 Prime Minister, Minister Ambassadors and High Commissioners, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Bula. Bula and welcome to the Pacific lecture by the Prime Minister of Fiji, the Honourable Siddhavani Rambuka at this beautiful venue. I'm Michael Fuliland, the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute. Let me acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we're gathered today, the Ngunnawal and Nambri peoples. I pay my respects to their elders, past and present. Thank you to the Foreign Minister for being here. Let me also acknowledge the Shadow Foreign Minister, Senator Birmingham, the Shadow Pacific Minister, Michael McCormack, the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tim Watts, the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stewart, as well as many Ambassadors and High Commissioners in this room, including Australia's High Commissioner to Fiji and the High Commissioners of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and now RU to Australia, as well as Japan's Ambassador to Australia and the US Ambassador to Australia. That is a lot of excellencies, so welcome excellencies and apologies if I left out any excellencies. This event is a collaboration between the Lowy Institute and the Foundation for Development Corporation. Let me warmly recognise Anne-Marie O'Keefe, the Chair of the Foundation, as well as Stephen Taylor, its Executive Director. I'd also like to mention a distinguished Lowy Institute Board Member, Penny Wensley. Welcome, Penny. Finally, a lot of acknowledgements. I apologize for that. I'd like to acknowledge the strong support and participation of the Fijian and Pacific communities here today. Nisambulla Venaka. And before I go any further, I want to invite someone else, Dr. Lessie Korovavala, the Permanent Secretary of Fiji's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to open this event with a short prayer. Dr. Lessie. Let us pray. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father. You created us in your image and gave us your identity. Guide us in your mercy and we commit our leaders, your servants, in this event. Let your light shine upon them and upon us that your will may be done. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, Dr. Lessie. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure for us to host Prime Minister Rambucca here today on the first visit to Australia by Fiji and PM in four years. PM Australia and Fiji are old friends and good friends. We're both proud sporting nations and I want to congratulate you on the tremendous success at the Rugby World Cup. I thought I would get that in first before you made a joke at my expense. I must say I was sorry PM to see Fiji lose to the old enemy the other day in a tightly fought contest, but the Rugby players have been wonderful ambassadors for your country. It does seem to me, PM, that whenever either Fiji or Australia is in trouble, the other steps in to help. We were the beneficiaries of that assistance in 2020 when Fijian engineers helped with our bushfire crisis. Last year, 45 brave Fijians helped to rescue those trapped in Lismore's floods. And then just last week, a Fiji airways flight helped to bring 13 Australians alongside nearly 200 other pilgrims from Fiji and other countries home from Israel in the aftermath of Hamas's brutal and indiscriminate act of terror. So thank you for that assistance, PM. Ladies and gentlemen, the Institute provides one of the world's most prominent platforms for global leaders. In the past year, we've hosted President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Prime Minister Sana Marin of Finland and Prime Minister Kaya Kullis of Estonia. On the 19th of December, we will host Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Sydney Town Hall where he will deliver the 20th anniversary Lowey lecture. Prime Minister Rambuka is the second Pacific leader we have hosted this year. In March on this stage, with Anne-Marie and FDC, the Lowey Institute hosted Samoa's Prime Minister, Fiammei Naomi Mata-Afa. So, to introduce Prime Minister Rambuka, it's my pleasure now to call on Australia's Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong. Senator Wong has represented South Australia in the Senate for 21 years. She has served as Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Finance, as well as leader of the government in the Senate. Since the election of the Albanese government last year, she's served as Foreign Minister. I think we can already say that she is emerging as one of Australia's most formidable foreign ministers. She's carried out her responsibilities with energy and dispatch. With the PM, she flew to a meeting of the Quad in Tokyo just hours after being sworn in, since then she's visited every Pacific island country and all ASEAN countries except Myanmar. Penny is everywhere. Anywhere I go in the world from Southeast Asia to the US, if I bump into official and official, usually the first thing they say is, I've just been with Penny. And that's a great thing for an Australian foreign policy think tanker to hear. So congratulations, Minister. And I want to take this opportunity in particular to congratulate you and Ambassador Graham Fletcher and all your colleagues in the department for securing the release of Chung Lai last week at a very dark moment in international affairs. It was a relief to get some good news. So to continue with the good news and to introduce the Prime Minister of Fiji, let me call on the Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong. Thank you very much, Michael. And thank you. And the Lowy Institute, he's a bit taller, for your contribution to the discussion in this country about foreign policy and international relations. It's an important discussion. Don't always agree with everything that might be written, but I welcome an informed debate in this country. It's a very important time. Can I first acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we're meeting, the Ngunna Mawanambri peoples? I pay my respects to their elders past, present, and emerging, and I extend that acknowledgement of respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person who has joined us this evening. I also want to, there were many acknowledgements. I have parliamentary colleagues here, my assistant minister, Watts, my opposition counterpart, Simon Birmingham, Nick McMack. You should support the Pacific Exchange engagement visa. Just ask, just ask Prime Minister Rambalka. I didn't, that was not caucused. Just, that was genuine. To all the members of the diplomatic corps and to our ambassadors and high