Issue No: 585; 15 March 2001

In a speech which the ALP's Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurie Brereton delivered at a fundraising dinner for ALP and Fiji's National Farmers Union, he stated:
"Should the Chiefs and the military fail to allow the early restoration of democratic government in accordance with the 1997 Constitution, they should expect they will be dealt with and regarded as we dealt with the South Africa of old. Let them have no doubt. Australian Labor stands, and stands absolutely, for democracy and racial tolerance in Fiji."

Brereton also stated that the ALP's policy on racial tolerance and democracy in Fiji will be maintained.