Solomons warned to shape up

By MARY-LOUISE O'CALLAGHAN Herald correspondent

HONIARA - Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday warned Solomon Island leaders of an impending "frontal assault on corruption" as the Australian-led intervention into the South Pacific state moves into its next stage.

The visit to the Solomons is the first by an Australian Prime Minister in more than a decade.

It comes as Australia moves to review its aid to Papua New Guinea and become more involved in Pacific Island-states' affairs.

"What has been achieved so far is only the first stage," Howard said at a luncheon in the capital Honiara.

"The next stage is to consolidate the gains in the area of law and order with a frontal assault on corruption and poor governance.

Howard who made a flying visit to Solomon Islands for six hours yesterday also announced the provision of A$25 million ($28 million) in direct budget support to the Solomons Government for the first time.

This is in addition to the estimated A$200 million the intervention is expected to cost in its first year.

There was a massive blowout in the Solomons budget following the constant leakage of Government funds in false claims and extortion by militants and rogue police prior to the arrival of the intervention force a month ago.

Howard said the A$25 million would be used to stabilise the 2003 budget and help plan a credible budget supervised by expatriate experts about to be installed in the Solomons treasury.

"We have placed some public servants in certain departments and our aim is to see that taxes that ought to be paid are paid, and that the nurses and the teachers and health workers can be paid," Howard said.

But he also warned of difficult times ahead as the intervention forces move to extract the remaining guns from the community.

"I know great strides have been made and much hope has been generated in the community but there are still difficult weeks and months ahead and we should not assume that in the normal cause there may not be some set backs," he said.

"Unless the gains on the law and order front are consolidated by a frontal assault on those other two things then it is possible that there will be a slipping back a return to the bad old days."

Earlier, Howard had described Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Sir Allan Kemakeza, who was sacked as deputy prime minister in 2001 amid allegations of corruption, as a "straight-forward good man to deal with".

Howard declined to enter the local political fry following calls by the Solomons opposition for Sir Allan to step down.