Hate Thy Neighbor, But Love Their Money: Australia's Relationship with Melanesi

November 21, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Manoa Campus, John A. Burns Hall 3012, 3rd floor

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Presentation by:
Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka
Research Fellow, Pacific Islands Development Program
East-West Center

In September 2006 the Solomon Islands Government expelled the Australian High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, declaring him a persona non grata. This sparked a diplomatic row between Honiara and Canberra. The situation was exacerbated by the Solomon Islands Government’s appointment of ‘shady’ Australian citizen, Julian Moti, as Attorney General. In October, neighboring Papua New Guinea (PNG) was dragged into the row when it failed to extradite Moti as requested by Canberra. Australia reacted by banning the PNG prime minister and officials from entry into Australia and denying Solomon Islands politicians multi-entry visa.

These incidents brought to the fore long standing tensions that characterize the love-hate relationship between Australia and its Melanesian neighbors. This has been influenced by perceptions of Australia’s place and role in the region, especially in the post-9/11 period. The relationship is often complicated by the fact that whilst Melanesian (and other Pacific Island) countries abominate Canberra’s ‘big brother’ attitude, they need and depend on Australian aid for economic development.

In this presentation Dr. Kabutaulaka discusses the sources and implications of the current diplomatic tension between Australia, PNG and Solomon Islands, and examines the potential impact on development and security in the Western Pacific. He discusses how diplomatic relation between Australia and its Melanesian neighbors could be mended.

Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka is a Research Fellow at the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Development Program. Much of his current work focuses on Australia’s “cooperative intervention” policy in the Pacific Islands. He is an expert on the Solomon Islands and has written extensively on the Solomon Islands civil unrest and the intervention by the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). He has a PhD in political science and international relations from the Australian National University in Canberra. His most recent work is a book he co-edited with Greg Fry titled, Intervention and State-Building in the Post-Colonial Pacific: The Political Legitimacy of ‘Co-operative Intervention’ published by the Manchester University Press in England and current in print.

Ticket Information
Seminar is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-serve.

Event Sponsor
East-West Center, UH Manoa

More Information
Kristin Uyemura, 808-944-7725, uyemurak@eastwestcenter.org, http://www.eastwestcenter.org/events-ce-detail.asp?conf_ID=950

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