, sea level rise and other climate impacts.
This is one of the factors that has led to calls for NZ and the Pacific to be removed from the Pacific Islands Forum. The governments of NZ and Australia have tried to maintain dominant roles in the Pacific, even as the world has fundamentally changed. Australia's self-styled 'deputy sheriff' role to the US for the Pacific has been mirrored in the revelations of spying on our Pacific 'friends' by the NZ government.
Trust has also been lost in current trade negotiations (PACER Plus) that were meant to be for the benefit of the Pacific, but are now heavily weighted in favour of the rich nations. This follows harsh treatment of Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu by NZ and Australia in WTO accession negotiations. Inaction on climate change, surveillance and unfair trade negotiations - Pacific nations have reason to question NZ policy towards the Pacific.
The tragedy is that bonds between Pacific and NZ peoples have never been stronger. Aotearoa is enriched by the rich culture, music, dance, traditions and skills that Pasifika people bring to our country, and in turn, kiwis are embraced through sporting and community links, generous humanitarian response to disasters, and migration opportunities, including the Recognised Seasonal Employment scheme for horticulture.
But NZ government policies are getting in the way, and the Pacific has alternatives. The Melanesian countries that account for more than 90% of the Pacific's population are increasingly following a 'look North' policy, building stronger relationships with China, India and other developing countries. Whether or not NZ and Australia stay in Pacific Islands Forum, politics in the Pacific will never be the same again.
The Green Party values our friendship with the Pacific and has proposals for action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, support the Pacific in dealing with the impacts of climate change, making trade fair and ending spying on our allies. We support the Pacific in determining its own direction for the future, in a relationship founded on mutual respect.
Barry Coates is 16th on the Green Party list. He was previously Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand.