Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong to meet Fiji PM

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has reaffirmed the government's commitment to climate action as she tours the Pacific region in her first solo overseas trip since Labor’s re-election. In a three-country tour of the Pacific, Senator Wong is looking to shore-up support in the region as Australia looks to co-host next year's COP31 climate summit with Pacific nations.

Transcript

00:00Arriving into Fiji's capital, Suva, late last night, Minister Wong met with Fiji's

00:08Prime Minister Sitiveni Rambuka, the heads of the Pacific diplomatic community, and

00:13a section of Fiji's cultural leaders, the Great Council of Chiefs.

00:18But it is the ever-present issue of climate action that remains front and center in the

00:22region as Pacific nations look for greater commitments from Australia, ahead of its push

00:28to co-host COP31 with the Pacific next year.

00:32Speaking at a press conference in Suva earlier today, after being questioned about Australia's

00:36climate policies, Minister Wong likened the country's climate targets and economic transition

00:42to a large ship being turned.

00:44We have legislated very ambitious targets, so our action is to meet them, and that requires

00:51a big economic transformation in Australia, and we're committed to that, and we're really

00:56grateful for the mandate that the Australian people have given us to deliver that.

01:01Minister Wong also reaffirmed the Australian government's aid contributions to the Pacific,

01:06in light of the United States' decision to significantly reduce U.S. aid to the Pacific.

01:12Minister Wong continues her tour of the Pacific with a visit to the Kingdom of Tonga and Vanuatu

01:17over the next two days.

Category

Transcript

Recommended