Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr said he can understand why the Fijian government would reject aspects of the draft constitution.
Carr said while New Zealand and Samoa have been highly critical of the recent development, Australia is taking a softer stance.
According to Carr the re-creation of an unelected Great Council of Chiefs would seem to give rise to the suggestion that ethnic divisions in the country were going to be exaggerated by new constitutional arrangements.
He added that he can find it understandable that the interim government has objected to both these features of the draft constitution presented to it.
Story by: Filipe Naikaso