Audio: Phil Goff visits the Solomon Islands

Tuesday, 2 May 2006, 9:03 am
Article: Yasmine Ryan

Scoop Audio: Phil Goff visits the Solomon Islands

Recording by Yasmine Ryan
Image by Jason Dorday
From Assignment in Honiara

Goff surveys Chinatown

Scoop Audio: New Zealand Defence Minister Phil Goff speaking from the Solomon Islands International Airport on Thursday 27 April. Goff reinstated New Zealand’s commitment to the Solomon Islands through its participation in the RAMSI partnership. The MP was critical of ‘chequebook diplomacy’, although he said he was yet to see any evidence that Taiwan had bribed Solomon Islands politicians. Spelling out New Zealand’s long-term commitments, Goff said ‘We have to change the underlying culture of what the process of government is about.’ At the same time, he asserted RAMSI’s political neutrality.

Scoop Streaming Audio: Phil Goff visits the Solomon Islands

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