THE vanua ko Lau has challenged Parliament to pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 to its third reading, declaring that the people of Fiji deserve the opportunity to decide their constitutional future through a national referendum.
In its final submission to the Special Committee on the Bill, the province said the fundamental issue was not simply the contents of the proposed amendments, but the right of citizens to approve or reject the Constitution under which they live.
“Whatever view one takes of any clause, that principle alone is worthy of support,” said Tui Nayau, Ratu Tevita Lutunauga Kapaiwai Uluilakeba Mara.
The submission placed particular emphasis on clause 50, which restores entrenched constitutional protection for iTaukei and Rotuman land.
The vanua ko Lau insisted the provision must remain intact, arguing that protection dependent on the goodwill of a parliamentary majority is no protection at all.
It also endorsed the restoration of the Senate and the Bose Levu Vakaturaga, describing chiefly representation as an important constitutional safeguard. However, the submission stressed that chiefly institutions must serve the interests of the entire country, pointing to Fiji’s history of welcoming Chinese settlers, indentured labourers and Pacific communities.
“Fiji is the work of all of them, and this country belongs to all of them,” it stated.
On national identity, the vanua ko Lau called for Fijian to be restored as the ethnic name of the indigenous people and Fiji Islander adopted as the common national identity for all citizens.
Importantly, it said Fiji Islander was recommended by the Reeves Commission in 1996 as a unifying national identity that would recognise every citizen without taking away individual communities’ ethnic identities.
The submission argued that subsequent changes to the use of the name Fijian were made without the consent of either the indigenous people or the wider population.
“Nationality should unite every citizen; ethnicity should remain with each community that holds it.”
Lau also wants constitutional replacement to require a referendum and a consultative constitutional review every 10 years.
Addressing constitutional immunity, the vanua ko Lau accepted the Supreme Court’s position that existing immunities cannot be removed through the proposed amendments, but warned that legal settlements must not distract from economic inequalities, political divisions and Fiji’s escalating drug and HIV crises. It also urged Parliament to recognise the opportunity created by the Supreme Court’s August 2025 ruling, which changed the thresholds required for constitutional amendments.
The submission concluded with a direct appeal to Parliament to let the people decide.
“The people of Fiji have waited thirteen years to be asked. And they should now be asked.”
