Parliament of Fiji

Students - Gospel School for the Impaired Hearing

Honourable Senators, I am very pleased to welcome in the House this morning our friends from the Gospel School for the Impaired Hearing in Samabula. We are very pleased to see you all here and I hope you will find your presence here useful and that you will leave having learnt something about the Senate and the Parliament of Fiji.

AD HOC SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE

INTO MINING DEVELOPMENT - APPOINTMENT OF

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Mr. President, Sir, I beg to move that:

In view of the imminent renegotiations of mining leases at Vatukoula and the Vatukoula Tax Agreement, and the strong evidence pointing to adverse social, health and environment effects of mining activities in Fiji, as highlighted by at least three official inquiries over the last 25 years, data collected by local health authorities and Government departments, the continuing grievances of indigenous landowners and workers, and the numerous concerns raised in both HouseS of Parliament that:

This House agrees to establish an ad hoc Senate Select Committee to investigate the situation and hear community views with regards to mining development at Vatukoula, Mt. Kasi and Namosi, and, within six months of its first meeting, to report back to the House with appropriate recommendations pertaining to the well-being of indigenous mining communities, the returns of resource owners, and the contribution of the industry to the development revenue of the Government.

HON. SENATOR J. KALOU.- Mr. President, Sir, I beg to second the motion.

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Mr. President, Sir, I am a mother of four children, three of whom are biologically mine. So, I have had the privilege of experiencing the joys and pains of childbirth. This motion feels a little like having another baby, although this one is a little overdue (and I think I have passed my childbearing days). I had meant to move a motion on the mining industry in 2000, when the People's Coalition was in Government, but as we all know, a few things took us by surprise that year, soit did not happen.

I would like to make a few general points to set the scene for this motion and provide a little background. But first, I wish to share with you (and honourable Senators of the House), a legend that was told to me when I first began my research on Vatukoula back in 1981. I was looking for stories of the early days, talking to some of the older people and interested in any oral history about the discovery of gold at Vatukoula.

I learnt that Vatukoula's real name was Matanagata - 'face of the `snake'. One evening, an old man was brought to me meaning who told me this story that was said to come from Saivou in Ra. I will tell you in summary and in the English translation.

Sometime after the village of Nakorowaiwai came under attack back in the 19th century, Navosavakadua spoke to two brothers, one of them with the name of Taivesi. His great grandfather was the Tui Naliwane of Nacarewa, Nasova in Navuni. Navosavakadua told the brothers to prepare for a journey to Matanagata. They had to carry a sack of very strong-smelling soil that contained the remains of those who had been killed at Nakorowaiwai. Navosavakadua told them to bury the soil in a place called Tolevu, not far from Matanagata. The most important thing they had to remember was not to look behind.

The two men went on their way and eventually arrived. However, the younger brother had sores on his foot, and when he trod on some prickly grass, he fell down in pain, crying out to his brother who was walking ahead of him; "Come back, I can't go on. There is an old man who has fallen out of the ivi tree and he's staring at me. Let's pour the soil out here". The older brother turned back and they buried the soil.

On their way back home, as they reached Drauniivi, the brothers met Navosavakadua and he was cross with them for being disobedient; "You two have not returned from Tolevu as you were told. You have buried the soil in the wrong place. Why did you stamp on it? You have both been foolish. Now, because of what you have done, the soil will be dug up before the time is right. The soil was to have brought great wealth to our Government and people".

Last night, as I was looking up a few things in preparation for this morning, I came across this story for the first time in a long time. It intrigued me to see that the old man had coaxed me to conclude by way of a moral or conclusion to the story: "And so it came to pass - the riches of the soil at Matanagata were discovered and enjoyed by others".

Sir, I have tried to reduce my presentation to a sketch or outline of some of the key issues that I believe are important and relevant to this motion. It is very difficult, given the complexities of the mining industry, to cover everything and insufficient depth in the time available. So I have cut some corners on many issues, particularly those that I have talked about on previous occasions. I see this as very much the beginning, and if this motion receives the support of the House, there will be time enough to look more closely at the relevant data and records which are in abundance.

As the motion indicates, there have been a number of government enquiries into the mining industry and I thought it might be helpful to list the main ones for the benefit of the honourable Members of this House. These enquiries focus mostly on economic and industrial issues relating to Vatukoula. They include: an inquiry undertaken in 1960 by the London firm John Taylor and Sons on behalf of the colonial government, and whose report on "The Economics of the Gold Mining Industry of Vatukoula" was tabled as Council Paper No. 26 of 1960; A "Private and Confidential Report on Emperor Gold Mining Company Request for Assistance from the Government of Fiji" was completed in 1966 by PriceWaterhouse; a "Report of the Board of Inquiry into the trade dispute between the Fiji Mine Workers Union and the EGM Company Limited in 1974". In 1977, a committee appointed by the Alliance Government and chaired by Savenaca Siwatibau, following the closure of the mine and mass retrenchments, was charged with examining the economics of the gold mining industry at Vatukoula; Four years later in 1981, an ESCAP sponsored study produced a "Report on the Environmental Impact of Gold Mining at Vatukoula, Fiji". This has never been made public;

The most recent investigation into the industry and probably the most familiar to honourable Members of this House is the Commission of Inquiry into the Vatukoula Mines, (Parliamentary Paper No. 38 of 1995). I do not intend to discuss the findings of these enquiries, but on this occasion, Sir, I see these as useful background resources for the Senate committee that is appointed by this House, should this motion be passed. Suffice it to say, for the moment that all these reports contain valuable information and insight into the impact of gold mining in the country at different historical junctures. They draw attention to the various environmental social and labour problems associated with the Vatukoula mine and provide helpful economic data and analysis of the Emperor group of operations. This is especially the case for the comprehensive Siwatibau Report of 1977.

Sir, apart from these inquiries, there will be many other useful resources at the disposal of a Senate committee, should it be set up. These include environmental audits of the Emperor Gold Mines and the Mt. Kasi Mine undertaken in 1994 and an earlier WHO Report in 1990 on Community Water Supply and Sanitation. In addition, there are Parliamentary Debates - Hansard going back many years. In fact, Parliament had debated motions on the mining industry before today. These occasions have more often than not been to seek endorsement for a government subsidy or grant to EGM. However, in 1969, the Federation Party moved a motion to nationalise the gold mining industry in the Legislative Council and there is an interesting debate on this. The motion was opposed and defeated by the ruling Alliance Party.

Sir, it is important to note from the outset that the mining industry has been running for close to 70 years in Fiji so it is not an industry that is still cutting its teeth. It has already made its mark and its impact on many levels; social, environmental, political and economic. The industry has had chequered and controversial history. It has resulted in fatalities, hundreds of injuries caused all kinds of health problems, polluted and dried up domestic water supplies, killed or contaminated the subsistence fishery and being generally obstructed to the idea of an effective and independent union.

The mining sector has been dominated by the operations of a single group of expatriate Australian company, Emperor Gold Mines Limited at Vatukoula. The management and shareholding of this group has had, at various times, included non-Australian players, notably South African and New Zealand and there has been changing configurations in the company structure as well as a partnership at one time with the much larger and well-known Australian Mining Company known as Western Mining. The only other operating gold mine has been Mt. Kasi, which is a lower grade mine with a less consistent history. Mt. Kasi operated for a number of years during the 1930s and 1940s and then off and on after independence. It looks likely to roll into operation again later this year. This time, under the helm of the Burdekin Pacific Limited, a company based in Perth.

A press release issued yesterday by the company indicated that it expected operations at Mt. Kasi to be, and I quote; "highly profitable at the current gold price with relatively low operating costs".

Sir, Namosi has, for close to 20 years now, been the focus of exploration and development activities over its massive low grade copper deposit. The work was driven for a long time by Placer Pacific, the developer of the Porgera and Missima Mines in Papua New Guinea. The Namosi Mine has been described as one of the biggest in the world, geologically similar, but even bigger than a huge Panguna Mine which was closed down by landowners in an insurrection on the island of Bouganville in 1989.

The fortunes of EGM and its partners have fluctuated due to factors like the gold price and rising costs of production, but the Vatukoula ore bodies have included very rich, high grade reserves. In fact, the rich deposits of the early Loloma and Dolphin Mines were a cause of great celebrations as was the Nasomo Mine much later.

Todate, EGM has mined around $6.5 million ounces of gold since it began operations in the 1930s and has reaped handsome returns. However, its corporate structure combined with what is euphemistically called "tax-efficient accounting practices", has helped to disguise the true picture of its profitability.

The second general point I would like to raise at the outset, Sir, is that underground mining is probably the toughest form of paid employment there is. It carries inherent and high level risks and, as a former inspector of mines has noted in a government memorandum I saw recently, it takes a special type of individual to work in an environment that is pitch dark, dusty, wet, noisy, dangerous and very hot. As for the principal mining area of Vatukoula, it is described as one of the harshest working environments in the world. Sir, hundreds of young Fijian men were brought into this environment from all of Fiji's 14 provinces in the years before the Second World War; plucked out of their villages and away from their traditional environment, customs and lifestyle and thrown into an austere and alienating industrial environment. They came to raise money for their provinces and to help pay the provincial tax levy known as the provincial rate posed by the Colonial Government. The early recruits were paid just 2 shillings a day for work on the surface and 2 shillings and 6 pence underground in addition to basic rations and housing.

Sir, a colour bar defined the job and wage system "the allocation of housing and the access to recreation". Indigenous Fijians who formed the bulk of the mine workforce were always at the bottom of the pile in every respect. Today, contrary to the general rule elsewhere, mining in Fiji is a low wage industry. For much of our post independence history, in fact, average mine wages have lagged significantly behind those in other sectors like construction, transport and the service sectors. This is inspite of the fact that in other parts of the world, mining is usually a highly paid occupation because of the special skills, risks, and health and safety hazards.

Today, Vatukoula's most experienced and highest paid miners are not earning much more than around $15,000 a year. The majority are on much less. A decade ago, earnings for an experienced underground contract miner at the Mt. Isa Mine in Queensland was $AUD65,0000. A top paid miner at Vatukoula would be lucky to earn one quarter of this.

One of the effects of the low incomes at Vatukoula, Sir, is there has always been a high incidence or worker debts; whether in the form of salary advances, credit advance to the company supermarket or loans from private money lenders. Private loans are needed not for luxury, but for basic day-to-day needs like school fees, food and family obligations. Ultimately, the Vatukoula community remains a very poor one, despite the fact that its workers have been the backbone of the growth and foreign exchange earnings for the sector.

Sir, a few comments on the community itself and health and safety issues. The mining town is usually a fairly unique type of community, isolated and artificially built up around the industry. The origins of the Vatukoula township, in fact, lay in the company's realisation that it was economically more prudent to have a permanent rather than a migrant workforce. Although this brought some benefits for workers such as schools and family housing, there has been a price to pay in the disempowerment and dependence associated with the company-controlled town.

Sir, poor housing has been a source of complaint and strike issue for workers at Vatukoula as far back as 1947. Today, housing continues to carry the scarces of racial discrimination typical of the colonial past. Although it is now allocated according to occupational or income status, rather than ethnicity or race, the result is much the same. The majority of low-earning Fijian workers continued to live in settlements whose dilapidated houses were mostly built 60 to 70 years ago in the 1930s and 1940s and which are of the poorest standard. Sir, the kitchen consists largely of outdoor lean-to and sub-standard showering and toilet facilities are organised in grim communal blocks shared by three to four families at some distance from individual houses.

The women in particular face problems visiting the toilets at night especially when they are pregnant, when it is raining or when their children are sick. The Narau barracks, built in the 1930s to house single men, has in more recent years tended to pack whole families into single rooms that are approximately 18 feet by 12 feet in dimension. Not surprisingly, Sir, the Vatukoula community is an extremely unhealthy one, its poor health standards are linked to the high poverty levels as well as the unhealthy living and working conditions including water and atmospheric pollution. The more prominent illnesses include respiratory chest problems, diarrheal diseases, sinus problems, skin complaints and deafness. Health services are very basic and despite repeated requests to the Company over the years, it has never built a hospital in Vatukoula.

Both underground and surface mill (particularly roster) workers have long suffered a range of respiratory problems like asthma, shortness of breath, respiratory tract infections and nose and throat infections. These have been linked by medical opinion to poisonous industrial gasses particularly sulphur dioxide that is pumped out into the atmosphere everyday by the roaster, nitrous oxide and other gases underground and rock dusts underground and in the mill.

Government inspections and reports have periodically confirmed water and atmospheric pollution at Vatukoula. There have been cyanide traces in fish and water declared unfit for human consumption. The 1981 ESCAP Report confirmed the existence of significant environmental hazards at Vatukoula and recommended that Emperor's lease should not be renewed in 1983 unless the company prepared a satisfactory programme for monitoring the environmental impact.

A major environment audit undertaken in 1994 for EGM confirmed higher than safe levels of mercury and cadmium in water samples taken from the Nasivi river. It also agree that the non-chlorination of the drinking water which remains to this day, I understand, Sir, is probably the main reason behind the prevalence of gastro-intestinal disease in the community.

At Mount Kasi, the people of Wailevu who are host to the Mount Kasi Mine felt the full brunt of toxic industrial discharges into their river system a few years ago. The pollution forced the closure of the mine. At Namosi, a preliminary Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by Placer admitted that mine waste seeping into the local river systems would be likely to harm important subsistence and income earning fisheries including the fresh water kai harvested by women for their families further downstream.

Another potential hazard for mining at Namosi could result from the proposed method of tailings disposal off the South coast of Viti Levu. If this takes place in the future, which is what is planned in the past, there is a strong likelihood of harm being done to marine life even if the dumping takes place at deep levels. The settlement of tailings on the ocean floor is said to be likely to smother or choke deep sea snapper. The method of tailings disposal has already caused a problem of the same kind at the Misima Mine at Papua New Guinea.

As I have indicated on previous occasions, Sir, Vatukoula also has a poor track record of fatalities and serious accidents. According to my calculation, Sir, there have been at least 18 fatalities since 1986.

Any cost benefit assessment of mining for a developing country like ours must take into account the toll on human life and the environment on which that human life depends. If we must persist with this industry, we must surely set the highest possible safety standards and be vigilant in monitoring these.

A Senate Committee should give priority to hearing the voices of the most important stakeholders, the mine workers and their families on issues relating to occupational health and safety. At Vatukoula, we have workers who have been labouring away deep in the underground mines or in the mill for 20 to 30 years, they know just about every nook and cranny of the mines and understand fully the personal risks they take everyday. They also know the full extent of sickness in the mining community. The respiratory illnesses, the asthma, the chronic bronchitis, the skin diseases and the diarrhoea linked to the polluted water and the deafness from dynamite blasting. Their views should be heard, respected, reflected in Government policy guidelines for the foreign mining companies that we have, Sir, and incorporated into forthcoming legislations such as the proposed amendments to the Mining Act or the OHS Act. The Workmen's Compensation Act is also extremely outdated. Sir, these issues of low wages, poor housing, occupational health and safety problems and environmental pollution should not be just seen as a Vatukoula problem. They are likely to rear their head again in the future in other mining areas if we do not help set some standards of fairness and human dignity.

