After15 trips overseas, now Kevin Rudd tries Papua New Guinea

Kevin Rudd

Travelling man … Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.  
Source: The Daily Telegraph





KEVIN Rudd has finally made the trip to Australia’s closest neighbour after being criticised for strutting on the world stage while ignoring our own region.


The Foreign Minister arrived in Papua New Guinea last night for two days of talks with the new government.

High on the list of discussions will be the future of the Manus Island off-shore refugee processing centre, which the government had hoped to re-open before the High Court ruled out the Malaysia deal and offshore processing.

The former PM has made 15 trips abroad since becoming Foreign Minister last September at an estimated cost of more than $1 million.

He has visited extensively in the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Africa and has been to countries ranging from Liechtenstein and Finland to Saint Kitts and Nevis, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan. But this will be the first time as Foreign Minister that he has visited PNG – a former external territory of Australia until 1975 when it gained independence – and a country still heavily reliant on Australian aid.

PNG has been recently rocked by renewed political instability with new Prime Minister Peter O’Neill facing a legal challenge to the legitimacy of his government after replacing Sir Michael Somare in August.

“We are at an important stage in one of Australia’s most significant bilateral relationships, as a new generation of leaders emerges in Papua New Guinea,” Mr Rudd said.

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“The relationship is very strong, and the historical emphasis on aid has evolved into a broader, genuine partnership, based on shared interests and shared challenges.”

Mr Rudd confirmed that he would be discussing people smuggling as well as the Regional Assistance Mission.

A Galaxy poll, which showed Mr Rudd was the preferred leader of the Labor Party over Julia Gillard by 60 per cent to 26 per cent, also showed overwhelming opposition to the Malaysia people swap deal for asylum seekers to Australia.

However, it showed that the majority of people would be willing to support other offshore processing such as Nauru, and Manus Island in PNG.

 

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