Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has dived headfirst into a contentious election debate, declaring that Pacific nations want Australia to host the COP31 climate change conference.
Anthony Albanese's government is eager to host the global climate summit next year, championing it on behalf of the blue continent.
The coalition is against the idea, with Peter Dutton suggesting it isn't worth the cost, allegedly tens of billions of dollars.
Speaking at the Lowy Institute on Sydney on Thursday, Mr Whipps Jr unequivocally backed the bid.
"I am here to say that the Pacific supports Australia's bid, as Pacific's largest island, to host COP31 together," he said.
"Hosting COP31 as a Pacific COP is an investment in regional resilience and prosperity which will demonstrate to the world that innovative solutions emerging from our blue Pacific-led approaches."
The recently re-elected president is an increasingly important regional voice.
In 2026, he will become chair of the Pacific Islands Forum and the capital Koror will host the annual PIF leaders meeting, when the summit returns to Micronesia for the first time in eight years.
While Mr Whipps Jr backed Mr Albanese's government plans to host the COP talks, he also admonished Australia for fuelling global emissions.
"Australia is not just a neighbour, it is family," he said.
"However, it also is one of the largest contributors to global emissions through fossil fuel exports, accounting for approximately 4.5 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
"As the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis, we urge Australia to demonstrate solidarity and responsibility by the phasing out of coal and gas production and halting approvals of new fossil fuel projects.
"We must act boldly today for ourselves, our children and future generations to reverse the trajectory, or as I like to say, turn the boat around on climate change, before it's too late."
Australia's relationship with the Pacific was a major issue in the 2022 election, when a pact between China and the Solomon Islands on the eve of the campaign sparked alarm in Australia.
While in Sydney, Mr Whipps Jr also gave a reminder of a 2015 gaffe from Mr Dutton which continues to resonate around the region.
In an interview with Guardian Australia, Mr Whipps Jr took aim at Mr Dutton's decade-old remark, made unawares of a microphone recording him, criticising Papua New Guinea leaders for their tardiness.
"Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door," Mr Dutton said, who later apologised.
"For those of us in the Pacific who have lived through storm surges, rising ocean levels and increasingly high tides, the phrase 'water lapping at our door' is not a metaphor or a punchline. It's our fear and reality," Mr Whipps Jr said.
He also revealed his best guess as to why his nation, comprised of around 340 islands north of PNG but just 20,000 residents, was one of the few to miss out on tariffs levied by US President Donald Trump this month.
"Unfortunately we don't have anything to export so maybe that's the reason we fell under the radar," he said.
