Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs Pio Tikoduadua has warned that a collapse in public trust poses as great a threat to Pacific security as drugs, crime and climate change combined.
Speaking yesterday at the Pacific peace and security dialogue, Mr Tikoduadua said governments could not police their way to safety if citizens had already lost faith in the institutions meant to protect them.
“We can have police officers, the military, a good judiciary and the right technology everywhere but what about the people? Do they trust us to look after them?”, he said.
“If they feel the system is weak, that adds to our problem.”
“If our own people do not trust us in our own countries, then really it’s a bit of a useless exercise what we’re doing.”
He said trust was important at a time when Fiji and other Pacific countries were dealing with growing challenges such as drug trafficking, cybercrime and climate-related disasters.
Mr Tikoduadua cited a UNDP social cohesion study finding that NGOs and the church were more trusted by Pacific communities than their own governments – a result he described as a significant warning signal for the region.
The warning came as he drew on a deeply personal experience to illustrate the stakes.
His daughter, a police officer, was recently run over by drug traffickers in Fiji in an incident involving people of multiple nationalities – a case he said laid bare the transnational complexity of crime now hitting Pacific families.
“Because we are small, threats hit very quickly at the very centre of the things that matter to us – family.”
Mr Tikoduadua said security agencies must lead by example and follow the law if they wanted to earn and keep public confidence.
He said trust was a key part of keeping communities safe and ensuring people supported the work of law enforcement agencies.
