Deputy PM hopes to visit New Caledonia by the end of year

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters has wrapped up his North Pacific Tour in Palau, announcing $16.4 million in support to the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI).

PASAI aims to improve transparency and accountability in managing and using public resources in Pacific Island countries.

Peter said the investment emphasised the need for good governance within the Pacific region.

“This project is part of a broader governance programme to support the North Pacific to strengthen public service performance, increase access to justice, reduce corruption, and improve the delivery of elections.”

Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters with the Federated States of Micronesia Governor Stevenson A. Joseph, on Peters' right and the FSM President Wesley Simina on his left.

Peters finished up his four-country tour in the North Pacific in Palau after visiting Fiji, Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

He has now visited 14 of the 17 Pacific Islands Forum Members in 2024 and hopes to visit the remaining three – French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Kiribati – by the end of the year.

“These face-to-face connections express our deep commitment to all our Pacific partners and are the only way we can truly understand the issues that matter to them.

“It's been a very valuable exercise. It's a great chance to catch up with other countries that we have not been as closely associated with because of our distance for so long.

“We're trying to make up for that right now. And they've expressed to me their serious appreciation that we have made the effort, not just as a minister, but brought a parliamentary team as well.”

The visit is the first for a New Zealand minister to lead a delegation to the island nation.

With the upcoming Pacific Islands Leader’s Forum in Tonga next week, Peters said he’s seeking a unified approach when it comes to the situation in New Caledonia.

“New Caledonia was, amongst other things, taking on about 5.5% per annum, doing very well in terms of GDP growth before Covid, and it is still that country.

“Its makeup and framework in terms of a democracy can be best described in the clarion call of the French Revolution … liberty, fraternity and equality. That’s all we want.”