News and Media

SPEECH OF AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER HIS EXCELLENCY ROD HILTON AT HMAS CANBERRA MEMORIAL SERVICE 9 AUGUST 2023

Governor General, His Excellency Sir David Vunagi

Prime Minister, the Honourable Manasseh Sogavare

Other ministers of the crown

Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Matthew Wale

Other members of Parliament

Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr Jimmie Rodgers

Permanent Secretary of Police, National Security and Correctional Services, Karen Galokale

Permanent Secretaries, other statutory office holders and elected representatives

Supervising Commissioner of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, Deputy Commissioner Ian Vaevaso

Representing Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers, Sir Bruce and Lady Keithie Saunders

Members of armed forces from Solomon Islands, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand

Members of the diplomatic corps

Friends, colleagues, ladies, and gentlemen

Good morning

Thank you for joining me here this morning as we remember those who lost their lives in the sinking of the HMAS Canberra, 81 years ago.

Early on the morning of 9 August 1942 the Royal Australian Navy’s heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was attacked and severely damaged during the Battle of Savo Island. She was hit by shellfire 24 times in less than two minutes.

Francis Pickup, a signaller aboard Canberra, gave account of the ships last hours. He said “the fire raged and cancer-like, the flames spread uncontrollably. Much was done between the hours of 0143 to 0600 to attend the wounded and dying men. I was amongst the group gathered on the quarterdeck. Everybody kept calm despite the situation. Flames burned amidships and at one stage were licking at the Walrus amphibious aircraft mounted on the catapult. The bombs on both wings seemed likely at one stage to explode…thankfully nothing eventuated.”

At 0600 on 9 August, as the first light of day began to break, the order to abandon ship came.

109 Royal Australian Navy members were wounded during the Battle of Savo Island, and an additional 84 were killed in action or died of their wounds – all were crew of the HMAS Canberra. And they were not alone. 939 members of the United States Navy lost their lives in the battle. Together, they lie in the depths of what is now known as Iron Bottom Sound - united in peace with the Japanese sailors who also paid the ultimate price in service to their nation.

Today we acknowledge that those former foes are united by their commitment to peace and stability, including here in the Pacific, where we work together in support of a common future.

Remembering occasions like this serves to remind us of what can happen when great power politics spills into our region. Something we never wish to see repeated.

Australia and Solomon Islands’ long history of security partnership arcs back to World War Two. It was during this period when our two countries first worked together as Scouts and Coastwatchers. Coastwatchers and Scouts had to work hand in hand, to trust each other, risking their lives together to report on the movements of enemy aircraft and vessels. Together they rescued 791 defence personnel, missionaries and civilians. They created the bedrock for our security partnership and today I pay my respects and thank the Solomon Scouts for their bravery and sacrifice.

It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge the recent commissioning of the USS Canberra. As some of you may be aware, in July the United States Ship Canberra was commissioned in Australia; the first US ship to be commissioned outside US territory and the only to be named after a foreign capital city. The USS Canberra is named after the original HMAS Canberra, the one that fought so valiantly and now rests in Iron Bottom Sound. Canberra’s contributions to the Battle of Savo Island, so immense, that the US has honoured the name - twice. The first USS Canberra named by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943.

I’d like to end by echoing the words Australia’s Chief of Navy said so eloquently last year - Solomon Islands is not that far away from Australia. And in fact, an Australian warship is sovereign territory. In this sense there is a piece of our nation at rest in your waters, and our sons who served so bravely on the Canberra, are forever in your care.

Lest we forget.

SPEECH OF AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER HIS EXCELLENCY ROD HILTON AT SIGNING CEREMONY OF NEW COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS IN SOLOMON ISLANDS 8 AUGUST 2023

I’d like to acknowledge the presence of:

Hon Jeremiah Manele, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade
Hon Sammy Galo, Member for South Choiseul Constituency
Hon Peter Kenilorea Jnr, Member for East Are’Are Constituency
Hon Tongua Tabe, Premier of Choiseul
Project Coordinator

It’s great to have national Members of Parliament here to support the hard-working Project Coordinators in their successes.

