E & OE

Brisbane, 5 June 2009

Address to the 5^th Australia New Caledonia Business Forum

Introduction

Thank you, Alison. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to attend the Business Forum and to say a few words about Australia’s engagement with New Caledonia.

I welcome France’s Senior Trade Commissioner, Jean Louis Latour, here this morning. I look forward to hearing from Monsieur Latour a French perspective on the Australia-New Caledonia relationship and the opportunities that exist for business.

I also look forward to hearing from Michael Choi, whose responsibilities for both trade and mining in the Queensland Government will give him unique insights into the possibilities for further developing our relationships in these areas.

It’s also good to see that major players in the business community on both sides are here today and will be addressing the Forum. They are, of course, best placed to pass on first hand experience of the trade and investment environment in New Caledonia.

From a Government perspective, our Austrade Manager, Sonia Magrou, and our Consul-General to New Caledonia, Anita Butler, are here to share their expertise.

For my part, I’d like to make a few remarks about Australia’s wider engagement in the Pacific, our cooperation with France in the region and the bright prospects we see for our relationship with New Caledonia.

I believe business shares the Government’s strong interest in the further development of the Pacific region and it’s good to have the opportunity to meet with you today in that spirit.

Re-engaging in the Pacific

Enhancing Australia’s engagement in the Pacific continues to be a foreign policy priority for the Government and we’ve begun to deliver on an ambitious program in the region.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Port Moresby Declaration in March last year set the tone for our Pacific engagement.

Since then, we have brought a co-operative new approach to our Pacific relationships based on principles of mutual respect, mutual responsibility and mutual commitment to build a better future.

A cornerstone of that approach is our work to develop a series of bilateral Pacific Partnerships for Development with Pacific island countries.

The Partnerships commit Australia to provide new bilateral assistance over time and embrace commitments from Pacific island countries to improve governance, increase investment in economic infrastructure and achieve better outcomes in health and education.

Despite slowing economic circumstances, the Government’s recent budget included over $1 billion in development assistance to the Pacific for the coming financial year, and we are working to tailor that assistance to the individual needs of our Pacific neighbours.

The steps we have taken so far are important, but we harbour no illusions as to the magnitude of the challenge the region faces as a whole in its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other development aspirations.

The MDGs are agreed, achievable targets set by the world’s nations to reduce poverty by 2015. They include halving extreme poverty, getting all children into school, closing the gap on gender inequality, saving lives lost to disease and the lack of available health care, and protecting the environment.

We are convinced, however, that development assistance alone can be no substitute for long-term economic development through trade and investment.

We are therefore going beyond traditional modes of development assistance in the Pacific, and moving to place a renewed emphasis on trade and economic cooperation.

Much of our assistance to the Pacific region supports the drivers of sustainable growth by promoting skills, infrastructure and trade, regulatory and investment policies.

We are also working with Pacific Island Forum countries to enable the region to share in the benefits of liberalised trade and economic growth.

Pacific Island countries have already benefited from aviation deregulation for tourism; and deregulation of telecommunications is bringing down the costs of mobile telephony across the region.

Regional integration in these and other areas is clearly the best approach to improving efficiency, and building a greater sense of community in the Pacific. Australia will continue to champion these efforts.

Working with France in the region

France, like Australia, has strong cultural, historical and commercial links to the Pacific.

Through its collectivities, including New Caledonia, it is the major European presence in the region and we look to France as a natural partner for cooperation across a broad range of Pacific issues.

We work closely on issues from fisheries and environmental protection, to defence cooperation and scientific research.

Our regional defence links are focused on joint exercises, training and maritime surveillance as well as support to regional defence and police forces.

French support underpins the biennial Croix du Sud exercises which enhance the inter-operability of Pacific countries in responding to regional emergencies.

Our cooperation, along with New Zealand, under the FRANZ agreement has made an important contribution to the coordination and improvement of disaster relief operations in the Pacific.

Last year in Noumea I met with the French Secretary of State for Overseas France, Yves Jego, and emphasised the high value Australia places on our cooperation with France in the Pacific.

I made the same point to the French High Commissioner to New Caledonia, Yves Dassonville, on his visit to Canberra earlier this year.

I also reaffirmed to him Australia’s strong support for the Noumea Accord and New Caledonia’s evolution towards greater autonomy.

Engaging New Caledonia

Australia firmly believes that New Caledonia can play a greater role in the Pacific.

It has been an Associate Member of the Pacific Islands Forum since 2006 and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community is headquartered in Noumea.

We look forward to New Caledonia strengthening its bilateral and multilateral engagement across the region as it shoulders this autonomous responsibility under the Noumea Accord.

New Caledonia is,, of course, a French territory. But Australia already has significant bilateral exchanges with the territory in areas for which its Government has competency.

We enjoy strong technical cooperation for example on quarantine, water management, health care and training.

The agricultural sector is another area in which there have been excellent exchanges, particularly between Queensland and New Caledonia based on their climatic and geographic affinities.

Sister city relationships, such as those between Noumea and the Gold Coast, and between Mont Dore and the Sunshine Coast, have strengthened this link and led to cooperation on recycling, renewable energy and environmental education.

Trade and investment links, of course, are another major area of engagement.

New Caledonia is already our fourth largest export market in the Pacific and there is significant scope for our trading relationship to grow.

New Caledonia’s quarter of a million inhabitants and high per capita GDP make it an attractive prospect for Australian trade and investment.

Many New Caledonians are already familiar with our products and services, and Australian companies face much lower freight costs than some of their competitors and can offer more effective after sales service.

At present, the commercial relationship is heavily weighted towards the mining industry.

That’s a natural reflection of some obvious complementarities as well as the strong initiative of Australian companies in taking up opportunities to supply equipment and expertise.

The recent fall in nickel prices will mean some adjustments in the industry but I understand investment in New Caledonia’s mining industry remains strong.

Nevertheless, it’s a good time to consider ways in which we can add to the diversity of the trade and investment relationship.

Australian scholarships for New Caledonian students support development in aquaculture, environmental studies, tourism and hospitality.

I would hope to see these areas more heavily reflected in a broader commercial relationship over coming years.

There are, of course, some barriers to our trade with New Caledonia, including market protection for local and European goods.

The Australian Government looks forward to engaging with the incoming New Caledonian Government on these issues to try and unlock the considerable potential that exists for broader commercial relations.

We will, in particular, seek early officials talks under our Trade and Economic Relations Arrangement.

The last talks were held in 2005 and led to improved cooperation on taxation, quarantine, professional training, mining services and a range of other issues.

The talks are overdue, and we are confident that equally fruitful exchanges are possible now. We will look to engage the incoming Government, when it has settled in, with an ambitious agenda.

Conclusion

The Australian Government’s work to improve opportunities for business in New Caledonia reflects our broader efforts towards trade liberalisation in the Pacific.

We firmly believe that an expanded economic relationship with New Caledonia would be a step forward for the bilateral relationship and for the region more broadly.

It would complement the excellent exchanges Australia already enjoys with New Caledonians and their Government, as well as our broad cooperation with France in the Pacific region.

I congratulate the Australia Pacific Islands Business Council as well as the Cercle d’Affaires Australie-Nouvelle Caledonie for organising today’s event and for highlighting the excellent opportunities for trade and investment that already exist.

The Government looks forward to working with you into the future as this dynamic relationship develops.

Thank you.

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Media inquiries: Mr Kerr's office - 02 6277 4991