On this page:

• Summary
• Politics
• National Engagement
  • New Caledonia and its neighbours
  • New Caledonia and Australia
  • New Caledonia and the US
• International Forums
  • Melanesian Spearhead Group
  • The Pacific Community

Summary

New Caledonia is one of three French territories in the Pacific, alongside French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. It is administratively divided into three provinces – The Islands Province, Northern Province, and Southern Province. France claimed New Caledonia in 1853 with the intent of using the territory as a penal colony. Between 1864-1924, nearly 22,000 prisoners were transported there. Over the same period there were numerous indigenous uprisings, the most serious being in 1978 which almost threatened the French occupation. These were met with harsh reprisals that saw villages and crops burned and ring leaders executed or deported. The French adopted a policy of subjugating the local population with mass confiscation of land, land clearing, and a Head tax – which in 1899 was imposed by the colonial government on all male Melanesians to force them to obtain employment with settlers and the government.

During the 1890s-1920s, the French government encouraged its citizens to migrate to New Caledonia to help establish the coffee and cotton industries. They also acquired around 60,000 indentured foreign workers from neighbouring islands to work on plantations and complete public works. Despite continuous efforts to increase migration, it was only during the Nickel boom between 1969-1972 that the indigenous Kanak population became a minority in their own country.

The degree in which New Caledonia is given autonomy to manage its own affairs has always been contentious. After the second World War, there was a gradual move towards self-governance and greater Kanak representation. In the late 1970s, the Caledonian Union, which originally included an even number of French and Melanesian members, became an increasingly Melanesian party that supported the cause for independence.

In 1979 the Caledonian Union formed the ‘Independence Front’ in coalition with several minority Melanesian parties. Although the French Government granted complete self-government of territorial affairs under the Lemoine Statute in 1984, the Union’s Independence Front rejected this and reconstituted itself as the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (KLNKS). The KLNKS boycotted elections that year and began an uprising that captured most territory outside of the capital Noumea. While this did not change the status quo, it did ignite a two-decade political struggle between the KLNKS and the settler dominated party, Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (RPCR).

The Nouméa Accord, signed in May 1998, and approved by the French National Assembly in March 1999, included provisions such as a change of status from overseas territory to overseas country (later, a unique collectivity) and the holding of three referendums on independence, to be deferred for 15–20 years.

The first referendum held in November 2018 resulted in 56% of voters opting to remain a French territory. The second vote, held in October 2020 produced a smaller margin with 53% voting to stay with France. The third referendum, held in November 2021, was a landslide victory in favour of Pro France loyalists who received 97% of votes. However, the results are controversial due the Kanak population boycotting the vote, claiming they were unfairly disadvantaged due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. There was a 44% reduction in the number of voters, casting doubt over the referendum’s legitimacy.

While the Kanaks have requested another vote, France now considers the matter closed. Since then, political tensions have remained high, escalating in 2024 when a proposed change to voting laws sparked protests and riots across the country that left nine people dead. (See: Hot Topic)

Image: 2020 – Kanak voters at Nouméa's Hôtel de Ville by David Robie/PMC

Politics

New Caledonia has a complex political system based on parliamentarism and representative democracy. The President of the Government of New Caledonia was established following the signing of the Noumea agreement in 1998. In July 2021, Louis Mapou became the first native Kanak president, a turning point for the pro-independence movement.

In Paris, New Caledonia is represented by two seats at the French National Assembly and two seats in the French Senate. In New Caledonia, the French High Commissioner is France’s top representative – akin to a governor – and is responsible for the ‘competencies’ not devolved to the local government including money, public order, foreign affairs, immigration, higher education, defence, justice, and the French civil service in-country.

Since October 2023, the French Ambassador for the Pacific has also been based in Noumea. The Government of New Caledonia is responsible for all other competencies. The three provinces have considerable powers and responsibility for economic development, tourism, agriculture and fisheries, mining permits, culture, environmental protection, social welfare, sports, and primary education. Provincial Presidents are powerful political figures in New Caledonian politics. There is also a Customary Senate which grants institutional representation to traditional Kanak authorities. This body advises the New Caledonian Government and Congress on anything that relates to customary status, customary lands, customary law, etc.