Congratulations to the successful Project Coordinators here with us today.

I’ve seen firsthand the difference that the Solomon Islands – Australia Partnership can make to those living in rural Solomon Islands, in particular through small scale infrastructure projects.

Great to see so many of you here today responsible for projects from different provinces including Guadalcanal, Choiseul, Temotu, Rennell & Bellona, Malaita and Isabel!

In my travel to both Makira-Ulawa and to Malaita, I’ve been delighted to officially open some of these projects funded by Australia in partnership with local communities.

One was a new health clinic in Oneone Abu, which is now providing health care to 19 communities in Aoke/Langalanga.
Another was a new classroom building at the Ngaligaragara Rural Training Centre, which is delivering more training for skills in carpentry, electrical and mechanics – meaning more jobs for rural Solomon Islands.

In Makira-Ulawa Province, I was honoured to launch a new water source project in Mwanihuki Village outside of Kirakira. As the nambawan infrastructure partner in Solomon Islands, Australia is helping the Mwanihuki Village with reliable access to water and improved sanitation.

The Projects that will be formally agreed in our signing ceremony today will directly support community needs, as identified by the Project Coordinators, including:

A borehole, Solar powered pump and water tanks in North-West Guadalcanal Constituency
A new concrete footpath, concrete drains and solar lighting in South Choiseul
The completion of a classroom building at a Technical Vocational School in East Honiara Constituency
An ablution block at a Primary School in Temotu Nende Constituency
A multipurpose community shed in Temotu Vatud Constituency to teach young people traditional methods of building canoes and weaving
A community hall in Rennell and Bellona Constituency
A borehole water supply project, also in Rennell and Bellona Constituency
An ablution block attached to a church building in North Malaita Constituency
Another ablution block and water tanks at a Primary School in North Malaita Constituency
A footbridge connecting 200 people in two communities in North-West Choiseul Constituency
An Ablution block at a High School in Hograno/Kia/Havulei Constituency
A community Hall and resource Centre in East Are’Are Constituency
And a climate change mitigation sea wall in Gao/Bugotu Constituency

These projects, as you can see, reach widely across Solomon Islands, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with communities across the Hapi Isles through this program.

Projects like these deliver clear economic outcomes for rural communities in Solomon Islands – for the short and longer term – and Australia is proud to support them.

There is strong demand for Australian funding for our small-scale infrastructure grants.

We received 61 applications in our last round and have approved 13 projects.

Your projects have been selected based on their merit, and because we were impressed with your applications.

Your applications told us how your projects will benefit whole communities.

Thank you for being champions for your community.

We are looking forward to partnering with you to deliver these projects and delivering infrastructure that meets the direct needs identified by the community.

Please keep in contact with our team and let us know how your project is going over the next year.

My team will be conducting monitoring and evaluation visits towards the completion of the Project, and I love seeing the finished projects and congratulating Project Coordinators and their communities on their hard work at Handover Ceremonies.

I wish you well in your project and I look forward to hearing the outcomes.

Latitude Financial Services data breach

13 April 2023

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is aware of a cyber incident impacting Latitude Financial Services.

Copies of approximately 103,000 identity documents have been stolen from Latitude Financial. This includes a small number of passports.

Latitude Financial Services is contacting impacted customers directly and continues to investigate the matter to determine the full extent of the cyber-attack.

Foreign passports were also compromised through this cyberattack. If Latitude Financial Services have advised you that your foreign passport information was compromised, you should contact the government that issued the passport for advice on what to do.

Impacted passports are still safe to use for international travel. Your passport number cannot be used to obtain a new passport. Robust controls are used to protect passports from identity takeover, including sophisticated facial recognition technology. Further information on how your passport may be impacted can be found on the APO website(link is external).