Sir, if this motion passes (and I hope it will), I hope the Committee will give due attention to the regulatory and legislative framework of the industry because this has direct implications not only for the revenue we earn for this industry but also for the lives and safety of those working at existing mines like Vatukoula and those who may begin working in the near future at new mines like Mount Kasi and Namosi.

The regulations governing mining operations are woefully inadequate. The Mining Act has remained pretty much unchanged since the mid 1960s and this is inspite of various recommendations by government commissioned reports and mining experts to introduce proper environmental standards and pollution control and to improve other aspects of the legislation.

One of the controversial aspects of the regulatory framework for this sector is the exclusion of the mining industry from the orbit of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Another is the discretionary powers vested in the Minister for Mineral Resources in the Mining Act. The Vatukoula Tax Agreement exemplifies the dangers of these powers and how they can be misused.

Our mining regulatory regime including any tax agreements negotiated with foreign companies should be a matter for Parliament to review and endorse and it should involve consultations with the local community as in Papua New Guinea. The power to make such important decisions should not be in the hands of an individual Minister or Cabinet, we need more transparent discussion and Ministers who are accountable to Parliament. If we fail to amend the law in this regard, we will continue to have more back-room deal struck between the unscrupulous or ill-informed, ill-advice Ministers on the one hand and private mining companies on the other. So, the House in this regard, may be interested to know that for all new mining projects in Papua New Guinea, the PNG Mining Act requires three party consultation and contractual agreement between the mining companies, the local communities and Government on the nature of all mining operations, compensation and royalties. Also, the terms of the PNG Tax Agreement are published and accessible and an Act of Parliament is needed for an agreement. A far cry from what we have here, Sir, with the Vatukoula Tax Agreement. All of these arrangements in Papua New Guinea rules out secrecy and gives less room for a back-room deal.

Sir, the Government side may tell us that the Mining Act is currently under review. But what it will may not tell us is that this review has been underway for more than eight years. Sir, if this was not such a serious matter, it would be a joke. Why is this process still chugging along? Why are we still waiting for an amendment Bill to come before Parliament when the work was completed about three years ago? I have that on good authority, Sir.

In search of an answer, I made a few enquiries and the information that surfaced made sense. It appears that the Mines Department has been told to take its time with the review and to aim for somewhere around 2005, which coincidentally is about the time a new tax agreement may have been negotiated by Emperor Gold Mine. The implications of this are serious. If a new special tax agreement is concluded with the EGM first, then the company will be beyond the reach of any of the more stringent measures that may find their way into the amended Mining Act.

Sir, it is absolutely imperative, in my view, that we improve the regulatory regime for this industry without further delay.

There is one aspect of our mining industry that has long been overlooked and this relates to the land used for mining, and the system of royalty payments and compensation for environmental damage. I began researching and writing about this in the early 1980s and the Labour Party took up the issue during the 1987 General Elections. For those who are interested, this can be seen in a collection of speeches by the late Dr. Timoci Bavadra published in 1990. A full investigation into the compensation system to landowners was scheduled to take place in 1987, following the election of the Labour-led Coalition Government, but unfortunately, Sir, the coup put a stop to these plans.

In a nutshell, the interest of indigenous resource owners have been compromised from the earliest days of mining. Although colonial land policy was at least theoretically based on the principle of inalienability and paramountcy of indigenous Fijian interests, Colonial mining policy, on the otherhand, explicitly threatened indigenous interest rights from the 1930s.

Under the 1908 Mining Ordinance, Fijian landowners had the right to compensation from the exploitation of their mineral wealth. However, in 1934, as the prospects for the mining industry started to look very promising, the colonial government introduced a new mining Ordinance. One of its very expressly put aims was to dispossess Fijian resource owners of their claim over mineral rich land. Landowners in the Mt. Kasi area were the main targets as they were principal owners of a 2,000 acre area with proven mineral wealth. The CSR also held claimed to a part of this area at the time.

The action taken by the colonial authorities removed the right of landowners to the subterranean value of their land. One way they did this was by drawing a distinction between surface and subterranean or below surface tenure and giving the State ownership rights over the land underneath the surface. This reduced the proprietorial rights of Fijian landowners to the surface. The distinction was an invention of the Imperial Government of Britain designed to secure its claim over the mineral wealth found in those colonies like Fiji and Ghana (which was then called the Gold Coast) where land rights had already been vested in the traditional owners. Of course, as we all know, under customary land tenure, there was and is no such distinction between surface and subterranean land, just as land rights do not halt when the land meets the sea but extend into the qoliqoli, so too, they are not confined to a certain depth of the soil. But back in the 1930s, the cultural definition of landownership was pushed aside for reasons of economic and political expediency and all precious metals and minerals, including gold, became the property of the Crown.

As to the way this was done, well, in Fiji, the colonial authorities knew they could not get away with tampering with the native lands legislations. They guessed that there would be too much opposition from the landowners and they would have to pay compensation. So instead, they sneaked in the back door, by bringing in fresh mining legislation in 1934 that enabled mining land to be absorbed as Crown Land and transferred ownership rights over precious metals and minerals to the Crown. This involved no compensation to landowners and as predicted, it provoked no opposition for the simple reason that people were not aware that this was going on.

There was another way in which the State removed the right of landowners to the sub-surface value of their land. This was done by repealing a section of the 1908 Mining Ordinance that until 1934 gave landowners the right to royalty. After 1934, both royalty and sub-surface rent (which were fees for mining leases), were paid into general revenue with nothing going to the landowners. Interestingly in its draft form, the 1934 Mining Ordinance gave landowners a 25 per cent share of royalty revenue. This was hotly debated within the Imperial Government of Britain at the time and by the time the Bill was in its final form, the lobby against royalty for landowners had won the day and they lost their right to any compensation at all for the exploitation of their mineral wealth.

I have taken a bit of time, Sir, to go over this incident in the early history of the mining industry because to put it crudely, it has always stuck in my gut as it truly captures the ugly face of imperial conquest - the opportunism and the greed. The Fijian landowners were not in a position to protect their interests largely because they did not really know what was going on. This is not to say that they did not try. I have come across at least one particular example by the people of Naitasiri which I would like to share with you.

In 1935, the Provincial Commissioner for Naitasiri recorded in his diary that he had received a deputation from Navuso inquiring, and I quote:

"... if the interest of natives who owned most of the land in the Colony were being watched carefully by the Government, in connection with the discovery of gold in Fiji."

The matter was referred to the Mining Board, but according to the records, it took three years for the Board to respond to the landowners and the reply consisted simply of this, and I quote:

"There are already adequate safeguards for native interests in the existing legislation."

This is of course far from the truth, Sir.

Why dig up history, one might ask? Firstly, because the implication of these dubious tactics have been far-reaching. In financial terms, they have meant that landowners whose land is wealthy in minerals have been deprived of any form of income from the exploitation of this wealth, apart from the usual surface rent. This continues today in spite of the fact that the Constitution has opened the door to a more equitable arrangement in Section 186, which deals with customary laws and customary rights. The land issue is just one of the many features of our outdated mining law that urgently needs reform. We must ensure that this is done comprehensively and honestly and that there are no more incidences of legislations being sneaked in the back door.

Before concluding my comments on the land issue, Sir, let me make one final point. Not all the problems inflicted on landowners by the mining industry took place during the colonial period. So, we need to be careful of seeing this as just a colonial legacy over which we have had no control or that we could not have reversed. In fact, it is arguable that more damage has been done during the 30-odd years since Independence. The sad case of the Nasomo people is a case in point. They lost control over around 1,000 acres of their land when a 21-year special mining lease was granted to EGM and Western Mining in 1983, without their approval and despite their strong objections. This land included a bulubulu, a water catchment area, streams and farming land.

The Nasomo people were given only a 17-month guarantee that their water supplies would be protected, despite the fact that the mining lease over their land was for 21 years. They wanted a guarantee for continued and uncontaminated water supply, compensation for damage to fishing reserves and crops and protection against toxic roaster fumes. Their pleas fell on deaf ears. So for the last 20 years the landowners of Nasomo have been embroiled in a legal struggle to regain control over their land and to be given a fair share of the revenue derived from mining on their land. They have argued that both the mining companies and the State have breached the existing mining and land laws, that there have been acts of trespass, unlawful dispossession and appropriation, physical danger and environmental damage.

Sir, it is gratifying to learn that a judgement on this case last year (I believe), awarded some compensation to the landowners, belated as it is. However, as a $1 million pay-out, it falls well short of the $10 million claimed and the lawyer's fees have eaten up about 25 per cent of this money, I understand, Sir. If this motion passes, I would urge the Select Committee to look into this matter, as I understand that the Nasomo people still have some concerns.

I would like to say a few words on some of the more political aspects of the mining industry. Mining is probably one of the most politicised of our industries and at Vatukoula, EGM has wielded significant influence over successive governments. From the earliest days of Red Ted Theodore (as he was known), one time Federal Treasurer of Australia and Queensland Premier, to General Managers like Bill Cayzer and Nils Nilsen who was nicknamed Bruiser by the colonial Government. In the years before Independence, the companies knew what they wanted and how to go about getting it. Their tactics ranged from promises to tantrums. They wooed and they threatened and there was always a trump card to play. Whenever Government did not succumb without a fuss, it would threaten to lay-off its workforce and close down the Mine. This threat, whether actual or unspoken, always worked.

Sir, EGM has always recognised the importance of good public relations and unlike the mine workers, it has had the resources to counter any bad publicity to promote its own message and to opt for lengthy court battles when it suited. It has been astute in using the chiefly system to its advantage, especially when extra workers were needed or there was a strike to put down. The mine workers' unions have never been a match for the company. It has always been a David and Goliath battle, although in this case, unfortunately Goliath has usually been the victor.

Over the years, the combined stick and carrot approach became EGM's trademark. After Independence, Geoffrey Reid continued the tradition and he made no secret of his strong anti-union views. He also moved from the shallow to the deep end of Fiji politics by helping to bring down the late Dr. Timoci Bavadra's Labour-led Government in 1987. He did so because for the first time the Company faced the prospects of a Government that was going to stand up for the indigenous mine workers and the Nasomo landowners. It was not going to be bullied or bought. Some of you may be aware the late Dr. Bavadra had served time as a doctor in Vatukoula and he had first knowledge of the problems faced by the mining community.

Sir, the influence of this group of companies continues to this day. I have had my own first hand experience of this in more recent times - in 1994, when they tried to stop the publication of my book by an international publisher, Cambridge University Press, just as it was about to go to print and last year during the Human Rights Festival, when the Company lawyer Sahu Khan forced a local cinema to stop the screening of a documentary I made 10 years ago, which highlighted the plight of the Fijian mine workers and the 1991 strike that continues to this day. Sir, this too is history, you might say, but it is relevant to the present and the future, as the life of the Vatukoula Tax Agreement and EGM's 21-year mining leases draw to a close, EGM is flexing its muscles yet again hoping to breath more life into both the VTA and the mining leases.

Government faces a real challenge to stand firm. It also faces the test of its own integrity. It has the chance to do the right thing by the country and the landowners. I sincerely hope it will emerge with flying colours on both counts. If this motion passes, the Senate Committee will be able to look at this issue more closely, receive expert opinions on alternative mining tax, royalty and compensation systems and make suitable recommendations to the Government.

Mr. President, Sir, the power of the EGM Group is probably best illustrated in the financial assistance and tax regime that is managed to secure from the State and taxpayers. I had spoken on this on more than one occasion, most recently during the 2003 Budget Debate last December. I had then tabled quite a lot of data in the House, so I will not repeat myself except to make a few general points by way of a summary and to offer a little additional data. To put it bluntly, Sir, our country has been stripped of millions of dollars in development revenue as a result of an excessive and distorted tax and concession regimes, benefitting this single expatriate group of companies. Financial assistance to EGM began during the colonial period and continued after independence. For most of its life, it has enjoyed exemptions or reductions in income tax, waivers of export tax and royalty, million-dollar grants, subsidies and soft or interest-free loans.

Mr. President, Sir, the Emperor Group has made substantial profits, but the income tax it has paid has been woefully inadequate. In the first 16 years of independence (1970 to 1986), the turnover in gold exports (and this excludes revenue that comes from silver so it is actually a conservative amount), came to around $200 million. Over the same period, total tax payments amounted to only $1 million. One does not have to be a brilliant maths student to figure out that income tax paid over these years represented a negligible proportion (some 0.5 per cent) of the market value of Vatukoula's mineral wealth.

Sir, in the early 1980's, some 30 years after a subsidy regime was put in place for EGM, the Government again came to its rescue. This time, as we know, it approved the 21-year mining leases and a special prospecting licence for EGM and its Australian partner - Western Mining. The icing on the cake was the Vatukoula Tax Agreement (VTA), which I have already mentioned, that negotiated between EGM/Western Mining Group and the son of the late Mr. Charlie Stinson, Peter Stinson, who was at the time Minister for Mineral Resources. Contrary to past experiences, the VTA was not submitted for parliamentary scrutiny and debate. Moreover, it appears to have never been gazetted.

Mr. President, the VTA has been described in the 1997 publication by three Commonwealth economists as, and I quote: "A generous and expensive subsidy, probably far greater than necessary to induce investment in relatively high grade deposits." It is regarded as unparalleled when compared with mining tax regimes in other countries, with the exception of Australia up until 1990. Apart from the seven-year tax holidays on new mines, the VTA has applied a royalty formula of 2.5 per cent of net profit. This is quite out of line with the formula prescribed by the Mining Act, which is 5 per cent of the value of production.

Mr. President, Sir, the principle of linking royalty to the value of extracted minerals is, in my view, a fair one and this is what the Mining Act has done. An important reason is that gold, silver, copper or other minerals are a finite and non-renewable resource. You cannot replant them like mahogany or other valuable hardwoods. Once they are dug out and processed, they are gone. In Papua New Guinea, a production-based royalty is paid to landowners and the provincial government. Their royalty system is not linked to profit as we have here under the VTA. So the special VTA royalty formula has been a great cost to the country and the landowners. I had provided data to show this back in December. But just taking three periods, in the 1980's and the 1990's which collectively cover a span of 14 years, we can see that the country lost around $45 million in royalty revenue just from the VTA tax system. In some years, returns have often been pathetically low and even paid up two years in arrears.

For example, in 1984 and 1985, the Company paid just $584 and $80 respectively. The $564 for 1984 was not received by the government until 1986. The $80 cheque for 1985 must have also been sent on a slow boat, Sir, since it also took two years to arrive. In 1990, when EGM received nearly $77 million in that one year from gold sales, it paid nothing at all in royalty, so no boat, no cheque.

Mr. President, Sir, a Senate Select Committee would be doing the country a great service if it were to give some serious consideration to the matter of royalty compensation and tax levies in the mining industry. The VTA has set a dangerous precedent and other mining investors are licking their lips in anticipation of securing a similar deal. At Namosi, in the mid 1990's, it certainly appeared this way as Government entered into tax negotiations with Placer. These talks were undertaken by the then honourable Minister for Trade and Commerce, Jim Ah Koy.

In the Budget Session of Parliament in 1996, the Minister had announced that he had come to an agreement with Placer which he described as "slightly more" than what is offered to the Tax Free Factories and would encourage the company to continue further development work and progress towards a full feasibility study on the proposed mine. If this was the case, then Placer would have secured a deal comprising a lengthy minimum 13-year tax holiday along with duty-free imports and exemption from VAT; that is only part of what we know, Sir, or can comfortably deduce.

