[pima.nius] Re: (Article): Arena accuses New Zealand Government of ambushing Pacific on trade deal

What does Arena stand for faamolemole?

On May 9, 11:23 am, Aaron Taouma <aaron.taou...@gmail.com> wrote:
>  Arena accuses New Zealand Government of ambushing Pacific on trade
> deal
> By Online Editor
> 12:28 pm GMT+12, 06/05/2009, New Zealand
>
> This weekend's meeting of Pacific trade ministers in Auckland to
> progress the launch of PACER+ trade negotiations has all the hallmarks
> of an Australian and New Zealand ambush, the Arena network said
> today.
> "Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said last Friday that he and
> the Australians have agreed on a joint strategy to link aid and trade
> ahead of a meeting with Pacific trade ministers on the Pacific
> Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER)," Arena spokesperson Dr
> Jane Kelsey said.
>
> "This sounds like the bullying tactics of old, with aid used as a
> carrot or stick to get Pacific Island Countries to agree to what the
> 'big brothers' are demanding."
>
> "The current Solomon Islands 'roadmap' for PACER+ has two sets of
> square brackets – one for the slow process proposed by the Pacific
> Island Countries, and the other for the rapid timeline sought by
> Australia and New Zealand."
>
> The agenda for the weekend's meeting suggests they plan to push
> Pacific ministers to agree to a date for launching the negotiations
> before the senior officials meet in Vanuatu in mid-May, Jane Kelsey
> said.
>
> "The studies on PACER+ that will be discussed on the weekend have
> mainly been commissioned by Australia and New Zealand to bolster their
> case."
>
> "The 'consensus' approach to decision making means once Pacific
> countries have been pressured into an agreement even informally,
> Australia and New Zealand will insist on a consensus to change it."
>
> "At this stage not all the Pacific trade ministers have agreed to come
> to Auckland, which will further undermine any claim to consensus."
>
> "Fiji also thinks it is still invited, although New Zealand says
> otherwise."
>
> "The government pretends that its aim is to promote Pacific
> development. NGOs and churches in the region point out that it is
> really about ideology and old colonial powers using trade agreements
> as a weapon to dominate the region."
>
> Arena supports the call for the PACER negotiations to be abandoned in
> favour of a genuine development programme for the region,  Dr  Kelsey
> said.
>
> SOURCE: ARENA/PACNEWS
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