Two SODELPA parliamentarians have questioned why 7 bills will be debated and voted upon this Thursday as according to them, these bills will be taking priority over other important things.
While contributing on Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s motion for the Passports Amendment Bill 2020 to be debated and voted upon this Thursday, Ro Filipe Tuisawau says they are left in a state of uncertainty about the programs for the rest of the week.
Another SODELPA MP, Viliame Gavoka says they now have 7 bills which will take 7 hours on Thursday and the FijiFirst government is pushing other important things away.
Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they did inform the Business Committee about these motions and Ro Filipe should have spoken to the SODELPA Whip about this.
Sayed-Khaiyum says they have deferred the debate on the bill till Thursday to ensure the opposition members can get maximum time to digest these bills.
The Passports Amendment Bill 2020 will be debated and voted upon this Thursday.
This bill seeks to change the title of the Act from Passports Act 2002 to the Travel Documents Act 2002 and change the name of the Department of Immigration to the Fijian Immigration Department.
It also seeks to delete the references to unmarried minors and substitute the more appropriate terminology of child and to lower the age criteria of a child from 21 years to 18 years.
The bill further seeks to increase penalties for offences under the Act.
It also seeks to shift the responsibility of the Director of Immigration under the Act and other laws to the Permanent Secretary responsible for immigration.
