Australian Financial Review Aug 16
Geoffrey Barker
THE Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday signalled tough new plans to tie future aid to Pacific Island countries to improved governance and law and order throughout the region.
Mr Howard's remarks underscored Australian concerns over political and economic instability in the Pacific and the PM's determination to use this week's Pacific Islands Forum to persuade Pacific leaders that they must do better.
Restoration or the achievement of good governance was the biggest challenge to countries in the region, Mr Howard said. "There is going to be linkage between aid and good governance...sensible leaders in this region recognise that."
Mr Howard said he had put the issue on the table because "you can't attract foreign investment, you can't even attract domestic investment, if you don't have proper standards of law and order and governance".
Australia wanted to deliver the benefits of its economic strengths to the region but could not involve itself "uncritically or unconditionally", he said. "We have a right to a view...we have a right to ask (that) the assistance we give be dispersed and dispensed wisely and frugally".
The Prime Minister's remarks are unlikely to please many Pacific leaders, despite his assurance that there would be no immediate review of Australia's annual Pacific aid of some $500million (about $320million a year to Papua New Guinea and about $180million to other Pacific countries).
Mr Howard's tough line is likely to feed the resentment of some Pacific countries over their dependency on Australia and over Australia's now openly declared willingness to use its financial weight, if necessary, to force reforms on their often corrupt or incompetent societies.
The forum opened yesterday with a traditional Fijian ceremony and dancing. Today the leaders go on their annual retreat where Mr Howard's warning seems certain to be a focus of their talks.
Mr Howard said the good governance and law and order issue was the most important issue for him at the forum, placing it ahead of the high-profile issues of trans-national crime and terrorism, which have concerned other Pacific leaders.
In moving to link aid to good governance and law and order, Mr Howard was reviving a similar call made years ago by former Prime Minister, Paul Keating. But the pressure for action is greater now in the light of the virtual state failure of the Solomon Islands, endemic unrest in Vanuatu and the deeply dysfunctional state of government in Papua New Guinea. "The point I'm making is that unless governance is focused upon ...the future is not good."
He said there was immense understanding and sympathy for Pacific countries in Australia "but you have to also recognise the reality, that unless you have basic standards of law and order and governance, it's very hard to keep anything together".
"Increasingly, donor countries, whether they're Australia, or Europe or the United States, are going to want recipient countries to address governance issues as a condition of receiving aid."
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