commissioners, welcome and thank you for the work you do, particularly on acknowledgement to Ewan McDonald, who has had such an influence on our relationship with the Pacific government. And he has served governments of both political persuasions extraordinarily well. So thank you, Ewan. Hope he's enjoying Fiji. Is he enjoying Fiji, Prime Minister? I can't pay my respects to First Nations people without acknowledging this is such a difficult time for so many. Now is the time for healing. Now is the time for our country to come together and to chart a new course forward on reconciliation and closing the gap. And we must all be guided by and listen to First Nations communities and what those next steps look like. Because the referendum result does not diminish the experiences nor the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. And because this is not the end of the world, end of the road, we are home to the oldest continuing culture on earth. And the connections between the first peoples of this land and the peoples of the blue Pacific stretch back through time. And just as these connections form a part of our core history, they must also form our shared future as a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pacific. And that's something I know my counterparts in the region understand and value deeply. And that, of course, includes tonight's distinguished guest, a great friend of Australia, the Prime Minister of the public of Fiji, Sita Veni Rambhuka. So PM, I first acknowledge, I'll extend my sympathies for the quarter-final. Pretty extraordinary achievement to reach it. And as you know, I've had to engage about the World Cup with great humility as you beat us for the first time in 69 years as you told me on numerous occasions when we last met. As you were a fine Fijian yourself, Prime Minister, I suppose you've been avenged. As well as being a star on the rugby pitch, this I didn't know about you. Prime Minister competed in the 1974 Commonwealth Games in the Decathlon where he was also Fiji's flag bearer. Well, you're Fiji's flag bearer once more. I also begin with my thanks, which, and the thanks of all Australians, we appreciate it very much as I told you today, your assistance in flying 13 Australians from Australia this week. And I'm very pleased that we're all so able to subsequently assist 30 Fijians and about 135 citizens of Pacific Island nations overall to leave Israel. And this demonstrates how we count on one another, the valet in practice. Now, PM, you're no stranger to the Middle East. I know you served on the UN peacekeeping mentioned in Lebanon and as Commander Insana. And I'm conscious, as we have discussed, that Fiji has hundreds of peacekeepers in the region right now. And I again say publicly that we honour Fiji's proud tradition in peacekeeping. In my national statement to the UN General Assembly last month, I said that Australia welcomes your proposal to establish a new Pacific peacekeeping network to strengthen our region's capacity and cooperation. It is just one way in which Fiji is a force for peace in the world. And you yourself, Prime Minister, are a highly respected leader who's demonstrated your sincere commitment to bringing people together and our region together. Since coming into office just less than a year ago, you've shown your determination to build an economically stable and secure future for the Fijian people. And you've wasted no time fostering Fiji's democratic institutions in enhancing media freedoms and government accountability and delivering your first budget. And Prime Minister, you've also demonstrated your commitment to building a stronger and more united Pacific. And central to this is the way you have demonstrated in action your respect for the institutions that protect our region. Your early diplomatic outreach to Kiribati was critical in bringing the Forum family back together. Australia believes in Pacific sovereignty with the PIF, the Forum, leading the region in the Pacific way, guarded by the 2050 strategy. Now you are advancing your vision for a zone of peace to create a region characterised by peace and prosperity, not conflict and division. It's a vision we share. Fiji and Australia understand that our security is enhanced when we work together, when we respond to Pacific priorities and when we respect Pacific institutions. We are counting on each other to play our part, each play our part in a shared Pacific. That is peaceful, safe, stable and prosperous. Just as we are counting on each other to face the threats to our region together, not the least of which, of course, is climate change. It is a true honour for our country to welcome a member of the Pacific family of such leadership and determination. So, Prime Minister Rambulkar, can I thank you publicly for your ongoing commitment to building a peaceful and prosperous Pacific, for your regional leadership and for your wisdom? I know everyone here is very much looking forward to hearing what you have to say. Would you please welcome the Prime Minister. APPLAUSE Good day, Nishambula. I thank Senator Wong for her very kind words of introduction. And I thank you all for allowing me to speak to you today. I am more than pleased to be here to address the world-renowned Lowe Institute. And I am very happy to be making this speech on my first visit to Australia since we were sworn into office in December of last year. Prior to that I had made a state visit to Australia which was cut short when my president took ill and Prime Minister Keating lent me his aircraft to fly me back quickly to Fiji to farewell my then-President sadly for the last time and he went to America and died at the Walter Reed Military Hospital so I officiated at the state funeral ceremonies held in his honor. I had prepared a speech for today and then somebody did something in the Middle East so I've had to change that as the events in Israel and across Gaza border have had a bearing on our thinking and our work since they happened. But those events have provided a vindication for what I'm advocating in my main message. You have been told I'm a former peacekeeper. I commanded Fiji's battalions on the north of Israel in Lebanon with UNIFIL and also in Sinai as part of the Camp David Accord and the multinational forces and observers peacekeeping forces in Sinai. But let me start with something that happened last week and Senator Wong has very kindly referred to that. We were caught in a deadly drum. Prior to that a chartered plane load of pilgrims from Fiji had gone to be in Israel. My wife and a niece were on the passenger list. But when I was in New York for the