KEY POINTS:
Australia's new Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, arrives in Auckland today for his first talks with New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters before a meeting tomorrow of Pacific Foreign Ministers to pressure Fiji to return to democracy.
Mr Peters expects Fiji to be a main topic of the talks today.
He has called on Fiji to accelerate its election planning and is raising concerns at recent events concerning press freedom.
The military-appointed Foreign Minister of Fiji, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, is expected to be at tomorrow's broader ministers' meeting, also in Auckland.
He has gained a waiver from New Zealand's entry ban on members of the Fiji Government, their officials and families.
Transtasman talks between Foreign Ministers occur every six months and cover bilateral, regional and global issues. This is the first meeting between the pair since Mr Smith was appointed in December.
They are expected to discuss China and Tibet.
Mr Peters said the agenda would be developments in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and North Korea; regional security; deeper engagement with Asia; and relations with the United States.
But he said that given the Fiji focus of the meeting tomorrow, "It is natural that Fiji will be a key topic for us".
The Fiji military leader who led a coup in December 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, told Pacific Island leaders at the annual Pacific Island Forum summit last October in Tonga that Fiji would hold elections by March next year, repeating a pledge to the European Union.
Pressure is being applied regionally to hold Fiji to its promise.
Mr Peters said some steps had been taken for preparation for the elections - it had held a census, appointed members to the Electoral Commission and Boundary Commission and had established a committee to co-ordinate foreign assistance to the elections.
But the ministers would want Fiji to accelerate preparations in order to meet the 2009 target date.
"Fiji has yet to identify clearly what external assistance it requires from the many donors willing to provide support," he said in an opinion piece on nzherald.co.nz.
"The main burden falls on Fiji but New Zealand will do all it can to help."
Mr Peters said that the Foreign Ministers tomorrow would also want to reflect on recent events in Fiji, such as:
* Warnings to the public about speaking out against interim Government policies.
* The expulsion of Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter.
* The release of a report on media freedom.
Mr Peters said the media report, commissioned by the Fiji Human Rights Commission, recommended actions "at odds with human rights principles".
The report recommends dismantling the Press Council, licensing the media and establishing a media tribunal funded by a 7 per cent tax on advertising and all licensed media outlets.
Among the aims of the tribunal, according to the report, was not only to raise the levels of news reporting but also to "empower politicians, bureaucrats, office-seekers and others with appropriate skills so that they might deal more effectively with their counterparts in the media ... "
Mr Smith commented last week on what he called intimidation of the Fiji media.
STEPHEN SMITH
* Replaces Alexander Downer, Australia's longest-serving Foreign Minister.
* Aged 52, Perth-based former lawyer.
* Senior adviser to Paul Keating when he was Deputy PM and Treasurer.
* Enjoys watching cricket and hockey.
