Claims continue to be made by a group representing US citizen, Karen Seaton who was deported from Fiji on Saturday, that she was sent back to her country after making a verbal submission on the Land Sales Amendment Act.
Although the Immigration Department has made it clear that Seaton was deported after she swore at the President, the whole issue is now being linked to expat landowners affected by the Land Sales Amendment Act.
The law requires all non‑resident land owners to construct a $250,000 dwelling by the end of the year or pay a fine every six months equal to 10 percent of the value of their land.
The law was gazetted in December 2014 and a two year time period was given for the foreign landowners to build their homes on vacant lots that they had bought outside the boundary of any town or city declared or extended under the Local Government Act.
This is for any existing state land or freehold land for residential purposes owned or leased by a non-Fiji resident in the rural areas.
Karen Seaton's submission had been facilitated by Mick Beddoes.
Beddoes has told Radio NZ that most of these people are abroad and they are planning to come and retire on their plots of land that they bought for their retirement.
He says retirees don't have a whole swag of money.
Beddoes says the idea of forcing people to build a quarter of a million dollar home when they are retiring in the country side is unreasonable as they may just need a comfortable little cottage that will probably cost them less than half of $250,000.
About 5,000 expat property owners are represented by the Fiji Land Owners Association.
Its US‑based founder Dave Rand says some places are now being sold for a fraction of the value they were 10 years ago.
The group has also told Radio NZ that they will be mounting a campaign against travel to Fiji as a protest over the land law changes.
Rand said he paid about $US80,000 for two acres of land in Fiji but with additional interest and fees over a 10 year period, the total investment reached over $US100,000 ‑ a sum that is most of his life savings.
He said similar sections of land had been flying out the door for between 15 to 25 percent of what people have paid.
Meanwhile Director of Immigration Nemani Vuniwaqa says Karen Seaton was deported from Fiji after she breached the terms of her residency permit by yelling an obscenity at His Excellency the President last Wednesday.
Vuniwaqa says this unprovoked use of the “F word" directed towards Fiji’s Head of State cannot be tolerated and Karen Seaton was subsequently detained and escorted onto a plane bound for the US.
He also confirms that Karen Seaton’s appearance before a parliamentary committee had no bearing whatsoever on the circumstances of her deportation.
We are currently trying to speak to the Acting Prime Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
