Opposition questions treaty approval without finalised work plan

Opposition Members of Parliament Jone Usamate and Rinesh Sharma have questioned Parliament's approval of two major Fiji-Australia treaties despite the absence of a finalised 10-year work plan and unresolved questions over legal advice and funding.

The MPs raised concerns about the Vuvale Union and Veitacini Treaty, saying Parliament had not been provided with the work plan or the Solicitor-General's legal advice.

They also sought clarification on how much of Australia's funding commitment represented new money and how much Fiji would be required to repay.

Mr Usamate questioned why Parliament was being asked to approve the agreements before the work plan was made available.

“Are we being asked to sign up on a 10-year plan that even the ministries do not have the details on?”

Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel said the work plan “remains under development”.

Mr Usamate also called for greater clarity on the financial commitments, including which funds were new, which were loans and what Fiji would be required to pay each year.

Mr Immanuel said the funds were “not funds already disbursed for automatic approval”.

Mr Sharma raised concerns about the legal scrutiny of the agreements, noting that the Solicitor-General's Office had not appeared before the parliamentary committee.

He also questioned the drafting of the treaty documents, pointing to a signature block that read “for the government of the government”.

“If we could not proofread the signature page, what other confidence do we have in the document before the House?” Mr Sharma asked.

Mr Usamate said the parliamentary committee had advised the Government “not like this and not yet”.

He urged the Government to publish the 10-year work plan, table the legal advice and clarify Article 6 of the agreement.

Attorney-General Sevuloni Valenitabua said the concerns “would have been solved” after other MPs spoke during the debate.

“We shall take those concerns in our stride,” he said.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the Government would report to Parliament annually on the progress of the agreements.