The Liberal-National Coalition (Australia's conservative folks), now they are in opposition, of course will milk (pun intended) this virus for all it's worth.
Agriculture minister Murray Watt says federal government confident new biosecurity measures enough to protect livestock industry
Foot-and-mouth disease viral fragments were detected in a beef product at Adelaide airport leading to calls to close Australia’s border to Indonesia. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Josh Butler Thu 21 Jul 2022 17.57 AEST Last modified on Thu 21 Jul 2022 18.09 AEST
The federal government is resisting calls to close Australia’s border to Indonesia over the foot-and-mouth disease threat, after more fragments of the potentially devastating livestock virus were detected in South Australia.
The agriculture minister, Murray Watt, said he was confident that new federal biosecurity measures would be sufficient to keep out foot-and-mouth disease, which could threaten Australia’s entire meat industry, as farmers call on the government to not overreact.
“I can put my hand on my heart and say to Australians that this is the strongest biosecurity response any Australian government has ever imposed in relation to a biosecurity episode,” Watt said on Thursday.
The viral fragments do not pose an infection risk, a spokesperson from the department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry said.
“Australia does not have cases of FMD [foot-and-mouth disease],” they said. “The test does not indicate live virus but viral fragments. Proper heat treating destroys the virus but would not destroy the fragments.
“Australia is and remains free from FMD and [African swine fever]. This result does not change Australia’s disease status.”
The Coalition home affairs spokesperson, Karen Andrews, and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce called on the Labor government to consider closing Australia’s border to Indonesia, which is experiencing an outbreak of the disease.
“This is not something that Labor can take a softly softly approach, and if this means they have to slam the border shut to Indonesia, to Bali, they need to be taking serious action and doing so,” Andrews said.
Watt saidon Thursday that this was not under consideration, and any such move would be “incredibly damaging” to Australia’s trade relationship with Indonesia.
“We have no plans to close the borders to Indonesia or any of the many other countries who have foot-and-mouth disease,” he told Sky News, noting that other countries including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa and India were also experiencing outbreaks.
Foot-and-mouth is not dangerous to humans, but its detection could force the widespread destruction of livestock. The Cattle .. https://www.theguardian.com/business/cattles .. Council of Australia said that if foot-and-mouth disease entered Australia, it could cost the livestock industry $80bn over 10 years.
Watt told the ABC that even one detection of the live virus could shut down the industry.
“The reason this would be such a devastating blow is that the rest of the world would treat Australia as having foot-and-mouth disease, which would pretty much shut down our livestock export industry overnight,” he said.
The virus can be carried on shoes and clothes. The federal government has gradually increased biosecurity measures at the border, including disinfectant foot mats at airports, higher scrutiny on passenger declarations and of all passengers entering from Indonesia, and shoe cleaning.
Watt said people arriving from Indonesia should clean their shoes, or even consider leaving them behind.
The National Farmer’s Federationpresident, Tony Mahar, was among the agriculture leaders who called for a step-up of biosecurity controls, but said the government should not yet close the border, citing export consequences.
The shadow agriculture minister and Nationals leader, David Littleproud .. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/david-littleproud , who has accused the government of delay in responding to the crisis, did not repeat the calls from his colleagues to consider closing the border to Indonesia .
“We don’t believe that they should be taking this off the table yet but it should be predicated on science,” he said.
“Australians need to hear that the prime minister is in charge of what is a very significant threat to our livestock industry and to the broader economy,” he told 2GB radio.
The independent MP for the SA seat of Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, added to calls for a temporary closure of the border to Indonesia.
“Following the detection of viral fragments of foot-and-mouth disease at Adelaide airport in recent days, the risk of this outbreak spreading to regional Australia is just too great,” she said.
The president of the Cattle Council of Australia, Lloyd Hick, said the federal biosecurity system was working but called for vigilance.
