Barbara Dreaver

The Law Society is now censoring recruitment advertisements in Law Talk. The Fiji of Directorate of Public Prosecutions wanted to advertise for qualified New Zealand lawyers for positions they have available. This would of course been a good thing with New Zealand qualified lawyers able to impart their knowledge and belief on the Fijian legal profession.

Instead the Law Society has banned the adverts essentially wanting to censor the advertising of jobs in Fiji.

Christopher Pryde, the Director of Public prosecutions says:

An email to the Office of the DPP this morning (3.2.12), said “The New Zealand Law Society Board has decided unanimously that the NZLS will not accept advertisements for legal positions in Fiji under the current interim military regime”.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Christopher Pryde, said it was unfortunate that the NZLS was involving itself in politics and preventing New Zealand lawyers from hearing about job vacancies in Fiji.

“It is unfortunate that New Zealand lawyers are being denied the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they wish to take up legal positions in Fiji. By refusing to allow us the right to advertise, the NZLS is effectively censoring what New Zealand lawyers know about Fiji.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in an independent office and the Director of Public Prosecutions has the sole responsibility for criminal prosecutions in Fiji. This is without recourse to any Government minister, including the Attorney-General. The Office in that regard is non-political.

This is the bizarre part of the Law Society’s action. They think that this is a “smart sanction”. In fact it is highly dumb.

What shall we do with people charged with rape or robbery or murder? Send them to New Zealand?” he said.

Mr Pryde said he remains concerned that the NZLS continue to have an inaccurate picture of the Fijian situation, in particular of the judiciary and the courts.

“My invitation to the NZLS still stands. They are welcome to visit Fiji and meet and talk to anyone without restriction so that they can obtain for themselves a first-hand appraisal of things in Fiji. In the meantime, we would appreciate the NZLS allowing lawyers to decide things for themselves and allow us the right to advertise” he said.

Oh..so the Law Society has acted based on the inane drivel published by Barbara Dreaver and Michael Field, both of whom haven’t been in Fiji for some years and they also haven’t haven’t bothered to go anf find out for themselves the situation in Fiji.

Actions like this are stupid and hardly contribute to enabling Fiji to return to democracy. in point of fact they hinder the path to democracy by allowing the impression that independent bodies such as the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to be maligned as political corrupt.

One thing the Law Society has done though, by dabbling in foreign politics, is opened themselves up to a challenge for whatever status they enjoy with the Charities Commission.

from Croz Walsh’s blog

Barbara Dreaver and TVNZ found guilty of unbalanced reporting. Barbara Dreaver, who sent a number of misleading reports on Fiji until she was denied entry, has been found wanting for one of her reports on Samoa, and TVNZ that screened and added to her story suggesting Samoa was awash with drugs and guns, has been fined $5000 by the Broadcast Standard Authority, payable to the Samoa Government, with another $2000 payable to the Crown.

“In the Authority’s view, the cumulative effect of such a dramatic introduction coupled with the information presented in the item was to create an impression for viewers that not only was the situation in Samoa extremely serious, but Government officials were complicit in the guns and drugs trade.”

Two years ago the BSA ruled against Michael Field for misrepresentation.  It’s always too late but thank goodness there is some check on sloppy and irresponsible journalism.

Michael Field really is a prize prick as well as being woefully ill-informed. For a repeater he seems awfully bitter.

Meanwhile back in Fiji the Commodore has started to clean house. He is sorting all the civil service problems out! Affairs and pillow talk are very common in Fiji government departments.

Civil servants engaging in extra-marital affairs will face the sack, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama says.

Speaking at Nacamaki Village, on Koro yesterday, Commodore Bainimarama said the military had led the way by sacking 10 instructors for having sex with female cadet officers.

“This should be a warning to everyone employed as a civil servant. We will not tolerate such behaviour from those employed by Government,” he said.

Commodore Bainimarama said civil servants must show good examples to the people they served.

“If any civil servant is found engaged in such activities, they will be dealt with accordingly,” he said.
He warned all civil servants to maintain ethics and values.

Imagine the uproar here if John Key did the same! I wonder – Tigerpig‘s most popular hunting grounds would be out of bounds?

Labour’s breathtaking hypocrisy over Peseta Sam Lotu-I-iga is turning into an own goal of massive proportions.

In their coordinated attack via media differing news outlets and via public statements by sitting city councillors and MP’s there was this statement by Su’a William Sio.

Associate Pacific Island Spokesperson Su’a William Sio, who is a former Manukau City Councillor, said when he entered Parliament midway through 2008 he resigned from the council immediately because it was impossible to do justice to both jobs.

“I think the right thing for Peseta to do is to resign from one role and focus on doing one job properly, and that’s what the community deserves,”

So Su’a William Sio says he resigned immediately. He is a class A liar and a hypocrite.

Su’a William Sio was declared elected after Diane Yates resigned on 29 March 2008.

He finally resigned from his Manukau City Council position  on 8 May 2008. Immediately is the next day not a month and a week later.

Sio stayed on for the vote on the new deputy mayor because the left knew that the Mayor’s new lapdog wasn’t a huge favourite. The vote was a close 10-8. Had Sio not been there Gary Troup still would have been successful, however the close vote and the fact he resigned a week after the vote indicates that his prime motivation for staying on was to choose the next deputy mayor. His attendance at meetings in the time that he was double dipping was appaling. The vote for deputy mayor (pdf)

Sio’s combined salary for the time he was holding both roles was greater than Sam given that he was deputy mayor and earning $85,000 plus a backbencher’s salary.

Sio is a first class hypocrite and liar. Worse he is a first class liar and a hypocrite, lying to score cheap political points against a fine MP who puts his taudry behaviour to shame.

Mangare MP denied request to be sworn to Parliament in Samoan – The MP for Mangere is fuming after being told he cannot be sworn into Parliament in his native language [TVNZ News Politics]

Su’a William Sio can fume all he likes, he is being sworn in to the highest court in the land, a land where teh only official languages are English and Maori.

If he can’t see why a solemn oath shouldn’t be sworn in a language that isn’t official then he is unfit to be an MP.

I wonder why he didn’t make this fuss when he was sworn in the first time. He blithely uttered his oath in english last time so what is his beef this time.

Frankly he is being traitorous, racist and disingenous.