Pacific questions Australia's diplomatic vacuum

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Updated February 9, 2010 09:10:47

It has been three-and-a-half months since Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for the Pacific, Duncan Kerr, stepped down from the position and there has been no announcement of a replacement. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's office says his government remains fully committed to a strong relationship with the Pacific, but that no decision has yet been made about the position.

Pacific diplomats in Canberra are beginning to voice gentle concern. The Papua New Guinea High Commissioner to Canberra, Charles Lepani, says it should have been filled by now. And Samoa's High Commissioner to Canberra, Lemalu Tate Simi, shares that view.

Presenter: Linda Mottram, Canberra correspondent
Speaker: Lemalu Tate Simi, Samoa's High Commissioner to Canberra

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