14 Oct 2004

Fiji opposition leader calls on Labour Party to decide its status

2:38 pm on 14 October 2004

Fiji's opposition leader, Mick Beddoes, says he wants the Labour Party to decide whether it's the real opposition.

Mr Beddoes has instigated legal action over the ruling by the Speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, that a Labour MP, Poseci Bune, should be the chairman of parliament's public accounts committee.

The chair is traditionally held by an opposition member but the speaker rejected Mr Beddoes' nomination of a New Labour Unity MP.

Speaker Nailaitikau told parliament earlier this year that Labour is the real opposition, when the party has maintained it should be part of a multi-party government cabinet under provisions of the constitution.

Mr Beddoes says he wants the speaker and the Labour Party to abide by the rules that govern parliament.

"And by accepting the speaker's ruling in the house, Labour are saying that they are the opposition and therefore they have a right to chair that meeting, Yet externally, for the purposes of their multi-party case they're saying they're not in opposition, they're exercising their right to be in government. They can't have it both ways, they're either in or they're out."

Mick Beddoes