NO DATE
M/ 141 27 September 1973
REPORT OF AUSTRALIAN DELEGATION TO SOUTH
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
Attached is a copy of a statement tabled in the
Senate on 26 September 1973 by the Minister Assisting the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Willesee, who was
Leader of the Australian Delegation to the 13th South
Pacific Conference at Guam, 11-20 September 1973.
As leader of the Australian delegation, I attended the
first four days of the 13th South Pacific Conference which was held
at Guam from 11 to 20 September 1973. The delegation included two
Members of Parliament, Mr A. S. Luchetti and Mr P. E. Lucock, who
were nominated at the Prime Minister's request by the Parliamentary
Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.
Twenty nine years ago the Labour Governments of Australia
and New Zealand signed the Australian-New Zealand Agreement ( more
popularly known as the ANZAC Pact), which included articles proposing
the establishment of a regional organisation known as the South Seas
Regional Commission, This was the genesis of the South Pacific
Commission ( SPC) which was born of the Canberra Agreement of
February 1947. Since that time the South Pacific has been washed by the
tides of change. In 1947 no island entity in this region was a
state. None could be a signatory to the Canberra Agreement. Today,
three are fully independent Nauru, Fiji and Western Samoa and
have taken their place as members of the South Pacific Commission.
Tonga re-entered the comity of nations in 1970. Papua New Guinea
is now on the threshhold of full nationhood.
The 1947 Canberra Agreement was a paternalistic document,
based on a separation of the controlling metropolitan powers and
their subject colonies. While the Agreement played a significant
and valuable part in the economic, social and political development
of the region, it has become increasingly out of step with the times.
It is anachronistic that we have a South Pacific Commission,
comprising the metropolitan powers, plus in recent years the
independent Island states of the region, sitting in judgment over
recommendations of the South Pacific Conference, at which only
the Pacific Island states and territories have a vote.
Against this background and having in mind the Government's
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policy that Australia should seek to play a co-operative and helpful
but not a dominating role in the South Pacific, our delegation
went to the South Pacific Conference at Guam this year with three
positive ideas. Two were proposals and one a suggestion.
The first proposal was that from 1975 the South Pacific
Commission should be financed on a part voluntary basis. The
second proposal was that there should be a de facto merger of the
Commission and the Conference sessions. The suggestion was that
the Conference should be remodelled so that it could be shortened
in length and its focus placed on the development process in the
entire region. Australia and New Zealand had launched the voluntary.
contribution principle by announcing at the South Pacific Forum
held at Apia in April this year voluntary contributions of
$ NZ250,00O each towards the 1974 SPC Work Program. France made a
voluntary contribution of 5A50,000 at Guam.
A preliminary Session of the Commission, which met prior
to the opening of the Conference in Guam, accepted the principle
of part voluntary financing. As a result, the SPC's technical
assistance work, its prime function, should in future be able to
draw on greater financial resources.
Our main proposal for a de facto merger of the Conference
and a Commission sessions de facto because of the difficulties
in amending the Canberra Agreement received the unanimous support
of all the voting members of the Conference. The non-self governing
territories thus voted for equal status with the metropolitan powers.
The Conference then set up a special " future status
committee" of Islanders which iported to the Conference on possible
changes in the constitution and functioning of the South Pacific
Commission. The report included a recommendation that the Australian
Government initiate discussion immediately with all participating
governments at the highest appropriate level to revise the Canberra
Agreement so as to reflect the needs and aspirations of the Pacific
people.
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Consideration is now being given to the holding of a
Conference early next year for this purpose.
This result is even better than we had hoped. Our
ileas went with and strengthened the tide of Island opinion. The
" future status committee" report also incorporated the main elements
of our suggestion for remodelling the Conference. The implementation
of the recommendations will, of course, depend on the results of the
meeting of the Commission governments next year.
However, the Conference debates did not all run smoothly.
Tie French delegation walked out of the meeting on 17 September,
wien the Cook Islands introduced a draft resolution condemning
French nuclear testing in the Pacific. That was unfortunate.
Despite our differences we value French participation in the SPC.
Tie support given by Australia to the resolution on this matter
one not normally dealt with by the SPC must be seen in the light
of France's disregard of the interim order of the International
Court of Justice and on the detection over a widespread area of
Australia of radioactive fallout from the French tests.
The Cook Islands resolution, amended by Fiji, was sent by
the Chairman of the Conference to the Secretary-General of the United
O Nations with the request that the views of the Conference be made
known to the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
The resolution was adopted 10 votes to 5. Those opposing were
American Samo'a, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, New
Caledonia, Niue and the New Hebrides. The Wallis and Futuna Islands
were not present and the French Polynesian delegation had returned
home. The voting figures might give the impression that some
delegations did not believe that the nuclear tests were a cause
of concern. This was not so. Every delegation, including that of
New Caledonia, indicated opposition to the tests in one form or
another. The negative votes reflected more the concern of some
island delegations that acceptance of the resolution might provoke
the withdrawal of France from the Organisation.
The South Pacific Commission has clearly reached a turning
point. The 13th South Pacific Conference marked an important
milestone in the political development of the South Pacific.
Australia went to the Conference this year seeking changes, not
kudos, and we achieved that result.
If the recommendations of the " future status committee"
of the Conference are adopted, the South Pacific Commission should
remain a useful regional organisation for many years to come.