Australia should ensure it has good policies as well as good intentions when it intervenes in the affairs of other nations. Mr Caesar D’Mello, National Director of Christian World Service (CWS), said this today.
CWS is the relief and development arm of the National Council of Churches in Australia. “The Solomon Islands welcomed Australia’s intervention when we sent troops, police and officials there last July,” he said. “But how well did we involve the institutions of civil society in the Solomons, such as the churches, in planning the intervention? “Could our attitude be seen as smacking of a ‘we know better than you’ approach?
“We may not have fully taken into account the effects on the people who were left behind to continue to deal with the situation after we’d left. “We may not have been sensitive enough about cultural issues. “Australia needs to consult more with the local people. And we should certainly confer more with the churches in places like the Pacific, where they have so much influence.”
Mr D’Mello said there are two contrasting realities in the Pacific. “It has a stunning tropical landscape - and its environment is threatened by poverty and conflict,” he said. Australia’s interest in the Pacific is growing.
“There’s an increasing need for Australian civil society to be involved in the development of our foreign policy in relation to the Pacific. “Foreign policy, after all, should strive to express the relationship between peoples, not just between experts, or government departments.”
CWS, he said, represents the Australian churches and is in touch with their Pacific partners. “We have a responsibility to be one of the reference points,” he said. “Australia is still coming to terms with what it means to be a good post-colonial neighbour. “We need to foster a relationship that minimises dependency and enables maximum local responsibility.” Mr D’Mello said there are real differences between Australia and the Pacific.
“There’s also a commonality of issues and challenges,” he said. “We can address them more effectively by working together.”
He said CWS, through Christmas Bowl, has been working for many years with Pacific partners.
“Together we’re striving to address some complex issues - like HIV/AIDS, global warming, trade, security and the effects of economic globalisation.”
Consultations
Are we good neighbours to the Pacific? That question will be the focus of a series of consultations in four Australian states in July. There will be a consultation, “The Pacific at the Crossroads,” in Adelaide on Friday, July 9 - the day the National Council of Churches in Australia’s fifth national forum opens.
It will be held in conjunction with the South Australian Council of Churches.
The consultation and the forum will both be held at Lincoln College, North Adelaide.
Speakers will be:
• Archbishop Adrian Smith, Executive Chairperson of Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA). He has a long history of involvement in the Solomons.
• Mr Tom Anayabere, who has recently taken up the position of General Secretary of the Papua New Guinea Council of Churches (PNGCC).
• Mr Fei Tevi, who is of Tongan descent. He is the Executive Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pacific Office, based in Fiji
• Ms Koila Costello-Olsson, a long term advocate of women’s issues. She works with the Ecumenical Centre for Research, Education and Advocacy (ECREA), Fiji, as the Gender and Peace Programme Coordinator.
Details are available from the Reverend Vikki Waller, phone 08 8221 6633.
There will be consultations in three other places with the same speakers:
• Brisbane, on Tuesday, July 6. Details from Michelle Knight, 07 3369 6792.
• Canberra, on Wednesday, July 7. Details from Rod Corrigan, 02 6273 8805.
• Melbourne, Thursday, July 8. Details from Jeff Wild, 03 9650 6811.
Details of all the consultations are also available from Aletia Dundas, phone 1800 025 101
