The Attorney General, Graham Leung, reaches for the Bible for inspiration to tell the nation through both dailies today that it will be easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than to change the 2013 Constitution.
The AG goes on to say that constitutional change is still on the “front burner” for the Coalition government. But he is clearly in the business of hosing down community expectations that have been fuelled by the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, when he said that constitutional review is on the agenda for 2025.
It can’t be in any meaningful way. Because a year later will come the next election. And hardheads in the government like Graham Leung are starting to realise that changing the constitution is going to be a major drag on the Coalition’s chances of re-election when it is already on the nose with the electorate for its dysfunction and failure to deliver even the most basic services.
Here’s the reality check for everyone: The Constitution can only be changed – as the Attorney General concedes – with the support of 75 per cent of MPs in the parliament and 75 per cent of the electorate at a referendum. And the Coalition isn’t going to achieve either threshold in the immediate future.
The Opposition leader, Inia Seruiratu, has already said that the Constitution doesn’t need changing and in any event, change should only be considered after the government’s planned Truth and Reconciliation Commission provides the nation with an accounting of why we have failed to achieve stability in the 54 years since Independence. A raft of iTaukei MPs like Jone Usamate are saying the same thing. And we can expect any Indo-Fijian member of the former FijiFirst government to be implacably opposed to constitutional change because the one third of Indo-Fijians who still make up the country are terrified of it.
Why? Because while our politicians continually fudge the questions of precisely what clauses of the Constitution need changing, many iTaukei are quite open about what they want – an end to the common and equal citizenry and the supremacy of the iTaukei established in the supreme law; an end to the common identity ( everyone “Fijian”) because they think they own an English word; and in many instances, an end to the secular state and Christianity established as the state religion. In other words, the indigenous supremacist agenda from 1987.
Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a comment left on Grubsheet during the night from someone called Tevita – a real person because he leaves his full hotmail address including his surname.
That’s the “vibe” in much of the vanua. And if anyone thinks that a national debate that is dominated by such sentiments – along with the equally common refrain that the 2013 Constitution was “imposed by the Taliban” – is going to result in a Coalition win in the 2026 election, they are deluded. You will simply not get 75 per cent of MPs and 75 per cent of the electorate going along with such nonsense. And as Grubsheet has long observed, the minorities in Fiji will fight to the death to avoid being so spectacularly marginalised.
What we are seeing with Graham Leung’s latest comments is the familiar “Good Cop, Bad Cop”, routine that has become a major feature of this government. The Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, panders to his iTaukei supremacist constituency by telling them that changing the Constitution is a priority. And the Attorney General tries to hose down expectations, even purloining the line from the Bible about the difficulty of rich people getting into the kingdom of heaven (“easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle”) to make the point that the Constitution isn’t going to be changed anytime soon.
Even if procedural change is achievable or there’s consensus on such measures as abolishing the national constituency and re-introducing individual electorates, there is just not enough groundswell of opinion to meet the threshold to abolish the common and equal citizenry, the common identity and the secular state. And anyone who goes to the next election advocating the supremacy of the iTaukei and the Christian religion is on a hiding to nothing if they want to govern.
They might get past the 5 per cent threshold but like SODELPA, they will be a rump. Because the party or parties of government must be inclusive given the current ethnic and religious mix. And the fact that FijiFirst – detested though it was by many – still got the most votes at the 2022 election is proof enough of that. The celebrated “power of one” (vote) that brought the Coalition to power two years ago doesn’t include a mandate to upend the constitutional furniture.
The tragedy for Fiji is that the entire constitutional debate is a distraction from the real issues that plague the nation – poor governance, poor service delivery to the point of the Coalition being unable to provide reliable electricity and water, poor education, poor health care, corruption, drugs, the breakdown of law and order, the breakdown of basic discipline, tens of thousands of people voting with their feet and leaving etc etc. Tevita thinks changing the Constitution will fix all of this. It won’t.
