Pacific Union

In 2003, a committee of the Australian Senate called for the formation of a Pacific Union composed of the member-states of the Pacific Islands Forum, but with a common charter, institutions and currency. Although Prime Minister of Australia John Howard has also spoken of a Pacific Union, his government's emphasis has been on bilateral relations and agreements with the individual states of the Forum.

File:Australasian Olympic Flag.svg

Potential Flag of the Pacific Union

Several forum states joined together in the RAMSI initiative to intervene in the Solomon Islands in 2004, to deal with problems of lawlessness and corruption. Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu already use the Australian dollar. The Constitution of Australia provides for the admission of new states to the federation at any time, indeed New Zealand is mentioned in the definitions section of the Constitution as a potential state. There is however little demonstrated support for expansion of the federation from within Australia or without.

Future Prospects

There has been a call from within both the Australian and New Zealand business communities to extend the Closer Economic Relations Free Trade Agreement to other Pacific Island nations. Moving towards a single market and allowing the free movement of people and goods. Harmonizating both the CER and the Pacific Regional Trade Agreement (PARTA) is one possibility of moving towards this goal.

See also

• Caribbean Community
• Continental union
  • African Union
  • Asian Union
  • Central Asian Union
  • European Union
  • NAFTA
  • South American Union
  • Oceania
  • Pacific Games
  • Closer Economic Relations
  • Pacific Regional Trade Agreement

External Links

• Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
• The Pacific Plan

Articles, Editorials, and Reports

• Beyond Cooperation: Towards an Oceanic Community
• Regional Integration in the Pacific
• Regionalism in the Pacific: A New Development Strategy
• Whose Oceania? Contending Visions of Community in Pacific Region-Building
• Australia's Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (2003-08-12): A Pacific Engaged: Australia’s Relations with Papua New Guinea and the Island States of the South–West Pacific
• ABC (2003-08-12): Senate Calls for Pacific Community to Head Off Regional Crises
• The Age (2003-08-13): Call for EU-Style 'Pacific Community'
• ABC (2003-08-18): Australia Floats 'Pacific Union' Idea
• The Age (2003-08-18): Howard Push for Pacific Union
• The Age (2003-08-30): Time to Look at a Pacific Community
• Pacific Magazine (2004-03-01): A EU-Style Club For The Pacific?
• The Age (2004-03-06): Bold Plan for Pacific Unity
• The Age (2004-04-06): Pacific Forum Beckons EU-Style Links
• ABC (2004-04-06): Pacific Plan Expected to Fall Short of Total Union
• The Age (2004-04-07): Pacific Heads Back Region Unity Plan
• Pacific Economic Bulletin (2005 #3): Towards a Pacific Community
• The Age (2005-10-09): Pacific Plan Puts Howard to the Test
• Pacific Magazine (2005-10-17): ADB Calls for Pacific Plan Focus On Governance And Economic Opportunities
• Fiji (2005-11-02): Pacific Leaders Endorse Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation
• Labor eHerald (2006-05-04): A Vision of a Pacific Community
• ABC (2006-07-23): Urwin Calls for Pacific Settlement