Nauru in 2004

Nauru in 2004

Area: 21.2 sq km (8.2 sq mi)
Population (2004 est.): 10,100
Capital: Government offices in Yaren district
Head of state and government: Presidents René Harris and, from June 22, Ludwig Scotty

Constitutional problems combined with a funding crisis to cripple Nauru’s economy in 2004. Early in the year, while Pres. René Harris and Finance Minister Kinza Clodumar were on a prolonged financial aid-seeking trip to Australia, Parliament passed laws to prevent the government from spending money without prior parliamentary approval. For six weeks Nauru’s Parliament was unable to pass the budget because neither the government nor the opposition (each with nine seats) was prepared to lose a vote by nominating a speaker. In late May the opposition suddenly elected David Adeang parliamentary speaker and passed several private members’ bills, including one regarding the examination of allegations of illegal passport sales and another that required all MPs to divulge property holdings and business interests.

On June 22 Harris’s government collapsed in a vote of no-confidence after one of his supporters changed sides, and former president Ludwig Scotty was returned to office. At the Pacific Islands Forum in Samoa in August, the new president told Australian Prime Minister John Howard that the Nauruan economy would be badly affected if Australia did not increase its $A 60 million (about U.S.$42 million) aid package. The financial plight of Nauru was worsened by the failure of property-development schemes and the Australian decision to reduce reliance on Nauru as an offshore point of detention for asylum seekers.

On October 1 President Scotty abruptly dissolved the government, announced a state of emergency, and called a snap election for October 23. His supporters captured a solid majority with 15 of the 18 seats, and Scotty immediately announced a new cabinet with Adeang as both finance minister and foreign minister. A tough reformist budget was approved on October 27.

A.R.G. Griffiths