Analysis >
HE HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE HE FIRST ASCENDED TO THE TOP JOB His relentless emphasis on development is highlighted by his visit to plants. It has set him apart from his predecessors
His first official Australian visit marks a new milestone in Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s leadership record. While his detractors are blowing a political storm in Fiji in their bid to discredit him, Mr Bainimarama is rebuilding relations and making sure that:
Fiji gets maximum benefit from the visit in terms of what he and his delegation can bring back that we can use;
He can continue to spread his advocacy on reduction of the use of fossil fuel like coal;
The visit will strengthen bilateral co-operation in a number of areas such as regional security and defence;
It will improve trade between the two countries,
He can clear the air with Fijians living there on issues such as the Fijian passports applications; and
In these talanoa sessions, he has the opportunity to correct misconceptions. Some of the fake news that appear on social media originate from overseas countries like Australia
Benefits
On Thursday, Mr Bainimarama visited the Cleanaway ResourceCo facility in Sydney and saw how industrial waste was converted to fuel. Such technology can be imported here to help preserve our clean green image if it is commercially feasible. Yesterday he visited the Sydney Desalination Plant. It is rated as one of the high-quality drinking water suppliers in Sydney, producing 250 million litres per day of drinking water for up to 1.5 million people.
As a maritime nation we have a lot of water that can be converted to drinking water under this technology, particularly in areas where they suffer from water shortages during the drought season.
Biggest Development Partner
This visit is set to consolidate what Mr Bainimarama and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison had started in January this year with the Vuvale Partnership.
Underpinning this is Australia’s commitment to spend an estimated $58.8 million of Development Assistance. Of this amount, $35 million is for bilateral co-operation. Mr Bainimarama is fully aware that Australia is Fiji’s biggest development partner. He has developed enough experience in diplomacy to say the right thing at different forums.
In Tuvalu he criticised Mr Morrison over Australia’s climate change position on coal.
During this visit he is expected to change tack because he is a guest of the Australian Government.
He is widely respected for his position on climate change and the Australians understood where Mr Bainimarama was coming from.
His focus on development during this visit is reflected in his itinerary so far where he has visited plants where technology is contributing to healthy living and clean environment.
The number of groundbreaking initiatives that his FijiFirst Government has rolled out since 2014 for the benefit of ordinary Fijians cannot be simply ignored.
His political courage to implement the changes despite criticisms from the Opposition has helped the country modernise in a lot of areas.
Last night he held a talanoa session for Fijians in Sydney where he set the record the straight on a number of issues.
By the time he heads to Canberra tomorrow to meet Mr Morrison, he would have clarified these issues to the people.