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Sofield, 78, criticised the Coalition authorities for chopping the international support program, and stated Morrison and Overseas Minister Marise Payne ought to have extra commonly visited the Solomons. He stated the Pacific “Step Up” coverage was “too little, too late”.
“I discover it incomprehensible that we didn’t know upfront what was taking place in Solomon Islands this time. It simply couldn’t have occurred beforehand,” he stated.
Sofield stated it was a “good query” as as to whether Labor would do a greater job, however a brand new authorities could be an “alternative to reset the connection”.
“Reset the whole relationship with the South Pacific, sit down with individuals who know the South Pacific and begin to utterly re-engineer the best way we do it, completely different support applications, completely completely different personnel,” he stated.
He stated the Liberal Member for Bass Bridget Archer did have his vote for crossing the ground on an integrity fee final 12 months, however the Solomons deal had misplaced his vote.
“I noticed Scott Morrison are available in … I made a decision I wish to converse to the prime minister and inform him he had misplaced my vote,” he stated.
“And that’s when instantly I discover I used to be surrounded by guys on both facet of me, and proper on the finish certainly one of his feminine minders went as much as the proprietor of the institution and requested him to order me off the premises.”
“If that is what our democracy is coming to, it’s a fairly unhappy state of affairs.”
He stated he was “fairly upset”.
“I’m a bit man, I’m fairly previous now,” he stated.
Sofield stated he was Australia’s second excessive commissioner to the Solomons after the nation achieved independence from the UK.
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