As New Zealand continues its diplomatic push in the Pacific, some are questioning why the Government isn't taking a friendly approach to visitors from the islands who currently require a visa – with two Pacific prime ministers now pushing for improved access
Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has joined the chorus of voices calling on New Zealand to grant visa waivers to visitors from the Pacific Islands, saying access is a “necessary” part of the Government’s approach to the Pacific.
Sogavare made the request to MPs from Parliament’s foreign affairs, defence and trade committee, who visited the country last week to assess the effect of its controversial security deal with China.
Pacific nations are currently excluded from a list of 60 countries and territories whose residents or citizens can visit New Zealand without a formal visitor visa, to the frustration of some.
READ MORE: * NZ cannot afford to be comfortable in the Pacific * Solomon Islands-China security talks add to strategic concerns * Foreign powers already have boots on the ground in Solomon Islands
Last year, 1News revealed more than half of 1446 visitor visa applications rejected by officials in a three-month period came from just nine Pacific nations.
Now Sogavare has raised the matter directly with Kiwi politicians, with the Solomon Star newspaper reporting the prime minister had called on New Zealand to reciprocate the visa waiver arrangement that his country offered to Kiwis.
“Since NZ is trying to enhance its Pacific Reset Policy, the reciprocal visa waiver arrangement would be necessary to be included in the policy as this will enhance engagement, partnerships and collaboration with the Pacific,” Sogavare reportedly said.
National Party foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee, who was among the MPs to meet Sogavare, told Newsroom his party would be prepared to look at the current visa waiver approach.
However, visitors from the Pacific would need to “satisfy all other conditions and concerns that every other country that's got visa waiver status with New Zealand has been able to”.
Brownlee said it could make more sense to expand Pacific access to the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, which provided work visas to up to 19,000 agricultural workers from nine Pacific countries.
The debate over visa access comes as Samoan prime minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa has called for a European Union-style bloc for free movement and labour rights across the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at a Lowy Institute event in Australia earlier this week, Fiamē said she had raised the idea with Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni at a Pacific Islands Forum retreat last month, receiving a lukewarm response.
“[Sepuloni], who is part Samoan and part Tongan, said, ‘Oh, but all other people in the islands will want to come and live in New Zealand and Australia’.”
“Auckland has the largest Polynesian population in the world, so it makes no sense to me to sort of restrict people coming in and out on the basis that they're giving us." – Teanau Tuiono, Green Party
However, Fiamē believed easier travel conditions would make it easier for people to live in smaller Pacific nations while still visiting family and doing business in the larger countries as needed.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s office referred Newsroom’s visa waiver queries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with a ministry spokeswoman saying New Zealand “has a deep and long-standing partnership with Solomon Islands and we are firmly committed to this”.
“We take a consistent approach across the region to immigration policy. All Pacific countries currently require a visa to enter Aotearoa New Zealand.”
The Government had no plans to change visa waiver settings, and was instead focused on the RSE scheme and expanding labour mobility opportunities.
The visitor visa process for official and diplomatic passport holders had already been “streamlined”, with those from Pacific nations going through a priority process and given multiple-entry visas.
Green Party MP and Pacific peoples spokesman Teanau Tuiono told Newsroom that Sogavare’s comments provided further evidence of the need for action on Pacific visa waivers.
“Auckland has the largest Polynesian population in the world, so it makes no sense to me to sort of restrict people coming in and out on the basis that they're giving us…
“We talk about this relationship with the Pacific, [but] we have to demonstrate what that relationship means to us, and so for me, it is about that, and it's about whanaungatanga [close connections], and it's about that reciprocity.”
Tuiono believed the Government could look at its visa waiver policy while still moving ahead with changes to the RSE scheme and addressing concerns about labour exploitation and poor working conditions.
“Now, we might have questions about the wisdom or otherwise of who they engage with, but in the end they’re living it and they have expectations on them - just as any politicians anywhere do - to improve the quality of life that people have." – Gerry Brownlee, National Party
The Kiwi MPs’ visit to Honiara preceded a flood of dignitaries, with Japan’s foreign minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, and a delegation from the China International Development Agency having visited the Solomon Islands in the last week.
The country has attracted significant attention since its controversial decision last year to sign a security agreement with the Chinese government.
Brownlee said the foreign affairs committee’s trip was scheduled in part to better understand the ramifications of the deal and the situation on the ground in the Solomons.
With much of the country’s population living on or below the poverty line, and high levels of unemployment, it was easy to see why they would do “whatever they can to try and advance the wellbeing of their people”.
“Now, we might have questions about the wisdom or otherwise of who they engage with, but in the end they’re living it and they have expectations on them - just as any politicians anywhere do - to improve the quality of life that people have."
With a significant number of Solomon Islanders already heading to New Zealand for their studies, Brownlee said he was keen to explore the possibility of fellowships to bring Kiwi academics into the country and maintain strong connections.
The MFAT spokeswoman said New Zealand still viewed the Solomon Islands-China security agreement as an “unwelcome and unnecessary” deal that had wider implications for the Pacific region.
