The Media Industry Development (Repeal) Bill 2023 was passed in Parliament at 11.06am today despite fierce debate from the Opposition parliamentarians.
While presenting the motion in Parliament on Monday pursuant to Standing Order 51, Fiji’s Attorney-General Siromi Turaga said the Bill to repeal the existing Media Industry Development Act (MIDA) 2010 meant that freedom of expression would be assured for members of the media fraternity in the country.
“The MIDA 2010 amongst other things regulates the ownership, registration and content of media organisations in Fiji,” Mr Turaga said.
He said the repeal of MIDA did not mean that media organisations and reporters could report on anything and everything without having authentic sources and facts.
The debate was limited to one hour only with six speakers registering their interest to participate in the debate – Opposition MP Premila Kumar, Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo, Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto, Deputy PM and Minister for External Trade Manoa Kamikamica, Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad.
The Bill was passed after a vote: 29 for the motion, 21 against and three did not vote.
Yesterday, Fiji media leaders met in Suva as it committed to commence work to revive the Fiji Media Council – the body that holds to account media standards and complaints in the country.
