00:00In the Pacific, the Prime Minister's patience is tested.
00:12Anthony Albanese touching down in Vanuatu with plenty of pomp, but without a prize to show for it.
00:19Less than a month ago, six ministers trooped to the top of a volcano in Tanna
00:24to declare they'd successfully concluded negotiations on the Nakamal Agreement.
00:29I hope we will all look back on this day.
00:32A 10-year, $500 million deal to bolster Vanuatu's development and security
00:38while entrenching Australia's strategic position in a country where China is making inroads.
00:45Mr Albanese was meant to put the crowning touch on the pact today and formally sign it,
00:50but Vanuatu's quicksilver politics can resemble quicksand,
00:55and the agreement is now stuck in the mud.
00:58Some of my ministers and my MPs, they feel that it requires more discussion.
01:05Some MPs in Vanuatu unhappy at Australia's attempt to use the agreement
01:09to keep other countries, like China, out of critical infrastructure
01:14like telecommunications and ports.
01:17Particularly on some of the specific wardings in the agreement.
01:22Could it limit your ability to get funding from other countries for critical infrastructure?
01:27Yes.
01:28The Prime Minister is adamant this setback is only temporary.
01:32We're very confident that the agreement can be reached.
01:37But the episode conjures bad memories for Australia,
01:41which signed a separate security agreement with Vanuatu in 2022,
01:46only to see it blocked, then dumped.
01:49It was always going to be the case that Vanuatu was going to be a tricky one.
01:53Vanuatu's always maintained a very kind of independent stance.
01:58The government has notched plenty of winds in the Pacific,
02:01and today's setback may prove more of a blip than a disaster.
02:05But it's another reminder of how fluid politics remains in this region
02:10and how seemingly lasting gains can quickly turn to dust.
02:14A lesson worth keeping in mind as Mr Albanese prepares to head here
02:18to Solomon Islands for a critical meeting of Pacific leaders.
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