UN General Assembly I remembered that the weekend would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. So I called home and asked my wife to not get on the flight and stay. Because if anything had happened to her while to the flight while she was there I would not be able to deal with the situation objectively. Probably be hampered or driven by emotions because my own family is involved. So I told her please let's see if we can go, you can go next year. So she got off the list. I didn't pay the fare so for me it was okay. And we had to go very quickly. I had to cast off my civilian prime minister uniform to get into the other uniform and asked the people and told people. Dr. Leshi just said the prayer. I told him, Doc we have to get our people back. Very simple. And he said yes sir. So he got on with some very efficient senior civil servants in 3G and we connected with our own High Commissioner here in Canberra. His Excellency Ajay Amrit who after three days had managed to connect with diplomats here in Canberra and they started talking. The insurers of our national air carriers came on to say if they really say it's safe you can go. They prepositioned the aircraft in Hong Kong with a full fuel load and as soon as the iron dome was activated the Israelis said the EO cleared to fly but you can only be on the ground for two hours. That was good enough for the 3G airways management and executives and the pilots were already in Hong Kong so they took off. And on the morning of the 12th of this month that was last week, last Thursday we welcomed them back to 3G and the flight included some Australians and we were very happy that that was carried out safely. After they got back we were told that there was still a group of about 30, 40 Afigeans left behind and I was listening to see if any other airline would be going in for a rescue mission. We were told that the Australians were putting on special flights so we asked if they could be included on the passenger list and I'd like to thank Australia, the airlines for allowing those left behind unintentionally, unbeknown to us, they were there they were allowed to come back with your rescue flights. For us it was a hot extraction operation. Those of us who have been in uniform would understand that situation an evacuation from a hostile zone or withdrawal in the face of hostile enemy fire. We set up an operation centre in Tuba meant by the civil servants and communication network with the Fiji double night diplomats in Canberra and I thank you for accepting High Commissioner Ajay we connected with our permanent rep in New York, in the U.N. another retired colonel when I took our offers a lot of people raised their concerns that I might once again try to militarise the civil service but they came in for the interview through the public service commission they were selected and they were in the right place the right time for us to very efficiently carry out their operation they assisted me in drawing up my experience of achieving the objectives in conditions of peril we consulted on specifics with representatives from those friendly countries including Israel while maintaining close liaison with the operation centre at home in Tuba the national air carriers they began to put together their plan and we were able after the Israelis assured us that the dome had been created, Iron Dome and Ben-Gurion airport would be relatively safe for flights to come in as long as they got in by day, came out by day not spend more than two hours on the ground they also had and we also had information that on October 9th the attack on the airport would begin or would intensify we were fortunate to be able to get the Fiji Airways Airbus 330 to go there and before they did that they were rehearsing, speed it up check in systems and they were able to land process the passengers and take off in the time window available for us that was after another risk assessment was carried out by Fiji Airways and after they went and as I said we received them back home on the morning of October 12th as the nation was celebrating the arrival the anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries in 1835 the 12th of October 1835 and on Sunday I went to Paramata Church which was the main launching church for the missionary work in Fiji I praised the pilot and the cabin crew for their veller world class expertise and sense of duty and described the repatriation as historic daring and very well planned and as I said among the rescued were pilgrims from New Zealand Samoa, Canada, America, the Philippines and Australia we fulfilled our role as a world citizen and at the welcome I made it clear that Fiji stand with Israel and condemn the attacks by Hamas and the killing of innocent lives I later called for immediate release of those that abducted and expressed concern about indiscriminate firing of thousands of missiles and rockets towards Israeli community while they were en route back home the pilgrims heard that their host in one of the kibbutz had died in the fighting and he died defending his small kibbutz community I have also stressed that all parties to the Middle East conflict should now try and accept diplomacy and dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution there is no resolution through violence I echo the words of Pope Francis who said and I quote the Middle East does not need war but peace a peace built on dialogue and the courage of fraternity and that leads me to the ideals and principles behind the proposal for our part of the Pacific it envisages a new international role for us as a zone of peace over the past year I have been thinking more and more about peace not only as a foundation for my country but also as a cause embracing wider horizons in the Pacific and beyond I sense some questions already arising out of the group the institute members were here why would a coup maker like the one we are listening to now who gained notoriety 36 years ago as a rainbow figure why should he be engaging in such thoughts I came back from being a peacekeeper and very seriously read my Bible again and then I realized that peacekeeping was not mentioned in the Bible Jesus said peace makers blessed are the peace makers so I started thinking about making peace rather than just keeping peace but I also some of you know I have repented I am reborn my past cannot be removed but I can compensate to some extent for what I had done many years ago I became a convinced democrat I saw democracy with all its faults and awkwardness particularly with communities based on communalism and tribalism in the Pacific I felt that it was the best