Doubtless some iTaukei entertain the fantasy that they can make Fiji so unattractive to the other races that they will leave and they can then get what they want – achieve the 75 per cent threshold for constitutional change. They’re doing a bloody good job of it given the recent mass exodus from the country. But they are so shortsighted that they don’t realise that without an adequate tax base, the nation can’t function economically at all. Only people who earn $30,000 and over pay any income tax at all. And when they go, what happens then to schools, hospitals and other essential services?
Stripped to the bare essentials, are the iTaukei so obsessed with changing the Constitution and its equality provisions that they would actually be willing to be poorer? We shall see. As the locomotive of the 2026 election bears down on the political parties, we are already seeing – with Graham Leung’s comments – a lowering of expectations and a reality check. But who in politics is going to have the courage to really tell it like it is – that the future of Fiji must be inclusive and the minorities must be embraced as equals for the country to prosper in any meaningful way at all.
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Today’s front pages…
And the stories themselves, first the Fiji Sun…
And the Fiji Times…
I’m reassured to hear that the AG sees reason (on this one matter) – as I was concerned he was just another puppet to bring forth Rabuka’s agenda to take Fiji back in time. Turns out he’s just a puppet to manage expectations instead.
This hyper fixation on the ethno-nationalism of the past really has been at the cost of everything the government needed to be focusing on for the health of the services and people.
All I can think about when contemplating the Coalition is the Seinfeld episode wherein George says “You’re living in the past man. You’re hung up on some clown from the 1960’s, man.”
Thanks for the important work you do Graham – no one else consistently raises these issues for no personal gain.
My gain is the appreciation and input here of people like you. Vinaka.
Not all taukei support the ethno-nationslist agenda that you ascribe as being representative of all indigenous Fijians. It is a very simplistic and inaccurate analysis.
There is a critical mass of moderate opinion that must be acknowledged. Dont forget many voted for Fiji First in the 2022 elections. The hardliners and ethno nationalists voted for Sodelpa. Please dont tar us with same brush.
Sorry, I did not mean to tar all iTaukei with the same brush. My reference was to hardline indigenous supremacist opinion. And I specifically pointed out that FijiFirst got the largest number of votes at the last election.
The critical mass of moderate opinion to which you refer is why the hardliners will fail. And I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for those iTaukei who are in the middle fighting for the rights of everyone irrespective of ethnicity or religion.
Unfortunately Sitiveni Rabuku and the gaggle of supremacists around him aren’t among their ranks. So the minorities are very much in the hands of the moderates to help us defeat their agenda. Vinaka.
Thank you Uluiqalau a good reminder for me. The vocal lot are the hardline lot. A lot of quiet Itaukei professionals out there, abroad included doing good work, investing etc and putting food on the table for their families and extended families and some really burdened with sending money all over the show. Always quick to smile. Thank you to those guys and ladies they setting a good example for us. They know who they are. #no time for a racism. #born with it
Yes. The problem is that the shrill and strident voices of radical i’taukei ethno-nationalism tends to overcome the calming voices of moderate Fijian opinion.
As a taukei myself, I am worried about the recently re-constituted Great Council of Chiefs – like the Methodist Church in 1987 – being used as a vector for radicalisation.
The Chairman, Ratu Viliame Seruvakula, needs to steer the GCC onto a different course focussed on poverty alleviation initiatives.
Sadly, he is falling into their ‘default position’ of wanting to get involved in national political issues beyond their competency.
In the streets of Toorak in Suva, we refer to it as the ‘wannabe main boy’ syndrome; a problem Rabuka demonstrated in 1987, Speight in 2000 and Franky B in 2006.
Very well said Uluiqalau.
These are the iTaukeis that will be successful. They are willing to work with the vulagis.
The great council of village idiots will first need to disclose the exact parts of the constitution that they feel is anti ITAUKEI.
To change those parts to suit their narrative will be radical and utmost racist.
This will be tantamount to economic suicide. They need the vulagi tax dollars to host their soirée.
To do that they will first need to go to school to learn how to read and understand. Then learn how to speak.
Sadly, there are many Tevitas out there who think that changing the Constitution will fix everything.
More importantly, the hardline extremists want all the land and i qoliqoli returned to them inclusive of what is 6ft under. They want to control their resources and destiny.
