Islands Business - No new high commissioner in Fiji yet: McCully

CANBERRA, Australia ----- New Zealand and Australia do not intend to replace their high commissioners in Fiji until they get some reassurance they will not be turfed out any time there is a disagreement between the countries. Foreign Minister Murray McCully had talks on Thursday in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith and Fiji's Foreign Minister Inoke Kubuabola. Those talks lasted about 1-1/2 hours and Mr McCully and the Fiji minister then met for the same period again in the evening. Relations between New Zealand and Fiji have been fraught since the 2006 coup in Fiji and further deteriorated last year with the tit-for-tat expulsion of senior diplomats, which followed Fiji’s leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama's repeated rejection of international deadlines for elections. Efforts to re-staff high commissions hit another hurdle when Fiji recommended its Permanent Secretary for Information and military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni for the position of counsellor in Wellington. New Zealand has a travel ban on members of the military-led regime and Lt Col Leweni played a central role in the coup, was responsible for censoring local media, deporting journalists and curbing free speech, all moves that have met with criticism from the Australian and New Zealand governments. Mr McCully told NZPA that he had got Australia involved in the talks after an initial meeting in Nadi in January where he and Kubuabola discussed lower level appointments to commissions. High Commissioner appointments were not discussed. “In that respect New Zealand and Australia were in identical positions and we were not going to get involved in topics that affected Australia or set precedents for Australia without Australia being in the room,” Mr McCully told NZPA. “So the trilateral meeting yesterday was in order start a conversation involving the three parties over matters that were different from or an extension of those we talked about bilaterally.” At New Zealand's High Commission in Suva staff from New Zealand were down to seven: one policy officer, two support staff, two NZAID staff, and two immigration officials. Since the coup three senior diplomats have been expelled, while the trade representative, who was married to one of the expelled diplomats, was also expelled, and the defence and police liaison positions were unfilled because Fiji would not agree on roll-overs for the positions. Fiji was down to a single non-local staff. Mr McCully said one goal of the talks had been achieved. “The first objective is to be able to conduct a good civilised diplomatic conversation because it's fair to say that New Zealand and Fiji, and Australia and Fiji, have not had a good track record on being able to agree to disagree.” The ministers were working on establishing a base for diplomatic conversation. “Hopefully that leads into upgrading the machinery by which we have diplomatic dialogue which means lifting the capacity of our missions. But in terms of... high commission appointments both Steven Smith and I have made the point that there's no point in us appointing high commissioners who are going to be sent home the first time there's a disagreement between New Zealand and Fiji and we are not yet at that point.” Mr McCully said while no solid understanding had been reached, a framework for future discussions was in place. “So it's just a question of moving this thing forward deliberately and slowly.” Mr McCully said the mood had been “constructive and professional”. He had talks later in the evening with his Fijian counterpart to continue discussing the issue. Ratu Inoke was “someone who is trying to do his best in difficult circumstances”. Mr McCully said removing the travel ban was not on New Zealand's immediate agenda. Fiji was suspended from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum in May last year and from the Commonwealth in September over Cdre Bainimarama's broken promises to hold elections by March 2009.