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( The following story has now been confirmed after doubts were raised about it by Radio Australia and the historian Brij Lal. Details below): The constitutional submission by members of the former governing party in Fiji - the SDL – calling for the country to be declared a Christian state is surely one of the longest political suicide notes in … [Read more...] about # THE RACIST BIGOTS OF THE SDL

Dr Mike Gosling is a third generation Fijian from the celebrated family that formed one half of the Williams and Gosling freight forwarding company, which has become one of Fiji's largest and now employs around 300 people. He wrote to Grubsheet in response to our article this week quoting the former vice president, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, as saying … [Read more...] about # A KAI VALAGI BECOMES A FIJIAN

The jailing of the former prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, for corruption is a personal tragedy for the man who once held the highest elected office in the land. But it is also a powerful lesson for all Fijians that the days of looking after yourself and your kai vata (associates) at the expense of the wider community are over. The pursuit of … [Read more...] about # 124 A GROSS BREACH OF TRUST

Fiji's deposed prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, has been sentenced to a jail term of 12 months after being convicted earlier in the week on corruption charges. He was pronounced guilty on six counts of abuse of office and three counts of discharge of duty with respect to a property in which he had a private interest. The charges related to the … [Read more...] about # QARASE SENTENCE – NEWS FLASH

For all the nonsense written in Australia about Fiji, there has always been an oasis of reason and common sense at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the independent think tank set up by John Howard's government to provide fresh ideas on the country's defence and strategic policy options. ASPI has again fulfilled its brief with an article … [Read more...] about # FIJI’S “VITAL” PACIFIC ROLE

The recent observation by the former vice president, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, that race relations in Fiji have never been better is an important acknowledgement of unquestionably the Bainimarama Government’s greatest achievement. This is its crusade to bridge the gulf between the races in Fiji and try to draw a line under the entrenched separateness … [Read more...] about # RACE RELATIONS “NEVER BETTER”