“CCA appreciates that the government has been constantly reassessing the safeguards it has in place,” he said. “The biosecurity response should match the threat. We will need more resources as the risks increase.
Solomon Islands rejects Biden’s Pacific outreach amid China challenge
"Smiles and unity at the Pacific Islands Forum mask tough questions shelved for another day "Solomon Islands security pact with China all part of PM Manasseh Sogavare's plan as 'unpredictable' but 'deft political operator'""
By Michael E. Miller Updated September 28, 2022 at 3:08 a.m. EDT|Published September 28, 2022 at 2:42 a.m. EDT
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23. (Julia Nikhinson/AP)
SYDNEY — American efforts to rally Pacific island leaders at a White House summit this week were dealt a blow when the Solomon Islands said it would not endorse a joint declaration the Biden administration plans to unveil.
As President Biden prepared to host the leaders of a dozen Pacific countries on Wednesday and Thursday in a first-of-its-kind gathering, the Solomon Islands sent a diplomatic note to other nations in the region saying there was no consensus on the issues and that it needed “time to reflect” on the declaration.
China has increased diplomatic ties with and financial aid to Pacific island nations in recent years, while also pushing security agreements that could increase its military presence in a region whose key shipping routes and natural resources make it strategically valuable.
While the timing of the objection to the summit declaration was something of a surprise, the source was not.
The Solomon Islands has drifted closer to China since the election of its combative prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, in 2019. The Solomon Islands switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing a few months later and made headlines again earlier this year when it struck a controversial security pact with China .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/20/solomon-islands-china-security-agreement/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11 .. that the United States and its allies fear could lead to a Chinese base in the archipelago, roughly 1,000 miles from Australia’s coast. The Solomon Islands and China have denied plans for a base.
Vice President Harris, center, talks to the members of the U.S. Navy as she receives a briefing from them on board the USS Howard at Yokosuka Naval Base, near Tokyo, on Wednesday. (Leah Millis/AP)
In an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, Sogavare said his nation had been “unfairly targeted” and “vilified” because of its relationship with China.
Solomon Islands’ pro-China leader wins bid to delay elections
In the diplomatic note, which was obtained by The Washington Post and is dated Sept. 25, the Solomon Islands Embassy to the United States in New York said the declaration would need “further discussion." The Australian Broadcasting Corp. first reported .. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-28/pacific-leaders-to-sign-11-point-declaration-with-united-states/101477194 .. that the Solomon Islands was refusing to sign the joint statement, which the ABC said has been in the works for weeks.
According to a draft of the declaration reviewed by the ABC, the statement will touch on several issues, from illegal fishing to covid-19 recovery, but will declare climate the “highest priority” and “single greatest existential threat” to the Pacific. But Pacific countries appeared to have removed a reference to the China-Solomon Islands security pact, deleting language emphasizing the need to “consult with one another closely on security decisions with regional impacts,” the ABC reported .. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-28/draft-united-states-pacific-declaration-washington-summit/101482436 .
The Solomon Islands’ objection to the White House summit declaration will be seen by some as obstructive and influenced by China, said Anna Powles, senior lecturer with the Center of Defense and Security Studies at New Zealand’s Massey University.
But other Pacific island nations have also expressed concerns about the haste with which the United States convened the summit, she said, noting that the leaders of Vanuatu and Nauru are not attending because of elections. Kiribati will not be represented at the summit, while a few other countries were late invites.
“The United States is strongly welcomed back in the region, but arguably the tempo by which the U.S. has pursued its re-engagement in the Pacific is felt to be too rushed, too hurried,” Powles said.
The flags of the United States and Solomon Islands — the latter at half mast in honor of Queen Elizabeth II after her death — at the War Memorial in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Sept. 9. (Charley Piringi/AFP/Getty Images)
By initially failing to invite all the members of the Pacific Islands Forum — an important regional body — the United States also risked emulating China, which fell short in its bid for a broad regional security deal in May partly because some Pacific island nations felt rushed to sign the sweeping agreement, she added.
