Academic calls for 'transparency' over Fiji TV fiasco

Transcript

A legal expert says an apparent abuse of power by Fiji's Attorney-General over media rights to last year's Rugby Sevens should be investigated.

Sacked Fiji TV executives allege Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum broke the law and violated the constitution by interfering in the process to ensure a rival company, FBC TV, could also screen the tournament.

The government has said it just wants all Fijians to be able to watch the national team play rugby.

But professor Bill Hodge, of Auckland University, told Amelia Langford the Government needs to be far more open about what went on behind the scenes.

BILL HODGE: There's all sorts of unseemly matters going on in terms of control of a private TV channel, while at the same time you could say that the government is on the side of the angels because they're saying 'we just want our people to be able to see, for free, the rugby sevens.

AMELIA LANGFORD: Yes, what do you make of that defence or argument that they are trying to get everyone to be able to see this rugby?

BH: I think if it happened in New Zealand and somehow pay-per-view TV grabbed exclusive rights to the Cricket World Cup or the coming Rugby World Cup the government would be in an uproar, saying ordinary New Zealanders should be able to watch these things. But while it's a good defence and I think any democratic government would have something to say about it, but I think if it was done in New Zealand you would have it more transparently pursued, I think the media -- Radio New Zealand and so on would be all over it -- and people would see transparently what pressure was being brought to bear, whose job was under threat and why. Whereas here, it all seemed to have been done in closed rooms, backdoor meetings and decrees, so it's not surprisingly come up in Parliament that the minister of communications is now being condemned for having lied about it and the fact that the minister of communications is also the attorney general is a pretty good political stick for the opposition -- such as it is the few members who have got a voice -- to beat the government with, so it has erupted, I think, quite appropriately. My hope would be that one of the fired executives takes a common law action for wrongful dismissal to show that the dismissal was an abuse, that might be the best way to open it up.

AL: Does it look like the attorney general has overstepped his role here?

BH: Well, keep in mind that this is a very small jurisdiction and the attorney general's fingers are in just about everything that comes out of the government. Every decree has to be issued by his office. So it looks like -- I don't want to say that the Commodore, now the Prime Minister, lacks subtle intelligence, but what I'm saying is that the legal developments seem to be emanating from the AG's office who seems to be the legal authority behind Frank Bainimarama as Prime Minister. On the other hand, he was also performing the role of minister of communications and in a very small jurisdiction you have a limited talent pool, you've got a limited number of lawyers in government, you've got a limited number of talented people able to play those roles, so it's not too surprising that we've got conflicts of interest with him wearing two, three or four hats at the same time. New Zealand has some of the same problems, but less so because we're slightly bigger, but Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, they all have problems with multiple hats being worn by the few people with the right qualifications and the AG is one of those people. He also seems to be ferociously intelligent and capable.

AL: There are calls for him to step down, what do you say to that?

BH: Well that should be played out in the fullness of time, they've made those comments in Parliament, but as I understand it, one of the sacked executives has complained to the Law Society. We'll see whether the Law Society conducts any sort of independent review or investigation. It may be a matter for the law society if the attorney general has abused his office or if, as a member of the Law Society, he has abused his professionalism as a practising lawyer. So I would welcome some transparent investigation, it may come down to nothing more than a government trying to be popular, trying to guarantee that a wonderful sport at which the Fijians excel can be viewed across the country. I mean one of the things that Bainimarama said was that some parts of some of the islands, private TV is just not accessible, so we're simply trying to be democratic.

AL: OK, and whatever the case though, the perception isn't great is it? It doesn't look goo.

BH: It stinks. It really looks bad because to start with, the brother of the minister of communications runs the other channel that benefitted from it, or would've benefitted if World Rugby hadn't pulled the plug, and of course the minister of communications is also the attorney general, and I guess the AG was advising the minister who might've been taking information from his brother, so it's not a good look and even when you have that multiple hats and duplication of roles, you don't have open communications and transparent relationships. It looks like it's been done behind the scenes and that's not good, so maybe it's all innocent, but I'd like to see it opened up transparently investigated.

AL: OK, and just lastly this is obviously a new government and obviously a new democracy, but these sorts of actions, these sorts of allegations, how does this bode for a new democracy?

BH: Well two ways, on one hand they're trying to reach the people which is a good thing and I guess a populist government would do that, but on the other hand the abuse of power looks like the same-old, same-old military government rather than a democratically elected popular government subject to the rule of law. That's the tension, when you're subject to the rule of law do you do things that the people love, well it looks like bread and circuses, the old technique of keeping the people happy and covered in rugby as a means of putting down dissent.

In a statement, the Prime Minister has accused the opposition of being obsessed with scoring cheap political points by kicking up a fuss over Fiji TV.