Fiji Australia Business Council calls on the Australian government to immediately review its travel advisory to Fiji.
The President of the Fiji Australia Business Council, Caz Tebbutt Dennis has called on the Australian government to immediately review its travel advisory to Fiji or accept that it is starting to look like a form of sanction
She said, “We keep talking about how critically important the Fiji Australia bilateral relationship is and how fundamental Australia is to keeping jobs and the economy flowing in Fiji”.
In a statement, Mrs Dennis said the association was asking the Australian Government to soften their travel advisory or explain why they are rating Fiji as so unsafe for tourists when the evidence on the ground suggested otherwise, adding, “Getting our tourists back will have an immediate impact on getting people back to work and getting the economy moving, albeit slowly.”
Mrs Dennis said travel advisories were not supposed to be a form of sanction, they were supposed to be an accurate reflection of the security situation in the country, saying, “Reading the Australian travel advisory for Fiji, it seems very strong when we consider what is actually happening on the ground here and if the travel advisory is stronger than warranted, or stays in place longer than it should, then it directly becomes a form of sanction, and that’s that!”
Mrs Dennis said the annual Fiji Australia bilateral trade portfolio is valued at more than $F2billion ($A1.565billion) and this includes more than $F1.26billion that comes to Fiji, and approximately $F800million of this is for tourism and transport.
She also said, “This is a huge amount to lose and we must do whatever it takes to hold onto this.”, adding the Australian government had publicly said that it would not put in place any sanctions that would hurt the everyday people of Fiji.
She added, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer had made various comments to this effect, and Prime Minister John Howard said on December 28 on his own website that, “we’re not going to go overboard” with reference to sanctions on Fiji and while she said the council applauded this stance she also noted that the travel advisories remained at level 4 and had not been changed since December 15.
She said the private sector needed to operate as freely as possible to save jobs and livelihoods and this includes core industries like garments and tourism, adding, “When people overseas keep reading that Fiji is at risk of mob violence, civil disorder, curfews and so on it is understandable that their confidence will shake.” “It affects all industries and all businesses either directly or indirectly, as tourism is so fundamental to our economy.”
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