Why the need for a Senate investigation into the mining industry, Sir? Several factors underlie the timing of this motion, the 21-year-old mining leases being held by EGM and the infamous VTA are drawing to a close and are likely to be re-negotiated. There are moves to recommence mining at Mt. Kasi and recent media reports detail some expected new mining investments in the country. Other factors also make this motion timely. Evidence pointing to the adverse effects of mining activities in Fiji have been around for a long time - too long. The problems have been exemplified by the on-going industrial strike, the recurring accident fatalities in Vatukoula, the massive loss of revenue to our country caused by the distorted mining tax regime and the harmful impact of environmental pollution on the health and livelihoods of the people of Mt. Kasi and Vatukoula. These problems are only the tip of the iceberg and they remain largely unresolved.

The essential purpose of this motion is, therefore, for the Senate to play a constructive and leading role in investigating the situation more thoroughly, undertaking a comprehensive review of the social, economic and environmental impact of mining and in making recommendations to place this industry on a much sounder footing in the interest of the indigenous workers, their families and resource owners. The problem of Vatukoula's indigenous workforce had been eclipsed by an industrial strike that is now 11 years old. These workers feel so passionately about their grievances that they still have a picket line after all this time. I do not know whether this has happened anywhere else in the world. Sadly, the cries of these workers and their families continue to fall on deaf ears. There appear to be no Good Samaritans in the Government or the Company willing to listen and respond fairly and justly. Everyone walks to the other side of the road, in the hope that these people will one day give up and go away. Where is the justice in this?

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- Stop making sensational issues.

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- It is not sensational, it is my view.

Mr. President, Sir, the other day, we were reminded of the most recent enquiry into Vatukoula, conducted in 1995. It came up with many recommendations, but they have unfortunately come to nothing due to court action taken by EGM against it. The matter has been tied up in Court now for nearly 10 years.

Sir, I have a special interest in the G.P. Lala Inquiry because I left my family, who were living in Noumea at the time to come back home and lend a hand to the mine workers. I took the stand to give evidence, presented a lengthy submission and was subjected to cross-examination over two days by the Company lawyer, Dr. Sahu Khan. They were very long two days, Sir.

In many ways, the arbitration was typical of how business has always being done at Vatukoula and why it has been so terribly hard for the community to get justice. There has never been money to hire lawyers who will match the accomplished legal high-fliers engaged by EGM. Many times in the past, the Union has had to represent itself, and it was out of its depth. The cards were always stacked against them and many an industrial battle was lost.

On this occasion, Sir, the David and Goliath contest was there again. As witness after witness was produced by the Union, the pattern was always the same. A shy and nervous man or woman would take the stand to answer questions and offer information. Always cooperative, never obstructive, but fearful perhaps, lest the truth should shine through too strongly from the testimonies of these simple but honest people, the company lawyer shouted and screamed, rebuked and denigrated. The intimidation and the shame was something I will never forget - "Do you speak English? Tell me, do you speak English?"

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- Mr. President, Sir, I rise on a point of order to the effect that the honourable mover of the Motion is now beginning to go into a Report. The details or the compilation of that Report, at the moment, are before the Court.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- On a point of order, Sir, in reference to the Standing Order.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Member, I have given the honourable and learned Attorney-General the floor, and I will let him speak.

Honourable Members, I would appreciate it that when the Chair rules, that you accept that. I think some of us are aware of how to conduct a meeting. The honourable and learned Attorney-General had the floor. He is as familiar as some others who have only arrived in this House with the point of order and I accepted that he would come to that point and it is useful to give whoever is in the Chair an opportunity to conduct the meeting.

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- Sir, perhaps I should have mentioned the Standing Order I was raising before I went on to explain, and I apologise for that. The Standing Order is 50 which provides that, and I quote:

"A senator may not in the course of a debate (like this) refer to any matter on which a judicial decision is pending."

Sir, I raise this point of order because the Report, the manner of its compilation and the recommendations made therein are still the subject of a Judicial Review which is pending in Court. No decision has been made on that yet, Sir, and on that ground, I rose on Standing Order 50, that the honourable Senator is beginning to go into a lot of these details which are in the Report that is being challenged in Court.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, I ask you to take note of that and I think you would be able to get around that.

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Yes, Sir, I had actually thought that it was clear that I had refrained from commenting on anything that is substance of the Report.

MR. PRESIDENT.- The issue of sub-judice is very delicate, so I will leave that to your discretion.

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Sir, my reason for mentioning this personal experience is because it is my sincere hope (and I am looking ahead now) that if this motion is passed and a Senate Select Committee is set-up, that each and every villager, mine worker, resource owner or other stakeholder, will feel assured that if they come forward to offer information or a personal perspective on how this industry has touched their lives, for better or for worse, that they will be treated with respect, dignity and fairness, the right of every human being.

It might be argued, Sir, that because we have had inquiries into the mining industry in the past, there is no need for further investigation. I do not agree that further investigations would be a waste of time or mere duplication and I will tell you why.

Firstly, the enquiries todate have been directed exclusively at Vatukoula. There has been no enquiry into mining in general, to take account of other mining areas such as Mt. Kasi and Namosi. There has been no enquiry into the social and economic impact of the industry in general.

Secondly, Sir, with regard to the 1995 Commission of Inquiry, nearly 10 years have elapsed and the Report gathers dust because of the legal challenge mounted by EGM. So, all the work and the findings of this Commission have so far come to nought. Irrespective of the outcome of the current legal proceedings (and we will hopefully know about this soon), there will be aspects of the Report that will need to be visited afresh, given that many years have elapsed since it was written. At the very least, the data and profiles of occupational health, safety, incomes and housing of mine workers and their families will need to be updated.

Thirdly, Sir, the enquiry took place in Suva and it only heard and recorded the views of a number of witnesses representing the Mine Workers Union in the AGM. There was a visit to Vatukoula and this was essentially for the purpose of visiting the mining operations (surface and underground), and it lasted just one day, from memory. There were no consultations with the wider community of Vatukoula, including the landowners of Nasomo.

Fourthly, Sir, the composition and responsibilities of the Senate make it the right House to take the lead here on my respectful view, in particular the unique representation of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (BLV) and the special mandate BLV Members have to protect the interests of their people. Furthermore, we are fortunate to have amongst us the chiefly leaders of the Mt. Kasi and Namosi mining areas, the Tui Wailevu, honourable Senator Ratu Maivalili and the honourable Senator Ratu Taukeinikoro.

An additional argument, Sir, the Senators have the opportunity here to show leadership and set some long overdue standards for this important industry. It has an opportunity to listen to and learn from the indigenous communities that are being directly affected by mining, and then to make recommendations to address their concerns. Government tells us it is committed to good governance and to development that will improve people's livelihood. It has even created a Blueprint of Affirmative Actions on behalf of the indigenous people. Here is a tangible opportunity to take all these declared objectives forward in a legitimate way and to give voice to the very people who are supposed to benefit from them.

Sir, by way of conclusion, I have a few things to say and I thank you for your indulgence.

We are standing at a crossroad with the mining industry and it is time to put in some traffic lights in all colours - green, orange and red. It is time to ponder where we have come from and where we are heading in this industry, to ensure that we are not jumping any lights, and most importantly, that we are driving in the right direction.

Policy decisions in relation to the mining sector should not be taken lightly and most important of all, they should not be based simply on economic or financial considerations such as the foreign exchange that is earned from exporting our gold bullion bars. We hear this argument all the time. If ever there was an industry that has touched the lives and livelihood of ordinary people to such an extent in such drastic ways, this is it. We owe it to those who have given their lives to this industry, who have laboured away in the bowels of the earth to produce gold for export, not to simply reduce this industry to the dollars it generates. In fact, whether we look at the social and health effects, safety aspects, environmental impact, returns to resource owners, worker incomes of mining (the list goes on), there is a story of human depravation. Whichever way we turn, there are problems and they are inflicted on those least able to overcome them.

I do not pretend that there is a single simple solution or answer to the problems of the mining industry. The remedies are likely to be found in a number of different places - in better legislation, tougher corporate standards, more stringent environmental health and safety regulations and a more equitable mining tax system, greater protection to landowner interests, better employment conditions and finally in breaking free from the shackles of the past, including the colonial trappings in a mining town like Vatukoula.

In conclusion, let me re-state a few of the comments I have made on earlier occasions. The mine workers of Vatukoula and the women who support them are the backbone of an industry that has made many millions of dollars in export revenue for this country, not withstanding the losses that have occurred as a result of Government's overly generous concessions to EGM. It is their skills, dedication and cheap labour that have generated great profits for an expatriate Australian mining company for over half a century. Many of today's miners are sons of miners and have children who will be third generation miners. Many of their wives were born and raised in Vatukoula, their fathers and mothers are buried in this town. For these people, Vatukoula is the only real village they know and there is no alternative home where they can go or any other mine where they can work. Their roots lie in an indentured labour system that uprooted Fijians from all over the country and brought them to work and settle in a new and alien industrial environment. For this reason, it is simply not acceptable for the company to turn around and say; "Go home if you don't like the conditions here" or "Why don't you find another job if you don't like it here" or "Sorry, we don't want your services anymore, you make too many demands". The workers of Vatukoula have a right to make demands and to have a free and independent union to protect their interests. They are entitled to expect something better from the company.

It is my sincere hope, Sir, that the Senate will agree today to setting up a select committee to investigate the mining industry. As the motion makes clear, this is not intended to be an investigation just into Vatukoula, there are other areas of the country that have been affected by mining or that are likely to be affected by it in the future. It is my firm view that we have a responsibility in the Senate to ensure that the Government of the day, (whichever it is), is more responsive to the plight of the marginalised and powerless in our community. It is our duty to help forge development policies that are more just, sustainable and people-centered. This is not only in the interests of today's generation, but in the interests of generations to come.

HON. SENATOR RATU K. MAIVALILI.- Mr. President, Sir, I rise to oppose the motion before the House.

Sir, my analysis of the motion by honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain is as follows:

1. It seeks the appointment by the Senate, of an ad hoc Senate Committee.

2. The Committee is to investigate and report back to the Senate within six months of its first meeting, with appropriate recommendations regarding:

(a) the well-being of indigenous mining communities;

(b) the returns to resource owners; and

3. The motion asks that in carrying out its inquiry, the Committee is to take the following considerations into account:

(a) the imminent renegotiations of mining leases in Vatukoula;

(b) the imminent renegotiations of Vatukoula tax agreements;

effects of mining activities in Fiji;

(d) the reports of three official inquiries on these issues over the last 25 years;

(e) the data collected by local health authorities in Government departments on

these issues;

(f) the continuing grievances of indigenous landowners and workers;

(g) the numerous concerns raised in both Houses of Parliament; and

(h) the views of mining communities with regard to mining development in

Vatukoula, Mt. Kasi and Namosi.

Mr. President, Sir, I am not aware of the details of two of the three reports mentioned in this motion, but I am aware of one prepared by a Suva solicitor, Mr. G.P. Lala in 1985. He was appointed by His Excellency, the President in February, 1995, as the sole Commissioner under the Commission of Inquiry Act, to inquire into and examine the events surrounding and issues connected with the trade disputes arising from the strikes by workers at the Emperor Gold Mines in Vatukoula.

Mr. Lala's Terms of Reference were as follows:

1. To inquire into the conditions of employment of mine and service workers, having regard to the appropriate legislation which regulates such conditions. Attention must also be focused on the treatment of employees, according to race, gender, ethnic origin or creed.

2. To examine the existing industrial relations between the mine management and workers, the focus being on a conflict resolution. Particular attention is to be directed on avenues opening for employees to air their grievances and subsequent addressing of those grievances by management.

3. To review the occupational health and safety standards and conditions for both mine and service workers, their consistency with criteria set by relevant legislation which affect mining and the avenues available to remedy health and safety, which fall below the criteria set by legislation.

4. To examine tax agreements for mining operations and propose whether the current arrangements and concessions need to be changed.

5. To examine any other special royalty tax concessions previously given in the mining operations and recommend the future use of such concessions.

6. To examine the extent of Police involvement in the handling of the Vatukoula strike.

7. To review the nature of the Housing Scheme provided by the company and report on the obligations and contributions by the employer and employees towards the maintenance, sanitation and other support facilities.

8. To report on the nature of the relationship between the mines expectorate and the management of the company.

9. To report on the environmental impact (if any) in the mining operations of the company and whether there are any adverse repercussions to local habitation or flora and fauna.

10. To consider any other issues or matters that are deemed relevant to the Commission's work.

Mr. Lala had completed his inquiry, Mr. President, Sir, and he presented his Report which contained his findings and recommendations to His Excellency, the President in July, 1995. However, I believe that Mr. Lala's Report has never been acted upon and has never been tabled in Parliament.

I am aware that the Emperor Gold Mine Company was unhappy with the various findings in the report and challenged the report in court by way of a Judicial Review. I understand that this case was not diligently pursued by the Company and the Government applied to have the case struck out for want of prosecution.

I am reliably informed, Mr. President, Sir, that until the court case is completed, no action can be taken to implement any recommendations based on the findings contained in the report. That was the basis of the challenge filed in court by the EGM Company, however, Mr. President, Sir, the Terms of Reference (TOR) of that Commission of Inquiry I have referred to was published in the Gazette and it is a matter of public information. A comparison of the motion now before the House and the TOR of that 1995 Commission of Inquiry shows, Mr. President, Sir, that the specific areas of coverage of the Commission of Inquiry was much wider and they indirectly included the three main areas specified in the motion. It is reasonable to assume therefore, that the areas covered in the inquiry carried out by that Commission, are also included in the motion now before the House. In other words, the consideration which the motion draws our attention to were given considerable coverage by that Commission of Inquiry during its work, obviously to a great cost to the government.

Unfortunately, Sir, the report and recommendation of that Commission of Inquiry have yet to be acted upon. Therefore, there can be no doubt that if a Senate Select committee is established through this motion, in its present form, there will be a considerable area of duplication of work and also a duplication of unnecessary cost at the expense of the public purse. This is why I am opposing the motion in its present form. I stressed the reference to "present form" because I am not opposed to such an inquiry proposed in the motion, provided the motion was more appropriately focussed.

Sir, I am authorised by the nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) in this House to confirm our joint view that we oppose the motion in its present form and prefer that it either be amended or be replaced by a new or a more appropriately focussed motion. Sir, because our amendments are too substantial, we believe that it would be unfair to doctor the motion by the honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain to the extent that it becomes virtually a new motion on generally the same subject. We are prepared to move that new motion, Mr. President, Sir.

Sir, we are also anxious to support the appointment of an ad hoc Senate Select committee into the mining industry. However, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of work and waste of public funds (given the fact that the G.P. Lala Commission of Inquiry carried out a similar inquiry about seven years ago), we propose that the terms of reference for the select committee to be established should include a review and updating of the G.P. Lala inquiry. This means that a Senate Select Committee is to be established under our motion would be required to conduct additional inquiry into and update the areas specified in the G.P. Lala Inquiry.

