Fiji govt could pay NZ$1.5m settlement to former anti-corruption head for ruined career
Photo:
X/Fiji Women
Correction: This story was updated on 16 July 2025 to accurately reflect that the NZ$1.5 million settlement figure was proposed by Barbara Malimali. The Fijian government had not disclosed any settlement amount at the time of publication on Tuesday, 15 July 2025.
The Fijian government could pay around NZ$1.5 million in damages to the
disgraced former head
of the country's anti-corruption agency.
The state is offering Barbara Malimali an out-of-court settlement after her lawyer lodged a judicial review of her sacking in the High Court in Suva.
According to local media reports, Malimali's lawyer Tanya Waqanika started negotiations on Tuesday with a $NZ1.5m figure.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka
suspended
Malimali from her role on 29 May, following a damning Commission of Inquiry into her appointment.
Malimali was
described
as "universally corrupt" by Justice David Ashton-Lewis, the commissioner of the nine-week investigation, which involved 35 witnesses.
"She was a pawn in the hands of devious members of government, who wanted any allegations against them or other government members thrown out," Ashton-Lewis told
Pacific Waves
earlier this month.
Waqanika told RNZ Pacific that her client is seeking a "substantial" payout for damages and unpaid dues.
Waqanika met lawyers from the Attorney-General's Office in the capital, Suva, on Tuesday after earlier negotiations failed.
She declined to say exactly what was discussed, but said she expected to hear back in writing from the other party the same day.
A High Court judge has given the government up until 3pm on Friday to reach a settlement, otherwise he will rule on the application on Monday.
"We'll see what they come up with, that's the beauty of negotiations, but NZ$1.5 million would be a good amount to play with after your career has been ruined," Waqanika said.
"[Malimali's] career spans over 27 years, but it is now down the drain thanks to Ashton-Lewis and the damage the inquiry report has done."
She said Malimali also wanted a public apology, as she was being defamed every day in the social media.
"I don't expect we'll get one out of Ashton-Lewis," she said.
During a hearing in the High Court on Monday, lawyers for the state sought an adjournment to discuss a settlement with Waqanika.
However, she opposed this, saying that the government's legal team had vast resources and they should have been prepared for the hearing.
Malimali filed a case against President Naiqama Lalabalavu, Rabuka and the Attorney-General on 13 June on the grounds that her suspension was unconstitutional.
Waqanika said the President suspended her on the advice of the Prime Minister instead of consulting the Judicial Services Commission.
Government lawyers approached Waqanika offering a compensation deal the same day she lodged a judicial review in the High Court.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
19 hours ago
- Scoop
Trump 20% Tariff On Philippine Exports Hits Workers, Farmers Hardest
July 17, 2025 The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the July 9 unilateral 20 percent tariff imposed by the United States on imports from the Philippines as an act of economic coercion which will harm the poorest Filipinos the most. 'This unilateral punitive tariff is an act of coercion and humiliation against the Filipino people,' said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy. 'This naked bullying is the economic mirror image of the US action in turning the Philippines into a massive military base for war with China. There is zero respect for the basic right to self-determination of the Filipino people.' While the 20 percent tariff is part of a global Trump attack on almost all trading partners, the US military concentration on the Philippines is part of a tighter US Indo-Pacific Strategy, aimed at assembling all possible military allies alongside US forces for a major war with China in the near future. The tariffs are bargaining chips in Trump's punishment of any country which has a trade surplus with the US or has tariffs on imports from the US. Trump is clearly willing to bargain with his target countries to gain access to more minerals, and to remove or reduce tariffs on US products, as he has achieved with Indonesia. All Philippine elites since 1946, including the Marcos Jr. administration, have facilitated US demands for unfair economic treatment. Trump stands out for the brutality of his approach and the crude terms he wants to impose. No more talk of 'free trade' of 'development' or 'partnership', just 'I want a deal'. With an August 1 deadline looming, the Marcos Jr. administration could theoretically 'do a deal' to cut the tariff back to the minimum 10 per cent rate by making other concessions to Trump. But what would be the cost? Duterte's Rice Tariffication Act demonstrated the danger of removing protections for Philippine industries. Both Duterte and Marcos promised to reduce the price of rice to 20 pesos (US$0.35) per kilogram, but even with massive rice imports the price ranges from 33 to 60 pesos per kilo, depending on quality. The daily minimum wage in Metro Manila is now just 695 pesos (US$12.14), having increased by a paltry 50 pesos on July 1. Rice farmers have been hit hard, and the situation for the people buying rice has become far worse. Masses of Filipinos are hungry. In 2024, the US trade deficit with the Philippines was just $5.29 billion. This is a tiny blip for the US, whose Gross Domestic Product in 2024 was just over $29,000 billion. And since US corporations dominate the export processing zones from which much of the product is exported to the US, the US profits from either a trade deficit or a trade surplus. Trump's trade policy is driven by anti-democratic 18th century theories of empire trade, which are really obsolete because in today's empires investment and finance are supreme. The US already massively dominates in global investment and finance. Trump's policies hurt poor and working class people everywhere, smashing corporate supply chains and sharply increasing the cost of all goods imported into the US. His policies can be defeated. ICHRP stands with Filipino peasants and farmers, and the Filipino people at large whose already poor standard of living is under real threat, and whose long-disregarded political and economic autonomy are being openly derided by Trump. The answer is not more traditional 'free trade' deals with other Global North countries – which have already damaged the livelihoods of Filipino farmers and workers. The answer is international solidarity with farmers and workers everywhere, including in the US, in common struggles to elevate wages for workers and livelihoods for farmers, to stop the attacks on migrant workers in the US and Europe, to stop the attacks on Filipinos across the world, to enable balanced industrialization in all countries, and to shut down the Indo-Pacific military build-up to war with China.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Regional unity not at risk amid tensions between NZ and Cook Islands, says Peters
