THE Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights has issued an urgent appeal for increased citizen participation in public hearings, warning that social media commentary carries no weight in legislative reform.
Addressing low turnout at formal sessions in Lautoka, committee chairperson Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure emphasised that public silence during official consultations risks passing legislation without vital community safeguards.
The warning comes as the committee reviews sweeping updates to the Fiji Police Force Bill, which grants expanded powers regarding forensic gathering and digital device inspections.
“For people who have been speaking on Facebook, I wish to tell them that this is irrelevant,” he said.
“It won’t be heard there, you must come to these kind of forums where it can be heard and it can matter.”
The committee acknowledged balancing police operational requirements against citizen rights remains a sensitive task.
While expanded statutory authority aims to combat rising criminal activity, effective oversight relies directly on formal public input.
“The Police Bill has given a lot of powers to the police.
“We understand that this is because of the level of crime that we have in our country, we want to give them those powers but he flip side to that, they might affect our rights, this is why we want the people to come and share this with the committee.”
