Doorstop interview, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat ConroyY: Well, it's a pleasure and privilege to be in the Solomon Islands for the second time in less than twelve months. I'm here on the 20th anniversary of the RAMSI intervention. RAMSI, as Dame Meg has said, was a poster child of the Pacific helping out the Pacific. Every single nation on the Pacific Islands Forum heard the call from the Solomon Islands, banded together and supported the efforts of the Solomon Islands' people to restore peace and stability to the Solomon Islands. And that's been continued by the efforts of the Solomon Islands people. So, it's a great privilege to represent the government and people of Australia here this week and to talk about how Australia is proud to be the primary security partner for the Solomon Islands and the biggest development partner. Our activities range across the broad spectrum of efforts to lift the people of Solomon Islands out of poverty in partnership with the people and the government. To help support their economic future, help support their education and health, help support their security. So, it's a real pleasure to be here.

I've already met today with Prime Minister Sogavare and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Police and National Planning, and I'll have many more meetings with Ministers over the next day and a half. The meetings have been constructive and have covered the full gamut of Australia's activities and policies and programs in this country. I've been especially pleased to have met with and addressed staff and students of the Solomon Islands National University who are the future leaders of this country, to have a dialogue with them on behalf of the Australian government. And this is part of my broader community outreach that I'll be doing with this trip. I'll be meeting with graduates from the Australia Award Alumni - Australia Awards Program - and I'll be meeting with Solomon Islands businesses tomorrow to discuss how Australia can continue to support job creation in the Solomon Islands. So, it's a pleasure to be here and happy to answer any questions people might have.

Journalist: Yes, Sharon from SIBC. Just a question is, just on Solomon Island security deals with China? Is it worrying for Australia in terms of how our government is having all these security treaties with China?

Minister Conroy: I'm reassured by what Prime Minister Sogavare has said both publicly and privately, that Australia is the primary security partner for the Solomon Islands and that if there are gaps, requests will come to Australia to fill. We're proud to be part of the Solomon Islands Assistance Force with PNG and Fiji and New Zealand. That's a really important endeavour to support the collective security of both Solomon Islands and the broader Pacific. And as I've said in my meetings, Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation, they can make agreements with whomever they like. Obviously, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, I think it's in everyone's interest to be transparent about all agreements that have been entered into, but we're proud to be the primary security partner for this country.

Journalist: Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong for the ABC. It's your second time here. How are you finding the weather and what were the detailed discussions between you and Prime Minister Sogavare earlier on?

Minister Conroy: I love being here. The weather is always beautiful. Sometimes wearing a suit is not always a great idea, but it's a beautiful country and the bonds between our countries are so deep and enduring. As a matter of policy, I don't go into detailed specifics about conversations with other governments, but I will make the point that we discussed, obviously, security. We discussed our development partnership and we discussed our economic partnerships and we talked for example, I've talked with every single minister about the importance and potential of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. We have over 6,000 - around 6,000 Solomon Islanders in Australia right now, filling labour shortages in Australia, earning money that they're sending back to their families, getting skills that they can then come back to this country with. And there's thousands of Solomon Islanders who are in the work ready pool, ready to go over when jobs open up. That program is transformational. It brings our countries together. I remember when I was last here, I met with a couple of returned workers, a returned meat worker and a returned farm worker, and they were both starting businesses with the money they'd saved. And they kept their families afloat for the three years of COVID while they were there. So, conversations were really constructive.

Journalist: [Indistinct] our Prime Minister said there was a delay in the budget support from Australia [indistinct] to China to get the funding for prioritising programs of the government.

Minister Conroy: I think certainly what Prime Minister Sogavare said last week was not referring to Australia specifically. My recollection was traditional partners was the term he used. I could be wrong and happy to be corrected, but as I said in my speech, Australia has delivered our budget support as committed and we continue to do that and we're proud and privileged to be the biggest development partner for the Solomon Islands.

Journalist: And what do you make of Prime Minister Sogavare's statement of Australia and the US being unneighbourly in terms of your reaction towards the security deals that you've - we've signed with China?

Minister Conroy: Look, I'm not a commentator on commentary from other politicians. That's the job of the excellent Fourth Estate in front of me. Just make the point that we're proud to be the primary security partner of the Solomon Islands and the SIAF engagement, as RAMSI has also demonstrated, that we're here for the people and the government of the Solomon Islands.

Journalist: Mr Conroy, the Pacific Engagement Visa, the timeline given was it will start off in July. When can we expect this?

Minister Conroy: The Pacific Engagement Visa is critical to our deepening our relationship with the Pacific family. For the first time in the history of Australia, we'll have a cohort of our permanent migration intake allocated to one region. And that region, being the Pacific region, demonstrated the importance of the Pacific family and the desire to grow it. At the moment, around one per cent of all permanent migrants come from the Pacific and we want to grow that, and grow those people to people links. That's the entire basis of the Pacific Engagement Visa. That legislation is still before the Australian Senate and we're negotiating with the opposition and the crossbench in an effort to gain support. We took it to the last election. We have a mandate for it. It was part of our Pacific policies, which were the most comprehensive policies a party has ever taken to an election. And we're hopeful that we can deliver the Pacific Engagement Visa as soon as possible. No other questions?

Journalist: Mr. Conroy.

Minister Conroy: One more. I'm being very generous.

Journalist: Australia is part of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. What can you say about the Pacific solidarity at this time?

Minister Conroy: Well, I think Pacific solidarity is essential. I had the privilege of being at the PIF Leaders week last year, where the communique was generated, where every single Pacific leader agreed that security should be driven by the Pacific, that if any country in the Pacific has a gap in their security, they should ask other members of the Pacific family to fill it first. And that is the essence of Pacific solidarity. It goes beyond security, it goes to economic solidarity, for example, through temporary labour schemes, through development partnerships. Australia is proud to be the biggest development partner in the entire Pacific, for the entire Pacific, rather. It goes to health outcomes, it goes to sporting outcomes. Sport brings our countries together. So, Pacific solidarity is critical to the region and as I said in my speech, how the region as a whole engages in the geostrategic competition will determine our future. Do we go forward urging solidarity, transparency, accountability, or do we take other paths? That's a question for the Pacific leaders to take and we're there.

Journalist: After Duranti completed the mission, they recalled most of the guns, but there are reports of guns [indistinct].

Minister Conroy: I'm not in a position to comment about that, Eddie. It's a question for the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force. I don't have visibility of that. I'm very proud of the cooperation between the RSIPF and the Australian Federal Police. They work incredibly well together. I was meeting with both commissioners earlier today and I think it's a great example for the rest of the region. Thank you very much, everyone.