This is not a challenge on the G.P. Lala Report but more of an updating of its work since the inquiry was conducted more than seven years ago. We are not in any way interfering with the G.P. Lala Report which is out of date anyway (by the time the legal action is completed). We propose to include in our motion the need to update that inquiry and its findings, and to allow the select committee to come to its own conclusion and recommendations. This way, it is our belief that our motion will be more justified than honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain's motion which is now before the House.

The form of the new motion we propose will be formally moved by a fellow colleague of mine, Mr. President, Sir. Essentially, we propose to adopt the preamble to the motion now before the House and add a second part of the preamble before setting out a proposed terms of reference for the select committee, if one is to be established.

The new preamble will be something to this effect, Sir.

In view of the long delay in taking appropriate action on the findings and recommendations contained in the 1995 Commission of Inquiry into various issues surrounding employment and mining activities at the Vatukoula Gold Mine, the proposed terms of reference will then provide something like this:

That this House agrees to establish an ad hoc Senate Select Committee whose terms of reference are:

(a) to review and update the findings and recommendations of the G.P. Lala

Commission of Inquiry of 1995 based on its terms of reference;

(b) to extend the coverage of Mr. G.P. Lala's inquiry to all mining communities in

Fiji;

well-being of the present and future mining communities in Fiji;

(d) to enquire and determine the means of maximising commercial returns to

resource owners in and around mining communities;

(e) to report back to the House with its findings and recommendations within six

months after its first meeting; and

(f) in the conduct of its enquiry, the committee is to carry out wide and

appropriate consultations with relevant stakeholders, members of the mining

communities and appropriate authorities and consultants.

I must repeat, Mr. President, Sir, that we are opposed to the motion before the House only as in its present form and not to its subject matter. However, because the amendments we propose may offend the spirit of the rules on amendments to the motion in this august House by virtually substituting a new motion, we consider that it is more undesirable for the GCC nominees not to file a new motion, based on what I have just described.

Sir, for this reason, I oppose the motion before the House.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senators, we will now adjourn for morning tea. The House is now adjourned.

The House adjourned at 11.00 a.m.

The House resumed at 11.56 a.m.

HON.SENATOR A.V. TORA.- Mr. President, Sir, before I begin my contribution on the motion proper, I would first wish to declare my interest. Some years ago, I had an Agreement with the Emperor Gold Mining in Vatukoula on two prospecting licenses that I held and still hold today. However, the EGM has since withdrawn from that Agreement in 1999 or 2000. I wish to make that clarification before I start.

Mr. President, Sir, I have listened with some interest to what honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain, the mover of the motion stated this morning, especially about the Emperor Gold Mining Company in Vatukoula. The honourable Senator, in my view, is one of the most articulate speakers in this august House. I usually like listening to her, even though, I do not necessarily agree with some of her views. I enjoy her descriptive abilities and her choice of words but, Sir, there is a major problem which influences the way she is viewed politically and otherwise.

Sir, I think her problem is leftwing bias. I know something about this because some Members in this august House may remember that I have been branded in the past as a leftwinger, so I know where the honourable Senator is coming from.

Let me say this, Mr. President, she is saying in the sense that the context of her motion that two plus two is four. We are saying from this side of the House fine, three plus one is also four. There are various ways of arriving at the same objective, Mr. President, Sir. I would have thought, Sir, that having been born and lived in this country all this time, the honourable Senator should have known that when dealing with issues concerning Fijian culture and tradition, it is not what we say that counts, it is how we say it. I think this is one of the problems that the honourable Senator, in my view, should learn. Apart from what I would regard as ideological hang-ups, honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain has a big bee buzzing in her bonnet for very many years about EGM and Vatukoula. Her hostility towards the gold-mining company or just her obsession ....

MR. PRESIDENT.- Now, honourable Senator, be careful you are beginning to impute motive and I think that might be unfair.

HON. SENATOR A.V. TORA.- Sorry, Mr. President, I am partly deaf, so I will have to ask you to repeat what you have said.

She has partly built an academic career and earned a Phd out of her prejudice against Vatukoula.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, I think you have to be fair. She does have a Phd, it cannot be built out of prejudice, I think you have to give her acknowledgement of her academic achievement and be fair. I would advice you to desist from personal attack.

HON. SENATOR A.V. TORA.- Thank you, Sir, if you insist, I shall do so with due respect.

This means, Sir, that what the honourable Senator has to say about Emperor must be viewed with careful perspective. I find it difficult to accept some of her statements because they seem biased and it becomes a credibility issue. I mentioned to the honourable Senator (in fact, I have already spoken to her) about her book and the tendency to be very negative and one-sided. I have already taken the time to read the honourable Senator's book about the Vatukoula Gold Mine called "Labour and Gold in Fiji" by Atu Emberson-Bain. It is very well written. It is one-sided, loop-sided and very negative, it lacks balance. I keep wondering why this was banned in Fiji, I do not know what the big fuss is all about. My view, Sir, is that its greatest flaw is that in her mind there is nothing positive about the mine, it is all bad. I think that defies the imagination; it simply cannot be. I am old enough to know the truth that there are two sides to every story, sometimes even be three, four or more sides. Unfortunately, we cannot be confident that the honourable Senator will give us both sides because the bias is so extreme. So, speaking from the Government side, Sir, in the interest of giving the public and the House a more balanced perspective, let me now offer some facts and comments to offset the criticisms from the other side.

What must be remembered is that not so many years ago, the Vatukoula Gold Mine might have closed because of a severe drop in gold price. In fact, internationally a lot of mines did not survive at that time. They closed down. The shareholders and management of Emperor had enough faith in the Mine and its remaining resources to keep it operating. This decision saved one of our main industries in Fiji and helped to protect a lot of jobs. Other mines are expanding again and if things go well, it should be a good source of employment for many years to come, not only in Vatukoula, but also in Mount Kasi as in Namosi and hopefully in Sabeto as well; Tuvatu Mine. At present, the Mine is the largest private employer in Fiji, providing work for up to 2,000 of our people. It is a very positive development, Sir, that the company intends to invest about $90 million in the next three years to improve and expand the Mine. This is the kind of investment Fiji must have for us to reach a higher level of economic growth. It is from growth that we will get more jobs, better wages and wider prosperity generally.

The mover of the motion will probably be unimpressed by the investment plans because in her thinking it is all just capitalist plot. It may be helpful if the honourable Senator could explain exactly how she will go about accepting investment capital to Fiji if she is so opposed to private enterprises. You cannot just pull investment from thin air. I have learnt, Sir, that investments which create jobs comes largely from private companies. That is the fact of the matter. If the environment for investment is not conducive, there would be no investors, they will go somewhere else where it is welcomed and where people understand that if you raise capital, you are entitled to a return.

Unfortunately, for the honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain, the socialist policies she advocates have failed. We only have to look at the former Soviet Union. In its heyday, it was one of the greatest economic and military powers on earth. They experimented with socialism for more than 70 years and in the end, they found that it did not work. The socialist way has already been discredited. These days, even my old comrade, Fidel Castro, is looking for foreign investment private capital and hard currency. Even Fidel knows that profit motives produce results, perhaps he is slightly ahead of the honourable Senator in his thinking. Also, Castro, one of the remaining socialist communist leaders left in the world agrees with the age and time tested axiom: The golden rule is that those who have the gold set the rules.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- That has happened for too long.

HON. SENATOR A.V. TORA.- It is contained in this book which was quoted by honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain. It reflected what she saw on Mr. Jeffrey Reid's desk when she went to interview him. I think we should be pleased that a very significant portion of the Emperor Gold Mining's investment funding will be used to improve the working conditions of underground miners. I doubt that this will be seen in a positive light by the Opposition. It will all be negative. Everything they say is negative, nothing positive at all.

Approximately, $16 million is to be invested for air-conditioning and ventilation. It is hot working underground at Vatukoula and those of us who have been there, on a fact-finding tour, Sir, will testify to these facts. It is extremely hot, especially when one goes down more than 22 storeys underground and there is no two ways about it.

Construction of two ventilation shafts, worth $16 million, is part of a commitment that will make the environment more comfortable for the miners. Before proceeding any further, I would just like to mention to the honourable Senator that the Emperor Gold Mining company did not give me these notes. I made my own notes after research.

A lot of money is to be spent on underground developments and this should prolong the life of the mine. In the mining industry, some experts say that there is a possibility that the Vatukoula Gold Mine will celebrate its century. I hope that this will happen. Although, again I wonder whether this will be regarded by the Fiji Labour Party as good news. Sir, they have a one-track mind.

The Government also assists the company's decision to invest about $13 million in further exploration. This is a welcome move because it is likely to increase the size of the mine. I would suggest all these proposed investment are good for the Vatukoula community where there are third and probably fourth generation employees working at the mine.

Now, let me say that the honourable Senator has gone to great lengths to stress the need to protect the welfare of the indigenous workers. We on this side of the House agree with that. Let me just say that as far as the protection of workers is concerned, every kind of worker including indigenous workers, the Fiji Labour Party including the honourable mover of the motion do not hold the sole monopoly. Believe me when I say this, maybe you should know better.

I ask honourable Senators to consider whether honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain is being a racist in her approach in the terms of her motion, she appears not to attach much importance to the interest of other communities who work at Vatukoula. There are many of them, Sir, and we on this side would like it to be known that we are concerned for them as well. We would like to see the mining industry develop in a way that benefits all the communities of Fiji.

Let me now briefly look at the pay issue. There has been much distortion about this. The House might be interested to know that according to a report by the Reserve Bank of Fiji, the mining industry which essentially means Vatukoula has the second highest rate of wage earnings in Fiji and the highest rate of salary earnings. The total annual salaries and wages at Vatukoula in the year to December was about $24 million. This is a fact. Of this $1.7 million was paid to the FNPF as employee contributions. The export tax on gold have been waived during 2000 to alleviate the severe trading constraints then being faced by Emperor Gold Mining. I understand, whether we like it or not, the alternative would have been to make some workers redundant. However, the export tax was reinstated from January this year following improvements in the international gold price. Last night, according to the Fiji Television report, it came to $US345 per ounce; that is a good sign. Contributions to the public purse also comes from some $2.4 million collected in paying tax, and in customs duty of about $1.7 million annually.

On the question of taxation, Mr. President, I would just like to comment briefly on all the fuss and bother about the Vatukoula Tax Agreement. This has been made into a political issue. I think the media could do a much better job of accurately informing the public about this contrived controversy, which is now a matter of public record. In terms of benefits on Government concessions, EMG received fewer of these than many other companies. My information, Sir, is that concessions offered under the Tax Free Factory scheme and for some hotel developments are much more generous than those offered in the Vatukoula Tax Agreement. Concessions such as accelerated depreciation for capital investment are offered by most countries which want to attract investment. It should be noted as well that tax concessions available under the Vatukoula Tax Agreement are also available under the Income Tax Act and other legislation.

There is sound argument that the support EGM has received from Government produces a very good bonus for the country in jobs, foreign exchange earnings, tax payments and many other contributions to the economy. If we want to look further at the broad benefits to the community, let us just consider this; EGM spends some $35 million a year with local suppliers and service providers. That, in money, in turn circulates very widely in the economy and helps keep several thousand additional workers in employment. One estimate is that the Mine and those who work there provide some form of employment for another 10,000 local people. When you take into account the number of dependants these wage earners support, you can see how very many people derive an income directly or indirectly from Vatukoula.

We should take note of another statistic. In the 20 years to 2002, more than $435 million had been retained in Fiji from Emperor's earnings. I think we should take a positive view of the very significant contribution made in Vatukoula for the development of skills in Fiji. According to our information, the EGM administers one of Fiji's most extensive skills improvement and training programme as recognised by the Fiji National Training Council (FNTC). The EGM provides training for a wide range of workers in many areas of the operation. In fact, each year, most members of the workforce take part in some form of training. The EGM has the largest apprenticeship training programme in the country and training managers' scheme to speed the pace of localisation. Training in this scheme is to an international standard adapted from the South African and Western Australian courses. Sir, these are things which cannot and must not be overlooked or ignored, especially when an institution such as this august House is being asked to consider the role in Fiji of a major industry like mining.

On safety, Mr. President, Sir, it goes without saying that the Government places great emphasis on the safety and welfare of workers. There will be no support for any company or industry which deliberately flouts safety laws and standards. It is very obvious to all of us that mining is a dangerous profession. Any reputable and sensible mining company does everything it can to increase safety measures. There has been quite a lot of publicity about recent accidents at the Mine. A lot of publicity comes from the Union Secretary, especially from the young man sitting across the floor, who appears to be trying to use accidents in a campaign against the Company. We all regret the accidents and we sympathise with the families of those who are affected. The Mine's position has been stated publicly many times, but then again, in the interest of balance, I will state that it contends its safety record is currently better than that of many overseas mining companies. It is better than the industry record in the USA or Australia. The Mine says that safety is, in fact, more important than production.

The recent communication from the General Manager indicated that statistics from the Ministry of Labour show the number of accidents in mining in Fiji is lower than in other industries. We are talking about facts and figures here. If you want to disprove it, do the same thing - show us facts and figures.

Mr. President, Sir, there has been a lot of agitation claiming that the Mine is exposed because it is not subject to the Health and Safety At Work Act. I think we dealt with this the other day. A lot of what was said is very misleading. I think the honourable and learned Attorney-General stated in his reply to the Bill that the safety at the Mine is subject to the Mining Act. I am told that the Mining Safety Act rules are strictly enforced by inspectors from the Mineral Resources Department who know about mining and usually have mining experience.

Our Government's Chief Inspector of Mines is a qualified and experienced mining engineer. In terms of the Act, the Inspector has the right at any time (day or night), to examine and enquire into all matters relating to the safety, welfare and health of persons employed at the Mine and any building connected with prospective mining operations. The mining industry will normally push the case that is necessary to have special laws for health and safety in mining because mining is not like other industries. It would not be of much use, for instance, to have the same laws in a mine to control safety and health in an office or a hotel building. There is a big difference between a mine and an office and between a mine and a hotel. I understand, Sir, that work is proceeding on further improvements to the Mining Act in line with the rules for the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Mr. President, Sir, there has been some mention about a strike at Vatukoula. It is stated that it is the longest strike in Fiji. It has been going on for 12 years, I am told. I do not know whether they want to beat the longest strike recorded in the World Guiness Book of Records whereby the hairdressers and barbers in Italy went on strike for 33 years. In fact, the strike was later resolved by sons and grandsons of the original strikes. Sir, I do not know what the situation in Vatukoula is at the moment. According to information that I have received, the strike was illegal and I do not want to go into that because right now it is still an extremely sensitive issue, not only trade union-wise but also political-wise.

Mr. President, Sir, many allegations are made about environmental issues in Vatukoula. I cannot go into great detail about this matter at this stage in the debate, but again, it is a matter for public record. The Company says that it is committed to a policy of environmental protection and conservation. In fact, it had made a submission to Parliament through the Sustainable Development Bill (Bill No. 34) in February 2000. This submission, I am sure will be available in the Parliamentary records.

The Mine has a fully qualified Environmental Manager and Environmental Chemist. There is an environmental plan in place which I understand aims to achieve sustainable economic development while understanding and minimising any adverse environmental impact of its mining activities. In its February submission, the company advocated the introduction of environmental legislation.

Mr. President, Sir, with these few words, I oppose the motion as it stands.

