A titanic struggle looms between the old and new orders in Fiji for the hearts and minds of the indigenous majority – the i’taukei. It’s a struggle that will determine the future for all Fiji citizens and on present indications, the portents don’t look good. Because the old order – the i’taukei chiefs – seem determined to make race the centerpiece … [Read more...] about # PARAMOUNT CHIEF DEALS THE RACE CARD
#66 MAN-MADE ELEMENT IN FIJI FLOODS?
The heartbreaking devastation of the latest floods in Fiji masks a deeper concern - that human activity may be making the situation a lot worse. As the western town of Nadi was submerged for the second time this year, some difficult questions are being asked about whether developments both upstream and downstream have made Nadi more flood prone. … [Read more...] about #66 MAN-MADE ELEMENT IN FIJI FLOODS?
#65 A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
Grubsheet and much of the Sydney media is in mourning for one of its most popular figures - the television producer, Cliff Neville - who has died from cancer of the liver. Cliff was a highly accomplished journalist with a distinguished career in the print media before he switched to television in the early eighties, first at the Seven Network and … [Read more...] about #65 A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
#64 THE KING IS DEAD
News of the death in Hong Kong of the Tongan monarch, King George Tupou V, came as a huge shock to his island kingdom and the Tongan diaspora. Although he’d had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney in Los Angeles last year, there had been no warning of any deterioration in the condition of the 63-year old and the announcement stunned everyone but … [Read more...] about #64 THE KING IS DEAD
#63 WHEN VIOLENCE THREATENS
Grubsheet's burgeoning number of opinion pieces on Fiji are largely designed to counter what we regard as the continuing failure of the mainstream regional media to come to grips with the reality of events there. They're especially aimed at an Australian audience, to highlight what we regard as the folly of Canberra having turned its back on Fiji … [Read more...] about #63 WHEN VIOLENCE THREATENS
#62 END OF A CHIEFLY ERA
The hereditary chiefs of Fiji are no more -at least in a formal sense - having been removed at the stroke of a pen from determining the country's affairs. More than 130 years of tradition was wiped from the history books in a surprise announcement by the Fijian leader, Frank Bainimarama, who described the Great Council of Chiefs as an anachronism … [Read more...] about #62 END OF A CHIEFLY ERA