way of governance with all its faults it is of the people and for the people some at home think I think like that because I am not a chief otherwise I would have gone for traditional aristocracy as the way to go now this democratic politician will do whatever he can to be an apostle for peace and come with me now to the aquatic empire of the Pacific Ocean it is by far the largest body of water on the planet encompassing 181 million square kilometers or roughly a fifth of the earth's surface our small island states along with Papua New Guinea occupy a huge expanse of the Pacific and that is known as Oceania Fiji and our neighbors carry the cultural and historical inheritance of navigators of peerless skill with their kin and clan members they traverse vast distances after abandoning their original homes whether they'd be Asia or in Africa our four bearers were seeking new lives new horizons in what we now know as the Pacific Ocean we can only speculate on why they were compelled they felt compelled to make the voyage into the unknown they journey in great outrigger canoes transporting up to 100 crew and passengers across miles and miles of unknown waters we believe that the sailors involved and those in charge of those double hard craft crafted their way by studying the winds the setting sun, the stars the movement of currents and waves marine creatures, the flight of birds and floating flora it was one of the most amazing migrations in history a triumphant testimony to human endurance fortitude and achievements our relatives from the distant past created enduring civilizations in the islands and atolls that they discovered they were at one with the sea and the land fast forward again now to modern times and my evolving role most of you know that Fiji-Australia bond became strained when that man called Rumbuca started a period of cook culture in Fiji he was Colonel Rumbuca then not the promise of Rumbuca that you are listening to today be at peace there was an inevitability in the strained relationship which I understand about the reaction of Australia and others to Fiji and particularly to Rumbuca as a perpetrator of the first coup in 1987 I was at the forefront of trying to manage the fallout when I called on the Governor General day before yesterday or yesterday, was it? yes, yesterday I said to him, Your Excellency when people were talking about me then I said I was strained by some of the best generals in Australia and India and New Zealand and he said yes, we talked about it at the time and they all denied, they taught you at least taught you what you did in 2013 I was invited to write a piece for the Journal of the Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales one of the institute's aims is to promote informed debate on defence and security I made the point that other powers would always replace those who no longer wished to be involved in defence cooperation with coup makers and that's what happened after 1987 when our traditional friends turned away from us we introduced the loop north policy and we were very well received by those who were slightly norther west and west of you it was in line with what the great Sun Tzu would have said and they have had much success in that initiative in that 2013 article I mentioned Fiji's long experience in international peacekeeping citing operations in Lebanon and Sinai, Kuwait, Iraq and other areas and closer to home is Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands we're very pleased that when we called on the Governor General he recognised Dr. Lessie who was on his staff in Bougainville I was personally assigned to the Solomon Islands by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth in 1999 when I lost the prime ministership he asked me to go and be his special envoy for peace in the Solomon when that country was torn by internal strife I could see from the wider perspective how Fiji military soldiers and sailors and engineers might provide very training and support for different kinds of peace work and we're very grateful and thankful to the Australian government for their assistance in setting up of the Black Rock Training Facility in 1990 I'm sure we can continue to cooperate and perhaps change the input of training to develop it into what we've already shown we could take on other duties such as monitoring illegal fishing assisting with disaster relief as we have seen done protecting endangered species and forcing biosecurity laws and cooperating with our island neighbours in 2020 as we have heard this afternoon we sent 54 RFMF engineers to help with your country's bush fires we also assisted with the flood the flood areas and more recently we assisted Vanuatu in their problems and also the post-cycle relief work in New Germany in 2013 the article I was talking about with the normalisation of a political situation in Fiji I expected a quick restoration of our bilateral relationships with Australia I also envisaged efforts for a better understanding of each other's values and expectations today Australia and Fiji are very close friends again and to use your own expressions we might I'm assuming that's still the case after the World Cup match a month ago and it's a delicate subject I'm glad that we the two captains had a toss who wants to go home first in Australia one in 2017 member countries of our regional political organisation the Pacific Islands Forum coined the name Blue Pacific for our area of the ocean consistent with our origins and ancestry it remains the centre of our lives it is our heritage it is our hope the Blue Pacific separates us but keeps us together as brothers and sisters in this very large in this very large bosom it is ours through history settlement and exclusive economic zones like the rest of humanity and like you here in Australia the people of our ocean are aware that the planet might be on the edge of something terrible there are many facets to that the climate crisis poses a real threat to our existence we stress often that we of the islands did not create the conditions causing the environmental disruptions and destruction but we are left carrying the brunt of its impacts we watch the trepidation as Russia's war against Ukraine rages on it is already having a punishing economic effect internationally particularly for us in the Pacific if that conflict somehow expands how will we be affected will the nuclear option be unleashed only a couple of weeks ago reputable reports indicated that Russia had developed a new nuclear powered cruise missile according to the coverage the missile could be based anywhere in Russia and still be capable of