HON. SENATOR P. LESAVUA.- Mr. President, Sir, I rise to make a brief contribution to the motion before the House. First of all, I would like to thank honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain for the well prepared speech, especially the facts or truths contained in her contribution.

I would like to touch a little on the contribution made by honourable Senator Tora. In fact, it is misleading and full of critics which do not augur well with the present motion before the House. We are dealing with our people, the plight of indigenous Fijians which was left unattended since February 1991.

Sir, way back in February 1991, hundreds of mine workers at Vatukoula (both men and women) withdrew their labour in protest against the extremely intolerable working conditions and low wages that existed at the Mines then. Apart from the poverty and wages, Sir, there was the problem of tax, workers' dignity, the health and safety of the mine workers and their families at Vatukoula, et cetera. The list was endless, poor housing, lack of education opportunities, poor medical facilities, polluted drinking waters, lack of transport for shift workers, night work for women workers against their wishes, shift work and contract work procedures not clearly understood, gas emissions, dangerous work without adequate support, and so on.

Sir, the Emperor Gold Mine and the Western Corporation, two Australian mining companies jointly managing the Vatukoula Mines, reacted swiftly to the silence and deceived threat to their autocratic, no-negotiation styles of management.

To date (about 12 years later), 370 of these dismissed workers are still on picket line, hoping that this grave injustice and consequent human suffering they and their families had to endure over the years, will be finally addressed and justly resolved. Some of their colleagues, unfortunately, will not be able to see justice delivered; 25 staff have since died during the course of this protracted industrial dispute - the longest ever in Fiji, probably in the world.

Sir, poverty and the sense of helplessness have also forced some of the striking workers to return to their villages and urban centers around Fiji seeking alternative, often casual and low-paid employment, in order to support their families. Women and children are often the forgotten victims of industrial disputes, particularly in a traditional male dominated industry like mining. For the last 12 years, most have been condemned to the life of poverty, daily struggle for the next meal, children missing out on education and employment opportunities, et cetera, their stories often told. Their tears still exist, Sir. If any honourable Senators want to see the real fact of the case, a video-tape is on sale now, titled, "Mae na Mae - the Fijian war cry. We stand until we die".

Sir, every person has the right to fear labour practice including human treatment and proper working conditions. The unresolved Vatukoula dispute is a national problem and demands national solution. The Social Justice Fund is to be established to compensate the striking workers, and other recommendations contained in the 1995 Commission of Inquiry conducted by Mr. G.P. Lala.

Sir, the other issue, the current court case between the Government lawyers and the mining company is simply another delaying tactic on both the company and the State. The Fiji Mine Workers Union, representing the Vatukoula Workers, appealed to the present Government to find a solution to the Vatukoula dispute. Vatukoula, as we know, Sir, is predominantly an indigenous workforce, though there has been much rhetorical Government racial divisive Blueprint affirmative action programmes supposedly aimed at assisting grassroots and working class indigenous Fijians. The increased poverty and level of destitution amongst the striking workers and their families demand their case not to be treated as a political football anymore by parliamentarians.

Sir, humanity demands an end to the injustice and serious violation of human rights against the group of people who may not have a politically carved influence as a way out from their predicament.

Mr. President, Sir, I ask the current Government to improve their relationship with the workers and trade unions. Fiji should take a leaf from Mr. Lala's Report in 1995 and I quote:

"It is my view that the duty of the Government of the day is to legislate and to clear social problems of the magnitude that we are facing in Vatukoula. This was a social disaster of great magnitude...."

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- Point of Order, Sir; Standing Order 50. I had raised this before. I have been listening to the honourable Senator's comments and I had made a similar objection during the speech of the honourable mover of the motion.

I was going to object earlier on, when he began on what obviously appeared to be a reference to the investigations carried out by the Commission of Inquiry. He is referring to the contents of the Report. I have said before and I repeat for the purpose of the point of order, Sir, that this is a Report that is before the High Court, on a matter that will determine the contents of the Report, both in terms of findings, as well as recommendations. To the extent that the honourable Senator is now referring to the contents of the Report, this contravenes Standing Order 50.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, please take note of that and I suggest you refrain from breaching the rules on a matter that is before the courts.

HON. SENATOR P. LESAVUA.- Mr. President, Sir, this is a quote from the media. It states its views and that the dismissal had brought suffering and created social problems. It is their view that there are no legal ways to solve this.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Were you quoting from the Report or the media?

HON. SENATOR P. LESAVUA.- No, it is not from the Report, it is from the media. The honourable and learned Attorney-General may know more of what is in the Report. I fail to understand why this Report has not been made public for many years and it has not been implemented?

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- As I said, it is before the High Court. I have a copy of the Report.

HON. SENATOR P. LESAVUA.- Why should we wait for the Report? Why can we not attend to the plight of the indigenous Fijians who really have been facing a lot of problems?

Sir, before I conclude, I really wish to once again thank the mover of this motion, honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain, and I think the House should respect and support her. With due respect to the chiefs, I know that you may want another mover to take over from her, but we may have some amendments that may alter or change things, but the motion is about Vatukoula. It is clearly written down.

With that contribution, Sir, I support the motion before the House.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- Mr. President, Sir, I would like to, at the outset, say that this motion is not about being anti-EGM or anti-employer, it is not about politics - the SDL or Labour and it is not about any personal interest that we may have. This is about real people out there, not only in Vatukoula, but also in the other mines - Mt. Kasi and Namosi. It is about real people who make these mines work and who make the employers achieve their goals. It is about people who have real problems. It is these problems that we are talking about. It is not confined to just a small group of people, it is about all the people who work in these mines.

We all know that over the many years, (it is nothing new) these problems have continued to exist. Various efforts have been made, there have been reports (which honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain has alluded to), made to try and address the concerns of the people who were so affected. They have failed so far.

While we have these reports that have been written (and some of them were very good), unfortunately, we have not had either the political will or for some other reason, not been able to implement these reports. This is yet another attempt to try and correct the wrongs that are taking place.

Before going into my contribution, Sir, I would like to say that we are not against investment. We believe investment is essential. We are not talking about investment. What we are saying is together with investment, there are other concerns that need to be addressed. Any investment must translate into a better standard of living for the people who work in these mines. That is what we are concerned about. It is not as if we are wanting to be anti-something - no and we are not attempting to be negative here.

While honourable Senator Tora made allegations that the Fiji Labour Party is always negative, I did not hear him say anything about the workers in his contribution. He only spoke on behalf of the employer. Do we define from that, Sir, that the workers in the mines have no problems at all? They have no concerns at all?

HON. SENATOR A. TORA.- You must be deaf.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- Before we make such allegations, we honestly need to look at the situation, rather than be personal here. Sir, the issues here are real as I have said.

Sir, the Emperor Gold Mine has four shafts; the Philip, the Smyth, the Decline and the Cayzer, I think named after one of their Managers which was mentioned earlier on. Sir, the Smyth Shaft has 22 levels which means you go down 22 levels underground and each level is roughly about 40 to 50 metres. Why I mentioned this, Sir, so that honourable Senators would have an idea of what we are talking about when we are talking about workers.

The Philip and Cayzer shafts have 21 levels and the Decline shaft has 20 levels. Each of them is about 40 to 50 metres so if one was to look at the depth, we are looking at the lowest being about 4,400 feet underground and if we were to just exercise a little a bit of our imagination, as to how deep workers have to go down to work, I am sure, you will understand what I have to say after this.

Sir, before I do that, let me just say to the House that I am not speaking from any notes that was given to me or reading from written notes by someone else. I have gone down the Smyth shaft, I think to the 19th or the 20th level, and spent sometime there and honourable Senators, I am speaking from my personal experience. I can only tell this august House how I felt, neither as a trade unionist nor as Felix Anthony but, how I felt as a human being. That is the bottom line, Sir. I suspect all other workers who work there also feel the same way that, at the end of the day, we are all talking about human beings. They are real people.

Sir, to go down 19th or 20th level underground (and automatic lifts are not used to going up and down the buildings), is an experience just to get into that box where you are hinged down to what ever level you want to go to. Sir, when you get down there, needless to say, it is very dark. It is very, very hot and within minutes, one would get wet because of the water that continues to seep from the ground underneath.

Sir, there are some lighting down there which are not sufficient at various distances and if one was to go down in the shaft, one has to wear special clothing; a raincoat, a helmet, one has to tie a belt around ones waist to carry emergency equipment just in case something unexpected happens. The extra gear is quite heavy. Workers who go down in this shaft do so for a continuous eight hours. They wear all that gear for eight hours. They get wet and stay wet for eight hours straight. It is no wonder, Sir, that over the years, many workers at Vatukoula have back problems because of the weight they need to carry for eight hours every working day that they go underground.

Sir, when that happens, and if they were to complain about their backs, they would be sent to a company doctor employed by the company who would tell them that it is not a real worry and they must continue working. If the worker was to insist, the worker would be politely told that if you do complain too much, you might not have a job. Alternatively, the employer would be sent on sick leave and reviewed after so many weeks and if there is no improvement, they may find themselves without a job. What happens in that circumstance, Sir? Workers do not complain because of fear of losing their jobs. I am not here, Sir, telling this august House hearsay, it is something I have seen for myself, it is something I felt after just three hours being underground.

Sir, ventilation has been talked about. We were at that time given to visit one of the best shafts and even in the best of the four shafts, ventilation was a huge problem. As I have said, it was very hot. We were virtually wet, not only with water but with sweat and apart from that, in these underground that I am talking about, we have huge trucks, they are much huger than the trucks that we see on the road driving above the surface. For miles and miles, you have road like tracks where these trucks would be driven, Sir. These heavy machineries would be loading these trucks and workers had to endure fumes from these machineries and trucks while underground.

Sir, previously, you would have steel iron to uphold the ceilings or the walls of the shafts so that it will not collapse. What we saw was pine poles being used instead of steel to hold up the ceiling or the walls so that it will not collapse.

Sir, there are small hollow holes which workers had to crawl through with their equipment to drill deep and in many cases, they will be alone or with one other. Each level would have a room that they say in case of emergency, workers would run to the room and in many cases, the workplaces would be hundreds of metres away from this room. If there was an emergency, there would be no chance at all of workers making it even to that room. The room is there so we feel content that there is a room for workers to take shelter in case of emergency.

Sir, God has been good to us. We have not had a serious accident in Vatukoula but that does not mean we should not be careful. From what I have seen, Sir, I believe a serious accident is waiting to happen in Vatukoula if no serious steps are taken to try and improve the conditions underground.

Sir, I am not attempting to put the blame on the company here. I think, it is a joint responsibility of the employer, the Government and the worker's union. So all must work in the interest of safety but what do we see in Vatukoula? Whenever there is a fatality or serious accident, the immediate standard line that we see in the newspapers or the response from the Ministry of Mineral Resources is "our investigators are going down to Vatukoula and a thorough investigation will be conducted". How many times have we heard that line? Sir, what has happened to all of these reports? Have we ever heard of any reports coming out of these investigations, any reports being published? Have we been told by the employer what remedial steps or actions have been taken to ensure that similar accidents will not take place? Not a single report has been made public by the Ministry of Mineral Resources in any accident, Sir.

Now, let me come to honourable Senator Tora's claim about facts and figures. Yes, we have facts and figures about the accidents. We do not pluck these figures from the sky, Sir, we do not make unfounded allegations. Sir, I have with me in the last eight months, 101 Daily Injury Reports from the EGM. They are reports of accidents that have taken place, injury caused to workers. They are all recorded here, Sir, in the 101 forms. I can happily give it to honourable Senator Tora to have a look at each one of them. Now, this, Sir, eight accidents have been very serious where workers have not recuperated at all.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, can I just ask, if you are willing, you might want to table that in Parliament and that information will be available to all of us.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- Sir, I will.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Do you have much longer to go?

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- Yes, I have, Sir.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senators, in that case, we will now adjourn for lunch and resume at 2.30 p.m. The House is now adjourned.

The House adjourned at 1.05 p.m.

The House resumed at 2.40 p.m.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- Sir, as I stated before lunch that I have here for the last eight months, 101 injury reports of individuals that have been injured in that period. As honourable Senator Tora said, Sir, we do not make up figures, these are actual injuries that have been actually reported. Now, I have no idea, I will admit, Sir, of the injuries that may have taken place that have not been reported. These were the ones that have been reported and if we were to look at the 101 injuries in eight months, this amounts to roughly about three injuries per week, Sir. We have completed 19 days in March, by the time we end this debate, Sir, we would probably have another six to nine workers injured at the workplace in the Vatukoula Gold Mines already.

Sir, if I may just go into some of the injuries, I will pick the very few top ones. We have here, Sir, Iowane Tunidau who is a machine miner. He was walking in the drive, a rock fell from the ridge and hit his postural, surface of his right knee. This man, Sir, was admitted for three days in hospital after which he was given light duties. I will come to the light duty bit a bit later on.

Then we have Setareki Vukimai, Sir, again while coiling the hose after machinery, a rock fell from the back and hit his right leg. Again, Sir, this man was incapacitated for some days and he is again on light duties.

Then we have Sakeasi Labanivalu, again, Sir, while he was blowing the centre lifter, a rock dislodged from the phase and landed directly on his forearm, he was admitted for five days and he is on light duties.

Sir, then we have Vilikesa Nakoroluvu who was an assistant miner in the Smiths Shaft while resting, a rock dislodged from the back area and landed on his forearm. This was a serious injury, the rest place was unsafe, Sir, he was admitted to Lautoka Hospital for four days. I am told he is also on light duties.

Then we have Esiromi Tamaivena, Peni Navaroko and Rajend Naidu who were again, Sir, admitted in Lautoka Hospital for six days for injuries that they sustained.

Then we have Dharimat Khan, again, Sir, the dump truck tyre suddenly slipped and his right leg was caught underneath it or something like that. It was a serious injury, a leg was broken, Sir, he is still resting at home for the last three months and the list goes on. As I have said, I will table this, it is there for any interested honourable Senator to go through and see the type of accidents that took place.

But what concerns me, Sir, is not only the statistics, it is not the numbers, it is not the 101, it is 101 workers and these workers have families. They have children and they have to provide for their families. We cannot simply just say, "Well, it is not too bad, 101, 3 a week, that is not bad". Sir, this rate of injury is the highest in any industry in this country. I challenge the honourable Senator Tora when he made the comment that the injury rate is the lowest in any industry in this country. I absolutely disagree with that, Sir, no other industry in this country has the amount of accidents and injury and fatalities as the mining industry in this country. Let me also give some names of people.

In 1996, we have one Rajen, I do not have the second name.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, you are using names of people who are not in the House, as long as you have cleared it with them and they are not going to be in any way disadvantage by your use of names. We have to follow the practice that is common.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- Very well, Sir, I would have loved to see the honourable Senator Tora here because he has made some claims which I believe we should have the right to refute.

MR. PRESIDENT.- You have the right to refute, as long as you do not disadvantaged those people you are referring to, I will be quite happy to let you go.

HON. SENATOR F. ANTHONY.- I have no intention to do that, Sir.

Sir, what I am talking about are facts and there is absolutely no intention on my part, in any way, in fact, if I may say, some of the things that honourable Senator Tora said, I agree with it, some not all.

