New Zealand's opposition says the country has an obligation to help ensure Fiji retains its democratic system and that means restoring a relationship between the two countries.
New Zealand's opposition says the country has an obligation to help ensure Fiji retains its democratic system and that means restoring a relationship between the two countries.
Photo: RNZ
The New Zealand defence minister, Gerry Brownlee, is in Fiji in a bid to rebuild defence co-operation and engagement between New Zealand and Fiji.
Following Fiji's elections in September, New Zealand lifted its last sanctions on Fiji which until March included a travel ban on the Fiji military for its role in ousting the elected government in 2006.
The Labour Party's defence spokesperson, Phil Goff, says New Zealand must accept there has been a democratic election, which international observers deemed relatively free and fair.
"To continue to hold against Fiji its past, not withstanding the same personnel to a degree are still running the country, would be to neglect the fact that a democratic process had taken place."