reaching targets in the United States in the broader context about 30 violent conflicts scar our countries a majority of them in Africa rivalry between the two most powerful nations the United States and China looks to be intensifying there are dangerous confrontations between Chinese and Filipino ships in the South China Sea will that bring the U.S. into an encounter with China this is the institute that provides answers to these questions tension over Taiwan escalating and with the potential when I'm face to face or face off or worse again will the adversaries likely to be those great powers drawn into it China and America another world holds its breath as Israeli Hamas violence continues and the nations begin to take sides where is it always going we cannot say we'll wait for the low institute to work out what you think will happen but for us in the blue Pacific history may be calling it might be our manifest duty destiny to carry banners for peace and speak out for harmony in our time and forever look at our ocean and you see a scattering of poor a dependent island states plus our friends in the larger landmass of Papua New Guinea on the international stage that does not amount too much but at least something else our nations united through the Pacific Islands Forum have sovereign rights over 32 million square kilometers of blue Pacific that is only slightly smaller than the combined land areas of Russia China and the United States put another way the total area of the exclusive economic zones of the islands is double the size of Russia and larger than that of North America and Europe together so it's not a small area that we're talking about and I believe it gives us the right to be heard and to be recognized what if our large area of the globe at this troubled and perilous time was to be officially declared an ocean of peace or zone of peace remember the word Pacific itself means peaceful or peace in character and intent I have advocated this peace vision publicly and in a number of crucial meetings particularly with colleagues from the forum President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken were there when I raised the issue in Washington last month at the US Pacific Island Summit Mr. Modi Prime Minister of India heard the same theme in my remarks at the forum dialogue in Papua New Guinea and Mr. Blinken was also there at the time I included the call for the Pacific peace zone in my address at the UN General Assembly in September adding that this would be the blue Pacific contribution to world order and peace we know that the United Nations Secretary General has launched a new agenda for peace and for the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East Fiji expressed its commitment to that and so far the response to the proposed ocean of peace or zone of peace has been very positive I hope to introduce a formal motion for approval by the forum at its meeting in the Cook Islands next month I'm looking forward to tomorrow meeting with Prime Minister Albanisi and you know what I will be talking to him about how will our peace zone work the foreign leaders hopefully will discuss it at the imminent meeting and briefly I envisage basic foundations built on refraining from actions that may jeopardize regional order and stability and maintaining respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity there would be continued emphasis on the Pacific way of dialogue, diplomacy and consensus we will continue to promote our concept of the Wubale cooperation and Wubale ways of resolving our differences it is possible that Fiji's trained peacekeepers might be able to assist in Papua and Guinea even in the course of their tribal conflicts I asked whether it would be feasible to find common ground within Indonesia over the complex West Papua question these are just some of the initial thoughts extensive discussions and negotiations will be required with many stakeholders if the project for peace is to happen and I'll mention another scheme that would fit very well it is inspired by the spirit of our forefathers who were great navigators the Pacific Blue Partnership will produce new ferries and boats for regional shipping fleets they must be economical, efficient and suitable for the environment perhaps modern versions of those huge canoes of history might once again sail the Pacific Ocean I come back to the US-China rivalry which is very evident in the Blue Pacific but it does not have to have that raw edge visible elsewhere Fiji's position is very clear we are friendly with China now and the US always and do not want to be caught in the struggle between the superpowers the subtle thinkers soon too would probably have agreed with China's Blue Pacific strategy the Chinese presence is felt throughout the region we in Fiji have had good relations with China for nearly 48 years its aid and programs are valuable and appreciated I have to be confident that China will be responsive to the peace plan I said that because last year then Ambassador to Fiji published an article in Fiji indicating he was ahead of the game the headline of his article asserted that the Pacific should be the ocean of peace his successor, Ambassador Ken Bo or Ambassador George Yen a month ago expressed the view that our region was a promising place for peace now I must emphasize that China is closely connected to the Pacific Islands Forum as a dialogue partner so it is a significant stakeholder you also very much value the renewed interest in the Blue Pacific by the US Fiji's association with America had a shaky start in the colonial era we had a good relationship during the war two Fiji battalions fought as part of General Griswold's 14th Corps in the Pacific but since independence Fiji and the United States of America have maintained excellent relations there was a feeling though that Washington to a certain extent was leaving it to Australia where is Australia? to represent the democracies in the Pacific so you carry that in your shoulders France you've been told to look after the Pacific don't abandon us again however the US has always had significant diplomatic representation we are very much applaud its revived commitment to Fiji and our Blue continent the recent summit in Washington after the UNGA was a rare opportunity for Pacific leaders to exchange thoughts with the leader of the free world President Biden was very open and friendly and asked me whether I boxed or played football and I said well what's football we play rugby at home but it was a very good and cordial and family-like gathering the United States wishes to strengthen ties through support for climate