ABSTRACT
On 6 December 2006, after weeks of uncertainty, the military finally ousted the government in Fiji. In the preceeding two months, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Commander of the Fijian Military Forces, had issued Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase with a series of demands. Central to these (at least at the outset) was that the Government drop three Bills which were before Parliament, one of which was the Qoliqoli Bill (No 12 of 2006) (the Bill).2 While there has been some publicity concerning the Bill, largely as a result of the coup, little is known about it outside Fiji. Its most notable feature was that its central purpose was to return ownership of the foreshore and reef areas to the traditional qoliqoli owners – in other words, to the traditional owners of fishing rights. As a result of the coup, the Bill will not proceed.
