Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has ruled out extending the consultation period on the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill, saying the Government must follow the prescribed timeframe to avoid becoming unconstitutional.
While responding to questions following the consultations at Vunimono Hall, Nausori where many questioned why the process is being rushed, Rabuka says the Government has a programme to follow and cannot go beyond the allowable timeframe.
He says the Bill has provided an opportunity for people to express their views on changes they believe should be made to the Constitution, and those submissions will now be considered by the relevant committee and Parliament.
Rabuka says many of the concerns raised during the consultations are views people have held since the current Constitution came into force in 2013.
He says people have been discussing possible improvements within their communities, political parties and Bose Vakoro, and the consultation process has allowed them to bring those views forward.
When questioned by fijivillage News on why the Constitution Amendment Bill must be passed before the next general elections, Rabuka says the Bill is already before Parliament and was brought forward by the current Parliament.
He says if it is not passed now, it will have to be treated as an entirely new Bill.
Rabuka also defended the Government’s decision to prepare a Bill that differs from the version proposed by the Constitution Review Commission, stating that the CRC was not empowered to make the final decision on the proposed constitutional changes, and its recommendations were used as the basis for the Government’s Bill.
Rabuka says this is consistent with the work of previous commissions, whose recommendations were reviewed and modified before Parliament made the final decision.
He says the purpose of the CRC process was to allow Parliament to consider the views gathered during the review, rather than automatically adopt the commission’s proposed version.
Rabuka also rejected suggestions that the CRC report had been completely discarded, saying the Government had not simply adopted the commission’s draft in its entirety.
On concerns about the immunity provisions, particularly Chapter 14 and the extension of immunity until the next Constitution comes into force, Rabuka says the Government has received views both for and against retaining the provisions.
He says those submissions will be considered and the relevant committee can still recommend whether Chapter 14 should be retained or removed.
Rabuka says future Parliaments would also be able to change Chapter 14 more easily and could remove it.
The National Federation Party has threatened to withdraw its support for the Bill if the Government does not meet its 12 considerations, including removing the immunity clause and the reference to Christianity.
Asked whether the Bill could lose support in Parliament, Rabuka says it may not secure enough votes.
He says the Government has made an honest effort to gather the views of the people, but if the Bill fails to secure the necessary support, it would mean the Coalition Government had failed to fulfil its election promise to change the Constitution.
Rabuka says the Government must convince Parliament to pass the Bill, and failure to do so would be a failure of the administration.