change economic growth, sustainable development public health and countering illegal fishing I should also stress that the United States is a Pacific Island Forum dialogue partner the world would become leaders of the US and China standing side by side and we would welcome to see our leaders world leaders China and US standing side by side with the Blue Pacific leaders and their Pacific Island Forum partners to honour the zone of peace the Pacific thank you for listening I don't know I thought it was over PM thank you very much for very interesting and substantive remarks and I first spoke about Pacific lectures here in Canberra your speech was exactly the kind of thing that we envisaged it had a few controversial points a lot of serious points you responded to events in the Middle East it also had a lot of warmth and some jokes including about rugby which I didn't appreciate because I told you I got in first but nevertheless thank you and thank you also for agreeing to take some questions from me and then after I've had a go I'm going to give the press and our audience members an opportunity to ask you some questions let me begin where you began with Hamas' attack on Israel you said in your speech that Fiji stands with Israel as a former commander of UN peacekeepers in the Middle East do you think Israel has any alternative but to try to dismantle Hamas now given the terrorist atrocities that it's committed and what are your concerns for the coming weeks and months I believe what will happen is that the intention might be to dismantle Hamas how quickly the world reacts to the possible counter move by Israel to the the initial attack will determine how we resolve this whether we will have a period of detente where they ease the tensions and then I don't know whether we will go for rapprochement but there should be dialogue I have personal experience in relations with the leadership of the PLO at the time 8 of my soldiers were captured and taken away and we didn't know who had taken them and I asked for the combined force mobile reserve which was turned down by UNIFIL headquarters so I asked Fiji for clearance and the commander of my commander said yes Steve good luck so I said well I'm on my own so I drove down with my escorts to the PLO headquarters they had to disarm us and then we walked in I told the group I want to see Doud Doud? You know Doud? Yes Doud Jarura? Yes Doud Jarura, where did you know him? we were together in Staff College in India last year 1979 said oh ok so they looked him up found him and just before sundown he came down so we had to use the remaining satellite of that day to try and find our soldiers we found them they were not held by PLO or PFLP or the Syrian factions they were held by a Lebanese national movement they were released and they were very happy but if we have such connections at this time who might be our conduit for spreading words of ceasefire date on our rapprochement they come together or maybe somebody takes it up the United Nations and say ok let's stop let's get back to the conference table and talk about it because if not then we final objective of the IDF in India would be to dismantle the threat on their left rib alright thank you let me go to events in Fiji 36 years ago which you mentioned you brought it up so I guess I'm allowed to ask a question about the Rambo like figure I think you described him as and you spoke powerfully about that period you said you've repented you've been reborn you can't remove your past but you can compensate for it and you said that you said of democracy that with all its faults and awkwardness it is the best way of governance do you think that the events of the last 18 months have affirmed this view about the strength of democracies and the reason I say that is that I'm struck that the last 18 months have shown the frailties of authoritarian systems and actually the qualities and strengths and resilience of democracies you mentioned Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has been a disaster for Russia as well as Ukraine it shows that authoritarian countries can make big mistakes because the underlings are too afraid to brief the leader and once he's made a mistake it's hard to course correct and on the other side democracies have around the world have shown real staying power in helping to Ukraine to defend itself so is there amongst all this dark news is there some bright spots at this time about as you say the strength the resilience the quality of democracy I believe that democracy is the better of the evil that we can hold on that and it is a very very much much lesser evil than authoritarian systems it will work it will work but how many of these champions of democracy did not come out of a revolution how many of them fought against democratic systems and monarchies at the time and developed their own and evolved their own system from great republics democratic republics so given time and perhaps given the support of the rest of the world the two sides will come to that realization that's my belief all right let me come closer to our part of the world let me ask about the ocean of peace or the zone of peace do you intend to raise a motion regarding that vision for approval by the Pacific Islands forum and you gave us a sneak peek of your discussion with Prime Minister Albanese tomorrow you said you're going to raise it with him too tell us a little bit more about how the ocean of peace would work in the Pacific because it doesn't feel that peaceful at the moment you have a major military modernization a country like Australia for example I guess would probably say the Australian foreign minister was sitting here she might say that Australia is seeking to preserve the peace in the region through deterrence for example that AUKUS is about trying to deter threats to the peace so tell us about how would the ocean of peace work and what are the implications for initiatives such as AUKUS I believe we cannot take a step backwards we'll have to accept what people now have had developed and whether there will be their own governance concept of their ability to project their own power or combine with others to project power or defend against the projection of other powers I would and we cannot change that what we have to do is to convince those that have had those developments to ensure that they do not continue to champion the power they have acquired or built up and the blocks that they may have formed to say okay don't try anything and you know we're just humans and everybody says that no matter how big they are you might punch them on the nose you might get a