New Caledonia and its Neighbours

New Caledonia has a positive relationship with its neighbours, particularly its closest neighbour Vanuatu after signing a cooperation agreement in 2002. Since 2019, officials have been appointed to represent New Caledonia’s interests within five Pacific countries including Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. These officials are embedded within each country's respective French Embassies. Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Vanuatu each have a diplomatic presence in New Caledonia through their respective Consulates-General. Japan also operates a Consulate.

New Caledonia and Australia

Nouméa was Australia's first overseas diplomatic mission in the Pacific, and fourth globally, after London, Washington, and Ottawa. In 2020, Australia celebrated its 80th anniversary of Australian diplomatic representation in New Caledonia.

Canberra has an interest in France remaining active and engaged in the Pacific to help share the burden of countering China’s reach and influence. France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy presents an opportunity for Australia to engage with France’s Ambassador to the Pacific on priority issues including security, economic development, and the country’s integration in the region.

On a person-to-person level, the relationship between New Caledonia and Australia began in the late 1900s where many indigenous Kanaks were shipped to Australia to work on plantations in northern New South Wales and Queensland in a trade known as blackbirding. Since then, immigration to Australia has been mostly out of reach for New Caledonia’s Kanak population with limited pathways available.

While New Caledonia does not participate in Australia’s popular Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) and Pacific Engagement Visa schemes, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong addressed New Caledonia’s Congress in April 2023 and stated that Australia is open to New Caledonians joining the scheme in the future.

New Caledonia and the United States

The United States Ambassador to France, Denise Campbell Bauer, visited New Caledonia on the 24th-27th October 2023 before travelling to French Polynesia; the first time a US Ambassador to France has visited either territory. There is currently no US presence in New Caledonia; however, Ambassador Bauer’s visit signals a desire to work more closely with countries who are wanting to counter China’s incursion into the Pacific. Recently, New Caledonia was included in the US-Pacific Islands Forum Leader’s Summit in 2023 that could open economic and Defence opportunities.

International Forums

As codified in the 1998 Noumea Accord, the government of New Caledonia and France share responsibility in allowing New Caledonia to join regional organisations. In 2016, New Caledonia was granted full membership of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), alongside French Polynesia. While Pro-France groups have historically been disinterested in regional engagement, the threat of China’s expansion in the Pacific has prompted renewed efforts towards integration. 

Melanesian Spearhead Group

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is a subregional organisation made up of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and New Caledonia (represented by the FLNKS). The MSG supported FLNKS in blaming the civil unrest which occurred in May 2024 (See: Hot Topic) on the French Government and could be a vehicle to support New Caledonian independence.

The Pacific Community

The Pacific Community – the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region – is hosted in Noumea and will be until 2027 after a new partnership was signed on 22 October 2023. This partnership is key to New Caledonia’s tenuous regional integration as it brings ministers and senior officials to Noumea each year. 

For further reading on New Caledonia politics, see the resources below:

Podcast

1. EU suspends visa-free travel with Vanuatu (Pacific Beat, 4m 47s) 
2. New Caledonia (80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, 2h12m)

Articles

1. How France Diluted Kanaks to 40% in New Caledonia | Mirage News
2. COVID-19 in the politically dependent Pacific territories – Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
3. 2024 May – MSG Reaffirms Position Against Constitutional Bill To Unfreeze Electoral Roll for New Caledonia (msgsec.info)
4. As protests grow in New Caledonia, Australia backs France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy – Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre 
5. How Australia can partner more effectively with France in the Pacific – Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
6. Fragilities in the French Pacific: New Caledonia broaches its future | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)
7. France under Pacific scrutiny after New Caledonia referendum impasse | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)
8. The Pacific Islands Forum 
9. The Pacific Community
10. Melanesian Spearhead Group