MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
THE HON BOB MCMULLAN MP, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND THE HON DUNCAN KERR SC MP, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS
Today we embark on our first joint visit to the Pacific as Parliamentary Secretaries, strengthening the bonds of friendship that exist between Australia and its neighbours. We will visit Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati from 1 to 7 February.
The Australian Government is committed to a fresh approach in the Pacific. The Government is seeking to strengthen Australia's engagement with the region and to further develop constructive relations with our Pacific neighbours based on mutual respect and trust.
We will undertake introductory calls with governments and key interlocutors and also take the opportunity to inspect projects funded by AusAID and the Australian Council for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
In Samoa, we will open the $6.3 million Samoa Police Headquarters, Apia Police Station and Armory which has been funded through AusAID's Samoa Police Project and the Defence Cooperation Program. We will meet His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the Australian Pacific Tsunami Warning System, with Prime Minister Hon. Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi. We will also visit the School of Hospitality and Tourism at the Samoa campus of the Australia Pacific Technical College.
In Tonga, we will meet Prime Minster Sevele and Cabinet Ministers and inspect projects funded by AusAID and ACIAR. We will visit the $9 million Solid Waste Management Program. We will visit the Vaiola Hospital to meet the Australian funded surgeons and volunteers. We will also meet with the participants of the Future Farmers Training Project at the National Tongan Youth Congress, and visit one of the local water tank projects. Both projects are funded through the Tonga Community Development Scheme.
In Kiribati, we will meet with President Tong and Cabinet Ministers, inspect Australian funded aid projects and meet with Australian volunteers, Youth Ambassadors and aid workers. We will visit the Police Headquarters and inspect the AusAID constructed women's barracks funded under the Pacific Regional Policing Initiative. We will also visit the award-winning recycling centre at Betio port, the Catholic complex at Tereoraereke where AusAID small grants have funded sanitation facilities and a livestock farm, and a community sewing centre designed to provide employment for the disabled funded under the Development Assistance Program.
Media Contact:
For Mr McMullan
Margaret Watt (with Mr McMullan) +61 (0) 438 271 749
Sabina Curatolo (in Canberra) +61 (0) 400 318 205
For Mr Kerr
'Alopi Latukefu (with Mr Kerr) +61 (0) 434 160 542
Brian Mitchell (in Hobart) +61 (0) 3 6234 5255 / +61 (0) 434 160 539