“Absolutely there are parallels in terms of the lack of consultation, the lack of consensus and the circumventing of the Pacific Islands Forum,” Powles said, noting that China’s failed regional security pact was very different than what will likely emerge from the White House summit.
The Biden administration is increasing its diplomatic presence in the Pacific with new embassies planned in the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Kiribati. In July, Harris also announced the administration would ask Congress to triple funding for economic development and ocean resilience in the region to $60 million a year for the next decade.
The White House has acknowledged the growing geopolitical stakes in the region, while insisting its efforts are not merely a reaction to China.
“There is an undeniable strategic component,” Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council’s Indo-Pacific coordinator, said at a conference last week .. https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/09/22/united-states-needs-to-step-up-its-game-across-indo-pacific-pub-87980 . “We’ve seen in the past several years a more ambitious China that seeks to develop a footprint militarily and the like in the Indo-Pacific. I think that has caused some anxiety with partners like Australia, New Zealand, even countries in the region as a whole.”
“There’s also a deeper recognition that in the past we have perhaps paid lesser attention to these critical places than we should have,” he added.
Ellen Nakashima in Washington contributed to this report.
By Michael E. Miller Michael E. Miller is The Washington Post's Sydney bureau chief. He was previously on the local enterprise team. He joined The Washington Post in 2015 and has also reported for the newspaper from Afghanistan and Mexico. Twitter
Fiji elections 2022: Bainimarama loses parliamentary majority as count finalised
"Smiles and unity at the Pacific Islands Forum mask tough questions shelved for another day "Solomon Islands security pact with China all part of PM Manasseh Sogavare's plan as 'unpredictable' but 'deft political operator'" While leaders presented a picture of harmony, more vexing topics like Australia’s fossil fuel ambitions and China were kicked down the road"
Sodelpa negotiating with government and People’s Alliance on who it will support with its balance of power
Fiji’s prime minister and Fiji First leader Frank Bainimarama after voting in the country’s general election. Photograph: Reuters
Australia Associated Press Sun 18 Dec 2022 14.25 AEDT
Fiji’s prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, has lost his parliamentary majority with the election’s final ballot count being returned.
The former opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa) is in negotiations with the FijiFirst government and People’s Alliance over which it will support with its balance of power.
Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party is the largest single party with 42.5% of the vote while People’s Alliance and the National Federation Party – which have already said they would join forces – sit at 36% and 9%respectively.
Sodelpa holds just over 5% of the vote. The other five political parties failed to clear the 5% threshold needed to get a member elected to the expanded 55-member parliament.
Sodelpa’s general secretary, Lenaitasi Duru, said on Sunday it would enter the second round of negotiations with both parties.
Duru said their priority Indigenous and education policies were among those non-negotiable.
The party campaigned on free tertiary education and allocating $159m a year for Indigenous affairs, a more than tenfold increase in the government’s budget allocation for the ministry this financial year.
The general secretary said it was not hypocritical for the party to be negotiating with the government after running on a “time for change” platform.
“It’s not hypocritical if you bring about that change,” he said.
Duru said the party was sitting in the middle and waiting on the respective offers to decide what’s best for the nation.
But he was quoted in local media firing back at People’s Alliance deputy Lynda Tabuya for calling Sodelpa a “haunted house” after she jumped ship following the leadership spill.
“When she left she took the horror with her. We are no longer haunted, we are ready to form the next government,” Duru was quoted as saying by the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday.
“Some people went out their way to damage, destroy and destruct the party but we are still standing.”
Should Sodelpa side with People’s Alliance, it would mark the end of Bainimarama’s nearly 16 years in power after taking control via a coup in 2006 and becoming prime minister the following year.
