As the Australian Labor Party approaches the end to its first year of government in more than a decade, some of the most warmly welcomed changes have been in relation to Pacific affairs.

Date:  17 October 2008

Having travelled extensively over the past nine months and met with Pacific counterparts at home and abroad, it is pleasing that our efforts to reengage with the region on the basis of mutual respect and mutual responsibility have been met with such enthusiasm.

It has been disheartening to read progress reports on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) for the last eight years and note the lack of progress from Pacific nations relative to other regions. By committing to the MDG’s Australia is measuring the success of its partnership approach to real and binding benchmark indicators. It is on this basis that our relationships to the Pacific will be embedded in the interests and futures of the countries and peoples of our region.

The Australian Government believes that we need to place advancement against the MDGs at the forefront of our foreign policy. The Prime Minister’s ‘Port Moresby Declaration’ which announced Labor’s new Pacific Partnerships approach to helping Pacific nations meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is the cornerstone of this approach. Using this multilateral agreement as its foundation, Australia is committed to working jointly with Pacific nations across the spectrum of policy areas: public infrastructure, governance, economic growth, education, health, and public capacity building to name a few. It is clear to me that strengthening Pacific development and democracy, and improving our region’s progress on the MDGs are not separate exercises, but part of the same worthwhile enterprise.

Australia recognises that we must develop respectful relationships to realise shared economic and social aspiration. The Pacific Partnerships’ approach puts an end once and for all to the notion of Australia acting as a ‘Deputy Sheriff’ in the region, that most disparaging reference to Australia’s previous mode of operation in the Pacific.

When electing a Labor government, Australians voted for a party which would double overseas assistance aid. The Australian Government is committed to seeing these Partnerships succeed. We are keen to see democracy, its values and its strengths as a system deeply rooted in the people and ethos of the Pacific. Nation building and renewal are an ongoing prerogative and process of all democratic governments including Australia. Labor has been the great democratic voice of the Australian Parliament over the last century and the Rudd Government following on and extending this tradition, is committed to enhancing the robustness and stability democracies in our region.

As we enter the Asia-Pacific Century, we look forward to working collaboratively with other great Asian powers such as China and Japan in developing opportunities for the Pacific. A recent trip to Xiamen for the China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum showed that there are many areas where our nations can work together. Growth and continuing prosperity are the key to the future sustainability of our Pacific neighbours.

Our recently announced three-year Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme is another program through which we hope to encourage economic growth. This will be a demand-driven scheme where up to 2500 visas will be granted over a three year period. This scheme will not only provide opportunities for those involved, but through labour mobility bring us closer together as a region.

It is my hope that many more of these outcomes can be developed and delivered together for mutual gain and prosperity over coming years.