Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister confirm reports that Australia will be sending an envoy to the Solomon Islands to discuss our concerns with the commission of inquiry into the riots in April?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for the question. I can confirm that the Australian government will be sending a special envoy in the form of the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, David Ritchie, to the Solomon Islands. He is going today, and tomorrow he will be meeting with the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Mr Sogovare, and others. This will be an opportunity for Mr Ritchie to register serious concerns with the Solomon Islands government about its plans for a commission of inquiry into the April 2006 civil unrest in Honiara.

Australia is concerned about the intentions behind this commission of inquiry. We believe that it will prejudice the outcome of court cases against two imprisoned members of parliament facing riot related allegations and it will endeavour to cast blame for the riots on the police response—which, by the way, included the Australian police—not on the people who were responsible for those riots taking place and, of course, those who funded those people. This would be completely at odds with the support for the rule of law and the genuine desire to work with RAMSI to improve security in the Solomon Islands, which the Solomon Islands government has said that it supports.

We are also very concerned about recent attacks on the judiciary in the Solomon Islands. The integrity of the judiciary is vital for the stability and prosperity of the Solomon Islands, including in the fight against corruption. There is no denying that corruption has been a major problem in the Solomon Islands over a long period of time, and RAMSI has been helping the Solomon Islands with this since July 2003. Australia and New Zealand as well as other countries in the region have extended considerable resources to support the Solomon Islands in combating corruption and to re-establish economic growth. We expect to see a renewed effort by the Solomon Islands government to fight corruption, rather than establishing procedures which will undermine the judiciary and undermine the work that is being done by the police. I also note that millions of dollars are expected to be spent on this commission of inquiry, and I am not sure where that money, in the end, is going to come from. But that money would be much better spent on the development of the Solomon Islands and on assistance to the people of the Solomon Islands.

We are in close consultation with other countries, especially the other partners in RAMSI, in relation to this commission of inquiry. Regional partners do not want a negative, uncooperative approach to the Solomon Islands, but we do need to see a Solomon Islands government willing to work cooperatively with regional partners.