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Political Reviews Political Reviews michael lujan bevacqua, elizabeth (isa) ua ceallaigh bowman, zaldy dandan, monica c labriola, nic maclellan, tiara r na'puti, gonzaga puas peter clegg, lorenz gonschor, margaret mutu, salote talagi, forrest wade young 187 political reviews • micronesia 213 Nauru protest. Not surprisingly, a further focus of media criticism has been the Over the past two years, Nauru has Nauru government’s combative rela- raised its regional and international tions with overseas journalists and profile, as the government led by restrictions on access for many media President Baron Divavesi Waqa and organizations, including the Australian Minister for Finance and Justice David Broadcasting Corporation (abc). Adeang sought to address a range of The Micronesian nation of eleven economic, political, and social chal- thousand people faces many devel- lenges at home. opment challenges. A quarter of the In January 2018, Nauru celebrated population lives below the national its fiftieth anniversary of independence poverty line, according to data from as a sovereign nation. A key part of the Asian Development Bank (adb the anniversary year was hosting the 2018). forty-ninth Pacific Islands Forum in Education standards and truancy September. The government’s unity, continue to be major problems. In however, ended with national elections 2018, only 60 percent of students in August 2019, when Waqa lost his attended school for the midyear exam- seat in the Boe constituency, opening inations, and of these, less than half the way for a new era of governance. of the students in years 1–8 passed the Throughout 2018–2019, the Waqa examinations. Of year 8 students, only government was engaged in domestic 14 percent passed mathematics, 32 reforms, introducing new economic percent passed science, and 54 percent policies, major changes to superan- passed English (Nauru Bulletin 2018c, nuation, and fundamental reforms 7). The government is seeking to to the courts and judicial system. address the poor results through schol- On the international stage, President arships and teacher training, sending Waqa was active, speaking out at the students to the University of New United Nations, chairing the Forum, England in Australia to earn teaching and strengthening diplomatic and credentials and school principals to economic ties with Taiwan at a time Fiji, Kiribati, and Marshall Islands for when the People’s Republic of China professional training. is increasing its regional influence. Nauru also has some of the poor- Despite these initiatives, the Waqa est health indicators for noncommu- government also received adverse nicable diseases (ncd) in the Pacific international attention for some Islands. Nutrition is a central element domestic policies. A focus of criticism of the country’s 2014–2020 ncd has been the government’s ongoing action plan, which includes initiatives support for Australia’s refugee policy, to address obesity, diabetes, and a with Nauru hosting an offshore junk-food epidemic. The strategy plan asylum seeker processing center. A reports that before current initiatives, second issue has been the treatment of Nauru ranked second to Afghanistan the “Nauru 19,” a number of senior in the age-standardized mortality rate politicians and community leaders for these diseases (Government of charged with offenses after a 2015 Nauru 2014, 5). 214 the contemporary pacific • 32:1 (2020) Dr John Auto, a Solomon Islander by December 2018” (Nauru Bulletin who coordinates public health pro- 2018c, 5). grams for Nauru’s health ministry, The dominant economic, social, reported on surveys that have high- and moral issue facing Nauru is the lighted the difficulty of growing fruit hosting of Australian offshore asylum and vegetables and the high cost seeker processing, which continues to of importing nutritious, fresh food be a source of tension in regional and aboard Nauru Airlines planes: “We international relations. The presence have who [World Health Organiza- of hundreds of asylum seekers and tion] standards like ‘are there servings refugees in the Nauru Refugee Pro- of fruit and vegetable in the diet?’ But cessing Centre (rpc) has placed an 95 per cent of Nauruans in that survey extra burden on the local population reported not having the recommended and opened the way for Australia to amount of vegetables and fruits” promote structural adjustment policies (Auto 2018). in Nauru’s economy and administra- In an interview, Nauru Secretary tion (Maclellan 2013). for Commerce, Industry and Environ- Australia first opened offshore ment Berilyn Jeremiah stated that food processing camps in 2001 under the production is affected by climate vari- so-called “Pacific Solution,” which ability and natural disasters affecting closed with the election of a Labor the country: “Nauru is susceptible to government in 2007 (Maclellan droughts which, in the past, have had 2002a, 2002b). In June 2011, Nauru significant impacts on health, food signed the instruments of accession to security and the economy, as it can the 1951 Refugee Convention and its put a strain on our national budget. 