A constitutional law expert has suggested it is not an option to keep Fiji’s Constitution “as it is”.
Australian National University’s (ANU) Professor Anthony Regan spoke at the Fiji National University’s (FNU) Vice-Chancellor’s Leadership Seminar in Nasinu on Thursday, and said the current government had only come into power “by the skin of its teeth”.
He asked the participants whether they thought it was fine to leave the Constitution as it was because the new regime was “fair and thoughtful”.
“That may be true, but every Government is subject to temptations when there are pressures,” he said.
“There’s no guarantee that a good outcome will come in every future election.”
He also said the chaos that had come out of the Parliamentary remuneration problems left the Government unexpectedly with a far greater majority, which meant it was a bit more possible to get the three-quarters majority needed in Parliament.
Prof Regan suggested it was not an option to leave the 2013 Constitution “as it is”.
“Do you leave it as it is now and say it’s too difficult to change? That’s an option,” he said.
“And you might say that’s OK because the new regime is a fair and thoughtful regime and will act only fairly.
“That may be true, but every government is subject to temptations when there are pressures.”
He said this Government got in by the skin of its teeth despite a pretty bad electoral system designed to keep other people in power.
“There’s no guarantee that a good outcome will come in every future election and then, if a government that had far less good intent came to power, it’s got the authority to do all the things we have talked about.”
He said these included overriding human rights and stacking accountability institutions etcetera.
