27 Aug 2013

Former Fiji PM welcomes constitution as a way forward

4:51 am on 27 August 2013

A former Fiji Prime Minister says there's little point in debating the finer points of the new constitution.

Sitiveni Rabuka says the new constitution, which was released by the government last week after months of delays, is a workable document that can take Fiji back to parliamentary democracy.

He says the public of Fiji is in no position to say whether the document is good or bad but that the new constitution has generally addressed the core issues satisfactorily, including on the role of Fiji's military.

"And all those things can be changed once we're in parliament. At the moment there is no point in talking about whether it's right or wrong. It is a workable document for us to get back into parliament where we can make the changes, just as we did with the 1990 constitution. This constitution gives us a better starting point than the one that was promulgated in 1990."

Sitiveni Rabuka.