Queensland’s Liberal Sen. Russell Trood has told a Senate hearing that Australia has no clear vision for returning Fiji to a democracy and risks being outmaneuvered by the Fijian government.
“Our principles seem to have fallen into a huge hole here. We seem to be not moving forward. We don’t seem to have engaged any type of dialogue and we seem to put ourselves in a position from which we don’t seem to be able to escape. There is no clear mission to vision about where we going with Fiji.”
It said five years of trying to isolate Fiji has not worked, and the U.S. is now calling for closer engagement with the Pacific island nation.
He said isolating Fiji is not the best way to get the country to move to democracy.
But senior Foreign Affairs officials said it has always been prepared to have constructive dialogue with Fiji.
The government has also reiterated Australia’s commitment to a regional trade agreement, the PACER Plus.
