Unused state land should return to indigenous owners

Government should return state land that is no longer being used for its original public purpose back to indigenous landowners.

Former SODELPA general secretary Viliame Takayawa made the call in a public consultation on the review of the State Lands Act 1945 at the Suva Civic Centre today.

He said much of the state land was historically acquired for specific public purposes including government administration, infrastructure, and agriculture, but many of these purposes no longer exist.

"In many cases, these original purposes have ceased to exist, been abandoned, been replaced by commercial leasing," Mr Takayawa said.

He cited examples where government entities like the Water Authority of Fiji and Energy Fiji Limited have been privatised, yet the land remains under state control.

"This needs to be reverted back to the landowners, and then an agreement to be struck with the private sector that's already there," he said.

Mr Takayawa argued that the Act should introduce a statutory review mechanism to identify crown land no longer required for its original declared public purpose.

"Land should not be indefinitely controlled by the state solely for administrative or revenue generation purposes, once its public function has expired," he said.

His submission also called for:

• Establishment of a National Land Tribunal Commission to address historical land injustices;
• Decentralised provincial land development trusts with landowner representation;
• Modern valuation methods based on development potential rather than present use;
• Profit-sharing and equity participation models for landowners instead of fixed rental income;
• Lease escalation clauses indexed to inflation.

The commission has until January 30 to complete its review.

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