battering at the end of it but you'll do something stupid before you are taught so I hope that whatever we have we will not use to try and tip the balance that we now have the stability that we now have in the Pacific On that topic of the balance you mentioned that Fiji has good relations with China you said I think that the Chinese presence is felt throughout the Pacific are there any elements of China's presence in the Pacific that make you feel uncomfortable? I think it was last week that they sent Fiji and I was not there I was there but I didn't get the invitation in time to go on board but we have had other powers sending their military vehicles into the Pacific military vessels naval vessels as long as they understand what our borders are open to them to do and that we do not want to attract any counter moves that will escalate the situation and make it worse and go into demonstrations of capabilities I am dreaming that sometime we will have developed our port in Fiji and there will be side by side ships from China and Russia sorry and the US getting water refuel in Fiji but they don't need refueling their nuclear power so that's the sort of thing as long as they don't come and fight their wars in my Pacific ocean of peace I am going to ask one more question to the audience, climate, Australia and the Pacific are pursuing a joint bid to host the conference of the parties what would it mean do you think to have the conference of the parties meeting in the Pacific? One of your TV stations asked me the question this morning why would the Pacific support Australia which is a big emitter and they said well we will not be able to put our views to them if we were not there with them co-hosting that conference so the best way to do it is to speak with them before, speak with them during and continue with them after and that way they will make them see the smaller Pacific citizens view point they know what's happening in Kiribati they know what's happening in Tuvalu they say please help us out on this only last week somebody signed a contract to export parts of Fiji to build up the Kiribati islands they are going to ship landfill from Fiji to Kiribati and perhaps in our pursuit we can speed up and make more efficient our fund request, requisition of funds and the building up of the infrastructure the sea walls and using biological methods those are the things that we are looking forward to being able to speak to Australia about before and after our perceived co-hosting of the next cup that will be held here who would like to ask a question of the PM I'll call on this gentleman first if you could tell us your name and any affiliation and then just ask a brief question please My name is Choppe Taray I'm from the Australian National University acknowledging your excellencies invited guests and of course the reform cannibal cover group of ANU so my question is regarding the ocean of peace as you've beautifully articulated and this question is coming from a few weeks ago I was sitting with an Indigenous elder in Queensland, Indigenous Australia an Indigenous elder of Australia and I don't have permission to share the person's name but in amongst the conversation was about the voice to parliament and the conversation was about how for Fiji as well with your government trying to bring back the GCC the representation of Indigenous or progressive Indigenous issues and there was an interesting interplay about Indigenous identity and so on but midway through the conversation she struck this question to me you are the promoters of the big ocean Indigenous people of the big ocean why does your government support Orcus? Why didn't we support it? Why does your government support Orcus? She asked me that and then she followed up with this sense of what about the Fukushima? I was struck I was embarrassed the reason why I asked this question sir is your zone of peace sounds very beautiful how does that now operate as you go forward to the forum considering that we ourselves have been open to certain dynamics of weaponization of nuclear weapons and dumping and the reason why I recall that question as you mentioned is because it struck it stayed with me since talking to that Indigenous elder how can we reconcile that? We are and we were not in a position to stop Orcus the night before they signed or they launched the project in San Diego the Prime Minister of Australia called me told me we're signing this tomorrow and I just want you to know and said why me? anyway I'm being blamed being part of that thing and he said no I was not part of the planning I'm in no position to try and stop it this is a tripartite strategic project for the three governments three countries are concerned and all I can do is hope that this project will assist the concept of the zone of peace in the Pacific you mentioned Fukushima I said at the very beginning some Pacific Island forum countries are not with me when I said show me the science and you as a university student worker and academic understand that show me the science people are still talking about the science of COVID-19 whether it was right or not right to have submitted to the various vaccinations at Kimura and I'm going on going debate on that there was a book that two friends of mine one friend and somebody I know about was written by a reporter a doubt four word was written by Robert F. Kennedy Junior and the after word was written by my friend Gavin DeBecta of Sub-Saharan in Fiji that studied the science and there's always two arguments two sides to the debate on science and Fukushima is the same and we know that the discharge of treated water from Chinese are worse than the Fukushima discharge but both within the agency requirements for the discharge of waters into the Pacific. Alright thank you I've got a couple more questions could you put up your hand if you'd like to ask a question yes I'll go to Meg Keen and then Peter Harcher Meg just wait for the microphone Meg if you would thank you I'd like to bring you to Fiji's development you talked about some of the challenges of geopolitical competition but at the Lowe Institute we have a Pacific aid map which will come out next week but aid to the region has never been greater than it is right now in terms of the quantum and Fiji has trebled the amount of development finance going to it since before COVID so there's a lot of assistance and very complex development partnerships forming in the region I'd like you to reflect on whether those development partnerships are giving opportunities like Fiji what they need to prosper on the quality and the local opportunities for development for