Opposition appeals to Australia and NZ to help return airlines to Vanuatu

The Office of the Opposition has issued a statement raising several issues for the Government’s attention and action. They concern the issue of the Bauerfield runway and the intentions of Government to reduce political staff in ministries.

Following is the statement by the Leader of the Opposition, Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau.

Bauerfield Airport Runway

“The Opposition calls upon the Governments of Australia and New Zealand to intervene in ensuring appropriate leverage is afforded the Vanuatu Government and people so that airline carriers from those countries can recommence flight schedules to and from Vanuatu.

“It is no mystery that a great part of the revenue collected into the country’s purse as well as the national economy is derived from tourism in particular the businesses in Vanuatu are dependent to a greater extent on the foreign dollar generated from the influx of tourists.

“The tourist vendor stalls operated by the mamas of Vanuatu, the local tour operators and hotel industry are a means by which local ni-Vanuatu are able to put food on the table let alone the payment of bare necessities including tuition fees for our children and other household expenses .

“The Opposition is seriously alarmed that despite an independent audit undertaken, clearing the country’s main port of entry as being able to accommodate incoming flights, where even our national carrier has been arriving and departing without issue, there appears to be a feeling of idleness on the part of those carriers without any satisfactory explanation.

“If it is an issue that is domestic to the administration of those carriers it is nonsense to attribute this to the wearability of this country’s runway. The Opposition is aware this is the off season for all if not most inbound flights which could well explain the move for those airlines but let the explanation, if that were the case, to be removed from the perception of political motivation.

“The Opposition resists the temptation to entertain the possibility there was political motivation given the airline carriers suspended flight operations during if not immediately after the outcome of the snap elections as if there was a perception the cessation was designed to motivate a Government set up that, it could be perceived, was that which met the preference of forces other than those domestically driven.

“The Opposition calls on the Government and the incumbent Prime Minister to attend urgently to this issue with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. The reasons are obvious.

“The perception that the people of this country are showing very early signs of moving forward from the disaster of Tropical cyclone Pam is one that is premature.

“Not to labor the point, but the El Nino effect on crops and local produce has driven consumers out of the comfort of their cultivated gardens and into the harsh reality of supermarkets and imported goods where the emphasis is on the earning power of the consumer.

“This is rendered extremely difficult for the people of this country when their spending power is compromised by a severe drop in tourist numbers entering Vanuatu, using our local transport services, and spending in Vanuatu’s economy.

“It will be perceived as a meddling in Vanuatu politics if it is found to be true that the reasons for the cessation were driven by circumstances foreign to the country but that the issue of the runway, which has been an issue for the Government for numerous previous years when the airlines were still flying in and out of Port Vila, needless to say them profiting there from, was a timely refuge for them.

“It is as if the people of this country are being kicked while down and the referees have turned a blind eye. We need to be seen as on equal footing in this game and the playing field must in all respects be level.”

Reduction in political staff in Ministries

“The announcement by the incoming Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas of a reduction in political staff of each Ministry belies a hidden agenda and has not been well thought out. It is mere politics.

“The Opposition alleges that the reality lies in an intention to increase portfolios under the Prime Minster by way of a constitutional amendment and to apportion the savings in such manner in order to entice Members to cling onto a perceived prospect of a Ministerial appointment.

“In such respect there is in fact no saving but a mere attempt to appease politics other than a concern for the public purse.

“This is problematic in four (4) respects;

“1. A politically motivated policy will always raise the eyebrow as self-serving at the expense of the people. The population grows larger every year and the political terrain in Vanuatu is always uncertain amidst the presence of a coalition regime. There is no guarantee once the portfolios are created that they will not in the future be subjected to the tyranny of politics which more than often leads to selfish acts which include the increase in size and personnel within portfolios at the whim of the holder of Ministerial post.

“2. An increase in the number of portfolio is not an easy resolution to and safeguard against floor crossing particularly where the groupings making up Government are a grouping of fragmented leadership and factions. Instability lies close always in coalitions of convenience.

“3. The competing policies of un-like-minded groupings are chaotic more than there is semblance.

“4. This country’s experience has shown by the Comprehensive Reform Program (CRP) politics aside that the design for making the Government more productive resulted more in growth in the public service than its proper development.

“The Opposition urges the Government for the sake of the good people of this country to come clean with its real intentions and not to resort to premature infatuation which has not been properly researched, let alone the lust to be politically self-serving, when it comes to the question of Governance.

“Finally the Office of the Opposition takes this opportunity in remembrance of the anniversary of our founding father the Late Dr. Walter Hayde Lini to wish the families of the said late Walter Lini and the people of Vanuatu happy remembrance.”