Friday, 25 September 2009
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Australian has a Chat with Frank at the UN
A number of informal meetings have been taking place on the sidelines of the annual gathering at the UN. As our chief political correspondent Karen Middleton has discovered, climate change and the future of Pacific Island nations have been the focus of top-level discussions. KAREN MIDDLETON, SBS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the big themes running through the week here in New York has been climate change. Earlier today I spoke with the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, and I asked him for his response to the decisions of Japan and China to increase their commitment to fighting global warming.STEPHEN SMITH, FOREIGN MINISTER: I think what we have seen in the last couple of days in New York at the General Assembly has been welcome progress. What was essential out of this week was to get some political momentum to build some political will for a positive outcome at Copenhagen. There will be a lot of water under the bridge before we see the final outcome at Copenhagen and that will go to specific commitments. But we are pleased with what we have seen from the new Japanese prime minister, pleased with the additional indications from China and also very pleased, for the first time, the United States has turned up to the General Assembly and engaged in a positive conversation about climate change. So I think this week is about political will and the detail, I think, will take a fair bit more time before we actually get to Copenhagen itself, in December.
KAREN MIDDLETON: Among those most affected by climate change are, of course, the Pacific nations and many of their leaders are here making a big case for action. Among them, Fiji's Frank Bainimarama. Now, relations with Australia are not terrific but the Foreign Minister says he had a chance encounter with the Fijian leader and here is what he had to say about that.
STEPHEN SMITH: Yes, I ran into him at a Pacific Island developing states reception hosted by the President of Nauru - President Stephen. I spoke to his interim foreign minister and to the commodore. We had a civilised and cordial conversation, just as our conversations in Fiji were civilised when I went there as a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, a ministerial contact group. I make the point that when the dust settled on the suspension of Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth we had to find some dialogue, some way of having a dialogue with Fiji. They also make the point that 2014 for an election was way too long for Australia and the international community. But it is entirely appropriate to have that sort of conversation in the context of the General Assembly of the United Nations. But as all my conversations with Commodore Bainimarama has been firm views were expressed but it was civilised and polite, as it should be.
KAREN MIDDLETON: And now the Australian delegation's commitments are all but wrapped up here in New York, with just a few more in the morning. Then the Prime Minister heads to Pittsburgh for the G20 meeting and yet another round of talks trying to resolve the impasse on climate change.
Source: SBSTWN 09-24-09
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