Restricting media access is not the answer: Minister Tabuya

Minister of Information Lynda Tabuya has reaffirmed Fiji's commitment to media freedom, noting that restricting media engagement or access is not the answer.

Her message comes after the Samoa Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt earlier this week, banned the Samoa Observer newspaper from attending any future press conferences.

She emphasised that a free, independent, and responsible media is essential to democracy, public trust, and government accountability.

“Fiji has learned from its past. We know that restricting media engagement or access is not the answer," Ms Tabuya said.

“When concerns arise about misinformation, the proper course is call it out publicly and publish the correct information, to raise those matters directly with the news organisation or lodge a formal complaint with the Fiji Media Council. These established mechanisms exist to ensure fairness, uphold ethical reporting, and maintain public confidence.”

Ms Tabuya noted that Fiji’s own history under the former MIDA Act serves as an important reminder of the dangers of suppressing press freedom and limiting public access to information.

She added that if the Samoa Observer had indeed published misinformation, she urged the newspaper, and all media organisations across the region to exercise media freedom responsibly.

“At all times, the public interest in accessing information and the media’s role in scrutinising government must outweigh any unilateral power to silence or sideline a news outlet,” she said.

“In Fiji, we uphold the principle that the media must be free to ask tough questions and hold government accountable. This is not a threat to leadership, it is a strength of a healthy democracy.”

The Minister encouraged all Pacific leaders to continue championing press freedom, supporting robust and transparent complaints processes, and safeguarding the crucial role played by the media across the region.

Fijian Media Association General Secretary Stanley Simpson said that any effort to silence or sideline an independent news outlet undermines the foundations of democracy.

Mr Simpson said media freedom must be protected at all times and that political leaders have a responsibility to respect the role of journalists, even when reporting is uncomfortable.

He noted that a strong democracy needs the media to inform the public, hold the powerful accountable, ask difficult questions, and bring forward stories that matter.

Feedback: laiseana.nasiga@fijisun.com.fj