Transcript
RH: There had to be some sort of rotation anyway and it was perhaps an attempt to move some ministers out of their comfort zone and I think that's what probably happened in the case of Ratu Inoke, perhaps there was a feeling in some quarters that he had become very entrenched and comfortable in foreign affairs and there may have been inter-departmental, institutional rivalries about that. But there was the hiccup with the South China Sea issue, there was the premature announcement of full diplomatic relations being restored between Australia and New Zealand in Fiji a few years ago. There are a few things that I think probably were sitting there on the backburner and came to the fore in the decision to move him.
SR: And do you see any significance in this shift happening on the eve of the leaders' retreat at the Pacific Islands Forum which Ratu Inoke was attending, representing Fiji.
RH: Yes, indeed, representing the Prime Minister himself of course, because it was the prime ministerial meeting. It certainly was interpreted as an embarrassment, there's no doubt about that. Whether it was a deliberate one or simply one that was unfortunately timed, I guess you'd have to ask some insiders who might know about that. But certainly it will have longer term repercussions because, as you've just indicated, Ratu Inoke has represented Fiji particularly in the Pacific Islands Forum meetings, but also other meetings like the one that preceded that with President Obama in Hawaii, where the Prime Minister chose not to go or was making a point, as he has about the Pacific Islands Forum, that he isn't going to go and the Foreign Minister's always gone. Now (with Mr Bainimarama) as the Foreign Minister, presumably whoever goes will be someone outside of the political chain, the prime ministerial line, or the foreign affairs line and that will change some of the regional dynamics, I suspect.
SR: Yes, as you say Frank Bainimarama has taken on the foreign affairs portfolio, what does this signify for Fiji's foreign policy in general, and particularly in the relationship with New Zealand and Australia? It seems that Ratu Inoke was at the forefront of this general warming of relations.
HR: Well that's right, there isn't any buffer now as it were between the prime minister's views and other regional views, including those particularly dealing with Australia and New Zealand, so the prime ministerial attitude will be much more directly translated into foreign policy.
SR: And does that mean New Zealand and Australia further out in the cold here?
RH: Well, one would hope not but it certainly seems it is a real risk at the moment of course because there are issues that bother the Prime Minister and there isn't an interlocutor who's going to either try to soften it or seek compromises that might be workable.