In 1996, we had one worker, Rajend, who died at work after an air pressure pump was dislodged and hit him. In 1997, we had a worker called Josese who was crushed in the cage that goes down the shaft. He died at work. Then in 1998, in the Philp Shaft, a worker by the name of Leone (I do not have their surnames unfortunately), he was also crushed under a stone which fell and hit him, at work. In the last eight years, Sir, we have seven fatalities in the Mines of workers who died at work because of injuries. This is quite apart from the other workers, like Josaia Lapolo from the Philp Shaft in the year 2000 when a rock fell and his leg had to be amputated. He lost his leg and his workman's compensation is still, today, not being paid.

Sir, apart from that we have four workers (which is not part of this 101 that I am talking about, this is in addition to that because they are beyond that eight month period that I am talking about) who have been totally paralysed and are unable to perform any kind of work. They are Kolinio, Guru Singh, one called Sony and one Mohammed Shareef. They also suffered injury at work and are now at home. These are all facts, Sir. They are not made up. They are really what happened at the workplace and when we are concerned about the work injuries, these are the kind of real people that we talk about.

Sir, I did say that I was going to come back to this phrase `light duties'. One of the practices that we have in the Vatukoula Gold Mines is that when a worker gets injured, he is hospitalised and as soon as he is discharged, the worker is required to come to work despite the fact whether he can perform or not. He is said to be put on light duties. The purpose for this, Sir, is that the company then can show that they have not lost any man-hours or have minimised the loss in man-hours because of injuries sustained at work. Thus they show the world (a good public relations exercise) that they are still doing very well in respect of any other mines anywhere in the world because the man-hours lost are still lower.

I know of a particular case, Sir, and in the case of Mohammed Shareef (I think it is), this worker virtually could not walk. He was picked up by the EGM ambulance from his home in the morning, brought to work, left there in an office to sit or lie down, do nothing and by afternoon they dropped him back at home, so long as he was marked `present' at work. This is the kind of practice that is going on in Vatukoula, should we turn a blind eye to this or should we say that this is not right or not fair? Sir, quite apart from that, all of you honourable Senators would have seen in the dailies at some point or the other, workers being evacuated overseas because of injuries sustained at work. Emperor Gold Mining does a very fine job of public relations that they are sending a worker to Australia or New Zealand for medical treatment and that they care. That is always the last time you will hear of that worker.

After that, no one knows what happens to that worker; whether the worker is fit to continue to work, how he provides for this family, no one knows. There is, Sir, no rehabilitation programme at the Mines for workers who get injured, who are unable to perform and who cannot recover to the fullest; there is none.

As I alluded to earlier on before lunch that when a worker complains that he is not fit, he is sent to the company doctor (employed by the company) and certified `unfit'. There are many workers who have been certified `unfit' for one reason or the other and in some cases, workers are certified `unfit' to work for disciplinary reasons. Not because they are unfit to work, but because the company doctor says that he is unfit to work. What happens? The workers go home with nothing. They have lost their jobs. Emperor Gold Mines does not, in such cases, recognise Government doctors' medical certificates. If anyone at the Mines needs a sick leave, they need to get it from the company doctor; not from any other private medical practitioner or from the Government doctor. This concern has been raised for quite some time.

Sir, these are some of the real happenings that go on in the Mines. I could go on and on about each case and I do not wish to. I just wish to just highlight some of the practices that go on in the Mines and this has been going on for years and years.

Sir, I will move on to the other aspect which is the pay issue. I think it has been said that the Mine workers are the best paid in the country. Sir, again, I wish to disagree with that because I do not believe so. The reason is that the minimum pay in the mines for a worker who works underground is $3.14 an hour. For a worker who works above the ground, the minimum pay is $2.41. In the sugar industry, for all the workers, the minimum pay whether one sweeps or picks rubbish is $3.31. That is where you start.

Sir, likewise, in the timber industry, workers are paid much more than the minimum pay. In the electricity industry, workers are paying much more than that. In the aviation industry, the workers are paid much more than that and even in the building industry, the skilled workers get paid much more than that. What is this talk about the mine workers being paid the highest rate in this country? We have to also consider the type of work they do and I have explained, Sir, the conditions that they have to work in and the risk that they have to take, the rate of accidents that occur in the Mines. All these have to be taken care of or to be considered when we value a job and the rate of pay that a worker needs to be paid.

Sir, quite apart from that, the workers in Vatukoula have had no cost of living adjustments for the last five years. They have been paid a bonus; if the gold prices are high, if they achieve their targets in drilling and extraction, et cetera, they get a bonus. Sir, if I may also point out, the workers at the Mines, when the gold price was depressed, that is below the $US300 mark, they took a pay cut. They took a pay cut and basically gave an advance to the company to assist the company in its financial difficulties which they were re-imbursed about two years later. It is the demonstration of goodwill amongst the workers that they want to work, it is not as if it is management against workers. What we strive to achieve, Sir, is a partnership between workers and management, unfortunately, we have so far not been able to do that.

Occupational Health and Safety: The National Occupational Health and Safety at Work Act is based on a tripartite concept where the workers, employers and the Government get together or consultation and the Board itself is made up of tripartite partners. It is where the three parties get together, consult and advise the honourable Minister on regulations that need to be implemented. Where there is expertise needed (and I say this again out of first hand experience, I was the Deputy Chair of the Occupational Health and Safety Board for a number of years) this was called for. This was true for the diving industry regulations that were put in place, for the general workplace regulations that are to come into force in April, all technical people were called in to assist the Board in formulating these regulations. It is also true that in all industries, like sugar, building, et cetera, they have their own codes of conducts, standards, they have their own legislation like the Sugar Industry Act, FSC Act, et cetera. The building industry has its own codes of standards, et cetera, but the Occupational Health and Safety at Work is all centralised at the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of Labour is responsible to deal with that.

Sir, we have been told that the Mining Act takes care of the Health and Safety. I have a copy of the Mining Act with me (if one wants to look at this), and what is taken care of are the technical aspects of mining. This is like shaft signals required, use of chains, guide for conveyances in shafts and other matters of that nature. The only standard matters that are covered in this are matters like water, sufficient ventilation (it does not say what is sufficient), et cetera. Generally, all that is covered in the National Occupational Health and Safety at Work is not covered by the Mining Act. These are merely technical aspects of the safety of the mines. They call it "the safety of the mines", it is not "occupational health and safety". They are two different things. They must be distinguished. But what is of great concern, even with the safety of the mines regarding technical aspects of the mines, is Section 224 of the Mining Act. I will just read it for the benefit of the House, and I quote:

"If, in the opinion of an inspector, the observance of any of the regulations contained in this part is not reasonably practicable (he decides what is practicable) in any particular mine, he may by notice in writing to the Manager of such mine, waive or suspend the application of any such regulations to such mine, or any part of the mine, for such period and in such manner and subject to such conditions as he considers appropriate in the circumstances."

So what that means, Sir, is that basically he can tell the mines not to worry about it. Although it is there, it is not practical, so do not do it. That is okay, that is fine. It basically nullifies the entire Safety of the Mines Act and that concerns us. While it may not be in writing to the mines, it appears that the EGM is being exempted from many of these provisions of the Mining Act. This is not what we are talking about when we are talking about the National Occupational Health and Safety At Work Act. They are two different things.

Mr. President, Sir, I must also say that if there are any disputes that occur in the mines, either disputes of rights or disputes of interest, they are all handled by the Ministry of Labour and not the Ministry of Mineral Resources. If there are any injuries at work, when it comes to Workmen's Compensation Act, they are handled by the Ministry of Labour and not the Ministry of Mineral Resources. Sir, the Ministry of Mineral Resources has no capacity nor do they have the expertise in the field of occupational health and safety. As I have said, one must distinguish the difference between safety in the mines in regard to the technical aspect and the occupational health and safety of workers in the mines. They are two different things and both are specialised areas. I do not believe that the Ministry of Mineral Resources has the expertise to deal with Occupational Health and Safety At Work Act at all.

Quite apart from that, Mr. President, Sir, we have the International Labour Organisation (ILO) publishing two reports in 1994 - Reports 5(I) and 5(II) regarding the Health and Safety At Work in the Mines. And in 1995, the ILO adopted Convention No. 176 on safety and health in the mines. Fiji has not ratified that. I believe that this would also be an opportune time for the Committee, if this august body supports this motion, to examine this ILO Convention and make a recommendation in this regard. These are international minimum standards that are stipulated in the ILO Conventions and I believe they would be most appropriate for Fiji to adopt if we are talking about responsible standards to attain in the mines.

Mr. President, Sir, as I stated when I started off, this motion is not only about Vatukoula, it is about Mt. Kasi and Namosi Mines and any other mine that needs looking into. Unfortunately, Sir, I am not qualified to talk about the other mines. I have not been there so I do not have first-hand knowledge of what practises and what standards are applied in these mines. But I suspect that they would be no different from my experience with the Vatukoula Gold Mines.

Sir, it has also been said in this House that a total of $24 million was paid in terms of wages and salaries to workers. I think that when we look at figures like $24 million we tend to get very satisfied that nothing needs to be done, that is sufficient, but I think we need to really go under these figures and look at what portion of that $24 million is given to the workers that we are talking about. What portion of that $24 million is given to the expatriate management of the mines? If we were to examine the salaries and packages of management in the mines, they would be the highest in this country, if not, one of the highest I must say. So I think we cannot just take figures like $24 million and say; "Wow, it is good going". No, that is not the way it works, Sir.

Of course there has been a lot said about how employment is provided by EGM. Mr. President, Sir, I believe EGM is important to the economy, to Tavua and the surrounding areas because it provides employment and we do not object to that or condemn that in any way. What we are saying is for them to provide employment and invest, but we also know that one other fact is that the EGM do not provide employment for the love of providing employment. They need or require the services of workers to meet their targets and to make their profits; that is the bottom line. No worker is being employed because EGM loves to provide employment. I think this illusion must go away; that is not so. Quite apart from that, Sir, as the honourable Senator has said, if EGM is going to invest something like $90 million, which is news to me, I think we should welcome that. But quite often we have heard about these investments. We have not seen on the ground any changes. We have not seen any. But, yes, Sir, when this Committee is appointed, and if the Committee should go to Emperor and see improvements done, I believe that the Committee should acknowledge the improvements that have been made from where Emperor was. It is not as if it is going to be a witch hunt to go and see what is wrong and try and blow that up - no. If there is good work being done, I think we should acknowledge that. I certainly hope that what we are told is going to be true, that $14 million or $16 million is going to be for air-conditioning. I do not believe it is air-conditioning as we think air-conditioning is; that is for improving ventilation. We might get the impression that the miners will now have air-conditioned shafts. No, that is not so. It is basically to improve the ventilation which, as I have said, is so very hot out there in excess of about 45 degrees at any time. That is to improve that. This should have been done years ago. It is no big favour that it is being done. We believe that workers have worked in very bad conditions over these years.

Mr. President, Sir, there is one last point I would like to make in regard to the strike, the workers and unions in Vatukoula. Emperor has got a history of fighting the unions. They fought every union that have been formed, except for a brief period when our good friend, Navitalai Raqona, was the General Secretary and later he was given a scholarship by the EGM to go abroad. After that, all attempts to form a union have been resisted with all resources that the mines have. While we agree to understand the legal processes in regard to the strike that is continuing and the fact that we will have to wait, even if it is another 10 years for the workers to wait for the outcome of that, I believe, Sir, that the Government also has a moral responsibility and not only a legal one. These workers have been out, they have genuine concerns and some of these concerns I have stated today. Some of them have been stated over a period of time and I believe that a genuine and sincere effort must be made and Government has a responsibility to do that. If this august body can initiate that process, I think we would be greatly assisting Government in the task and also assist Government with our recommendations from this House as to what we believe may be the way to go.

The legal processes, Sir, can go on and on. The courts do not solve industrial problems and the honourable and learned Attorney-General knows that better in this House. We have been through many arbitrations and many courts together and they do not solve anything, they just delay the resolution of disputes in the hope that one other party will get tired or run out of money and then give up. But it does not happen that way. Ten years down the line, it has not happened and it will not happen in the next ten years. Let me assure you of that.

Apart from that, while this dispute continues, workers are working in the mines. There has been another in-house union which was formed by the employer, and employers like in-house unions because they can control these unions. But over a period of time, the workers have seen that this means nothing and they have decided to break away from the employer and form an independent union at the Mine right now, which is operating. They do not want the union to say anything against the employer and they do not want any press releases when someone gets hurt or killed.

Sir, in the last instance when the General-Secretary of that Union spoke about his concerns regarding health and safety in the Mines, he was told immediately that he had no right to enter the premises, and notices were posted in every gate in the Mines. That is the kind of management we have in the Mines, despite knowing that workers have a right, the union was recognised, but that is the kind of treatment that is given. Yet, when the unions object to this kind of practices, the unions are told that they are being very adversarial, they are not attempting to co-operate and that they only condemn and condemn. That is not so.

Sir, genuine attempts have been made in the Mines to form a partnership, to work together, but yes, any partnership can only work if it is based on mutual respect for each other's rights and unfortunately, that has not been achieved.

Lastly, this august House has a unique opportunity to act on this matter. What I have stated here is only the tip of the iceberg. We have heard concerns raised within and outside of this august House, as to the relevancy of the Senate, whether this House should only behave as a rubberstamp, or whether this House should seriously take issues by the horn and deal with them, whether this House should initiate action to assist Government in taking up issues and addressing them. We believe, Sir, that this august House has a responsibility to the people of this country; the people who placed their faith in us and look up to us for assistance for raising issues and for speaking on their behalf. Not only speaking, Sir, I think we also have a further responsibility to act after speaking and this is the time for this august House to take that decision.

Sir, I know there are sensitivities in regards to political parties and race, whether it comes from the Government side, the Great Council of Chiefs or from this side of the House. But what we should be looking at is that this motion should not be looked upon as a point-scoring exercise. This should be looked upon as a genuine effort by all the honourable Senators to address the concerns of the workers, the poor people, the indigenous people, the landowners and everything that the honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain has said. If we put the real people first, I believe this august House is going to go a long way. I sincerely place my hope and trust in all the honourable Senators and I urge them to support the motion before the House. Let us not lose this unique opportunity.

HON. SENATOR K. LOW.- Mr. President, Sir, a lot has been said by the previous speaker. In many ways, they remind me of what honourable Senator Tora said a while ago, "It is how you say it, not what you say!" Sir, with due respect to the previous speakers, sometimes, he over emphasised things. It definitely gave me blocked ears and I was switched off.

However, first of all, before I begin on the motion, I would like to give credit where credit is due and that is to honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain for her detailed account of the historical and present plight of the workers of Emperor Gold Mines. I fully agree with her motion, as well as with the Great Council of Chiefs' nominee, honourable Senator Ratu Maivalili. Since several reports have already been made, I think it is more important to get the last Report made in 1995 by the eminent lawyer, Mr. G.P. Lala, to get that out of the cobwebs of the court system, because with a new report, what would stop the company from doing the same thing, even after having a judicial review? In my view, judicial reviews are very often abused and is a means of stopping any proper or honourable action, whether it be social, political or personal, to be acted upon. They hide behind judicial reviews and I believe our court system should address this very quickly and put down very firm guidelines. If a judicial review is not heard, say within six or 12 months, it should be struck out or whatever it may be. I am not a lawyer and unfortunately, I am not in a position to give that sort of solid advice, but nevertheless, Government cannot tell the courts what to do. I would like to see someone address this particular issue.

