Introduction by Croakey: Greenpeace Australia is urging all Australian political parties to support a moratorium on deep sea mining following news that The Metals Company USA submitted applications to mine the Pacific Ocean seabed under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. This comes after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order last week to “restore American dominance in offshore critical minerals and resources”.
The move by the US undermines international law and breaks the longstanding tradition of it being a good-faith actor on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to Greenpeace. Pacific Island nations, including Tuvalu, Palau, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa, are among 32 countries to have supported a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep sea mining – Australia has not.
“Australians love the ocean and want to protect it,” said Glenn Walker, Head of Nature at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
“Now is the time for all Australian political parties, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, to set themselves apart from Trump and publicly and strongly support a moratorium on deep sea mining, and be a good neighbour to Pacific nations. Our leaders now have a choice: protect our blue planet, or sit idly by and allow Trump to undermine international law and plunder the ocean.”
Meanwhile, Isabelle Zhu-Maguire, PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, Department of International Relations within the Australian National University, provides a special edition of Pacific Islands focus, highlighting some critical issues at stake for the region in this weekend’s federal election.
The quotable?
It cannot be overstated how important the issue of nuclear is for the Pacific.
After the testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Islands left hundreds dead or sick, the Pacific Islands have had a unanimous, staunch stance of no nuclear in the Pacific. This has extended to nuclear power, with Pacific climate advocates saying it is ‘no solution’ to the climate crisis.”
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire writes:
Australia’s relationship with the Pacific Islands has received little attention from media, politicians and candidates during this year’s federal election campaign, particularly when compared to the 2022 election.
By the time the 2022 Australian election rolled around, it had become a somewhat common opinion that Scott Morrison had “stuffed-up” Australia’s relationships with the Pacific Islands during his tenure as Prime Minister – particularly on climate change.
In response to growing commentary about Morrison’s poor handling of the Pacific region, the 2022 Labor Party, led by Anthony Albanese, made several promises during the election campaign about how a Labor Government would “shore up” Australia’s position in the Pacific by promising increased funding, climate action, and conversations with Pacific peers.
Within days of being elected, the new Albanese Government sent Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong, to the Pacific. She repeatedly promised the Pacific Islands that her Government was there to listen.
All throughout the Albanese administration, it has been clear that the Pacific Islands maintain that they want to be listened to by Australia. This is key in the rhetoric from Pacific civil society and government officials alike.
And, after Wong’s initial promise that they would listen, Albanese’s teammates have repeatedly claimed that they have been listening to the Pacific. Yet much commentary from the Pacific and from Australian academics seems to doubt that effective listening has occurred.
The Pacific wants Australia to deliver on its forever, almost bipartisan promise, to be the ‘partner of choice’ for the region. They want genuine action on climate change, good, appropriate and generous aid and development, migration and trade pathways, and respect.
The lack of attention during this year’s election campaign does not mean previous issues between Australia and the Pacific Islands have all been resolved.
Much is at stake for the Pacific Islands this election – and they are closely following.
Leadership on climate change
One of the most pressing matters is how the next Australian Government will approach climate change – obvious differences exist between the Coalition and Labor Party’s approaches to climate change.
Following the 2022 “climate election” and Albanese becoming Prime Minister, Pacific leaders expressed optimism that the new government would push Australia’s approach to climate change in a more progressive direction.
However, three years on, Pacific climate advocates and leaders alike have now expressed disappointment in the seeming stagnation in Albanese’s climate action.
The approval of new coal and gas projects are a particular thorn in the side of this relationship. But, whilst disappointing, the possibility of climate action with a second Albanese term is still more promising than under a Coalition Government led by Peter Dutton.
Most evident is Australia’s bid to co-host the UNFCCC’s COP31 conference with Pacific Islands, which Dutton has called “madness” and threatened to drop if elected.
The Coalition’s nuclear plans are another significant issue, with Dutton promising to build major nuclear plants if elected – somewhat under the guise of meeting Australia’s climate change targets.
It cannot be overstated how important the issue of nuclear is for the Pacific.
After the testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Islands left hundreds dead or sick, the Pacific Islands have had a unanimous, staunch stance of no nuclear in the Pacific. This has extended to nuclear power, with Pacific climate advocates saying it is “no solution” to the climate crisis.
You can’t talk about nuclear and Australia without talking about AUKUS.
Many in the Pacific have expressed “anxiety” and “unease” over the AUKUS deal and Australia acquiring nuclear submarines. However, given AUKUS has bipartisan support, Pacific Islanders may look to minor parties and independents to take a stand against it.
Aid and development
Also important to the security of the Pacific is aid and development. With USAID pulling all funding and other donors like the UK also cutting aid programs, the Pacific Islands have been looking for greater access to development funding from other sources.
Australia is the biggest donor to the region by far and has been for years. Given the common perspective in Canberra that the Pacific Islands are important, strategic neighbours for Australian security, it is hard to imagine that this will change much.
However, it should be noted that Coalition governments have a history of cutting aid and a recent publication in the DevPolicy blog suggests that another Coalition government may mean renewed cuts – particularly given Dutton’s Trump-ish rhetoric on government ‘efficiency’ and spending cuts.
There are other issues also on the docket for Pacific Islanders this Australian election.
With the introduction of Trump’s tariffs, strong trade relationships are now more key than ever – especially as Fiji received one of the highest tariffs internationally at a rate of 32 percent. All islands, including those in federated association with the US, were not immune to tariffs. While the tariffs have been paused until July, ensured access to Australian markets to sell raw materials will continue to be of interest.
Migration from the Pacific is also key. During his 2022 campaign, Albanese promised a Pacific Engagement Visa, which was belatedly achieved in late 2024. Given the importance of remittances – funds transferred by migrants to their home countries, often to support families – in the Pacific, many Islanders will be looking for these programs to continue if not expand.
The treatment of First Nations people in Australia may also be important for the Pacific region. Many prominent Pacific Islanders showed support for the Voice to Parliament and it has been suggested that Indigenous rights are important to diplomacy in the region.
I would also add that Australia’s willingness to ‘play ball’ with the Pacific Islands is also important. The Pacific Islands govern themselves and advocate for the issues that matter to them through joint regionalism.
Under Morrison, Australia did not peacefully participate in Pacific regionalism. Morrison skipped the 2018 Pacific Island Forum (PIF) leaders meeting and was so abrasive and rude, particularly on the topic of climate change, at the 2019 PIF leaders meeting that he made the King of Tonga cry.
Would Dutton, who once joked with Morrison about sea water “lapping at the door” of Pacific Islanders, follow these footsteps?
About the author
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire is a PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, Department of International Relations within the Australian National University. Her thesis investigates the ways in which Australia listens and responds to the climate advocacy of Pacific Island Nations.
She has conducted extensive research into the experiences of women in Afghanistan and their perspectives and realities living through conflict, oppression, and climate change.
Isabelle has also been advocate for greater youth inclusion within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Croakey thanks and acknowledges Isabelle Zhu-Maguire for providing this column as a probono service to our readers.
Bookmark this link for future editions of the Pacific Islands focus column.
