He may be one of the oldest parliamentarians but Kiniviliame Kiliraki still believes he has a lot to give back to Fiji.

The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) stalwart paid tribute yesterday to his family, vanua and former schools during his maiden speech in Parliament. The chiefs were instrumental in setting up instiutions like Queen Victoria School (QVS) that benefitted iTaukei students like him.

The SODELPA parliamentarian used his maiden speech to outline a shared vision with the Government but also major differences and approaches with SODELPA.

The Opposition would critique Government policy, but he said they would use opportunities to work with Government for the welfare of all Fijians.

“We can be certain of one thing, we have a desire to see good done,’’ he said. The Government should also expect ‘robust debate’ in Parliament that encouraged social cohesion, according to the SODELPA parliamentarian.

He described the Government’s own attempts at social cohesion as ‘forced unity’ and that the differences in Parliament between both sides of the House should receive genuine recognition.

The Colo-i-Suva resident also has a background in fisheries management and raised some concerns about the state of the industry.

“We should remove all bureaucratic hurdles in the fisheries sector,’’ he said. Fisheries resources needed to be managed, he said, so that all Fijians could use the natural resource.

He expressed strong opposition to continued overfishing by international fleets in waters adjacent to Fiji, a concern also shared by the current Government.

He also touched on forestry, the mahogany industry, in particular and urged the development of access roads so that sustainable logging of mahogany plantations could take place.

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