New consultation process vital to avoid rifts - Winston Peters

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is reviewing the International Development Cooperation programme funding for the Cook Islands to ensure that no taxpayer money overlaps with an agreement the Pacific island nation signed with China earlier this year.

This is to ensure better communication after New Zealand was excluded from discussions about a deal the Cook Islands have with China.

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act (OIA) reveal the lengthy and costly review process could have been avoided if the Cook Islands had consulted with New Zealand officials beforehand.

The review follows an agreement signed earlier this year between Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and his Chinese counterpart in Beijing. The deal led to a pause of over $18 million in development aid from New Zealand due to the lack of prior consultation.

The OIA documents indicate that a lack of engagement from the Cook Islands could signal a decreased commitment to their free association relationship with Aotearoa.

In an interview with William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Foreign Affairs Minister, Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters says they are working towards establishing a formal consultation mechanism for the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Watch Winston Peters' full interview below.

“If you look at the documentation, you can see that the consultation that should have happened with New Zealand did not happen,” Peters says.

“Just as simple as that and so we're talking with senior officials, both in the Cook Islands and in New Zealand, working our way through it now.”

Recently, the Cook Islands’ top diplomat, Tepaeru Hermann, announced her resignation. Hermann had been the Secretary of the Cook Islands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration since October 2015.

Secretary of the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Tepaeru Hermann. Photo/Supplied

While declining to comment on Hermann’s resignation, Peters says the solution lies with the Cook Islands government.

“We're not taking some paternalistic, arrogant attitude, or bullying anybody. No, quite the contrary,” he says.

Former Minister for Pacific Peoples and Associate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Aupito William Sio, says he’s concerned about the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands following the pause in funding.

Aupito tells Terite that the Cook Islands should not rely solely on aid from New Zealand, and he criticised the government’s approach to relations within the Pacific region.

Former Pacific Peoples Minister, Aupito William Sio. Photo/Supplied

“Under this government, we're no longer treating the Pacific as if they're family, we're treating the Pacific as if they were the enemy,” Aupito says.

“In the meantime, Australia’s Pacific Minister, Pat Conroy, is reaching out to the Melanesian, Polynesian nations and saying, ’We will walk with you side by side, you are part of our family’.

“They've taken a leaf out of our book and are doing that, and despite internal challenges in the global arena around climate change and other standings of Australia, actually, the leaders [of the Pacific] are saying, they're probably better off pivoting towards Australia.”