China’s bid for Pacific foothold ‘has not succeeded’, Anthony Albanese says after 2022 Pacific Islands Forum
Australian PM says Pacific Islands Forum has made clear the region will be responsible for its own security, despite China’s push for security deals.
Anthony Albanese says he used a regional leaders’ summit in the Pacific to enhance Australia’s influence among its island nation neighbours while also conveying his concern to Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare over Honiara’s recent security deal with Beijing.
Mr Albanese said the communique following the 51st Pacific Islands Forum made clear the region would be responsible for its own security and argued a recent Chinese bid to secure a series of sweeping agreements across the Pacific had not succeeded.
“We are responsible as the Pacific family for security issues … the facts speak for themselves,” Mr Albanese said on Friday. “There was an attempt publicly when the Chinese Foreign Minister visited the region to get a sign-up to various elements and it didn’t happen.”
Mr Albanese said he respected the choices made by Pacific nations but noted that Mr Sogavare had made it very clear that “there would not be a (Chinese) base in the Solomons.”
“His private comments certainly reflected that,” Mr Albanese said. “I, of course, put Australia’s position as you would expect me to do.”
Mr Albanese said that “Australian influence, which historically has been a country of great significance for the region, has been enhanced by this meeting”.
He argued his government’s greater ambition on climate change had paved the way for the reset with Pacific nations and ensured that there was no argument late into the night over “whether climate change was real or not”.
He argued that Australia’s partnerships with other Pacific nations had been strengthened as a result of the Pacific Islands Forum and signalled one of his objectives was to rebuild a greater sense trust.
Mr Albanese wound up his visit by meeting young aged care students in Suva to promote the benefits to Australia of Pacific labour.
He linked the strengthening of Pacific labour schemes with his election promise to improve the quality of care for older Australians.
“The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme currently helps around 2,600 Fijians in Australia and more than 25,000 Pacific workers currently working in Australia,” Mr Albanese said.
He said the scheme had operated in areas like agriculture and meat works and other blue collar industries that tended to favour men. But Mr Albanese said the scheme would be modified to help more women.
“What we are doing here is expanding the scheme very much towards the services sector,” he said. “It’s also good for Australia because these are areas in which there are massive skills shortages.”
Mr Albanese said his government had committed to 215 minutes of care for residents in aged care each day, in accordance with the recommendations of the aged care royal commission.
“We know that we will need more workers to satisfy the demand which is there,” he said.
Mr Albanese made the comments after meeting with 40 students in Suva who had been offered paid, supervised placements in aged care facilities across regional Queensland including Gympie, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Toowoomba, Mackay and Yeppoon.
Mr Albanese said the placements would help the students complete their Certificate III qualification which would allow them to stay with the same employer for up to 4 years.
“All 40 of these women will be travelling to Australia to complete their practical work and then to be eligible for staying for up to four years to contribute to assisting people who are aged care residents,” Mr Albanese said. “Our practical partnership is producing such enormous benefit.”
He said there would be further trials in the Northern Territory and Western Australia to have more workers come over in the areas of tourism, disability care and hospitality.
“We see this as a really practical program,” Mr Albanese said.
Me Albanese also visited the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) in Suva on Friday morning.
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