Scott Morrison relaxes kava import rule during Vanuatu visit

In a true show of true friendship during his Vanuatu visit, the PM announced Australia would allow the importation of kava.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison greets locals during a visit to the National Archives and Library in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison went to Vanuatu to open highway upgrades and a police college but in a show of true friendship he announced Australia would allow the importation of traditional island brew, kava.

A ban on importing the drink derived from a plant root into Australia had been a sore point in Vanuatu and Mr Morrison was lobbied by Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas.

“This is important to Vanuatu. It’s been raised for many years,” Mr Morrison said.

“We have to be careful about how we proceed on this, because what we don’t want to see is the importation of kava into Australia create other challenges, particularly in Australian indigenous communities.”

Bob and Hazel Hawke arrive in Vanuatu in 1990. Picture: AP

Import restrictions currently allow only 2kg of dried kava root to be brought into Australia but under the trial the drink would be permitted for personal use.

Mr Morrison brought his wife, Jenny, for the one-day charm offensive and the first visit by an Australian prime minister to the Pacific island country since 1990.

It was Mr Morrison’s second visit to Vanuatu after going on a family cruise holiday as a child.

“The first time I came here was off a cruise ship with my parents, I was under 10. It was pre-independence and it is a great thrill to see what has happened here in Vanuatu under independence,” Mr Morrison said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Mrs Morrison are greeted by Vanuatu Minister of Foreign Affairs Ralph Regenvanu. Picture: AAP

He opened the Lini Highway and the up­graded Vanuatu Police College, both achieved with Australian backing, and lauded a $39 million Australian-supported revamp of Port Vila’s road and drainage systems.

Although former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke visited the ­island nation for a Pacific Islands Forum in August 1990 with then wife Hazel, Mr Morrison’s visit is the first bilateral meeting between an Australian leader and their Vanuatu counterpart on the latter’s soil.