The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has denied that Australia's tough approach to Fiji is out of step with the United States.

The opposition's told a Senate hearing that Australia has no clear vision for returning Fiji to democracy and risks being outmanoeuvred by the military regime.

It says five years of trying to isolate Fiji hasn't worked ... and the U-S is now calling for closer engagement.

But senior DFAT officials say it's always been prepared to have constructive dialogue with the regime.

They've also reiterated Australia's commitment to a regional trade deal.

And they say they're continuing talks with Papua New Guinea about reopening Manus Island detention centre.

Presenter: Joanna McCarthy, Canberra Correspondent
Speakers: Dennis Richardson, DFAT Secretary; Russell Trood, Liberal Senator for Queensland, Senator Helen Kroger, of the Liberal Party

MCCARTHY: Just a day after Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd defended his approach to Fiji, the opposition wasn't giving any ground. Senator Russell Trood told a Senate Estimates hearing, five years on from the Fiji coup Australia appears to have no idea how to move the situation forward.

TROOD: Our policy seems to have fallen into a huge hole here. We seem to be not moving forward, we don't seem to have engaged in any kind of dialogue, and we seem to have got ourselves into a position from which we don't seem to be able to escape. Perhaps you can tell me whether or not you agree with this observation about our policy? There is no clear mission or vision about where we're going with Fiji, yet we are going to continue doing whatever it is we are doing that has produced no result in five years. So that does not seem to be a very sensible situation.

MCCARTHY: But DFAT Secretary Dennis Richardson told the hearing, Australia has always had a clear direction when it comes to dealing with the regime?

RICHARDSON: Our commitment to a return to democracy and rule of law, respect for human rights in Fiji, I think is and must remain the core element of what our policy is about. That is an objective shared by the Pacific Islands Forum, shared by the Commonwealth, it is shared by the UN, it was expressed in the Ausmin communiqu� in November of last year with the US.

MCCARTHY: But Senator Trood said Australia's allies aren't convinced that isolating Fiji is the best way to achieve change.

TROOD: They seem to be getting impatient, certainly Mr Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia who I know you know well, has said the United States wants the Pacific Islands nation to again be a close US partner, and to that end we're now hoping close coordination with our regional partners to seek a more direct engagement with Prime Minister Bainimarama to engage his government and take steps to restore democracy and freedom.

MCCARTHY: And Dennis Richardson said Australia's always been open to constructive dialogue with the regime, but that hasn't been reciprocated.

RICHARDSON: We are prepared to do things. We don't simply articulate a policy objective and leave it at that. We have shown a preparedness to engage. Each we have shown a preparedness to engage, the Fiji authorities have sought to play a different game.

MCCARTHY: Australia's wider policies in the Pacific were also under scrutiny. The opposition noted there was no mention of the Pacific trade agreement, PACER Plus, in the government's recent trade statement. DFAT Assistant Secretary Jennifer Rawson says Australia is fully behind the negotiations, but it won't be a quick or easy process?

RAWSON: There's also a need for capacity building on the part of the Pacific Island country participants in those negotiations.

MCCARTHY: And the department confirmed discussions about reopening Manus Island detention centre are ongoing. It says PNG first raised the possibility late last year, but the more intense and formal negotiations began in May. Opposition Senator Helen Kroger wants to know what financial incentives are on offer.

KROGER: Particularly in relation to Manus Island I think it's a reasonable question to ask whether we are considering a different arrangement that requires financial support, for instance in aid, given the Australian government's focus and level of support through AusAid. So I think it's a reasonable question to ask whether in fact other aid considerations are being considered in the mix?

MCCARTHY: Secretary Richardson said he wasn't in a position to speculate. But he did say that talks about opening a centre on Solomon Islands are not being actively pursued at this stage.

RICHARDSON: There is an existing facility albeit it needs work on Manus, and the discussions with Malaysia so far have gone along quite well. We don't see a need just yet to put the Solomon Islands in precisely the same mix.