An Australian academic said the tit-for-tat action taken by Australia and New Zealand will not change anything in Fiji.

Professor Satish Chand of the University of New South Wales told Radio Australia that Australia has missed an opportunity with Fiji, after its decision to embark on a tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion this week.

Chand said it would have been far more helpful if Australia had assisted Fiji in its return to democracy.