Pacific failings continue to plague Morrison as Labor unveils regional strategy

Capitalising on Scott Morrison’s persistent problems over his Solomon Islands debacle, Labor maintained the unusual foreign policy theme of the campaign so far by unveiling its Asia-Pacific strategy this morning, with Penny Wong standing in for Anthony Albanese. A half billion dollars in extra aid over four years, an expanded Pacific labour scheme under which participants can bring family members, and a new class of permanent migration visa — these form the core of the policy, along with an unspecified “Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership”.

That’s the limit of Labor’s willingness to seriously address the existential threat of climate change for Pacific Island states, the opposition having already made clear that the mere fact that we’re a global laggard on a crisis that threatens the very existence of our Pacific neighbours won’t be enough to change its support for fossil fuels.