THE Opposition has backed the Government’s push for a cleaner Fiji, but questioned whether the planned $200 littering fine is evidence-based, fairly applied and supported by enough enforcement and waste infrastructure.
Opposition MP Virendra Lal raised the concerns in Parliament this week in response to Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya’s ministerial statement on the Government’s strengthened litter enforcement measures.
Mr Lal questioned the basis for increasing the fixed penalty from $40 to $200.
“I ask the minister, where is the evidence base for that figure? Was this number modelled against comparable jurisdictions, or arrived at by other means?,” Mr Lal asked.
He said a flat $200 penalty could disproportionately affect low-income Fijians.
“And critically, has the ministry considered what a flat $200 fine actually means across our population?
“For a struggling family, a market vendor, or a young person, $200 is a significant and punishing summer.”
Mr Lal also questioned whether the Government had enough officers, resources and infrastructure to enforce the new penalty, particularly in rural and maritime communities.
“A fine only deters if people believe they will be caught.
“Without genuine enforcement capacity behind it, a fivefold penalty increase risk being nothing more than a number on paper, tough in the press release, toothless on the street.”
He said Government must invest in prevention, including bins, collection services and public education.
“Because punishing littering without giving people somewhere else to put their rubbish does not change behaviour, it simply criminalises the absence of infrastructure.”
Mr Lal called for the draft litter regulations, National Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy and its Implementation Plan to be tabled before Parliament for scrutiny.
