The media in Fiji has strongly condemned the Government's new Media Bill, which would give the Minister for Information powers to make key appointments, and regulate media content and conduct.
The managing director of Communications Fiji Limited, William Parkinson, says that the bill harks back to the 1996 Thompson Report which recommended a media watchdog body.
Parkinson says subsequent governments tried to legislate based on that report, despite the media having established its own regulatory body, the Fiji Media Council.
He says that the current government is rushing through a lot of legislation, and he says hasn't thought the Media Bill through properly.
"It's at a very early stage right now so I suspect that after this outcry i'd hope they'd come to their senses and realise that the bill is unnecessary and it constitutes a potential breach of media freedom."
The managing director of Communications Fiji Limited, William Parkinson
