A climate change strategy for Australia's foreign aid programme has languished on the foreign minister's desk for six months.
Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne in Suva Photo: RNZ/Lice Movono
Foreign aid groups have criticised the delay by Marise Payne, saying it undermines Australia's efforts to bolster ties with the Pacific.
Last year's Pacific Islands Forum summit declared climate change the region's single-greatest existential threat.
The Australian Financial Review reported the strategy's meant to integrate climate change action into Australia's foreign aid programme, which is the biggest in the Pacific.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made his Pacific 'step-up' one of his government's signature issues, but Pacific governments have been regularly critical of Canberra's stance on climate change.