CANBERRA (Pacnews) — Australia’s new high commissioner to the Solomon Islands will have the unenviable job of trying to mend relations damaged by months of feuding between the nations.
Career diplomat Peter Hooton’s appointment was announced on Fridayand he was expected to take up his post within weeks — four months after his predecessor was booted out of the Solomon Islands.
His appointment was welcomed by Solomons Foreign Minister Patterson Oti, who described it as a positive step in maintaining meaningful relations between the countries.
Former High Commissioner Patrick Cole, who was Australia’s chief representative on the island for three years, was expelled from the Solomons in September last year as tensions between the countries reached boiling point over the Julian Moti affair.
Moti, an Australian lawyer appointed but later suspended as the Solomon Islands attorney general, is wanted by the Australian Federal Police for child sex offences. Problems escalated when the Solomons refused to extradite him to Australia.
The government has also repeatedly threatened to downgrade the Australia-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, which has been helping keep law and order on the island, and improve the effectiveness of political institutions.