I myself have had experiences with judicial reviews. I first heard of the word `judicial review' in 1993, when I was Mayor of the Lautoka City Council. Judicial reviews were taken on almost all decisions that the Council wanted to take against certain people in management, I do not want to dwell on that. That Report also had never seen daylight as much as honourable Senator Dr. Emberson-Bain's book, nor her movie, which has not been screened.

Sir, I would like to share with everyone that Fiji is not a communist State. There is freedom of speech, freedom of writing and freedom of just about everything within the law, so to ban certain things or prohibit certain movies to be screened, unless it is in a very derogative manner, or its content, that is another story.

Sir, as the saying goes `justice delayed is justice denied'; the G.P. Lala Report implemented in 1995 has not done anything for the purpose of which the Report was commissioned. The motion for this inquiry must not be politicised or unionised, as the previous speaker has been doing, and I for one, would like to also speak up for the company that invests in Fiji. I think we should look at both sides. Let us not just worry about one side and say; "let us go into partnership". If I am investing a large amount of money here, I can tell you now, I do not want to go into partnership or `go into bed' with just about anyone who wants to go into partnership. I choose very carefully certain business and corporations that are in business. I find it very difficult to go into partnership or using the industrial words, `into bed' with certain people.

I say that the union, Sir, has not been doing its job all these years. I am not criticising the union, I am concerned for the poor guys, because I know of guys who have died in the Mines. Sir, have the unions advised these people; "Look for another job, get your children out of there and get them to school, do something else. If you do not like it, move out completely. Move the whole town. Don't sit there year after year complaining saying; `I'm dying'. Get out and do something else". If there is a will, there is a way.

There is something very rotten, Sir, in the state of EGM at Vatukoula. I would like to add to that and I think the Opposition would like to add to that too. I have been told by the last geologist, Don Macarish of Australia, who was engaged by EGM from 1999 to 2000. He was only here for two years out of a three year contract. His contract was very quickly cut short, because he did not see eye to eye with the South African managers. The moment he discovered certain dirty business in the state of affairs at the EGM, he was told to go. I had the pleasure of being his neighbour both at work, as well as at home. I respect this gentleman from Newcastle, Australia, who is now in Papua New Guinea. He had the decency and the guts to state what was wrong and the strength and integrity to leave the job. I guess he may be luckier than the other workers at the Mine who cannot leave their jobs.

Sir, may I ask, has the union not started saving some money and doing something positive for their people? In Australia they do that. I suggest that union executives take note of that and make some inquiries with the Australian unions and see how they can actually assist certain people who have been out of work for a period of time.

Mr. President, Sir, I would like to see this House show an urgency to address these problems that have been highlighted by many honourable Senators. I fully agree and I take note of what honourable Senator Anthony has said. Yes, it is very true, it happens, but we need to get to the root of it and do something about it. I am sure the Government would want to do something. It is concerned, but all these years it has been tied up in the court system. The Government, (I am sure you all know) has been told to stay out of the court system and not to influence anyone in the court system.

Mr. President, Sir, I think the last speaker (honourable Senator Anthony) again brings the union and certain politics into this House which I believe is bad. I personally believe that there is a place for unions and unionism and workers with rights and all that, but in this House, I believe that we are here to look after the interests of all our people.

I speak from the Government side to say that I do support such a motion. Let it move in the right direction.

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- Mr. President, Sir, I would like to contribute to the motion before the House.

I have heard about Vatukoula since my school days, moreso, after independence in 1970, through the Republic in 1987, until 1997, when the Vatukoula Gold Mine Union was de-registered. The matters never seemed to be resolved and as I understand it, many unresolved issues are still outstanding to date. After many inquiries, problems, resolutions, agreements, et cetera, there appears to be endless differences and disputes. More particularly so, Sir, when there are registered organisations and unions represented at the Vatukoula Mine Workers Association. Sometimes the unions fight amongst themselves. Things seem to have quietened down, since the de-registration of the Mine Workers Union in 1997. What has happened to the workers? Have the new employers resolved their differences once and for all? Are the workers happy with their employment conditions, including accommodation? Have we wiped out racial discrimination against the indigenous Fijians there? Why is there sudden silence in Vatukoula after the de-registration of the workers union? Why is Mt. Kasi still closed, despite more favourable gold prices? Why is there still a hold-up in full-scale mining operations at Namosi? Why have they not started? What has happened to the workers? Where are they now? We need answers to all these questions, Mr. President, Sir. I believe they are pertinent and relevant to the issue at hand.

These questions need to be answered fully and objectively, only after a full-scale, detailed inquiry into the mining objectives, strategies, operations and where the benefits are going to. Has fairness and justice prevailed, that is the question.

The Vatukoula Gold Mine, Mr. President, Sir, had been operating commercially and as a commercial entity, we do expect it to run its affairs in a manner that ensures a fair return to its owners or shareholders. It needs to be profitable, in order to further develop its vision and objectives, whether within the mining industry or elsewhere. That is the prerogative of a commercial entity, in line with the wishes of its shareholders or owners. We cannot disagree to that and therefore, I wholeheartedly agree to it, but it must not be carried out to the disadvantage of the workers. In other words, in the process of making reasonable profits, as a return on capital being invested by the shareholders, the Company must not underpay its employees, not provide insanitary living quarters or ill-treat or discriminate against them, et cetera. Such mining companies must be fair and ensure that justice prevails in all areas of its objectives, functions, operations and applications. This seems to be lacking. In fact, if at all there was any, it has been rarely heard of in Vatukoula.

It is amazing that despite many efforts by the unions, government and other concerned groups to improve working conditions in Vatukoula, it has been to no avail, it has all been in vain. Why has this been the case over the last 30 years? Where is the secret connection? What is the secret formula? We need to find and clear that to ensure fairness to both the investors for their reasonable return on investment and to improve working conditions for the employees as well.

Mr. President, Sir, on government support, the Fiji Government has been very supportive of the Vatukoula regime ever since its inception in Fiji many decades ago. That is in line with their policy of encouraging investors to Fiji, to remain in Fiji and to develop Fiji. At the same time, provide employment to locals, gaining foreign exchange and provide opportunities for other alternatives in Fiji and of course, elsewhere in the globe. However, these are required in exchange for fair and reasonable rewards or compensation in pay, working conditions, accommodation and fair treatment of the workers, irrespective of colour, creed or ethnic group.

The Fiji Government had been very helpful in providing the necessary political climate and the economic climate for Vatukoula to operate in. There is no two way about it.

Sir, with regard to land, freehold lands were available to them to acquire which they did and are operating it. State lands were also made available to them through leasing on specified terms and conditions acceptable to the parties. There are provisions for renewal in which both parties feel free to negotiate on. There has also been native land made available to them through leasing as well based on acceptable terms and conditions of the leases.

The Vatukoula Gold Mine, despite land related disputes had received favourable or supportive cooperation from both the landowners and the various land institutions in Fiji. Vatukoula tax agreement, I am given to understand, exempts Vatukoula Gold Mine owners or shareholders tax for 20 years and is still current now. I stand to be corrected, Sir. These are very generous gifts by the Fiji Government to provide employment, foreign exchange and development of this land. Where else in the world can one have such a long term generous condition? Not even in South Africa or in Australia.

Sir, I understand that similar generous conditions had been offered to Mt. Kasi and the Namosi mines. These are favourable conditions unmatched in the world at Vatukoula Gold Mine, possibly the other two mines cannot look after their own employees well which happens to be indigenous Fijians in the majority. Why do people behave and respond like this? It is beyond my comprehension, I do not know about you honourable Senators.

Mr. President, Sir, on racial discrimination, if one wants to know about racial discrimination, this is the place to go, Vatukoula Gold Mine. People are discriminated against according to race in almost all areas of life; whether it will be work, pay, accommodation, social life, transport, you name it, one is ill-treated to certain degree according to race. Here, people are classed and there are six classes. They are as follows:

(a) class 1 - the Europeans or whites;

(b) class 2 - part-Europeans;

(d) class 4 - other Pacific islands;

(e) class 5 - Indians; and

(f) class 6 - Fijians.

Mr. President, Sir, you will see that the Rotumans, Pacific islands, Indians and Fijians are the lowest class in that area. This classification continues todate. Discrimination is applied by its class depending on its standing which means the poor indigenous Fijians cop all the discrimination of the other five classes. The leader or the worst being the Europeans and down you come with the indigenous being discriminated against in their own land under the Fijian Government, it is unbelievable.

Mr. President, Sir, I wish to ask Mr. Akuila Yabaki and his coalition of NGOs, where do I fair or stand here because they have accused me of being racial? Am I being included with the honourable Minister for Information and Reconciliation and the honourable Minister for Women & Social Welfare who are still discriminatory according to race and therefore, a racist? It cannot be compared to what happens in Vatukoula, certainly not. Then who are the discriminators and racists? Sir, topping them all are the Europeans, part-Europeans, the Indians, these are the people who are running the NGOs. They are the discriminators themselves. They have proven themselves worldwide; Africa, USA, Australia, New Zealand, India. The Indians themselves wanted to kick Muslims out of India recently. Tell me, who are the racists here?

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Member, you are sailing very, very close to the wind, if not you have gone past it in what you are saying. I think that could be interpreted as stirring ethnic feelings so please be careful.

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- Who are the racists here? Is it the Fijians? Never, it is the other races hiding under the human rights, equality, Geneva Convention, et cetera. You cannot hide any longer, we know them and are very conscious of that. Most importantly, the Lord Jesus, the Chief of chiefs, King of kings knows that well. We cannot hide from him. Mr. Yabaki will be rewarded for his actions and motives. It is important to play justice in this world, particularly here in Fiji.

Sir, where does Mr. Yabaki of the CCF and his band of NGOs coalition stand in the Vatukoula case? Although this organisation has visions and objectives, they are operated by descendants of discriminators, they decide on nothing but race and therefore are racists themselves.

I wish to remind Mr. Akuila Yabaki that he is championing the course of the most racists people on earth who discriminate against the black, in particular the Fijians in their own land. For the information of Mr. Yabaki, the deregistered CCF...

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, I think I made the point earlier that if a Member is not in the House, he does not have a chance to respond in the House, I think we should refrain from criticising him by name. You have the complete liberty to criticise an issue, you may raise a matter broadly which in your view, may be racist. I think it becomes unfair for anyone of us to refer by name to someone who is not in the House and he does not have the privilege to respond in that manner.

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- Mr. President, Sir, just for the information of honourable Senators, I must say that I am not a racist.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, I was not in any way calling you a racist but I think you have to refrain from calling others racists. That is imputing improper motives and our Standing Orders does not allow that, even about ourselves and also others who are not in the House because they do not have the same privilege that we have.

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- Mr. President, Sir, the point I wish to say is that I went to school with Indians, part-Europeans, Chinese, et cetera. I work with them well in open heart and I eat, drink, sleep with them and do business with them until todate.

MR. PRESIDENT.- I think, you have to be careful how you sleep with them!

(Laughter)

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- No, not that. It is not what you mean. When I need help I look to my Indian, Muslim or Chinese friends who are always more than willing to help me. When they need my help, I am always too glad to assist wherever and whenever possible. Where is the discrimination of being racist here? There is no case of racist there, Mr. President, Sir.

By this proposed ad hoc select committee, we hope to do away with that kind of racial issues like the one in Vatukoula. Fijians are being discriminated against, however, race is a fact of life for the good Lord has made us so, how can we change that? Who are we to change it? We cannot, even if we try with all our knowledge put together, no one can separate or deny what the Lord has made us according to his own will and sovereignty. The Lord has made us to be different and with different locations of land and various characteristics, the best we can do is to work in diversity; unity in diversity. What I have been harping about is the fact that Fiji is owned by the Fijians, therefore it must be led by the Fijians. The indigenous Fijians have the right of first settlers therefore, they must hold on to the Fiji's sovereignty and lead the country. You must be given the first right of refusal and the right to lead this country, therefore, they are not being racist but merely putting the facts right. Discrimination and racism are in Vatukoula. Most of the members of the CCF and NGOs are direct descendants of this, not me, not the honourable Minister for Information and Reconciliation and neither the Minister for Women and Social Welfare.

On what basis therefore did this Coalition of NGOs reported us as being racist to the meeting in Geneva? There is no basis at all. Well, this has become the trademark of these NGOs and other people to tell lies and liars are unfitting to so-called gentlemen or gentle ladies or whatever name they want to call themselves. Indeed, it used to be very bad in the Mines, but I have been informed that despite the improvement, discrimination still exists and needs to be eradicated once and for all. It would be an objective of the ad hoc Senate Select Committee if it is set up. I pray that others will wholeheartedly support the eradication of racialism that goes on in Vatukoula and other areas of our life here in Fiji.

Sir, several unions have tried to highlight this issue many times and it seems it had fallen on deaf ears. This time those ears will listen because the SDL Government have ears and are always listening to clearing such issues.

It appears that leaders in the Vatukoula regime and the leaders in previous government regimes aligned themselves together against the Fijians. Mind you, Sir, most were Fijian led governments. It is unbelievable. This must stop, Sir, and I hope this will be a point that the ad hoc Senate Select Committee would address swiftly as well. We do not want a corrupt government, employers and civil servants here in Fiji, we must all work together against the few who are muddying the water of governance here in Fiji as highlighted by the Auditor-General.

I sympathise with the workers in Vatukoula, now they do not have a union to look after their interests. Where have they gone to? Where have the unions gone to? Have they shied away? Why? This is when they are needed most - where are you FTUC? Where are you FITCU? Where are you Mine Workers Union, et cetera? These people need help, do we not want to help or do we? I am sure we want to help, so we should come forward and help these people.

Several official inquiries have done their investigations and made their findings known to authorities concerned, yet nothing or very little has been done to rectify the deplorable situation by any human measure.

This is again pointing to the type of Government leadership of the past colluding with the Vatukoula Gold Mines against their own Fijian people, it is amazing and alarming, it is frightening.

On G.P. Lala Commission, Sir, I am not talking about the judicial review case but the courts inefficiency. This Commission I understand highlighted the deplorable conditions and ill treatment of workers in Vatukoula. Emperor, the previous owners did not like it and filed for a judicial review in the Lautoka High Court, that is where it still rests to date since 1995.

Why has it taken so long again to hear this case? To me this again is an act of discrimination against the Fijian race. Look at who are at the Lautoka High Court - there are other races apart from the Fijians ....

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Member, we are not allowed to make that type of comments about our courts.

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- But when can we be released from bondage, being used and being slaves? There has been endless unfairness and injustice against the Fijians ever since Fiji was explored. When will this end?

I am praying sincerely for an early start to the war which will culminate in the European Union (with the beast and anti-Christ), Russia and China banding together against the Lord's people in the world and eventually to Jerusalem, Israel. Then that is when Jesus will come to wipe out the vipers, the snakes, the beast (Satan) and crush its head for good. That is when we will have eternal peace, the believers, the suppressed, eternal justice will then be restored. It is not far away, it is coming and coming fast too to eradicate corruption, unfairness, racism and injustice. Before that, however, we must try to bring peace to Vatukoula in whatever little way we can.

