The Albanese government's handling of its offer to fund the Solomon Islands election after an internal push to delay the national poll has been branded "a giant misstep".
The Pacific nation's prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, labelled the offer of assistance an "assault on our parliamentary democracy" after Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed on Tuesday it had been made.
Mr Sogavare has said his nation cannot afford to hold both the Pacific Games in 2023 and the election in the same year.
