Tui Nayau calls for Parliament to withhold approval of treaties

Tui Nayau Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara has called on Parliament to withhold approval of two major international agreements until Fiji receives independent legal advice and the public and Vanua are given an opportunity to examine their implications.

Ratu Tevita has also called for the Bose Levu Vakaturaga to convene to examine the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union and the Ocean of Peace Alliance, also known as the Veitacini Treaty, before Parliament votes on them.

Speaking in his own right as Tui Nayau and Sau ni Vanua ko Lau, Ratu Tevita said the agreements required greater scrutiny before Fiji committed itself.

“I call on Parliament not to approve the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union or the Ocean of Peace Alliance (Veitacini Treaty) until the people of Fiji have been given a full, fearless and independent account of what these treaties commit our nation to.”

He said both treaties were signed in Suva on July 6, 2026, and were now before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

Ratu Tevita welcomed the committee’s work but called for its examination to include sufficient time, independent advice and public participation.

He stressed that his position was not a rejection of Fiji’s relationship with Australia.

“Friendship must never require blindness. Cooperation must never become subordination. And no government has the right to gamble with the sovereignty of future generations.”

Ratu Tevita drew parallels with Fiji’s history, referring to the Cession of Fiji to Great Britain on October 10, 1874, and the country gaining independence 96 years later on October 10, 1970.

He said the historical lesson was that sovereignty needed to be carefully protected.

He also raised concerns about issues discussed during the Standing Committee hearings, including dispute-resolution provisions and consultation with ministries responsible for implementing parts of the agreements.

Ratu Tevita said the Vanua should have an opportunity to consider the agreements before Parliament made its decision.

“I speak here in my own right, as Tui Nayau and Sau ni Vanua ko Lau, not on behalf of any council or institution. Our chiefs came together in 1874, and again on the road to independence in 1970. The Bose Levu Vakaturaga was restored in 2023 after eleven years set aside; if that restoration is to mean anything, it must mean something now. I call on the Bose Levu Vakaturaga to convene, to examine these treaties and to speak for the Vanua before Parliament votes. I ask His Excellency the President, himself a high chief and a member of that Council, to lend his office to seeing that the Vanua is heard.”

Ratu Tevita also wants a plain-language explanation of what “deepening integration” would mean for Fiji over the next 10, 25 and 50 years.

“The Vanua is not merely land. It embodies identity, belonging, ancestry and responsibility - to those before us and those yet unborn. The question before our nation is simple, but profound: what are we handing to our children, and to their children?”

He urged Members of Parliament and the public to examine the agreements carefully before ratification.

“I urge every Member of Parliament, and every citizen, to pause, examine and protect our freedom before Fiji ratifies anything it may one day wish it never had.”