They want to be rich. That is what the PAP promised them.
I think they also waiting for PAP to provide them free spades so they can start digging for their riches buried deep under. Apparently, it includes kerosene that has been discovered somewhere.
There are many deluded people out there.
As I have said a few times already and echoed by a few other people, changing the Constitution will not magically make us indigenous rich. Prosperity is a result of hard work.
We, the I taukei need to get rid of our kana loto mentality and start valuing hard work.
The sooner the better.
And let’s stop listening to these con artists who call themselves leaders.
I think the constitution will be changed one way or another. This government and the judiciary have demonstrated time and time again, successfully, that they are prepared to ignore the laws and do what they want.
Why is there a belief that the people will be consulted and they will have a say in the change just because the current constitution mandates it? Lets not forget the entire FFP members should have been thrown out by their grubby panties when the party was dissolved as per the law, but continue to be in parliament simply because the Speaker (who is a paedophile) claims he obtained legal advice they could stay. The same person who is a paedophile and has has a criminal record is now president of the country which is also against the norm.
Two ministers were embroiled in a sex scandal and one even boasted she had transported banned drugs into Australia and then consumed them there simply because of her diplomatic immunity.
The CJ is also disqualified from holding his position as word is spreading that he was actually convicted in the past when he had another surname. That alone should disqualify him. The fact he seems to look like hes got a suppository permanently inserted into him with that grumpy look he always walks around with should be alone a reason to get rid of him. Yet, he continues to hold office.
The same with the previous DPP who is now the assistant DPP. If ever anyone needed proof about the rot in the judiciary, the previous assistant DPP has proven it beyond all reasonable doubt.
You have the head of FICAC being investigated by FICAC, yet she continues to hold office and influence all the investigations, including hers.
You then have the legally appointed DPP being falsely charged by an incompetent CJ with fabricated charges. No one in Fijis judiciary is batting an eyelid to the illegality of the whole setup.
The list is now exhaustive and every single illegal act is documented on this website and on other sites which publish the news that the media in Fiji have chosen not to publish.
Yet people still believe the laws will be followed when it comes to replacing this constitution with a new one? What evidence is there to support this? As of now, there is every evidence the government will simply bow to the irrelevant GCC (should be drinking homebrew under the mango tree), ignore the laws, and produce a new constitution which will remove equality and only favour one ethnic group.
if you put all the jigsaw pieces together, you will easily see that the government has no intention to follow the law. This government is all about breaking every law in the book simply because they have decided they can’t be touched. The police and the military heads have both bowed down, kissed the ground Rabuka walks on and then put their hands into his sulu pockets. They will not defend the constitution. In fact, I believe they will assist the government when it comes to its removal.
A constitutional challenge to decide on appropriateness of the change provisions when 75% of Parliament and the electorate did not approve it in the first place is all it takes to throw it out the window. The enablers are now in place with the Acting CJ and President now installed to facilitate it. As the Fiji Airways captains say, just sit back and relax.
I went to high school with Graham Everett Leung. He’s a ‘ YES MAN ‘ to whoever is in the chair. I challenge him to come out of his shell and apply the law and practice what he preaches. What has he done so far since he’s been the AG. He should declare the monkey CJ incompetent and the President as well. Hold Rabuka to account and advise him to bring his house in order otherwise the spiral which they’ve put Fiji in will reach a point of no return. Don’t doubt it, the leaders of the whole world are watching what goes on in little old Fiji. It’s no longer ‘Fiji The Way The World Should be’ it’s become ‘Fiji The Way The World Shouldn’t Be!’
So now we know ACJ Temo will be there till he illegally approves changes to the 2013 Constitution.
– only iTaukeis will be called Fijians.
-Fiji to become Christian country. People can continue to practise their religion of choice, but no public gathering. No public gathering for religious functions except at churches.
– 75% of jobs reserved for iTaukeis.
– no conviction for first time iTaukeis, give them second chance.
– GCC will be the Upper house, they will be final approvers of all govt bills.
– members of GCC to be nominated and elected by their respective Confederacies.
