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FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
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RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 1960
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA PRIORITY 1512
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RUEHBAD/AMCONSUL PERTH PRIORITY 4197
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 4139

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 000070 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/ANP 
SUVA FOR AMBASSADOR MCGANN 
DILI FOR ANDREA APPELL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2019 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL AS FJ
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA LIKELY TO OPPOSE POSTPONING PIF 
 
REF: MCGANN-PLANT E-MAIL OF 20 JAN 2008 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor James F. Cole; Reasons: 1.4 (b)(d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1. (C/NF) Australia is disappointed but not surprised that 
Fiji interim PM Bainimarama has opted not attend the January 
27 Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Special Leaders Meeting in Port 
Moresby.  The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is 
expected to endorse a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
(DFAT) recommendation to proceed with the meeting as 
originally scheduled, driven primarily by the availability of 
Prime Minister Rudd.  Australia has received preliminary 
indications that New Zealand, whose foreign minister will 
discuss Fiji with FM Smith in Perth on January 21, shares its 
view on holding the PIF meeting on January 27.  In the 
meantime, PNG PM Somare will try to persuade Bainimarama to 
reconsider his decision, according to DFAT.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C/NF) In the absence of Richard Rowe, First Assistant 
Secretary for Pacific Affairs, and Geoff Tooth, Assistant 
Secretary for Papua New Guinea and Fiji, we spoke with 
Stephen Henningham, Director for Fiji, on January 21 to 
assess Australian views on interim PM Bainimarama's latest 
maneuver to avoid attending the January 27 PIF Special 
Leaders Meeting.  Henningham told us the GOA was 
"disappointed" that Bainimarama sought to put off the 
meeting, noting it was further evidence of his established 
pattern of evading accountability for his promise to restore 
democratic governance.  The GOA dismissed as "flimsy and 
unconvincing" Bainimarama's protestions he could not attend 
because he needed to oversee flood relief.  That was "an 
excuse, not an explanation," he said, pointing out that the 
crisis phase was long over, and Bainimarama could easily 
afford an absence of one or two days during the lengthy 
recovery phase. 
 
¶3. (C/NF) Henningham said the DFAT consensus was that the PIF 
meeting should proceed as planned, regardless of 
Bainimarama's participation.  Although final confirmation of 
Australia's position was pending at the Department of the 
Prime Minister and Cabinet, he said Prime Minister Rudd's 
long-scheduled travel plans to India and Davos, Switzerland 
immediately following the PIF made it extremely unlikely that 
there was any scope to shift the date.  Moreover, he added, 
Port Moresby had already invested a great deal of time and 
effort in making arrangements for January 27. 
 
¶4. (C/NF) Henningham disclosed the GOA had received early 
indications that New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
and Trade had submitted a recommendation to PM Key on the 
importance of proceeding as originally scheduled. 
Restoration of democracy in Fiji was one of the key items FM 
Smith expected to discuss with New Zealand Foreign Minister 
McCully's in Perth on January 21, he added. 
 
¶5. (C/NF) The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby had 
reported that PM Somare was very disappointed and concerned 
about Bainimarama's decision to pull out, and planned to try 
to persuade him to reconsider.  Somare would take it as a 
personal slight if he refuses, according to Australian 
reporting. 
 
¶6. (C/NF) Henningham said the GOA had also heard from PIF 
Secretary General Tuiloma Slade that, while he was publicly 
QSecretary General Tuiloma Slade that, while he was publicly 
expressing "disappointment," privately he was very upset at 
Bainimarama's handling of the issue, echoing his statement to 
Ambassador McGann (reftel.) 
 
CLUNE