Ardern steals forum limelight in Nauru
Leaders in the Pacific were in Nauru to forge new agreements on climate change and other pressing regional issues, but it was Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her absent baby who stole the limelight.
While some in New Zealand grumbled she had cost taxpayers thousands of dollars by scheduling an extra flight to the Pacific Islands Forum to minimise time away from her baby, Nauru’s President Baron Waqa penned Ardern and 11-week-old Neve a tribute.
During a break in an all-day’s leaders retreat yesterday, Waqa grabbed a guitar and along with a group of elders sang the song he titled Aotearoa our friend, Jacinda our new star in the sky. The lyrics included the line: ‘‘A little baby star is born.’’
Ardern disputed whether her trip had cost taxpayers anything, saying the military had told her they had a fixed budget which they could use on extra trips like hers, or training exercises.
‘‘So I have been advised it cost the taxpayer no additional funding,’’ she said.
Ardern added she would have been the first New Zealand leader in almost 50 years to miss the forum, aside from those who had been campaigning during an election cycle.
‘‘I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t,’’ she said, adding ‘‘At the end of the day, I am prime minister. I have a job to do.’’
Newspaper columnist Barry Soper questioned whether the trip was necessary: ‘‘If Ardern decided not to go because of baby Neve, surely the family-focused Pacific leaders, more than any others, would have understood.’’
The leaders have signed a new security agreement called the Boe Declaration that identifies climate change as a major threat to security in the Pacific.
The declaration also addresses crimes such as drug smuggling and illegal fishing that cross borders, as well as cybercrime and health concerns such as communicable diseases and pandemics.
The agreement was the centrepiece of the three-day meeting.
Earlier yesterday, Pacific fishing and community groups signed an agreement with the European Union to improve sustainable fishing and ocean governance in the region.
Under the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership, the EU will provide 35 million euros (NZ$61.8m) and Sweden will provide 10 million euros (NZ$17.7m) over five years. The programme will provide direct assistance to regional organisations.
Tensions over China and refugees ran high at the forum after Nauru on Tuesday accused a Chinese official of bullying and temporarily detained a New Zealand journalist who had been interviewing a refugee.