In the first week of next month, the nations of the Pacific Islands Forum will meet in Vanuatu.
Australia will not be represented, as it is understood that neither the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, nor the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, will attend.
While the Prime Minister’s absence may be understandable given that she has only been in the office for about a month and has called a general election for August 21, Mr Smith should most certainly attend the Pacific Islands Forum.
It would be an ideal opportunity for Mr Smith to prove that the government is serious about consulting with nations in the region about establishing a processing centre for asylum seekers from the region and beyond, rather than just announcing an ill-conceived proposal designed to distract attention from Labor’s failed border protection policy.
The government cannot use the excuse of the election if Mr Smith fails to represent Australia at the forum.
Mr Smith may well be concerned about losing his seat from the backlash at his strong support for Labor’s resources tax and its emissions trading scheme, which would have costthousands of jobs in Western Australia.
Now that Labor and the Greens have done a preference deal, the mining sector in the west will be understandably agitated by the prospect of the return of the resource super profits tax, which Greens Leader Bob Brown has said should be about 50 per cent.
Mr Smith will face additional pressure to reveal the details of what Labor promised the Greens in exchange for preferences. But whatever his domestic woes, Australia’s national interest must take priority.
However, another reason behind the Foreign Minister’s decision could well be a desire to avoid the embarrassment of admitting that Labor’s “East Timor solution” will not happen and that he has given up any attempts to persuade other nations of its merits.
This may have come from the grave concern raised by the United Nations about Labor’s approach. Or perhaps the Foreign Minister has finally accepted that East Timor, which has observer status at the forum, does not want the centre.
We are yet to learn whether Ms Gillard sought Mr Smith's advice prior to announcing that she had contacted East Timorese President Ramos Horta and raised with him her plan for a regional processing centre.
If Mr Smith was consulted but failed to advise that protocol dictated Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao be contacted, rather than the President, that would betray a serious lack of judgment on his part.
Alternatively, if Ms Gillard did not consult the Foreign Minister prior to her major foreign policy speech to the Lowy Institute, that would indicate a lack of trust or a lack of respect.
Regardless of the cause of the diplomatic blunder, if Mr Smith does not take the opportunity to meet East Timor representatives at a regional forum, then Ms Gillard should stop the charade that Labor has a policy for discouraging the people-smuggling trade.
Given that Nauru will also be represented at the forum, Mr Smith could raise directly with Nauru its offer to renegotiate the terms of the so-called Pacific Solution. That would relieve Ms Gillard from having to evade questions as to why she hasn’t bothered to consult Nauru about its ready-to-go-purpose-built-Australian-taxpayer-funded processing facility.
A second compelling reason for the Foreign Minister to represent Australia at the Pacific Islands Forum is to discuss the ongoing tensions with Fiji.
This is a major foreign policy challenge in our region that requires the minister's close personal attention.
The recent decision of the Fijian military regime to expel Australia’s acting High Commissioner Sarah Roberts reveals the deteriorating nature of the bilateral relationship. Ms Roberts was accused of “meddling in Fiji’s internal affairs”.
This is the second senior Australian diplomat to be expelled by the military regime in the past 10 months.
Australia has generally enjoyed long and friendly relations with Fiji, one of the most important Pacific Island nations, and many people of Fijian origin live in this country.
A third important reason for Mr Smith to make the trip to Vanuatu relates to widespread concerns about the efficacy of Australia’s foreign aid program.
Pacific Island nations are major recipients of Australia’s foreign aid. However, some nations have indicated the aid is not achieving the desired outcome.
Senior officials from other countries have repeatedly raised their concerns with me that a significant amount of aid is being wasted or coming back to Australia via consultancies. Recent media articles have highlighted a degree of dubious spending priorities within the $4 billion aid budget.
I have announced that, if elected, the Coalition will hold an urgent independent inquiry into foreign aid - to determine whether it is being managed in a way that achieves the greatest impact in terms of food security, economic growth and improving the standard of living of people in developing countries in our region.
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer attended forum meetings when they coincided with the 1998 and 2007 election campaigns, believing that Australia should treat seriously its dialogue with the Pacific Islands and show respect for the forum and its ideals.
Mr Smith should go to Vanuatu.
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