1967 protocols. The camps reopened Enhancing water security is fundamen- in 2012 and continue to this day. Four tal to reducing vulnerability to climate days before Christmas 2012, Nauru’s change. Food insecurity is also a major Parliament passed the Asylum Seekers risk for Nauru, given our dependence (Regional Processing Centre) Act 2012 on imported foods and its geographi- to legalize a greater role in processing cal isolation” (Jeremiah 2018). (Maclellan 2013). Nauru’s vast resources of phos- The arrival of hundreds of asylum phate are nearly exhausted. Primary seekers since 2012 once again placed phosphate mining was wound down pressure on Nauru’s administration. after shipments in August and Septem- Seven years on, many have not been ber 2018, with the Republic of Nauru resettled, although campaigning by Phosphate Corporation (ronphos) doctors and human rights groups has only able to continue secondary meant all families with children have mining of limited resources around now been medically evacuated off of limestone pinnacles. Mining Minister Nauru. As of 28 August 2019, 288 Aaron Cook told Parliament in August individuals remained (Refugee Council 2018 that “ronphos expects primary of Australia 2019). phosphate mining to be exhausted The Australian government has by the end of October, with produc- spent more than a$5 billion (a$1.00 is tion solely from secondary mining approximately us$.67) on the Manus political reviews • micronesia 215 and Nauru detention centers since Waqa government wanted Eigigu Solu- 2012, with the 2018–19 Australian tions Corporation, a subsidiary of the budget allocating a further a$759.58 locally owned Eigigu Holdings Corpo- million. While much of this money ration, to take over services currently goes to Australian corporations and provided by the Australian corpora- health providers, the Nauru govern- tion Canstruct Services International. ment relies on revenue from visa fees The legislation allows for the creation and administration contracts for the of a new special purposes account to rpc. In October 2018, Finance Min- allow Australian funding for the rpc ister Adeang told Parliament that the to be monitored separate from existing government had raised an extra a$6 Nauruan treasury budgets. million from hosting asylum seekers In February 2019, Nauru’s Parlia- and refugees in the 2017–18 financial ment passed the Health Practitioners year, including a$5 million through (Overseas Medical Referrals Com- the Nauru Regional Processing Centre pliance) Regulations 2019 in an Corporation and a further a$1 million attempt to override Australia’s 2018 through payment of employment tax “Medevac” legislation. The Austra- arrears (Nauru Bulletin 2018c, 3). lian law established an independent Influenced by the Australian panel of doctors to assess the need to government, the Nauru Parliament transfer asylum seekers to Australia made a series of legislative changes for medical treatment. to refugee legislation in 2018–2019. Under an agreement between During the October 2018 parliamen- the Australian government and the tary sitting, Justice Minister Adeang Obama administration, the United presented the Refugee Convention States agreed to take 1,250 asylum (Amendment) Bill 2018, which limits seekers from Australia’s offshore the liability of the exercise of powers processing centers on Nauru and by the secretary of multicultural Manus Island, subject to US vetting affairs and allows the secretary to processes. Although he criticized this grant temporary settlement visas and Obama-era deal in his inaugural tele- also recognize any declaration, deci- phone call with then Australian Prime sion, or record determining an asylum Minister Malcom Turnbull (Miller, seeker under the laws of the country Vitkovskaya, and Fischer-Baum 2017), to be recognized as a refugee. A sec- President Donald Trump has contin- ond piece of legislation, the Asylum ued the process. Seekers (Regional Processing Centre) During 2018 and early 2019, US (Amendment) Bill 2018, changed Resettlement Support Center teams the definition of a “protected per- arrived on Nauru to interview and son” under the 2012 legislation that process approved refugees for resettle- reopened Australia’s detention centers. ment in the United States, although Other legislation, the Commer- people from some Muslim-majority cial Operations and Services Fund countries will not be accepted. By Bill 2018, allows the
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