Advice on safeguarding your personal information can be found on the APO’s webpage on protecting against scams and identity theft(link is external).

Customers can also seek help from IDCare(link is external), a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in providing advice and support to the Australian community in responding to identity theft.

Advice on how to protect yourself and your family from cyber security incidents is available on the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) webpage at: www.cyber.gov.au(link is external)

Media releases from the Australian High Commission, Honiara

Australian High Commission Media Release– Signing Ceremony for New Solomon Islands - Australia Community Partnerships

On Tuesday 8 August, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade and Member for Hograno/Kia/Havulei Hon Jeremiah Manele, Member for South Choiseul Hon Sammy Galo, Member for East Are’Are Hon Peter Kenilorea Jnr, and Premier Tongua Tabe of Choiseul Province witnessed Project Coordinators from across Solomon Islands being awarded grants for community infrastructure. Australian High Commissioner to Solomon Islands HE Rod Hilton wished the project coordinators well in implementing their projects and expressed Australia’s long-term support for small-scale infrastructure through community partnerships.

High Commissioner Hilton said “I’ve seen first-hand the difference that the Solomon Islands-Australia Partnership can make to those living in villages in Solomon Islands, particularly through community infrastructure. These projects directly support community needs, and Australia is proud to work with Solomon Islands communities to deliver them.”

The project coordinators and other community leaders explained how this funding would impact their communities at the grassroots level. Mr Harisimae, Project Coordinator of the Halevaka Canoe House in Temotu Vatud Constituency, said “thank you to Australia for helping us to improve our livelihoods in a remote part of Solomon Islands. We want to help our young people learn traditional ways of building canoes to preserve our culture – this new project will help us do that”. Mr Hatingongo, Project Coordinator of the Taubangibo Borehole Brackish Water Project, told attendees how important fresh water supply is for people in Rennell & Bellona Province, saying “this new project will give fresh water to our community”. Ms Isarongo, Project Coordinator of the Katova Community High School Amenity Infrastructure Project, explained the importance of good quality sanitation infrastructure for students, to encourage attendance at school.

Thirteen projects were selected out of 61 applications, based on the standard of their applications and how they demonstrated benefit to the community.

The successful projects are spread across various provinces and include:

A borehole, solar powered pump and water tanks in Bubumala, North-West Guadalcanal Constituency
A new concrete footpath, concrete drains and solar lighting at Wagina Community High School in South Choiseul Constituency
The completion of a classroom building at GS Faisi Technical Vocational School in East Honiara Constituency
An ablution block at Baenga Primary School in Temotu Nende Constituency
A Halevaka Canoe House in Duff Islands, in Temotu Vatud Constituency
A community hall at Hatagua Community School in Rennell and Bellona Constituency
A borehole water supply project in Taubangibo, in Rennell and Bellona Constituency
An ablution block at Taba’a Parish, in North Malaita Constituency
An ablution block and water tanks Mt Olive Primary School, in North Malaita Constituency
A footbridge connecting 200 people in two communities in Nukiki, in North-West Choiseul Constituency
An ablution block Katova Community High School , in Hograno/Kia/Havulei Constituency
A community hall and resource centre in, Raeao, in East Are’Are Constituency
And a climate change mitigation sea wall in Horara, Gao/Bugotu Constituency

Australia’s Community Partnerships Fund is a small grants program, which supports community-led projects that seek to improve living standards. These community projects reach widely across Solomon Islands – and Australia is looking forward to continuing our collaboration with communities across the Hapi Isles.

We strongly encourage applications for projects that benefit disadvantaged groups such as women, youths, those with disabilities and those from isolated communities.

The Australian High Commission will open the next funding round in the coming weeks, to be announced via our Facebook page.

