MP takes on Tabuya, Govt over Vuda waste project

An exchange erupted in Parliament yesterday over the proposed $1.4billion waste-to-energy incinerator at Vuda, Lautoka.

Opposition MP Premila Kumar accused the Government of allowing Fiji to become a dumping ground for foreign rubbish.

Ms Kumar challenged Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya on the floor of the House, demanding to know why a project rejected in Australia after seven years was being allowed to proceed through Fiji’s environmental assessment process.

“If this project cannot meet Australian standards, why should Fijian lives be worth less?” she asked.

Ms Kumar argued the Coalition Government failed to conduct proper due diligence before the project even entered the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.

The EIA is a formal, step-by-step review that examines whether a development is safe and acceptable.

She raised alarm over plans to import up to 150 tonnes of waste daily from Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific countries.

“We are not being offered an energy solution. We are being offered a contract to become the Pacific’s rubbish bin,” she said.

Tabuya responds

Ms Tabuya called for the process to be respected and warned that commenting on the substance of the EIA while it was still underway was inappropriate.

“A meeting is not a decision. A proposal is not a permit. A discussion is not an approval,” she said.

Ms Tabuya confirmed the EIA had received 875 written submissions and over 8800 petition signatures, with the project now at the technical review stage.

She assured Parliament there would be “no political interference” and “no predetermined outcome”.

The proposed facility, put forward by Australian billionaire Ian Malouf’s company TNG Propriety Ltd, would be built at Vuda Point near First Landing which is one of Fiji’s most sacred ancestral sites and could supply up to 45 per cent of Fiji’s electricity needs.