Australia and New Zealand hold rare talks with Fiji

Canberra said Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and his visiting New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully agreed to meet Fiji's interim foreign minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, while holding their own talks in the Australian capital.

“The meeting is consistent with Australia's and New Zealand's commitment to constructive engagement and dialogue with and within Fiji,” a foreign office spokeswoman told AFP.

It did not signal any change to Australia's policy on Fiji, including on travel bans, she added.

“Australia remains committed to supporting the return to democracy and the rule of law in Fiji, in line with the approach of the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth,” she said.

It is the first meeting of Australian and Fijian foreign ministers since military leader Voreqe Bainimarama tore up the constitution last April in response to a court ruling that his regime was illegal, said Pacific expert Brij Lal. Bainimarama overthrew Fiji's elected government in a 2006 coup.

Fiji was suspended from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum in May last year and from the Commonwealth in September over Bainimarama's broken promises to hold elections by March 2009.

He also sacked the judiciary and tightened media censorship following the court ruling, prompting widespread international condemnation led by Australia and New Zealand.

The foreign office said the meeting followed brief discussions with Bainimarama and Kubuabola last September on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly, at which Smith indicated Australia was “open” to talks with Fiji.

Lal said the talks showed “a commitment on the part of Australia and New Zealand to engage with Fiji”.

Among the military regime's most strident critics, both New Zealand and Australia's chief diplomats were expelled from the capital Suva last November.

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