Kiribati country brief
Introduction
Kiribati is a democratic republic within the Commonwealth, having achieved independence on 12 July 1979. Kiribati is spread over several island archipelagos in the Pacific stretching 3000km. At the last census in 2005, the population was 92,533. Based on known birth rate patterns the population is estimated at almost 108,000 in 2009.
Political Overview
Government
The 46-member unicameral parliament is known as the Maneaba ni Maungatabu. Forty-four MPs are elected for a four-year term by non-compulsory universal adult suffrage. Another seat is reserved for former Banaban islanders now living on Rabi island (Fiji), and the Attorney-General sits (ex officio) as a non-elected member. Both of these have full voting rights in the Parliament. The Speaker is elected to office by Members of Parliament but is not a Member of Parliament. The Speaker has neither an original nor a casting vote in Parliamentary decisions.
In Kiribati the President is both Head of Government and Head of State. The President (te Beretitenti) is elected by universal adult suffrage, following a nomination process in the Parliament. Once Parliamentary elections are completed the Maneaba ni Maungatabu meets and Members nominate and vote for Presidential candidates. The Constitution requires that there be at least three and no more than four candidates.
The President appoints his/her own Cabinet, comprising the President, Vice President, Attorney-General and no more than ten ministers selected from Members of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu.
2007 Presidential election
Presidential elections were held on 17 October 2007. Anote Tong of the ruling Boutokaan te Koaua (Supporting the Truth) party was re-elected for a second term as President of the Republic of Kiribati in a landslide victory, winning with an overall margin of almost 48 per cent over challenging candidate, former Finance Minister Nabuti Mwemwenikarawa.
President Tong is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration. The Vice President, the Honourable Ms Teima Onorio is Minister for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives. Other key Ministers in the Tong Government include the Honourable Natan Teewe (Finance and Economic Development), the Honourable Amberoti Nikora (Internal and Social Affairs) and the Honourable Titabu Tabane (Attorney General).
Economic Overview
Kiribati’s economy faces significant constraints common to other island atoll states. These include its small size, remoteness and geographical fragmentation, a harsh natural environment with infertile soils, limited exploitable resources and the need to create jobs and promote growth for an expanding population. Kiribati relies heavily on licence fees from distant water fishing nations and remittances from Kiribati citizens employed abroad, mainly as seamen.
Notwithstanding the limited range of economic assets, Kiribati has largely had a solid record of financial stability since independence in 1979. Governments have traditionally adopted a cautious approach to domestic spending combined with a deliberate policy of accumulating offshore investments. A major distinctive feature of national resources is the Revenue Equalisation Reserve Fund (RERF), initially established in 1956 by the British administration with royalties from mining the Banaba phosphate deposits.
The Government of Kiribati’s 2008-11 National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) focuses on six key areas for development: economic growth and poverty reduction, education, health, environment, governance and infrastructure. Consultations with Development Partners feed into the NSDS development process.
Bilateral Relationship
Australia and Kiribati enjoy close and longstanding relations based on regional and international cooperation, trade and investment links, a substantial development assistance program, support for maritime surveillance through the Pacific Patrol Boat Program and extensive people to people exchanges over many years.
Australia is among the largest bilateral donors to Kiribati. The estimated total aid budget for 2009-10 is $17.7 million, of which $13.2 million is bilateral and concentrated in basic education, human resource development (including scholarships) and public sector management. Training of nurses through the Kiribati Australia Nursing Initiative (KANI) is a significant bilateral human resource development activity. Australia is supporting the Kiribati Adaptation Project which aims to reduce Kiribati’s vulnerability to climate change, climate variability and sea level rise. Australia is also funding a tuberculosis epidemic control project managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) which will improve detection and treatment of tuberculosis.
Support through regional programs includes strengthening the Kiribati Police Force through the Pacific Regional Policing Initiative (PRPI), reducing vulnerability to and impact of HIV and AIDS through the Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project (PRHP), and working with UNICEF to improve child health and juvenile justice and with UNFPA to improve adolescent reproductive health and emergency obstetric care.
Australia provides ongoing assistance to Kiribati in the surveillance of its large Exclusive Economic Zone. The RKS Teanaoi, gifted in the mid 1990s under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program, is an important resource at Kiribati’s disposal for the protection of its fisheries. Australia continues to provide training and other support to the Police Maritime Unit of the Kiribati Police Service for its operation of the patrol boat, as well as periodic maritime surveillance flights and naval visits.
The Kiribati Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Tessie Lambourne, attended the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns in August 2009.
The Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, the Hon Bob McMullan, MP and the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP, visited Kiribati 6-7 February 2008. MrKerr also visited Kiribati on 13 July 2009 to attend the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Kiribati’s independence.
Foreign Relations
Kiribati maintains close relations with its Pacific neighbours, including Australia and New Zealand, and is an active member of the Pacific Islands Forum and other regional organisations. A member of the Commonwealth since independence, Kiribati became a member of the United Nations on 14 September 1999, and operates one overseas diplomatic mission, its High Commission in Suva, as well as Honorary Consulates in Sydney, Rhydderch (UK), Honolulu, Tokyo, Hamburg, Auckland and Hong Kong. Kiribati is also a member of the Asian Development Bank, IMF, World Bank, and some UN Organisations including UNESCO, WHO, ILO and FAO. Kiribati has close links with other countries with fishing interests including Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, USA and the EU (notably Spain).
Bilateral Economic and Trade Relationship
Australian exports to Kiribati in 2007-08 totalled $28.7 million (principally tobacco, meat and wheat). Australian imports from Kiribati in the same period totalled $1 million (principally animal feed, non-ferrous waste and scrap). Australian currency is legal tender in Kiribati. The ANZ Bank is the majority owner of the Bank of Kiribati which provides both central and retail banking services and is the only banking operation in the country.
Visitor Information
Effective 1 October 2007, Australian passport holders no longer require a visa to enter Kiribati.
Australians travelling to Kiribati are advised to consult the Smartraveller travel advice.
The Kiribati Honorary Consul-General in Sydney can provide travel information and visa information for nationals of other countries.
Updated21 September 2009