New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said it is a ridiculous assertion by Fiji's Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama to claim that Australia and New Zealand are not Pacific island nations.
Speaking to reporters in between meetings at the Pacific Islands Leaders Forum, Key said New Zealand is of course part of the Pacific and in the case of Auckland, it is the largest city here in the Pacific.
According to Key, they have always played a leadership role in the Pacific and they are going to continue to do that.
Key believes that it will continue to be maintained that Fiji should be excluded from the forum until they start demonstrating that they're on a pathway to democracy.
However, Commodore Bainimarama has told the ABC's Foreign Correspondence program that Australia and New Zealand bullied their way into the Forum and they are not Pacific island states.
Meanwhile, Fiji’s suspension from the Forum and its future participation is expected to be discussed by the leaders at the retreat today.
Commodore Bainimarama has already made his intentions known, that Fiji does not want to get back into the forum at this stage.
Story by: Roneel Lal
Key says Aust/NZ are Pacific states
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