employment for procurement as part of that development partnership so how you're seeing that those development partnerships thank you thank you very much we appreciate very much those assistance and aid as long as there is no hook at the end of the ring we become enslaved or entrapped by our acceptance of those unfortunately some aid donors expect us to be compliant to submit to their demands so we have to be very very careful even risk being called why should you be looking a gift horse in the mouth sometimes we have to do that to make sure that we're still in control of our own situation where are we hurrying to anyway why are we rushing our own development and our own quality of life will have to be sustainable sustainable for Australia may not be what we will call in Fiji and the islands sustainable because it could mean getting ourselves more and more into a camp that we may regret getting into alright final question from Peter Hatcher stand up so we can see each other Prime Minister you mentioned at the very end of your speech a proposal to include China as a partner of the Pacific Islands okay what rights and responsibilities do you think that you would like to see from China in a closer partnership with the Pacific Island Forum and if I may ask you a double barrel question since it's the last one's quick it's very quick as you know the Australian government would like to create a Pacific engagement visa what are your views on that and how would you like to see that structured my best defense to that would be to continue to associate with friends you know and you have worked together in the past and have been happy and satisfied with the cooperation China has been a long standing development partner but we we have been drawn for some time towards the two poles and the polarization of powers in the world we've been drawn either to the west pole western pole or eastern pole or north and south I don't know which way you look at it because they both they both north as far as the world is concerned but we the same thing and it was I mentioned this this morning why are we being drawn either to the left or to the right by two powers who were friends in the second world war what happened they fought on the same side at the time our enemy or the enemy then Germany and Japan they're great friends now now we're fighting amongst ourselves as the allied block and the big block including the little block blockheads of the Pacific we were there with them and it hurts us when they turn upon each other and we are drawn we are forced to be drawn either to this camp or that camp so hopefully whatever they do will not draw us into allies of them of theirs and enemy to the others that we can maintain cordial warm relationship with both they both remain development partners and they can even use us or we can use our own position as a vulnerable friends of both to try and encourage them and urge them please maintain the peace it's a very nice note to end on PM I'm going to ask you to stay seated while I ask Ann Marie O'Keefe from the FDC to deliver the vote of thanks to the PM Ann Marie is chair of the foundation sorry the foundation for development cooperation as well as a non-resident fellow at the Lowey Institute she worked for many years with Ozade including as deputy director general she also served as a senior Australian diplomat in P&G and as ambassador to Nepal Ann Marie Prime Minister it has fallen to me to have the great honour of thanking you on behalf of all of us here it has certainly been a great privilege to hear first hand your thoughts and your observations can I say that yours has been an amazing journey and it continues that's for sure amazing is another word for it in my personal career with Australia's international development agency Ozade I came to know Fiji very well I got to know its strengths its wonders its opportunities and also its challenges and throughout that time you Prime Minister were so often a leading force in taking your country forward as you are today as its Prime Minister again tonight as you know I'm here as the chair of the foundation for development cooperation which in partnership with the Lowey Institute sponsors the Pacific Lecture the foundation was founded in 1990 with a mandate underpinned by the philosophy of self-reliance and the pursuit of initiative Prime Minister that is a philosophy that echoes your own tremendous achievements whether as Prime Minister or as chair of Fiji's great council of chiefs or as a distinguished soldier and very importantly as one of the greatest statesmen of our region you have shown tonight and also in the past that you are frankly a great model for improving the human condition you have acknowledged the actions which you now regret in the past and are turning around to make as much of a significant contribution you can with one of them being your focus on peacemaking in our region and working for the betterment not just of Fiji but also of the Blue Pacific I just want to move to something else for the moment I'm going to be the one that gets in last exactly one month ago I was sitting in a cafe in Paris watching live on a very large screen surrounded by a lot of Parisians we watched Fiji decisively defeat Australia it was 22 to 15 so that's a decisive defeat I couldn't help smiling at the time because I knew that I was probably going to meet you and not too much longer and I thought oh my goodness no doubt you are more than smiling to see that victory having represented Fiji and Rugby Union in your own younger days I'd like to recall your words at a media conference with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in February this year when you said it is sport that brings our people together but we can see from your words tonight that it is more than sport that brings us together as members of the Pacific family as Fijian Prime Minister and Blue Pacific Statesmen we can see you are putting action to those words as you work towards creating the Pacific as a zone of peace on that I would ask you all to show our appreciation and thanks for the wonderful words we have heard tonight from Prime Minister Rambuca Thank you very much Anne-Marie thank you very much PM let me associate myself with Anne-Marie's thanks you gave a lecture tonight that was powerful, funny and self-deprecating I liked the note you ended on friends you know I think that describes Fiji and Australia and I think we can be united on this in the semifinal we are going for them so let's go South Africa so thank you very much PM and ladies and gentlemen thank you for joining us and please join us now for drinks and canapes