Pacific Forum in financial crisis

A key Pacific political body that is significantly funded by the New Zealand Government is in severe financial strife, the Suva based Islands Business monthly reports.

A crisis within the Pacific Islands Forum secretariat blew up at a heads of government meeting in Tonga last October but went unnoticed amidst the focus on tension between Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama and Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Island Business said the Forum secretariat, which is also based in Suva, was now operating without a budget after its 16 member nations refused to agree on one.

The magazine said the Forum's expenditure last year blew out to $F38.4 million ($NZ32.2 million).

New Zealand contributes $NZ3.74 million to the Forum.

Officials from all member nations met in secret and the magazine said they have obtained papers which show it was a stormy budget session.

Oddly it appears that it was the cost of the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting last year in Palau which offended most member states and the secretariat said this was due to the high cost of air fares to the north Pacific nation.

Papers showed the Secretariat had blown the budget half way through last year.

Delegates were said to be offended by the response of Forum officials.

"Questions were answered with 'from the top of my head' responses," one delegate was quoted by the magazine.

"If this was a national budget session, some people in that department would have lost their jobs."

Another participant said heads should roll in the organisation.

In Wellington a spokesman for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the Secretariat had been "engaging constructively" since the meeting.

He described the tone of the meeting as a "solid discussion".

"We were certainly involved in the budget debate; expressed our concern at the budget shortfall given proposed activities, and encouraged the Secretariat to address the budgeting and planning issues raised."

- © Fairfax NZ News