Forum Director believes his contract was not renewed under pressure fr
Updated
There are claims that Australia's alleged "heavy handed" approach to trade negotiations with Pacific Island countries is damaging Australia's standing in the Pacific. Dr Roman Grynberg who for the past three years has been the Director of Economic Governance with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva says Australia has been mean spirited. Dr Grynberg believes his contract has not been renewed following pressure from Australia and New Zealand. he says Australia has refused to fund a position for a Chief Trade Negotiator for the Island countries leaving them at a severe disadvantage.
Presenter Sean Dorney
Speaker: Former Head of Economic Governance with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Dr Roman Grynberg
DR GRYNBERG: Australia and New Zealand are actually, because their Foreign Affairs officials are dealing with the Islands in a relatively heavy manner, are actually losing their authority. The Islands are the only place in the world where Australia and New Zealand can thump the table because they're relatively powerful enough to do that. But I know after a quarter of a century if you thump the table in the Islands you lose because people stop really listening.
DORNEY: Are the Pacific Islanders going to get what they need out of these negotiations with Australia and New Zealand?
GRYNBERG: I think Mr Crean has already made it quite clear he is looking for a two track approach. Those who are ready to come to the table can negotiate right away and those who want to negotiate later can negotiate later. But the simple fact is that if you don't come to the table right now, the weakest ones will set the precedent for the ones that come later. And it's often said in trade that if you're not at the table you are on the menu. And, unfortunately, in the case of the Pacific Islands we always seem to be on the menu.
DORNEY: So, should Australia fund this Chief Trade Negotiator position?
GRYNBERG: Australia should be more forthcoming, more generous, because in the final analysis their power dictates that largely they'll get what they want. Why should they necessarily be as mean spirited as not to help the Islands to have the technical assistance to negotiate. They want to start negotiating right away and the Islands really haven't had any chance to really effectively prepare. Nobody is saying, 'Don't negotiate a PACER.' I've always been supportive of a genuine development agreement that provides assistance and brings all of the islands on board into an integration with Australia and New Zealand. But pushing them into something that is going to breed bitterness in the long them - that's not an answer. And that's what they're doing now I can assure you. They're breeding bitterness. They're breeding a view of Australia that is different from in the past. In the past, Australia was viewed as a country that gave aid. When it comes to trade that is not how Australia and New Zealand are being viewed and they really need to step back and rethink their policy and take some of the Rottweilers who are running trade negotiations out of there and bring in a much more development orientation than they have now.