The report on its way to Parliament was leaked to Emperor, who did it? Someone in Government, the Ministry or someone in Parliament who have close ties and interest with the owners of the Mine. I do hope and pray that the same fate will not apply to this report of this ad hoc Committee.

On the Lautoka High Court, why is this so-called High Court so inefficient and ineffective in dealing with its cases? This case has been there since 1995 over seven years, why? We can accept two to three years, that is reasonable but more than that is unacceptable. It is either the court has a very poor working systems and procedures or that the people mending it are incompetent, in particular the leaders - judges and registrar. If not then they are straight out ....

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Member, can you please sit down? I have asked you on more than one occasion to refrain from referring to the courts, you are not allowed to make comments about our courts on the basis of our Standing Orders. I will give you one last opportunity to make sure that you speak without resorting to that type of derogatory remarks about the courts.

HON. SENATOR M. BULANAUCA.- Sir, really I was referring to the inefficiency, if not then they are discriminating against the Fijians and therefore are being racial. Particular judges and people within the Registrar have been quoted in several letters that have been referred to me and other Ministries as well. I am sure the ad hoc Committee should also have a look at the operations of the Lautoka High Court and the way they operate.

Sir, the OHS reform, I think you cannot do anything about the case that is before the court, but it is the efficiency in which any organisation, any arm of the government to operate well. We can do something about it and review how they work then instill into people the idea to work effectively. I beg, Sir, that OHS reform be part of this inquiry - to be definitely and fully investigated. In the terms of reference, I would also like to include operations of the Lautoka High Court and the issue of racism to be fully detailed and investigated into in Vatukoula and other mines as well.

Sir, it is important to select honourable Senators who reside close to the area because they will feel the importance of it and that they will come out with the most workable solution in order to resolve the very many outstanding issues in our mining operations here in Fiji.

If previous governments were not able to help the fate of the Fijian employees in Vatukoula and other mining operations, the SDL Government will do it once and for all. They did not have the will and guts to do so, the SDL has the will and has a way to resolving all the problems. Sir, just give us time and cooperation or support. We all want fairness, justice, goodness, so let us work together in getting this rather long time outstanding issue.

With that, Sir, I support the motion but I would have much, much preferred if this motion comes through the Great Council of Chiefs.

HON. SENATOR RATU J. RAYAWA.- I am not going to talk direct on the motion but just to show my appreciation ....

MR. PRESIDENT.- I think we have to be realistic, there are Standing Orders, you have to speak on the motion.

HON. SENATOR RATU J. RAYAWA.- Sir, what I am saying is that I am not going to debate anything except to show my appreciation to some of the previous speakers for their untiring effort to research deeply and also to bring out some facts that I believe educate most of us. In addition to that, I am inclined to go along with the motion if it was presented by the Great Council of Chiefs representatives.

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- Mr. President, I rise to move under Standing Order 56(3) and (4) that the motion be put at this time. May I explain, Sir, why I do that. I believe, Sir, the thrust of the motion is that an ad hoc Committee be established so that that Committee can then undertake the kind of detailed investigations and discussions that we are beginning to go into at this time. All the comments that have been made can then be examined in detail because there is no amount of additional information now that can add to the thrust of the motion. We either have a committee or we do not. Once the committee is set up, of course, they can go on and investigate deeply into a lot of these things. Otherwise, Sir, we are just going to be listening to examples, here, there and everywhere on the compliance and non-compliance, et cetera. I honestly believe that we have taken the motion far enough and that should be put.

In addition, some of the speakers (particularly from this side of the House), have indicated collective positions taken and that is why many of us are not actually speaking because we have come to some arrangement based on understandings. So, on those grounds, Sir, I again repeat that I move that the motion be now put.

MR. PRESIDENT.- I need advice on this matter because usually the mover has a right of reply and I wonder whether I could be advised on this. According to our Standing Orders, when there is a motion, that a motion be put, whether the mover of the motion loses his or her right of reply?

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- I believe there is nothing to stop the honourable mover to have her right of reply, but I am talking about the normal flow of debate. We have been sitting here listening to the same examples over and over again.

MR. PRESIDENT.- In fact, I had assessed, after the honourable Senator Ratu Rayawa had completed his brief comments, but not seeing your hand raised (so to speak), I was going to ask the honourable mover of the motion to use her right of reply.

HON. SENATOR J. KALOU.- Mr. President, I think the right to speak in the House is the most important right and I had planned to speak on the motion.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Before you speak on the motion, can you sit down because I want to correct you. While you certainly have the right to speak, the honourable and learned Attorney-General also has the right to ask that the motion be now put. I am going to give the mover of the motion an opportunity because I have seen her hand go up, to see if she wants to raise a point of order.

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Mr. President, Sir, may I respond to the honourable and learned Attorney-General? It is my understanding, from Standing Order 56(2), that a motion to limit the time of any debate is moved by a member of the Business Committee on the direction of that Committee. That seems to me to be the only guide in that Standing Order that the honourable and learned Attorney-General referred to and we had have no Business Committee meeting and there is no such direction, so I find it a bit out of order that he should individually propose this. I think (if I might say), if he does not wish to take the opportunity to speak, that is his prerogative, but it is a bit unfortunate to denigrate the debate and to suggest that we are going round in circles and that it has really been a bit of a futile exercise.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, I take your point. The honourable and learned Attorney-General is quite correct. In Parliamentary practice, at any point in time, a Member can stand on his feet and ask that the debate and a motion be put. It is a very useful exercise in Parliamentary debate.

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- I think the honourable mover of the motion is referring to Standing Order 56(2) which deals with a separate procedure, that is, when we want to limit the debate to one or two hours or that we limit everyone to a certain time frame. This is slightly different. Sir, I am moving under Standing Order 56(3) and (4). It is seconded under paragraph (6), the motion is moved under (3) and it is dealt with under (4).

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- We do have a debate that is still underway and I would be grateful if honourable Senator Kalou and anyone else who wishes to contribute might be allowed to do so, rather than trying to wrap this up prematurely.

HON. SENATOR Q.B. BALE.- The Standing Order which governs all of us is really there. I have exercised a right under that and it has to be seconded if there is a seconder. After that the motion is put, it may be defeated, in which case we go on, but that is the rule of law. We do not just bend the rules of this House whenever we like.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senator, can I say at this point, that the honourable and learned Attorney-General is quite correct. I can refuse to propose that the question be put if the President considers such a proposal to be an abuse of the Standing Order or infringement on the rights of minority. I do not see that. I think we have had a very good run of the debate, everyone has had an opportunity. The honourable and learned Attorney-General has moved a motion and I am obliged to ask whether there is a seconder.

HON. SENATOR RATU I. TAKIVEIKATA.- Mr. President, Sir, I beg to second the motion.

MR. PRESIDENT.- If there is a seconder than I feel obliged that in this case I should put the motion.

Question put.

Motion agreed to.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senators, now that that motion has been carried I will give the mover of the motion the right to reply before I ask the Senate to vote on this motion.

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Sir, would I be able to exercise my rights as a mere mortal in the Senate and to ask if we might have tea prior to my responding to the debate.

MR. PRESIDENT.- In fairness, I think that is a reasonable request. I will adjourn the House until 4.15 p.m. I think that gives us ample time to have a cup of tea and in anticipation, I might have to ask the Leader of the House to suspend the Standing Orders to enable the House to sit beyond 4.30 p.m. The House is now adjourned.

The House adjourned at 3.55 p.m.

The House resumed at 4.20 p.m.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

HON. LEADER OF THE HOUSE.- Mr. President, Sir, I seek your leave to move a motion to suspend Standing Orders in order to enable the House to sit beyond 4.30 p.m. today.

(Leave granted)

Mr. President, Sir, I beg to move that Standing Orders be suspended to enable the House to sit beyond 4.30 p.m.

HON. SENATOR REV. T. KANAILAGI.- Mr. President, Sir, I beg to second the motion.

Question put.

Motion agreed to.

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON AD HOC SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE

INTO DEVELOPMENT - APPOINTMENT OF

HON. SENATOR DR. A. EMBERSON-BAIN.- Mr. President, Sir, perhaps I can compromise by being very brief. I am very grateful to all the honourable Members of the House; to those who have listened and in particular to those who have taken the time and trouble to share their views to speak this afternoon and this morning. I think we have had a very fruitful exchange albeit cut a little short from the perspective of some of us.

Firstly, Mr. President, Sir, in response to honourable Senator Ratu Maivalili, I would like to thank him for his contribution. I think we are essentially at one in how we feel about these issues and there is agreement in the problems we face, the challenge that lies ahead, and what really needs to be done. Perhaps, it is just a question of process that it is at issue.

One of the points that the honourable Member raised related to the possibility of duplication of costs that might be incurred if we were to set up a Senate Select Committee in view of the fact that there is the G.P. Lala Report albeit nearly 10 years old.

If I might just stress the fact that I did mention in my introduction of the motion that while there have been various inquiries in the past, and the G.P. Lala Report is the most recent of these, I do not believe that we are actually duplicating by setting up a Senate Committee and I do not believe we will be going over the same ground. The G.P. Lala Report has a specific brief on Vatukoula. This motion is much broader than that and endeavours to look at mining generally and its impact on the country, including Mt. Kasi and Namosi.

Mr. President, Sir, I agree with him that the G.P. Lala Report would be the basis. It will be an important resource and it would be a waste of time and expense to be going over the same ground, but it could be a starting point and we could visit some of the issues afresh and update some of the data, and basically take it as an important background resource.

In terms of the amendment that the honourable Senator Ratu Maivalili suggested, from what I could hear, it did not sound to me that we are really in disagreement at all. I could not, unless I was short on hearing and I have not seen it in writing, I was a bit mystified as to why we might be looking at changing or putting up an alternative motion, or amending this motion when essentially the two were similar albeit with a different expression and perhaps a slightly different emphasis. But I will just stress the fact that in essence I feel that they are two very similar motions and I am sure that with goodwill we will be able to work out the differences and, from our point of view, we are very happy to accommodate any particular concerns or preferences the GCC members, in particular, might have.

In respect of the comments made by the honourable Senator Tora, I listened to the sweet nectar being poured and I was waiting for the bee to sting, and sure enough it did. However, I will not respond to the personal insults. I do not know whether he really believes them, but in any event, I think the honourable Senator Anthony responded very adequately to the comments he made. I do not think I have had the honour of having so many insults hurled at me in such a short time before.

I would like to pick up one point, however, that the honourable Senator Tora mentioned and that is the question as to how would I go about attracting investment into the country if I am so opposed to private capital? We cannot just produce investment from thin air. If the environment is not supportive, the capital will go elsewhere.

He also expressed concern that there was all this fuss and bother about the VTA which was being made into a political issue. In response to that, Sir, I would say I fail to see actually how I am politicising the VTA. I have nearly offered a critique of what I see as a distorted tax deal which is bleeding our country. The fuss and bother, in my view, is necessary if we are not going to end up spending another 50 years subsidising foreign mining companies and losing revenue. I am not opposed to investment or to private employers, I am only opposed to unscrupulous employers or exploitative practices and investment that rides on the backs of our people or brings more harm than good to the human-beings in this country and their environment. I am opposed to investment only when it is a free ride or a free-for-all when it is dishonest or it drains our resources rather than building them and when it creates inequalities in the distribution of wealth in our society. I am opposed to putting profits before people and if the honourable Senator concludes from that that I am biased, I think I can live with that. I would like to thank from our side the honourable Senator Anthony for his eloquence and detailed exposition, including the data that I believe he has tabled for the benefit of honourable Members of the House.

I would also like to thank honourable Senator Lesavua for his poignant reminder about the industrial strike at Vatukoula of 1991, and how that continues to touch the lives of the community of Vatukoula, the hardship that has been suffered. I think it is an important reminder of the need to not close our eyes and ears to this on-going crisis.

I also thank the honourable Senator Low who offered his support for the motion and for the points that he made. I agree with him about `justice delayed is justice denied' and while I do not necessarily agree with all the comments he has to say about unions, I respect his right to make them. I think it is always useful to be reminded of the need to look at the interests of all stakeholders when we are concerned with development related issues in the country.

I also thank the honourable Senator Bulanauca. I am not sure what to say to a lot of what he had to say and I certainly would not respond to the issues that he raised about Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF). However, I was very pleased to hear him express his concern about the need to have justice at Vatukoula, the need to remove the vestiges of racial discrimination that continue to exist to this day and the need to have a fair deal to treat workers well. Those are all very positive sentiments that we welcome from this side of the House. I was very pleased to hear him talking as though this ad-hoc Senate Committee was already set up and running.

However, the honourable Senator Bulanauca said at the end that he supported the motion, but would have much preferred it to come from the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC). The same sentiments were expressed by the honourable Senator Ratu Rayawa, that he would have supported the motion if it had come from the GCC.

I am not quite sure how to reply to that, other than to say I would like to take it in the best possible way, that at the end of the day, it means that we agree that there is an important issue out there that needs to be addressed and that we can actually come together to take on the challenge. I am respectful of any cultural sensitivities there may be in relation to this issue, and I would like to say that I have always (from the very beginning when I began thinking about this motion, and as I had mentioned in my introduction, this goes back a long way) had it in my mind that it would be driven by the members from the GCC. There was not an issue of ownership and I think, a couple of the GCC members who I have had private talks with would confirm that this is the case. It has always been a concern about the plight of these people, about injustices that need to be addressed, about the desire to try and contribute to doing something better for this country and in particular, the indigenous communities around the country. I know I am not an indigenous Fijian, I cannot do anything about that, however, what I can do is to assure those members who have concerns in this regard that I envisaged playing a supportive role in this. My job really is to raise the issue and to try to move this along and beyond that when it comes to the Committee itself. I have always envisaged that it would predominantly comprise members from the GCC and that it might be (with their permission) chaired by someone from the GCC. So, we from our side are very happy to support this kind of framework. Our priority is to try to do something about this before more years go by and more suffering is endured by the people.

Sir, at the end of the day, I feel mixed feelings. I am glad I have come to the end of the road, however, it could be the beginning of a new road or it could be the end and that depends on members of the House, how they feel. I have a certain amount of disappointment that this issue has been politicised a little, however, on a more positive note, I feel that there is strong support for the motion in substance and I welcome this. I would ask that the honourable Senators think long and hard before they make their decision and hopefully join us in supporting this motion so that we can rise to this unique opportunity to work together and to depoliticise this very important issue.

ADJOURNMENT

HON. LEADER OF THE HOUSE.- Mr. President, Sir, I beg to move that this House do adjourn sine die.

MR. PRESIDENT.- Honourable Senators, before we leave this House, let me wish you all a pleasant journey home and for those of our colleagues who are going to Australia as our delegation, we wish you all an enjoyable and fruitful visit to Australia.

Honourable Senators, you would have heard in the news, while we were having afternoon tea that the war in Iraq has begun. When we meet in May, it is very likely that the world we live in would have changed, its consequences we all dread. So, I ask you all to pray for the people of Iraq, especially for its women and children who have already suffered enormously and pray also that peace may return to them rapidly and for us all as well.

PRESENT

MINUTES

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

ADJOURNMENT