by Vinepa Aiono
All in the space of a fortnight, Michael Jackson died and his memorial service is held at the Staples Centre in LA, watched by millions around the world. In the same stretch 3 New Zealanders died of the swine flu, an out of control man is held by the Police for some hours while a Taser is flown in from another part of the country - crazy. The place had gone mad, meanwhile Prime Minister John Key headed off on a trade mission to the South Pacific and announced increased aid to the Pacific over the next few years, he vowed to assist with Tamiflu supplies and when asked which kava or ava he preferred (from Fiji or Samoa) - he found it hard to make a decision and referred to both Pacific nations as 'children'. Such fence sitting is unbecoming let alone 'weak'. Couldn't he just say when in Samoa (or Rome) it tastes the best, when in Fiji likewise ...., no points for wit there.
In between all of this - North Korea was busy silently testing seven of their missiles over the weekend. We all slept quite soundly though in our winter beds.
But the response from Premier Talagi in Niue certainly sums up the new found courage of Pacific leaders toward the west. Premier Talagi left nothing to the democratic imagination when he made it clear that any promised but slow to surface financial assistance would be met with a move on Niue's part to start knocking on China's door. And "ay there's the rub." As an observant relative of mine has informed me, "many building contracts in Samoa do not involve the hiring of local workers, nearly all workers are from China."
The Pacific must beware of seeking aid from the East. What are the real benefits and what might we lose in the longterm. There are vast ideological and cultural differences between the Pacific and China that still make me nervous. I need only remind myself of the contaminated baby milk powder that our giant Fonterra became enmeshed within 2008.
I hope Obama has a better plan for restoring the USA and western world economy because right now job losses are continuing to roll all the way downunder.
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