High Commissioner Rod Hilton's speech on ANZAC Day 2023

Governor General, His Excellency Sir David Vunagi

Prime Minister, the Honourable Manasseh Sogavare

Chief Justice, Sir Albert Palmer

Speaker of Parliament, the Hon John Patterson Oti

Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Manasseh Maelanga

Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services, the Hon Anthony Veke

Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Matthew Wale

Permanent Secretaries and other statutory office holders

Members of armed forces from Solomon Islands, Australia and New Zealand

Members of the diplomatic corps

Friends, colleagues, ladies, and gentlemen

Anzac Day has been one of the most important dates on Australia’s calendar since 1916.

At first, it gave people a chance to honour the original Anzacs – the Australians and New Zealanders who fought so bravely at Gallipoli. Then it became a day for all those who had served in World War One.

As time passed and the Australian experience of wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations evolved, Anzac Day has become an occasion for us to honour all who have worn, and still wear, our country’s uniform in service.

Today we reflect on that service, and I’d like to welcome and thank the current and former serving members for the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces here today.

In particular, I would like to acknowledge the more than 20 Australian and New Zealand Defence Force personnel deployed to Solomon Islands. They are working with the Australian Federal Police and their Fijian military counterparts to support Solomon Islands as part of the Solomons International Assistance Force, also known as SIAF.

Since November 2021 SIAF has worked side by side with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force; a partnership founded on our enduring history, shared values, and deep friendships as Pacific Family.

These troops and their police colleagues are here at the request of the Solomon Islands Government.

Together they are here to work for our shared priority to ensure that the Blue Pacific remains peaceful, prosperous, and equipped to respond to the challenges of our time.

Through our SIAF partnership we have shown when the Pacific family works together - we can respond to the peace and security needs of the Pacific when it matters most.

Solomon Islanders are all too aware of what war and conflict looks like. As our Foreign Minister said last week, many countries in the Pacific have lived the reality of great power competition spiralling, and the chaos that followed - a situation we never want to see again.

Here in Solomon Islands, the memory of World War Two and the legends of heroic friends such as Sir Jacob Vouza (Voo-za), Biuku (Be-ick-u) Gasa, and Eroni Kumana live on. All those years ago our nations worked together in defence of common interests with Solomon Scouts and Australian Coastwatchers working hand in hand. Our security was inextricably linked then, as it is today, and Australia will always be grateful for the Scouts and their courageous service.

I would also like to acknowledge the service of members of armed forces for all other nations present today and acknowledge their service, sacrifice and courage. We pay our respects to their fallen.

It would be remiss of me on Anzac Day to not remember specifically the 85 serving members of the Australian Defence Force who have died in Solomon Islands. 84 of them were sailors who died when the HMAS Canberra sunk during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. The 85th was Private Jamie Clark, a young soldier who died on Mount Austin during a routine patrol while serving as part of RAMSI.

Jamie’s name will be projected onto the Australian War Memorial tonight along with more than 100,000 names of those Australians who have lost their lives in military operations so that we may enjoy the freedoms we hold so dear.

Lest we forget.

Australia: A steadfast partner and friend to Solomon Islands

28 April 2022

Australia and Solomon Islands enjoy a close bond – indeed, we are Pacific family. The Blue Pacific is our shared home, our common region. The Coral Sea links us forever and continental drift is in fact pushing us closer together. But our deep friendship is based on much more than shared geography.

Australia and Solomon Islands working together as family

24 March 2022

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with High Commissioner Dr Lachlan Strahan on 23 March 2022 to discuss the ongoing partnership between Solomon Islands and Australia.

Australia and Solomon Islands - stronger together in the face of COVID-19

19 February 2022

Australia has delivered eighteen tonnes of tailored medical supplies and equipment to assist provinces respond to COVID-19.

Supporting Solomon Islands

2 December 2021

Following a formal request from the Solomon Islands Government under our Bilateral Security Treaty for assistance with the provision of safety and security, Australia has responded quickly and decisively to support the Solomon Islands as part of a Pacific effort including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand.