Newly appointed Attorney General Sevuloni Valenitabua says goodness and unity must begin with the Parliament and he is committed to listening, learning, and carrying out his responsibilities with integrity, fairness and respect to the best of his abilities.
In his maiden speech in Parliament after being sworn in, Valenitabua says MPs must ask themselves what the people they serve will remember them for when they look back on their time in Parliament.
He asks will they remember the positions they held or the titles they carried, the speeches they delivered or will they remember how they treated them, for better or for worse, the sacrifices they did or did not make, the divisions they held or exacerbated or the differences they made in their lives, if any; and when our children and grandchildren look back at this period in our nation's history, what will they say;Â they did correctly, considering the opportunity or opportunities which were available to them.
Valenitabua says these are not questions that can be answered by titles or positions, or which political parties they join, or what manifestos political parties have.
The Attorney General says they can only be answered by what they do, the decisions they make, the lives they touch, and the legacies they leave behind.
He says he recognises that trust is not something to be taken for granted, it is something that must be earned through one's conduct, one's decisions, and one's commitment to work and service needed to be done for the people they serve in accordance with their oath.
Valenitabua says he understands that the position of the Attorney General and being a Member of Parliament will present challenges and difficult decisions.
He says he cannot claim to know all about the demands and solutions in respect of the position, however, he says he is committed to listening, learning, and carrying out his responsibilities with integrity, fairness, and respect to the best of his abilities.
While acknowledging his family, Valenitabua says family should also be the primary place where leadership begins.
He further says just as our children learn from the way adults behave long before they fully understand the words they speak, citizens of our nation also watch the MPs, adding they can either imitate the MPs or demoralise them.
The Attorney General says they, as leaders should take the greatest care to be role models for them and good role models.
He says our children may not remember every law the MPs debated, but they will remember the kind of country the MPs gave them to grow up in.
INSERT: AG on their promise 2 Nov
