As world leaders start trickling into Auckland for the Pacific Island Forum, climate change and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's escalating refugee problem are shaping up as crucial issues both on the formal agenda and sidelines of the traditionally laid-back Pacific gathering.
On climate change, the small Pacific nations have a powerful ally in United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who fired a shot on his way to New Zealand for the forum, warning of economic and social instability in the Pacific Islands region if nothing is done to combat climate change.
It is a message he will press home at a speech to the University of Auckland tomorrow and in a press conference with Prime Minister John Key later in the day.
The fight against climate change has long been a key item on forum communiques, but Ban's trip gives the issue a renewed sense of urgency.
At a press conference in the Solomons capital Honiara, Ban called on the international community to do more to fight climate change, AAP reported.
Low-lying atoll nations were under threat of disappearing under rising tides, he warned.
"Ocean waves can be more dangerous than an army. They can wipe out whole islands. The oceans are already destroying crops in low-lying atolls. That puts food security at risk. Poor food security means weak social stability."
Ban is one of the big names attracted to the forum this year, 40 years after the first gathering in Wellington 40 years ago.
Just five Pacific countries attended that year, compared with 17 this week.
The glaring omission is Fiji, which has been suspended over the refusal of the ruling military regime to restore democratic elections.
Key says he expects the forum to focus on issues including lifting the prosperity of Pacific nations.
But the arrival of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is likely to focus more attention both on her own future, and the furore over asylum seekers: an issue that threatens to drag both Gillard and her government down.
Gillard has spent the past few days batting off speculation that her leadership is in trouble after a High Court ruling scuttled her plan to process asylum seekers in Malaysia, and is in desperate need of another solution to stave off a massive domestic backlash.
Her government has been exploring options, including sending asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, but the High Court appears to have ruled out those options as well.
The forum kicks off with a traditional welcome for forum leaders tomorrow evening at the Auckland museum before an opening ceremony at Auckland's new Rugby World Cup waterfront venue, The Cloud, on Wednesday morning.
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