Aid for Nauru suspended

The Herald reports:

The New Zealand government has put aid money for Nauru’s justice sector on hold for what Foreign Minister Murray McCully said was Nauru’s failure to address concerns over the rule of law.

Mr McCully said the $1.2 million annual funding for Nauru’s justice department was due to roll over at the end of August but that had been put on hold.

The funding was put under review in July after international concerns about civil rights abuses in Nauru following a change of Government in 2013 including the expulsion of key members of the judiciary, suspension of Opposition MPs and arrests of those who took part in a protest.

This is good. The Nauru Government is acting in an appalling way, and we should not be helping fund their justice sector, when the Government is abusing it.

Mr McCully said he was assured by Nauru’s Justice Minister David Adeang last year that the government would work to restore confidence in the justice system but that had not happened.

“To put the funding on hold for any justice sector support is something we do very reluctantly but we are in a position where we think that support is going to be viewed as part of the problem rather than part of the solution if we allow things to go forward without any shift in approach.”

If they make changes, then the funding may resume.