PM Bainimarama hits back at John Alexander

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has hit back at Australian politician, John Alexander telling him to visit Fiji and see the impacts of climate change for himself rather than tell Pacific Island nations they should merely move to higher ground.

Bainimarama’s comments at the 6th Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit in Melbourne comes after an increasingly heated political debate on Australia’s response to climate change, and after Alexander’s comments last week, at a candidate forum in his elections campaign.

Bainimarama highlighted that he feels entitled to give a return serve to a former tennis great turned politician who mentioned him by name at an election meeting and it was in the context of Bainimarama’s calls for Australia to stop burning coal, halt the development of new coal mines and do more to embrace clean energy sources.

Alexander has been criticised for saying that Australia’s response to climate change in regard to its Pacific neighbours should be helping people “move to higher ground”, rather than curbing coal and Australian carbon emissions.

Bainimarama told delegates present at the Emissions Reduction summit that he did not wish to be seen intervening in Australia’s election campaign adding that Fiji was grateful to the current Australian government and the Australian people for the help given in the wake of Cyclone Winston which devastated Fiji in 2016.

He also condemned former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s suggestion that Australia should offer citizenship to islanders affected by climate change.

Bainimarama also stressed that Fiji has now developed the world’s first relocation guidelines and is in the process of establishing a Relocation Trust Fund dedicated to this purpose.

He stressed that Fiji has two priorities and that is to build greater resilience to growing climate impacts and to urgently modernise and decarbonise our economies and societies adding that Australia’s Pacific island neighbours are asking for support and solidarity in doing both.

The Prime Minister also announced that next week Fiji will host both the United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres and the third Climate Action Pacific Partnership Conference.

At the Conference, and with the Secretary‑General, we will share policies they have adopted, actions they have taken, and new information on the urgency of our situation.

Bainimarama also gave an update on the 10% Environment and Climate Adaptation Levy that Fiji enacted 2 years ago adding that a total of $150 million was collected in the last financial year alone and this is dedicated to funding Fiji’s biodiversity and climate adaptation activities.

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