By 'Alakihihifo Vailala , PMN Foreign Minister Winston Peters Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Foreign Minister Winston Peters has dismissed criticism over the government's decision not to send a minister to the Cook Islands' 60th anniversary celebrations. In an interview on Pacific Mornings , Peters insists that regional unity in the Pacific remains strong despite recent tensions between New Zealand and the Cook Islands. His comments follow the New Zealand government's choice not to send any ministers to the Cook Islands' 60th anniversary of self-governance. Peters describes Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro's attendance as "proper procedure". "I was in the Prime Minister Cook Islands position, I'd regard that as the proper procedure, the proper protocol, and I'd be entirely happy with it," Peters says. "It is, after all, a special realm relationship, and here comes the person in the shoes of the King of the Commonwealth." The absence comes shortly after Peters announced a pause in $18.2 million of development funding to the Cook Islands, citing a lack of consultation over a recent agreement with China. Peters' last meeting with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown was in Nice, where they met briefly. But he reassures that the situation is being managed between senior officials. While former Prime Minister John Key attended the 50th anniversary in 2015, and both Peters and Christopher Luxon visited Niue ahead of its commemorations last year, Peters says the government believes the current arrangement is appropriate. Peters also discussed developments in New Caledonia, saying he is satisfied with the increased responsiveness to some concerns of the local population. Fomer Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna with the former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at the 50th anniversary of self-government for the Cook Islands. Photo: Cook Islands Government France has agreed to grant New Caledonia special status, but it has not granted independence to the Pacific island nation, which has been a French territory since the mid-1800s. Between 2018 and 2021, New Caledonia held three votes to decide on independence, none of which were successful. Recently, tensions rose when new voting rights were extended to non-Indigenous residents, which made it more challenging for Kanaks to influence local governance. "When you've got a country like France with an aid programme of billions of dollars to a place like New Caledonia, that is something you want to save at all costs if you possibly can," Peters says. "Now, what we are saying in New Zealand and what we're saying to the French is that we can in any way help if we want to, but the pathway forward is being ironed out as they speak, and let's hope and pray that it works." Despite not having yet spoken with the President of the government of New Caledonia following the agreement in Paris last weekend, Peters stressed the importance of self-determination. "We expect to be treated with equality when we're dealing with big nations, and by comparison, these countries are as small to us as we are to China, but it doesn't mean we should be treated any differently. We say that small states matter." "They matter big time. They've got a right to their own self-destination, determination, and our job is to help them get there and ensure that the Pacific, in the meantime, remains proud of the phrase itself, 'Pacific means peace'." As Peters prepares to attend the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in Suva in August, he underscores the importance of regional dialogue at this time. He signalled more cross-party delegations to the Pacific are planned and called for less talk and more action. "I know Talanoa is a great way of relying and relaxing and waiting around and having conversations, but we need action right here, right now, and that's what we'll be talking about." -This article was first published by PNM .
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
New Institute for Advanced Technology announced by government
The government has unveiled a new public research organisation focused on "supercharging" the country's economy through advanced technology. Speaking in Auckland this morning, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology will be based focus on turning technologies like AI and quantum computing into commercial success. The announcement follows the establishment of three public research institutes focused on Earth Science, Bioeconomy and Health and Forensic Science. The Institute will first be incubated within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) before becoming an independent entity when legislation comes into effect in July 2026. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro Luxon said it will be New Zealand's fourth institute and the cornerstone of government's plan to make a high tech, high-value economy. "I expect it to be forward looking, with the support and advice of the Science Advisory Council, to invest in new areas of science that are reshaping the global economy, where we can develop excellent talent, create high-paying jobs, build new sectors and increase our export earnings," he said. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti said the government is committing $231 million over the next four years to the institute, which will be based in Auckland and work with other research centres, universities and industries. "Our first major investment announced in May is already underway at Wellington Robinson Research Institute specialising in future magnetic and materials technologies and cryogenic superconducting further investments will be guided by the Prime Minister's Science Innovation and Technology Advisory Council," he said. Reti speaking at the announcement. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro "New Zealand has a proud history of innovation, from agri-tech to clean energy, and these institutes will build on those strengths while unlocking new frontiers. This is not only research, it's about jobs growth and global impact, it's about delivering long term value for New Zealanders." Asked what consideration had been given to ethical AI use, Luxon said managing the negative impacts of AI had to be done in a "multilateral" way, buy working with other countries to build legislative frameworks for it. "There is a lot more upside with AI than there is downside, and this is a country that needs to embrace a lot more AI, quantum computing, synthetic biology, all of those," he said. "We understand the challenges around AI, but we will manage that through global forums, in terms of building out strong legislative frameworks. But the bigger opportunity is for us to get on and embrace it, because it's not coming, it's actually already here." Luxon said New Zealand had a history of producing "incredible" scientists. Reti and Luxon speak to media. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro "I don't want this to be a country where we proudly say, 'oh, we invented that', and then someone else around the world commercialised it," he said. "Just look at Denmark, right? Think about the work that they did on pharmaceuticals, around weight loss drugs, Ozempic and other things that have been huge around the world. That is powering that economy. That is a huge focused investment in science and technology." Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Simon Bridges said it's a move that follows clear calls from the business community to supercharge the city's tech future. "This is just the start. We now need to double down on digital skills, commercial investment, and putting our startups on the global map," he said Bridges said the suburb of Newmarket was a natural home for the new institute. "Newmarket offers the full package - advanced R&D, space to scale, and commercial potential. "I certainly hope the institute will be based at Newmarket, it is the right place for it. But regardless of the precise final location, Auckland is the right launchpad for a national push into advanced tech." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