Australia's relationship with Fiji 'at its worst' Last Updated: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 Major-General Rabuka says relations between Fiji and Australia have never been so low. [AFP] August, 2010 - https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=52900689 Pacific leader likens Donald Trump to a 'classroom bully' after climate deal backdown [...]US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement is a selfish move that ignores the plight of low-lying island nations, Pacific leaders say. [...]Mr Tong said Mr Trump's justification that the agreement would undermine the US economy and sovereignty are particularly galling to small Pacific island nations, that are on the frontline of the impacts of climate change. P - "On a global issue like climate change, there are no national borders. I think a lot of people are missing the point, including Mr Trump," Mr Tong said. June, 2017 - https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131847356]
The People’s Alliance leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, himself a former coup leader turned prime minister, previously led Sodelpa to the 2018 election.
He carved Bainimarama’s majority down to 50.02 per cent and drew an almost 12% swing towards the party in the process.
Rabuka was then ousted by current leader Viliame Gavoka, leading to him establishing the People’s Alliance which drew nine additional members across.
Rabuka and three other opposition parties have been vocally alleging problems with the voting system and said they had lost faith in the Fijian Elections Office after falling behind.
The Multinational Observer Group said it has not observed “any significant irregularities or issues during pre-polling, postal voting or election day voting”.
But Rabuka and leaders from three other opposition parties continue to allege voting irregularities and possible fraud.
The supervisor of elections, Mohammed Saneem, accused the opposition parties of spouting conspiracy theories about the election without any evidence and said they were attempting to discredit the election before the final results had been tallied.
“I would like to urge everybody to have the patience for the results data entry to complete,” he said.
“Once you have the results, then you go around doing whatever you want to do. We have no worries about that.
“If someone is not happy with the result, there is a legal process that follows.”
US and Papua New Guinea set to sign security agreement amid Pacific militarisation concerns
"Smiles and unity at the Pacific Islands Forum mask tough questions shelved for another day"
Related:Xi and Putin’s plan for a new world order [...]“I think actual China military action against Taiwan using Russian action against Ukraine as cover is very unlikely. The two issues are very different and the trust between Beijing and Moscow would need to be much greater than it is for that level of co-ordination,” Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania, tells AFR Weekend. [...]The rhetoric from the Biden administration is that it can handle both Russia and China. P - “There are a few other things going on in the world right now, some of you may have noticed. We have a bit of a challenge with Ukraine .. https://www.afr.com/link/follow-20180101-p59umh .. and Russian aggression. We’re working 24/7 on that,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Australia this week. P - “But we know, the President knows better than anyone else, that so much of this century is going to be shaped by what happens here in the Indo-Pacific region.” P - Blinken is right. However, it is still unclear which global power will emerge from the 21st century as the dominant force in the region. China does not have a lot of friends, but it has some powerful allies, and is a military and economic power to be reckoned with. While Xi’s meeting with Putin was the pinnacle of his diplomatic posturing on the sidelines of the Olympics .. https://www.afr.com/world/asia/xi-making-deals-on-the-sidelines-of-the-winter-olympics-20220207-p59uec , the Chinese leader was this week also courting countries such as Iran, Argentina and Papua New Guinea. February, 2022 - https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=167960566
Antony Blinkenhas arrived on the Pacific island for signing as PM James Marape defends need to strengthen borders
Rebecca Kuku in Port Moresby, and agencies Mon 22 May 2023 10.42 AEST Last modified on Mon 22 May 2023 11.05 AEST
Papua New Guinea's prime minister, James Marape, delivers a speech on Sunday. He has defended the terms of the security agreement with the US, due to be signed on Monday. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images
The United States is scheduled to sign a new security pact with Papua New Guinea .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/papua-new-guinea .. on Monday amid concerns in PNG about increasing militarisation and as the US continues to compete with China for influence in the Pacific.
The state department said the new agreement would provide a framework to help improve security cooperation, enhance the capacity of Papua New Guinea’s defence force and increase regional stability.
