Wallace's Blog: Foreshore and seabed, what did Fiji do? (Jul 15)
July 15
Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, the one ousted by Frank Bainimarama, introduced a law, which proposed to hand back the ownership of the foreshore to the indigenous Fijians. It was called the qoliqili bill, or coastal resources bill, and under it, Hotel and resort owners would be expected to make payments to traditional landowners for tourists, like kiwis, Aussies or whoever - for using and enjoying Fijian beaches.
Qarase, and remember, this was New Zealand's preferred regime, was ultra nationalist, and indo Fijians were cut right out of the equation with respect to universal coastal rights.
There were two key things Frank Bainimarama wanted to do. One was oppose an amnesty of the thugs like George Speight, involved in the 2000 coup (some of them in Qarase's cabinet). The other was to overturn this coastal resources bill, which he saw as inherently race based, and well&racist.
Graham Davis, a journo who has covered the dense web of Fiji politics for years, wrote in The Australian in November 2006 - "Already, individual Fijians have been intercepting groups of people, including foreign tourists, at sea, and demanding money before allowing them to resume their journeys. Yet when the country's peak tourism body said the qoliqili bill could spell the beginning of the end for tourism, the country's biggest revenue earner, Qarase accuse it of trying to sabotage the economy."
Davis also went on to say; "Unlike the Prime Minister, Bainimarama is a committed multiracialist who subscribes to the vision of Fiji's founding father, Ratu Kamisese Mara, of a nation in which Fijian rights are respected but all races are treated equally."
It is a point worth thinking about. It comes at a time where a law lecturer at Canterbury University, David Round, said that if ' any form of title was given to Maori - or anyone other than the Crown - it was likely iwi could charge for any commercial use of that area. "
He may or may not be right, but if the courts went ahead and decided that coastal Maori had customary rights of a certain area, than the rights would surely include management of that area. I would think that a form of levy would most certainly be on the cards. It might not happen now or next year -but in time to come the issue will surface. That's not scare mongering, just a truism. And possibly entirely appropriate.
It's going to be a fun night tonight. All the youth arms of the political parties will be there. You're most welcome to come along to the show, hang out, have an ale, and join in. Show starts at 9.10 pm sharp, but you need to be there around 8.30ish.
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