McCully moves to mend Fiji links

Murray McCully announced yesterday that the Fijian and New Zealand governments would begin to mend their links. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand has begun to rebuild its diplomatic relations with Fiji after a string of tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats but Foreign Minister Murray McCully has cautioned that it will be a process of "small steps".

Mr McCully announced yesterday that the Fijian and New Zealand governments would begin to mend their links by each appointing a "counsellor" and deputy heads of missions.

However, the agreement stops short of reinstating High Commissioners - something Mr McCully said would not happen unless Australia was also involved and there were assurances the expulsions would not be repeated.

Since the coup in December 2006, Fiji's interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has expelled three New Zealand heads of mission from Suva, as well as those from Australia. New Zealand retaliated in kind, leaving the diplomatic offices of both countries on skeleton staff.

The agreement follows months of quiet talks and a face-to-face meeting in Nadi last weekend between Mr McCully and his Fijian counterpart, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola.

Mr McCully stressed that the boosts to consular staff did not mean New Zealand was softening its stance on Fiji or reconsidering sanctions against those involved in the regime.

"But it does signal a determination to improve the relationship and in particular to be able to agree to disagree about some things," he said.

A statement about the changes was also published on the Fijian government's website.

It said that the foreign ministers had discussed several issues "in a positive and constructive atmosphere" and would remain in close contact.

Mr McCully said the two countries would be better resourced after the expulsions put the viability of their diplomatic offices in question.

New Zealand would now appoint a "appropriately senior" person to the role.

However, reinstating a High Commissioner at this stage would be "discourteous" to Australia whose High Commissioners had also been ejected.

"I wouldn't want to get ahead of our Australia friends in that respect."

It had been discussed with the Fijian foreign minister.

"But I'd want to be quite sure that we would see such a person remain in place," he said.

"We've had three come home and it would be a bit negligent of me to dispatch a High Commissioner without making sure the conditions were in place to be reasonably confident the person would stay."

Mr McCully said the timing was unrelated to the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday.

He acknowledged her interest in it, as one of the new US administration's aims was to build closer links with the Asia Pacific region.

He said further progress would be by "small steps" rather than great bounds and would take account of regional forums and Australia.

Labour leader Phil Goff said he supported the changes but there needed to be some assurance that the diplomats would not continue to be deported.

The New Zealand Government renewed its efforts with Fiji late last year after reaching an apparent stalemate following Commodore Bainimarama's refusal to budge on an election date of 2013 despite being suspended from the Pacific Forum and Commonwealth.

Prime Minister John Key said on Radio Tarana late last year that he was also writing to Commodore Bainimarama to try to reopen the lines of communication.

At the time Commodore Bainimarama said it was "a very good change for us, for Fiji" and said he wished to continue talking to New Zealand and Australia.