A draft copy of the Defence Cooperation Agreement leaked last week sparked concern in PNG about the extent of US military involvement in the country, with reports it gives US personnel and contractors legal immunity, allows aircraft, vehicles and vessels operated by or on behalf of the US to move freely within its territory and territorial waters and exempts US staff from all migration requirements.
Papua New Guinea prime minister James Marape on Monday denied that US staff would have legal immunity and said no amendments would be made to the constitution or laws of the country.
[Insert: Many stories sensationalized Biden's not attending the then proposed Quad meeting in Australia. All who are interested understood full well why Biden cancelled that visit. I'd imagine it was well understood in PNG too.]
Marape said the country faced significant security challenges. “I need to strengthen and protect my country’s borders and ensure the safety of my people,” he said. “So this has nothing to do with geopolitics, this cooperation will strengthen our defence and help build our capacity.”
“And it is just an elevation of the SOFA [status of forces] agreement that is already in place, and this agreement will not stop us from signing other similar agreements with other countries, including China .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/china ,” he said. “We are free to sign defence corporations with any country that shares our values and principles, and that may include our friends from the East or the West, including our longtime traditional friends Australia, US or even China.”
Marape said his cabinet had cleared the agreement and that it would be signed on Monday, and that a copy of the agreement would be made publicly available.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived in PNG early on Monday, travelling in Joe Biden’s place after the US president was forced to cancel his plans to make a brief but historic stop .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/17/disappointment-in-papua-new-guinea-after-biden-cancels-first-visit-by-a-us-leader .. there to sign the pact. Biden would have become the first sitting US president to visit a Pacific island, but he cancelled to focus on the debt limit talks in Washington, sparking concerns about how reliable a partner the US is in the Pacific.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken is greeted upon his arrival at Port Moresby international airport. Photograph: Andrew Kutan/AFP/Getty Images
Papua New Guinea’s location just north of Australia makes it strategically significant. It was the site of fierce battles during the second world war, and with a population of nearly 10 million people, it’s the most populous Pacific Island nation.
However, many in the Pacific are concerned about the increasing militarisation of the region and that PNG would be stuck between an increasingly hostile US and China. Civil societies and student unions have raised concerns over the Defence Cooperation Agreement, with talks of protests spreading online over the weekend.
Former prime minister Peter O’Neill accused Marape of placing the country “at the epicentre of a military storm between China and the USA by agreeing to enter into defence arrangements with both superpowers without consultation with our people.”
Opposition leader Joseph Lelang said last week: “We have a foreign policy of ‘friends to all and enemies to none’. We … should not be blinded by the dollar sign or be coerced into signing deals that may be detrimental to us, in the long run.”
Marape said on Monday there will be an increased presence of US military personnel and contractors over the next two years but that a US military base would not be established.
In response to news of Blinken’s visit to PNG, China warned against the introduction of “geopolitical games” into the region.
Last week, Papua New Guineans reacted with disappointment to Biden’s cancellation .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/17/disappointment-in-papua-new-guinea-after-biden-cancels-first-visit-by-a-us-leader . Preparations for the visit began six months ago and included a plan to shut down the country’s airspace as well as to designate Monday a public holiday to allow residents of Port Moresby to catch a glimpse of him. Roads were set to be closed and students and cultural dancing groups were planning to line the path of Biden’s motorcade.
“We are disappointed that this historic visit has been cancelled as we have prepared well, spent a lot of time, effort and energy towards the visit and we were all looking forward to the visit,” said Powes Parkop, the governor of the National Capital District.
The US visit was timed to coincide with a trip by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/narendra-modi , who was hosting a meeting with Pacific Island leaders to discuss ways to better cooperate.
New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins, who met Marape on Monday morning was also due to meet Blinken, welcomed the greater US interest in the region but also drew a distinction with his own nation’s efforts.
“We are not interested in the militarisation of the Pacific,” Hipkins said. “We are interested in working with the Pacific on issues where we have mutual interest. Issues around climate change. And we’re not going to be attaching military strings to that support.”
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