KEY POINTS:
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says he is concerned about two controversial appointments in the Solomon Islands and raised the possibility of aid being affected.
During his brief visit to the country Mr Peters spent a tense hour talking to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare about contentious issues such as
the future of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (Ramsi) and constitutional issues.
Mr Sogavare's friend Julian Moti was due to be sworn in yesterday as Attorney-General. A Fijian, Mohammed Jahir Khan, has already been appointed police commissioner.
Both appointments are sensitive for Australia - its citizen Shane Castles was dumped as Police Commissioner when he opposed Mr Sogavare's plan to make Mr Moti Attorney-General.
Australia recently attempted to have Mr Moti, also an Australian citizen, extradited to face charges of raping a 13-year-old girl in Vanuatu in 1997.
Relations with Australia, which leads Ramsi, have been tense and Mr Sogavare wants it to have less influence in the regional security body and on his Government. The Pacific Islands Forum last year set up a review of Ramsi in response to Mr Sogavare's concerns and it is due to report back this month.
In the meantime Mr Khan has announced he wants to re-arm police and sought $18 million Solomon ($3.4m) through the budget to do so.
Ramsi was set up to restore law and order in 2003 and armed police were part of the problem they were sent to fix.
Mr Peters challenged Mr Sogavare about the appointments, especially as on his last visit Mr Sogavare said he wanted Solomon Islands nationals to hold key positions.
"My point to him was 'you've just got two paramount key appointments that are to do with any good governance operation, chief of police and attorney-general, and they are both foreigners, and how does that square with your statements to me last year'?"
Mr Peters was told the police appointment was short term - two years - and Mr Sogavare did not think there were suitable locals to take on either role.
"I have to tell you that I was alarmed at that. The interpretation of those statements would suggest there is some confusion as to the separation of powers in that you had to have servants loyal to the government to occupy those positions.
"Now there's some truth in that except if that is a loyalty beyond duty and the constitutional legal position, that would worry me. That's a point I made very clearly."
Mr Peters also sought assurances from Mr Sogavare that Ramsi would not be affected.
"There's no doubt in my mind the Solomons would be in a critically adverse situation if they didn't have Ramsi.
"We have to put our cards on the table here and get a clear declaration of understanding and support of Ramsi by the Solomon Islands government and indeed every politician in the Solomons. If we've got points of objection then let's hear it now." Mr Peters said New Zealand would be very concerned if the situation deteriorated while the Solomon Islands Government ignored its friend's advice.
"We want to be a good neighbour in the Pacific but, whilst we don't give aid in a tied fashion on a criteria requiring certain responses from them, nevertheless aid we give has a certain series of principles attached to it and good governance is a critical one in the view of the New Zealand Government.
"As I said to him, we have people who need to be at work at 5 o'clock in the morning to pay taxes to cover this recovery. Let's understand our commitment to them back in New Zealand."
Mr Peters said New Zealand would find it hard to stomach Solomons proposals to strip Ramsi personnel of protection.
Those involved in the operation have immunity from prosecution so they can carry out their work and the Government is looking at revoking that. "I don't think that he's [Mr Sogavare's] under any illusion, foreign countries couldn't accept that. You can't have a mission under one understanding sliding into another understanding halfway through."
Mr Sogavare downplayed the arming of police suggesting that officers would not carry guns but have them available when needed.
Mr Peters said the meeting "wasn't the easiest".
"Our objective was to make sure there was no doubt about where New Zealand stood ... Whilst we were committed to being a good neighbour, that wasn't at all cost."
Mr Peters visits the Marshall Islands today and will fly to Samoa tomorrow.
Mr Sogavare cancelled a planned press conference with New Zealand media and also postponed his meeting with Mr Peters.
- NZPA
