Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Australia

Letter to the Prime Minister of Australia
The Right Hon. Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister of Australia
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Prime Minister,

Re: Inappropriate High-Level Engagement with the Prime Minister of Samoa.

1. I write on behalf of many Samoans in Samoa as well as throughout the diaspora to express grave concern regarding the proposed engagement between Australia’s Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister of Samoa at a time when the Samoan Prime Minister is facing serious criminal charges and is awaiting a court ruling.
2. Australia has consistently presented itself as a defender of the rule of law and democratic integrity across the Pacific. Proceeding with high-level diplomatic engagement under these circumstances therefore risks signalling clear endorsement of a political leader who’s not only facing serious criminal charges but is also seen by many to have committed many serious constitutional torts.
3. An example is the recent rushed appointment of the new attorney general outside of the statutory and constitutional processes. The same recently appointed attorney general defended him in the criminal hearing which clearly now warrants an investigation into:
   1. Conflict of interest
   2. Undermining of the rule of law
   3. Separation of Powers
   4. Breach of fiduciary and ethical expectations
   5. Appearance of impropriety and many more.
4. The court ruling I might add has been adjourned several times as a result of several requests from the defence which has given rise to high speculation and much scare mongering in the public domain. There is now fear on the streets because these adjournments are being made behind closed doors despite the citizens and media platforms of Samoa asking for reasons why these adjournments are being freely given without any provision of reasons. Not providing reasons goes against the fundamental principle of open justice.
5. It appears the Prime Minister is reaching deep into the operational independence of various Agencies and interfering with their daily operations which as you’re aware is highly improper, unconstitutional and a slippery slide to corruption. Allowing Samoa to continue unchecked and unmonitored in the Pacific is compromising to regional security and its economic growth.
6. This is not merely a matter of optics. It goes to the heart of institutional credibility. When judicial proceedings are active, external political validation can be perceived as interference or at a minimum, as indifference to due process. That perception weakens public confidence in democratic accountability and now reportedly prevails in Samoa.
7. In parallel, Samoa’s Minister of Finance is actively engaging the Samoan diaspora in Australia to seek investment for the purchase of a national aircraft. Many Samoans in Australia are elderly pensioners or low-income households already facing severe cost-of living pressures. There is deep concern that vulnerable members of the community are being approached to support a high-risk capital project that should properly be funded through transparent state financing mechanisms — not diaspora pressure.
8. In any event, we are seeking confirmation from your office whether all requirements contained therein your Foreign Investment Regulating Regime have been adhered to. We are also writing to the Prime Minister of NZ relating to the same.
9. Australia has both influence and responsibility in the Pacific. It should not provide political legitimacy at a time when Samoa’s internal legal processes are unresolved, inter alia, nor should it allow vulnerable diaspora communities to be exposed to aggressive financial solicitation under the imprimatur of state-to-state engagement.
10. Last week we issued a media statement raising serious concerns about governance and accountability in Samoa. In response, rather than engaging with the substance of those concerns, the Prime Minister has reportedly imposed a lifetime ban preventing me and another media personality operating from Australia, from ever entering Samoa again. Such actions are deeply troubling. The Prime Minister went on to defame and label my colleague a molester, the very essence of why your Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong is going to Samoa which we understand is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding which will be used as one of the tools to combat online bullying. This, needless to say, is extremely sad and disappointing to say the least.
11. Democracies do not silence critics by exile. The tactic of banning dissenting voices from entering their own homeland echoes some of the darkest chapters of modern history including the authoritarian practices seen in Nazi Germany, where political opposition and independent voices were systematically excluded, suppressed, and punished rather than debated.
12. The power to control borders should never be weaponised to intimidate or silence lawful political expression. When governments respond to criticism with bans instead of dialogue, they shift from democratic leadership toward authoritarian control.
13. This decision raises serious questions about freedom of expression, proportionality of executive power, and the health of democratic institutions in Samoa. We stand by our media statement here appended. Public scrutiny is not a threat to democracy, rather it is its safeguard.
14. I together with thousands of Samoans globally, with much respect urge your government to reconsider the timing of this engagement until judicial proceedings in Samoa are concluded.
15. Australia’s leadership must remain principled, especially when it is most tested.

Sincerely,

Sala Pulotu Canada Alofa McCarthy
CTV Media