KEY POINTS:
Pacific Island leaders were ferried to the island of Vava'u this morning on an Australian Defence Force Hercules, including Fiji coup leader Frank Bainimarama.
Alexander Downer issued a statement justifying the decision to ferry the Commodore saying it was "simply unavoidable" to travel with him and be in
the same room as him. it would have been "petty in the extreme" not to have taken the Commander, which seems a fair point.
You can't complain about Solomons leader Sogovare boycotting the forum when it is going to talk about the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomons Islands and then make life tough for Bainimara to get there to explain how he is going to return Fiji to democracy.
There is a certain amount of relief among the press corps about the shift to the lovely island of Vava'u. The buntings are flying and the drive from the airport to the town was scattered with lovingly decorated arches welcoming each leader.
Things couldn't be any worse in Vava'u than they were in Nuku'alofa in terms of the press corps.
Among the Kiwis and Aussies anyway, there is a consensus that the Tonga forum would rank as the worst ever in terms of over-the-top ways to make work as difficult as possible.
Access is appalling. Sometimes you are allowed through a roadblock, sometimes you are not. Often you are made to walk for what seems miles to a media centre with heavy gear instead of being able to take the 100m route.
Journalists were allowed to stay for the plenary session of the forum yesterday but those who arrived after the opening were not allowed in.
Tongan state media were allowed to stop and interview leaders after the plenary session while democratic media were herded away by some of the rudest officials I've encountered.
All this has led to some heated argument between journalists and Government officials leading one to criticise the behaviour of New Zealand and Australian journalists in the Fiji Times.
What particularly irked Kitione Mokofisi was a questioned called out to Fiji coup leader Frank Bainimarama ' from an Aussie) 'do you think you are being treated like a leper ?" to which I added "or a rockstar?" after the hero's welcome he got from Tongans yesterday. The commodore didn't answer.
But Mr Mokofisi says it was "shameful behaviour" and was disrespectful not only to the commodore but the Kingdom and people of Tonga."
"They are guests here and should behave and be courteous to their hosts."
"We as hosts do not want such people who do not have any culture, to ruin the very close traditional and blood ties that Tonga has with Fiji..
He also told the Fiji Times that the clothes of the female journalists (he doesn't specify whether it was the New Zealanders or not) were "tasteless" in a traditional island such as Tonga.
The Fiji Times report said there had been suggestions that such high-powered meeting should have a dress code.
The three New Zealand women journalists have been trying to remember what we have been wearing. Yes, trousers, but so has Helen Clark. None of us has bared our shoulders or knees - as advised by Foreign Affairs.
Mr Mokofisi thinks we have shown disrespect. Fashion issues aside, I think we have simply returned the respect that has been shown to us.
