Adam Pearse: Why New Zealand must learn from the Solomon Islands as Pacific forum host

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Pacific Islands Forum in the Solomon Islands. Photo / Jake O'Flaherty

THE FACTS:

• Christopher Luxon has returned from attending the Pacific Islands Forum held in the Solomon Islands.
• New Zealand has been confirmed as the forum’s host in 2027.
• New Zealand last hosted the forum in 2011.

OPINION

In many ways, the Solomon Islands satisfied the role of Pacific Islands Forum host.

Having Pacific leaders on the ground, particularly those from New Zealand and Australia, forces them to confront the economic and environmental challenges faced by small island nations, which struggle for attention in Wellington and Canberra.

Seeing how a warming climate and natural disasters eat away at the land reinforces the need for aid and demands real accountability for emissions-heavy practices.

Hearing of thousands of unexploded bombs buried just centimetres under the earth, primed to take the life of anyone from a property developer to a casual gardener, shows the deadly hangover from living in a theatre of war.

The rushed construction and roading upgrades that inevitably stretch into the event week, displaying just how poorly basic infrastructure is maintained to a standard outsiders come to expect.

PM Christopher Luxon shakes hands with Solomon Islands PM Jeremiah Manele before a family photo ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' retreat. Photo / Adam Pearse

The true meaning of a crime wave spelled out when your driver locks the van doors as traffic slows to a stop.

Leaders battling a queasy stomach from anti-malaria pills revealing the desperate health resources in a country serviced by a hospital built in World War II.

Then there’s island time, a beloved escape from the frantic scheduling events like this normally demand.

It’s here where Honiara’s hosting effort showed its cracks.

Several aspects of the forum suffered from poor planning, at least for the time New Zealand’s delegation was in attendance.

Media access had been drastically pulled back from last year’s forum in Tonga, where journalists could saunter up to the most important people in the Pacific and have a chinwag.

Fast-forward 12 months and organisers in the Solomons were ushering the media away before opening remarks had concluded during the plenary meeting at the Chinese-funded and built Friendship Hall.

Somehow not anticipating leaders debating over loudspeakers would be heard through two sets of curtains dividing the hall, media liaisons kicked journalists out into the heat and threatened to stop proceedings if they didn’t comply.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during the forum's plenary meeting. Photo / Jake O'Flaherty

That was followed by immense delays. The signing of the critical Pacific Resilience Facility treaty, which provides a climate financing vehicle for Pacific nations, was hours late and rushed bilateral meetings between leaders.

The iconic family photo, intended to be taken against a beautiful sunset backdrop, was pushed to the following morning (although the view was equally as stunning).

Some delays are entirely understandable, keeping in mind the paucity of resources. Coordinating delegations from almost 20 nations is also no mean feat, particularly when leaders and their specific security requests require accommodating.

But this year’s forum had a level of chaos that only served to distract from its substance.

Distractions also plagued the lead-up to the forum, largely thanks to the Solomon Islands’ decision to bar dialogue partners (non-Pacific countries) to participate in the forum.

The decision to exclude world powers such as China and the United States smothered any discussion of what was a consequential forum agenda in a din of geopolitical jostling.

Part of the rationale behind barring the dialogue partners (aside from not ruffling feathers in Beijing over Taiwan’s inclusion) was to centre the focus on core Pacific issues.

Partnerships with larger countries are key to economic development in small island nations like the Solomon Islands where this year's Pacific Islands Forum was held. Photo / Adam Pearse

In reality, the fever of speculation it caused sucked much of the oxygen from Fiji’s landmark Ocean of Peace declaration and the treaty signing.

And it could have been worse. Ahead of the forum, Solomons PM Jeremiah Manele issued a plea for countries to respect his decision amid fears nations with embassies in Honiara would ignore it.

His request appears to have been honoured, at least in public.

New Zealand voiced its opposition to the move, not just for its geopolitical motivations but in recognition of the missed development opportunities that come with not inviting friends with deep pockets.

It also risks a funding vacuum that can be filled by governments willing to spend to extend their influence.

While next year’s forum will see the return of dialogue partners, it could prove to be just as contentious.

Host nation Palau, which has strong links to the US, is one of three remaining forum members to hold diplomatic ties with Taiwan - a position China has gone to great lengths to stamp out in the Pacific.

President Surangel Whipps Jr isn’t afraid to rock the boat and won’t shy away from defending his stance on his own turf.

It all points to the need for New Zealand to strike a careful balance to ensure the politics don’t overshadow the policies when it hosts the Pacific Islands Forum in 2027.

New Zealand’s supercharged engagement with the Pacific under Foreign Minister Winston Peters will have fostered goodwill in the region.

Like last year, the NZ Defence Force made its “milk run”, transporting leaders from the north Pacific to the Solomons, sparing them an unenviable series of stop-overs and transfers.

Peters’ ability to extract funding from a shrinking pot has also likely staved off cuts to foreign aid.

However, New Zealand’s reputation won’t have come through unscathed from ugly disputes with Kiribati and the Cook Islands, both of which had their funding paused.

New Zealand’s forum also comes after the 2026 election. On current polls, there is a coin flip’s chance our next foreign minister has drastically less experience and nous than the current.

Much has changed in the 16 years since New Zealand last hosted PIF. This year’s effort by the Solomon Islands shows it cannot be taken lightly.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.