Prime Minister Kevin Rudd played down calls from a Pacific island leader for Fijian citizens to rise against the nation's military regime, instead advocating a peaceful resolution to the issue.
Mr Rudd criticised the recent arrest of Methodist church leaders by the Fijian military last month under emergency powers imposed by self-appointed leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
However he said a peaceful resolution was required.
His comments came after Niue Premier Toke Talagi told delegates at the opening ceremony of the 40th annual Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns that Fijians should challenge the regime.
He said the decision by Commodore Bainimarama to suspend elections until 2014 was unacceptable.
Fiji was suspended from the forum earlier this year after the strongman, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006, reneged on promises to hold an election in March this year.
'Perhaps the people of Fiji must now rise to challenge the undemocratic rule of the military regime and restore democracy for the sake of the future of their children,' Mr Talagi said.
Mr Rudd said the Australian government strongly advocated a peaceful solution to the challenges which lie ahead.
'The fact that a leader of a Methodist church can have their door banged on in the middle of the night and be taken off by the authorities, whacked into jail and charged with some trumped up offence, under the emergency regulations put out by the military government of Fiji is profoundly disturbing.
'It's a peaceful solution in which the peoples of the region and the peoples of Fiji must equally engage.'
Mr Rudd's sentiments were echoed by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key who rejected Mr Talagi's comments.
'I think they are unhelpful and it's not the stance or the options that New Zealand would encourage or consider,' Mr Key said.
'There is a peaceful way to resolve this and we want that to happen.'
He said the Fiji situation had not even been raised at the summit on Wednesday, though the nation's inclusion in a regional free trade agreement would be discussed at a leaders' retreat on Thursday.
A group of Fijian citizens, including Simione Kaieami, a minister in the government deposed by the military, protested outside the forum on Wednesday, urging action against the regime.
The group protested in typical Fijian style - staging a singalong with ukuleles and bowls of kava.
FIJI NEWS
Mr Rudd criticised the recent arrest of Methodist church leaders by the Fijian military last month under emergency powers imposed by self-appointed leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
However he said a peaceful resolution was required.
His comments came after Niue Premier Toke Talagi told delegates at the opening ceremony of the 40th annual Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns that Fijians should challenge the regime.
He said the decision by Commodore Bainimarama to suspend elections until 2014 was unacceptable.
Fiji was suspended from the forum earlier this year after the strongman, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006, reneged on promises to hold an election in March this year.
'Perhaps the people of Fiji must now rise to challenge the undemocratic rule of the military regime and restore democracy for the sake of the future of their children,' Mr Talagi said.
Mr Rudd said the Australian government strongly advocated a peaceful solution to the challenges which lie ahead.
'The fact that a leader of a Methodist church can have their door banged on in the middle of the night and be taken off by the authorities, whacked into jail and charged with some trumped up offence, under the emergency regulations put out by the military government of Fiji is profoundly disturbing.
'It's a peaceful solution in which the peoples of the region and the peoples of Fiji must equally engage.'
Mr Rudd's sentiments were echoed by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key who rejected Mr Talagi's comments.
'I think they are unhelpful and it's not the stance or the options that New Zealand would encourage or consider,' Mr Key said.
'There is a peaceful way to resolve this and we want that to happen.'
He said the Fiji situation had not even been raised at the summit on Wednesday, though the nation's inclusion in a regional free trade agreement would be discussed at a leaders' retreat on Thursday.
A group of Fijian citizens, including Simione Kaieami, a minister in the government deposed by the military, protested outside the forum on Wednesday, urging action against the regime.
The group protested in typical Fijian style - staging a singalong with ukuleles and bowls of kava.
FIJI NEWS
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