Instability, costs, climate on Vanuatu voters' minds

Political stability, climate change and the cost of living loom as the biggest issues when Vanuatu goes to the polls in January. Voters in the Melanesian archipelago will know their election date as soon as Friday, following political manoeuvring that led to another snap poll. An election wasn't due until 2026, but under the request of under-pressure Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, who faced a motion of no confidence, President Nikenike Vurobaravu dissolved parliament earlier this month. Multiple sources have told AAP they expect the election will be in the week of January 13. It is the second-consecutive four-year term to be cut in half. With more than a dozen parties in the 52-member parliament, instability is the norm. Shifting alliances regularly lead to mid-term changes of prime ministers: just one prime minister of the last 16 has lasted a full four-year term. Ralph Regenvanu, leader of the Land and Justice Party, and the special envoy for climate change, told AAP voters are sick of the churn. "It's a huge issue for the general public ... after the last dissolution, there was a very strong view that we needed to go reform to stop this instability," he said. That prompted the country's first-ever referendum, passed in May, which banned MPs leaving the parties they were elected with, and requiring independents to join larger parties. "These reforms were the result of a very large petition that was signed and a march to parliament by ordinary citizens towards the end of 2023," Mr Regenvanu said. "It's one of the key building blocks (to bring stability) but we need more, because there needs to be more political reform." Mr Regenvanu is best known as a driving force behind Vanuatu's push to get the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on whether high-emitting countries are legally required to more on climate change. Vanuatu rallied more than 100 nations, including Australia, to support the push, and a rare consensus of United Nations General Assembly members green-lit the hearings. That will begin in The Hague begin next week, when Mr Regenvanu will leave the campaign trail and head to Europe to deliver the national statement. He believes voters are fully behind the trailblazing climate advocacy. "When we had the UNGA vote, there was a national celebration. A public holiday was declared and there was a great response and turnout from people," he said. Given his profile, as leader of the fourth-biggest party, Mr Regenvanu will be a candidate for prime minister after the election. "I'm open to that position, if we can negotiate it," he said. "In the last legislature that just finished, the prime minister's party wasn't the biggest party. It's a matter of coalition building." However, ending up as Vanuatu's leader is not his primary goal. "We just want to get as many MPs elected in our party as possible, so that we have greater weight in forming a coalition, and in terms of what positions we can get in that coalition government, more influence on policy." Central to their push will be improving the public services that everyday Ni-Vanuatu depend on. "Cost of living and services are the main issues," he said. "So is the lack of government services, basic services, health, education. "There has been a big teacher strike this year, which has really severely affected education and hasn't been handled very well by the government or the union or the teachers. "There's also issues with infrastructure. There's always issues with roads and health systems and so on."