WORDS FROM THE WEBMASTER & THE THSESWS NEWSLETTER EDITOR:

Welcome to the THSESWS monthly newsletter for the month of February 2001. News-wise, this month has been quiet. People seemed to be too busy with their own jobs with no time to file some news for us. It was very disappointing not to have the edition of the "Tefua 'A Vaka Lautala" published here as promised. Our correpondent in Tonga could not send the THSESWS an electronic readable copy or a hard copy of the newsletter.

Despite the lack of news from Tonga and any of the chapters, the THSESWS still managed to find some articles for our readers.

Faka'apa'apa atu
Loseli M Hafoka & 'Amelia Piutau

An Article by the Melbourne Herald Sun - Travel:

Enticing: The clear blues of sky and water in the Tongan islands

CRYSTAL clear waters colored a sparkling blue, perfect white sandy beaches, volcanic peaks majestically from tropical landscapes, and small islands ringed protectively by spectacular coral reefs. This is the South Pacific, an area that has been the Inspiration for writers and, artists. It has also been a holiday paradise for Australians. Magical names such as Tahiti , Fiji, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga conjure visions of magnificent tropical islands and idyllic retreats nestled amid swaying Palms.  

Honeymoons, idyllic getaways lying on sun-drenched beaches, the friendly and leisurely attitude of the indigenous people and the opportunity to enjoy one of the world's relatively untouched environments, help -attract visitors from all states. Competition is fierce among travel operators to service this ever-growing market and many offer super specials to further attract holidaybaakers to these popular destinations.

Tour Company PITC has exciting offers to most South Pacific countries. For those seeking a budget holiday, package deals to Samoa, staying at the legendary Aggle Grey's Hotel for seven nights and including return air fares start at $999. PITC also has packages to Fiji starting at $160 a person a night and featuring hotels and resorts on both the mainland and many of the islands.

One of the increasingly popular Fiji holidays is a relaxing cruise, enjoying the fresh air, fine food and extras such as diving and snorkelling in tropical waters teeming with marine life.

Cruise ships are superbly appointed with facilities comparable to those found in four and five-star vessels. Prices start from $903 a person for a four-day, three-night luxury cruise with Captain Cook Cruises.

ARTICLE BY DR. ROBERT WOLFGRAMM:

As usual, the THSESWS has asked Dr Wolfgramm to write us an article on any topic related the Pacific islands. Robert decided to write one on West Papua. For some of our readers who don't know who Mr Downer is, he is the Australian foreign minister. Thank you Robert!

Downer's Betrayal of West Papua

Dr Robert Wolfgramm

Monash University

Mr Downer has decided that after the bother of East Timor, thawing relations with Indonesia is worth the price. The price being no support for the independence of West Papua. The Australian stance is hardly surprising based, as it is, on the convenience of security and on economic priorities. For Australia and Indonesia, it is as you were, for the rest of the Pacific, it is as we expect. Foreign policy is rarely based on moral principle and Downer proves, that like his predecessors, he too is imprisoned by history and necessity. What will disappoint the Melanesian Pacific even more is that in taking this line in relation to Jakarta's claims over an alien people, the Australian government seems to have learned nothing from their 25-year, East Timor policy debacle.

What right does Indonesia have to West Papua? Is it ethnic or racial? Is it cultural and linguistic? Is it a religious or historical congruence? It is none of these. The peoples of Indonesia are distinct from the peoples of Papua. They have no grounds, no right to sovereignty over Papua and its resources. West Papua is theirs by historic conquest alone. A conquest derived from the accident of proximity and occasioned by opportunism because of the collapse of regional European colonialism. On this illegitimate basis, Indonesia's annexation of West Papua is being allowed to stand unchallenged by the only power and close neighbour in the region that could possibly help right the wrong.

Strategists in Jakarta must be laughing. Having been on the back foot for the past 25 years due to global condemnation of their seizure of East Timor, they have now successfully gambled away an economic pawn for a knight in shining armour. Because that is what the resource-rich West Papuan piece is in relation to Indonesia's precarious economic future. Australian policy makers cannot have been fooled by Indonesian reticence and delay in handing East Timor over to its own people. They surely saw what was coming. Jakarta's prolonged bluff on East Timor effectively masked their intended campaign for the West Papuan prize.

If Australia was not play-acting with Indonesia (in the theatre that was East Timor's struggle for liberation), then it has lost an opportunity to interpose a moral alternative in dealing with what was, on the face of it, a weakened power. In relation to West Papua, some guidelines for autonomy and a timetable to independence could have been laid before the Indonesians. Instead, while basking in the success of our achievements in Dili, the Indonesian 'tiger' has been waiting for its real victim in Jayapura.

Both nations have something to gain by their revived rapprochement, but they would be misled if they thought that the indigenous Papuan fighting spirit is anything less than that of the Timorese. West Papua is an orphan child, disinherited by its European parent and harnessed into servitude by a regional one. It is banging on the door of Australia for assistance toward its liberation and maturation. By complying with Indonesian wishes, Mr Downer's foreign policy is attempting to turn them away. What a nice Christmas present for those burying the first martyrs of the Morning Star. What wishful thinking on the part of Downer.

Dr. R Wolfgramm (THSESWS Political Writer/Analyst)

A wake up call - Tongan with NZ citizenship or Australian permanent residency!

The New Zealand and Australian Governments have released details of the new Social Security Arrangement between the two countries.

The New Arrangement will affect New Zealand citizens who arrive in Australia after 26 February 2001. Although New Zealand citizens can travel here as they please, there is a new requirement imposed on them by the Agreement. If they wish to apply for Social Security benefits after this date, they must first apply to become a permanent residence if they haven't done so.

Once they are granted permanent residence, they are entitled to receive a range of social security benefits including the Newstart Allowance.

If you are a New Zealand citizen but have lived out of the country at the time of the announcement, your circumstances will be slightly different. If you have lived in Australia for a period of 12 months or more before you left the country, this will not affect you.

Warning to our Pacific Islander friends and families: If you're holding New Zealand citizenship and had been living in Australia before but are out of the country now, you have up to May 2001 to decide whether to return to Australia or not. We have no further information about the impact of this change but it could affect NZ citizens who are now living in the islands and had no knowledge of the existing arrangement.

Until next time, take care!

WEBMASTER 

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Copyright ©: 2001   Loseli Ma'ukie Hafoka.