Pacific plan hints at economic union

By HELEN TUNNAH, deputy political editor

A Pacific Plan unveiled for the region raises questions about the long-term sovereignty of smaller countries struggling for their economic survival.

The 60-page report released by 15 Pacific Island states yesterday does not explicitly spell out plans for a European-Union style structure for the region, but it indicates that an Australian-led wish for greater integration - which could eventually lead to a Pacific Union - is a strong option.

The report's "vision" states baldly that the Pacific countries will depend on one another for survival.

"The bottom line is that future inter-country relationships will need to be closer and more mutually supportive if the region is to avoid decline and international marginalisation.

"New thinking about the relationships between sovereign states may hold the key to future sustainability."

The report, by diplomats and former politicians from the region, was prepared after last year's Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Auckland, and has long been suspected by more vulnerable states of driving a New Zealand and Australia agenda for the region.

That has consistently been denied by the Pacific's dominant powers.

But the apparently urgent need to reshape the forum and its secretariat follows heightened tensions about lawlessness and security following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The larger powers fear that "failing" states may become havens for terrorists, people-smugglers and organised crime.

That was the motivation behind the Australian-led deployment of soldiers and police to the Solomon Islands last year, after a plea from Prime Minister Sir Allen Kemakeza.

En route to Auckland yesterday for a special forum summit, Australian Prime Minister John Howard raised the success of the Solomons mission as a watershed for regional co-operation.

The report does not single out the Solomons as the only nation in the Pacific with governance problems, even though the authors complain that simplistic views of the region are now overly negative and glib.

"Variable standards of governance have produced at their worst instability, violence, corruption and a breakdown of the democratic process," the report says.

No nation is named, but coups toppled Governments in Fiji and the Solomons in 2000, while Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Vanuatu and Tonga face pressing economic and democratic difficulties.

The report lists security as the fourth priority for the region, behind economic growth, sustainable development and good governance.

It also emphasises the concerns of small island states - which tend to focus on combating the threat of global warming and poor transport links that hinder trade and tourism.

In a significant change, the report challenges leaders to adapt the notion of the "Pacific Way", a broad concept traditionally cited to prevent other countries interfering in domestic affairs.

The Pacific Way, the report says, should deal openly with failures of democracy, governance and corruption.

The report's authors say they hope the rethink of the forum will allow it to meet expectations placed on it.

"Enhanced regional co-operation and pooling of effort is required. Anything less will mean a deepening risk of marginalisation, economic decline, increased insecurity and a more impoverished region."

Recommendations

* Define the key interests of the Pacific Islands Forum as economic growth, sustainable development, governance and security.

* Identify how and in which areas the forum should share resources.

* Strengthen the role of the Secretary-General, including allowing him or her to lead responses to regional crises.

* Elect a second Deputy Secretary-General.

* A working group will spell out a defined role for the Secretary-General.

* The forum should lead efforts to improve governance among member states.

* Ensure a better "fit" between inherited government and legal systems and cultural traditions.

* The forum must be adequately resourced, and members must pay their dues.