Bainimarama stands his ground

The Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has hit out at his Fijian counterpart, Voreqe Bainimarama’s call for the removal of New Zealand and Australia from the Pacific Islands Forum.

The Samoa Observer reports Tuilaepa as saying that Bainimarama's issue is insignificant.

The Samoan Prime Minister said the Pacific Islands Forum is made up of 14 very poor nations and these two nations fund the plans by these poor nations.

He said the Forum relies on that funding.

The New Zealand prime minister John Key said Fiji's call for New Zealand and Australia to be dumped as members of the Pacific Islands Forum is a bit of a joke.

Key told Auckland's Radio Tarana that the activities of the Forum would be severely constrained without the funding it gets from Australia and New Zealand.

Key said where would they get the money to do anything and the answer is nowhere.

The NZ Prime Minister said none of the Pacific island nations have that so he does not think that people would want to take Bainimarama terribly seriously.

Meanwhile Bainimarama has made it clear that it is not right to dangle funding as an inducement to keep New Zealand and Australia as members of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Bainimarama has already confirmed to Fijivillage that Fiji will not go to the Forum leaders' summit in Papua New Guinea unless there are changes in the membership of the Forum.

He told us that he is not attending unless the Forum changes the ball game.

Bainimarama stresses that he wants NZ and Australia out.

While responding to Key’s comments, Bainimarama said they only see these relationships to do with funding and that is their outlook on what our relationship is in the Forum, to dangle funding in front of the Pacific island countries.