I am pleased to announce that, following discussions among Pacific leaders here in Auckland, Australia will be funding a Pacific Regional Aviation and Shipping scoping study to investigate how Pacific island countries can collaborate to improve regional transport services.
Pacific Island countries have a continuing need to have access to effective and sustainable transport links, but many Pacific airlines and shipping lines are currently facing severe challenges in continuing to provide economically viable services.
A number of national airlines in the Pacific are facing difficult financial and operational circumstances. These problems are not isolated to the Pacific - the world aviation industry has also experienced difficulties since September 11. Similar difficulties face shipping.
A technical scoping study could be a means of identifying areas for pooling regional resources to ensure their on-going viability and reliability.
The pragmatic pooling of regional resources makes good sense as few Pacific nations have the capacity to create and support a viable national transport capability.
The Australian Government recognises that any way forward requires a co-operative approach to this challenge.