Government Eyes More Media Freedom, Protection And Assistance
“Journalists deserve the respect and time from public officials,” said Mr Prasad.
Monday 24 July 2023 | 16:34
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad. Photo: Leon Lord
Government has promised to help the media industry and put an end to the gagging orders that shut media freedom in Fiji in the past decade.
The Government plans to protect media personnel from any form of abuse after it successfully abolished the Media Industry Development Act 2010.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad said among the changes would be a code of conduct bill to be tabled in Parliament soon to look after Fijian media personnel and their welfare.
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“There are a lot of things that this Government has to catch up on,” Mr Prasad said.
He said there were talks on implementing the freedom of information act to allow journalists to access information when required.
“Journalists deserve the respect and time from public officials,” said Mr Prasad.
Neighbouring countries such as New Zealand and Australia allow their citizen to access government-held information, as stipulated in their Freedom of Information Act.
The media is known as the Fourth Estate because it is the medium of passing information between rulers, governments and authorities to the people and vice-versa.
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