The New Zealand Government has decided against cutting its current foreign aid to Kiribati, following a review sparked by a diplomatic stoush between Foreign Minister Winston Peters and the island nation’s president.
However, the review’s exact findings and ramifications for future development programmes – as well as its initial terms of reference – remain a secret as discussions continue between the two countries.
In January, Peters announced the Government was reviewing its aid programme to Kiribati after the country’s president Taneti Maamau pulled out of a pre-arranged meeting in the small island nation.
“The lack of political-level contact makes it very difficult for us to agree joint priorities for our development programme, and to ensure that it is well targeted and delivers good value for money,” a spokesperson for the foreign minister said of the failed, “months-long” effort to travel to Kiribati.
Speaking to Newsroom last month, Kiribati opposition leader Tessie Lambourne said her country’s government had been dishonest about the reason for Maamau’s unavailability, which appeared to be an attempt to “demonstrate their loyalty to the partnership with China”.
The dispute faded into the background as Peters and New Zealand dealt with a more significant political and diplomatic dispute with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown over the country’s strategic partnership with China.
But many in the small Pacific nation remained concerned about the potential consequences of cuts to an aid programme worth $102 million (US$58.31 million) between 2021 and 2024, as well as any rolling back of access to migration schemes like the Pacific Access Category and Recognised Seasonal Employer visas.
For the time being, that worst-case scenario appears to have been avoided.
A ministry spokesperson told Newsroom the aid review had concluded, and its initial findings shared with the Kiribati government for further discussion.
“To facilitate this discussion, the terms of reference and findings of the review will not be released at this stage. However we are able to confirm that those development programmes still being implemented will not be impacted financially.”
In a statement to Newsroom, a spokesperson for Peters repeated previous comments about the need to ensure taxpayer money spent on aid projects in Kiribati was “invested in a transparent, accountable and well-targeted way”, and said there were ongoing discussions between the two governments.
“New Zealand has a long-standing relationship with the Kiribati people, which has overcome previous challenges. We have made clear that we are still working towards meaningful dialogue with Kiribati’s president and foreign minister [Maamau], whether in Kiribati, New Zealand or elsewhere in the region.”
The spokesperson noted there had been “other, constructive engagement at the ministerial level” in recent weeks, with Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and Universities Minister Shane Reti meeting their Kiribati counterparts in Honiara and Port Moresby respectively.
Lambourne told Newsroom she looked forward to receiving an official report on the outcome of the aid review, and would be “very happy and grateful” if it was confirmed there would be no cuts.
‘For the cost of a frigate, you could probably do a hell of a lot more for the security of the Pacific if you helped meet the capital cost of a fishing fleet that could be leased to the Pacific‘
Labour foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker, on his proposal to tie additional military spending to aid increases
Labour Party foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker told Newsroom he did not wish to comment on the Kiribati dispute, but said his party “backed the Government’s efforts” in the Pacific more broadly.
“We don’t think that New Zealand or the minister is paternalistic: we go on [cross-party] trips to the Pacific with the minister, it’s a good thing that he does it and in our experience he’s professional and competent.”
In a speech to the independent think tank Diplosphere last Thursday, Parker offered strong support for the Government’s response to the Cook Islands-China deal, saying Labour was “perturbed” by agreements signed between the two countries and believed the process undertaken breached the Cooks’ obligations as part of its realm nation status.
“Consultation obligations are not some perfunctory commitment of little importance. They are to ensure the Cook Islands government neither deliberately nor unwittingly takes foreign affairs steps deleterious to the Cook Islands, or to New Zealand, and to our relationship.”
In the speech, the Labour MP also proposed a “Pacific Peace Zone”, where every extra dollar of New Zealand military spending was matched with an equivalent lift in aid to the Pacific.
Parker told Newsroom the country needed to do more to help Pacific nations reach their potential, and along with Australia would need to step up given cuts to United States aid programmes.
“For the cost of a frigate, you could probably do a hell of a lot more for the security of the Pacific if you helped meet the capital cost of a fishing fleet that could be leased to the Pacific,” he said.
Newsroom contacted Maamau’s office for comment on the aid review outcome, but had not received a response by publication time.