– special benefits for members of GCC. They should get govt cars, drivers and free housing.
– 75% of parliamentary seats reserved for iTaukeis.
– all Crown and Freehold land to be returned to iTLTB.
– pass mark at all schools and institutions, for iTaukeis will be 40% whilst for vulagis it will be 60%.
– special audit team under ministry of finance to ensure vulagis don’t make exorbitant profits using Vanua land.
Well it’s not surprising the 2013 constitution is unpopluar with a large section of the iTaukei as it was imposed on them by a bunch of thugs. To boot, these people appropriated the name Tongans had for them (those people in those islands over there), which thanks to Captain Cook and others the world came to know them by.
As the iTauikei watch their people suffer in rising poverty and ill-health, it’s no wonder that section of their people look around them for someone to blame. They see many who have done very well out of Fiji, and they see a mob who tried to hobble and nobble their traditional systems in 2013. So it’s no wonder they want to change the constitution and wish for all these people to just bugger off.
But this isn’t the answer. A communally-oriented indigenous population will gain no advantage from expelling its hard-working and enterprising co-communities who now have their own global diaspora bringing many benefits to the country.
Fiji remains a multicultural place that arguably for a while was more advanced in this sense than some larger neighbours. However, since Independence, and after a promising start under Ratu Mara, things have slipped, especially after the country was brought to its knees in 1987.
To my mind, Rabuka and those who aided and abetted him have not been fully brought to account for the damage they caused. The bankruptcy of what they proposed for Fiji continues to fester and explains why this current administration is going nowhere.
In spite of this, and all the shenanigans of those vying for power since, Fiji’s strength still lies in the diversity of its communities and the hard work people have put in to improve themselves, their families and the country. Long may that continue.
It is in building on this strength that the secret to Fiji’s growth and prosperity lies. Look, all constitutions must change over time and maybe we should take a leaf out of the British set-up which does not have a constitution, merely a body of laws – let’s call them statutes. There’s weakness in having fixed, ‘founding father’ constitutions ossifying, as evident in the US, France and Australia – not to mention having politicians select judges, which is causing all sorts of serious problems in America.
In this respect, if Fiji’s Parliament is supposedly the supreme authority, it arguably do whatever it wants regarding the constitution or anything else for that matter. However, singling out supposed defects in the 2013 constitution rather than admitting that the angst is really about the manner in which it was imposed and securing special privileges for one group in the community… that won’t do.
Perhaps the single constituency electoral system and the prominence given to the Attorney-General in the constitution was more about using that particular democratic set up to perpetuate the duopoly that was, and indicated something was ‘rotten in the state of Denmark’. But the push now to abrogate it all is also a huge smelly red herring (fish used to distract the dogs hunting for a rabbit).
The focus of the discussion on why things are wrong for the iTaukei needs to return to the same questions Ratu Sukuna wrestled with: the advancement of the Fijian people in the face of the challenges living in the modern world.
Land was protected then from sale to the non-indigenous. Is this what is now holding back the iTaukei and feeding their decline – as measured in health and relative prosperity? Has the time come to allow it in a carefully managed and beneficial ways so as not to cause any abrupt dissociation, loss of dignity and pride – as happened to aboriginal communities elsewhere.
It’s a challenge, but how will iTaukei advance if they cannot take individual responsibility for assets and learn to manage without handouts? As with most things, there needs to be a balance here between communal and individual interests, between tradition and modernity. Yes the chiefs do have a role, but not to lord it over everyone else. iTaukei themselves must know this and probably need encouragement to find that balance.
Likewise, entrepreneurial activity needs to coincide more with national interest, where the ingenuity of Fiji’s diaspora is balanced and rewarded for for how it improves the country as a whole, not just what’s in their own pockets.
As in the past, it is within this happy marriage of enlightened self-interests that Fiji can find its way. And quite well, thank you.
Likewise, entrepreneurial activity needs to coincide more with national interest, where the ingenuity of Fiji’s diaspora is balanced and rewarded for for how it improves the country as a whole, not just what’s in their own pockets.
What? What does that even mean??