TVNZ's Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver was last night detained as she flew into Fiji to cover the row, which is due to the Government refusing to back down in the face of an ultimatum from self-appointed prime minister Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama.
NZPA understands Cdre Bainimarama sent a terse message to Wellington last week, saying if a visa was not granted to the son of a senior official in Suva, acting high commissioner Caroline McDonald would be expelled.
The Government is expected to send a formal letter to Cdre Bainimarama today that the visa will not be renewed.
Dreaver was detained last night as she tried to pass through immigration. No reason was given other than that she is on a watch list which was put in place in July. Fiji Times editor Netani Rika said on Radio New Zealand today he understood Dreaver was now on a plane home from Fiji.
Dreaver earlier told One News the Ministry of Information, who put the watch list in place, had given her a pass to film at the barracks the next day.
"It's not very pleasant but it's just the way it goes here and this is Fiji now I guess.
"I'm not the first journalist to be sent away from Fiji and I guess I won't be the last."
She said the only reason she could think for her blacklisting was stories she had done in July on Fijian New Zealander Balu Kahn who was recently released after he had been charged with attempting to kill Cdre Bainimarama.
Insiders say Cdre Bainimarama is using the refusal to grant a visa to former Massey University student George Nacewa -- the son of Rupeni Nacewa, a secretary in the office of Fiji's president -- as a pretext to raise the stakes over travel sanctions against Fiji.
His visa expired in October and he was sent home.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said New Zealand had tried to take a constructive approach to its relationship with Fiji but he could not rule out Ms McDonald being expelled.
He said it was possible Cdre Bainimarama was trying to test the new National Government, but he and his colleagues would be keeping their cool.
"You can be sure we will do everything we can to avoid any sort of boil over." However, it is understood the Government has no intention of backing down and is considering expelling Fiji's high commissioner in Wellington, Ponsami Chetty, if Cdre Bainimarama carries out his threat against Ms McDonald.
Ms McDonald will become the second New Zealand high commissioner to get marching orders.
In June last year Mike Green was declared persona non grata by Cdre Bainimarama's regime after he was accused of "interfering in Fiji's domestic affairs". Selective travel sanctions were imposed on Fiji soon after Cdre Bainimarama seized power in a bloodless coup two years ago, overthrowing the country's elected government.
They apply to members of the regime, its senior officials and their relatives.
Cdre Bainimarama has become increasingly irritated by the restrictions and said if New Zealand wanted to help Fiji it should stop its travel restrictions which were extremely damaging.
"There is nothing happening in Fiji that people should be concerned about," he said on Radio New Zealand. "There is no killing, there is no beating of people, the press are freer than they were before, so I don't know what the fuss is all about.
"We will return to parliamentary democracy when we are ready, but until then we will decide what we need to do in our country to take us forward." Cdre Bainimarama has made non-specific threats against other diplomatic staff, and the Government does not know how far he will go with his expulsion orders.
Fiji has also refused to issue diplomatic visas to replace the defence attache, who leaves next week, and the police attache, who leaves in January, though it says those matters are unrelated. Australia is also being blocked in its bid to send a defence attache.
Mr McCully was in Suva last week with other Pacific foreign ministers, making the latest attempt to persuade Fiji's leaders to hold democratic elections by March next year.
Cdre Bainimarama promised last year to meet the deadline, but since then little progress has been made.
