A Fiji Airways Airbus A330-200, registration DQ-FJV performing flight FJ-911 from Nadi (Fiji) to Sydney,NS (Australia), landed on Sydney’s runway 34L on schedule at about 12:05L (01:05Z) but touched down hard producing about +2.9G vertical acceleration. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron.

The aircraft departed Sydney one hour behind schedule for its return flight FJ-910 and reached Nadi without further incident.

Examination in Nadi however found substantial overstress damage to the landing gear, an assessment which landing gear struts need to be replaced is still ongoing, it is not being ruled out as of Mar 25th 2014 that all gear struts need to be replaced. The aircraft is still on the ground in Nadi.

Fiji Airways Nadi Staff are to be congratulated for their diligent check of the landing gear, something Sydney technical staff failed to do it seems.

Questions are being asked if the pilots involved reported this and if so why was the aircraft allowed to take off again from Sydney, the damaged landing gear could have collapsed on the aircrafts arrival at Nadi, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life… What has the verbose Minister responsible got to say about this ???.

Also are the pilots involved being stood down until undertaking further training and competency tests.

Did the airline alert Emergency Services and have them on standby at Nadi International Airport for the aircrafts return, if not why not ?

FINALLY  ON 27TH MARCH 30 HOURS AFTER WE PRINTED THIS AND 9 DAYS AFTER THE EVENT, THE FIJI GOVERNMENT HAS PERMITTED THE FIJI PRESS TO PUBLISH SOME DETAILS OF THIS INCIDENT..THIS SERVES AS TRANSPARENCY IN FIJI. REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU VOTE

The target of reaching 150,000 of Fiji’s un-banked population by 2014 has been achieved by the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

Speaking yesterday at the 12th AFI Pacific Islands Working Group Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Barry Whiteside says that as of the 28th of last month the target set in 2009 was achieved.

Whiteside says this success is only a great platform from which the next phase of development will be charted for financial inclusion in Fiji.

Does anyone remember the Fiji Post office Savings Scheme ?. That was so successful the money was used to help fund the National Bank of Fiji, which was ripped off by a number of individuals who are still looking to make a quick buck today. The NBF was also described as the peoples bank, they just did not say which people.

Sergeant Saiasi Nuku VONO, The Royal Regiment of Scotland

The bravery of a Fijian NCO who went to the aid of nine colleagues caught in a fatal roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan has been recognised.

Sgt Saiasi Nuku Vono, of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 Scots) has been awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery.

His citation says he had shown “inspirational leadership” following the explosion in Helmand Province.

36 year old Sgt Vono was on his way back to base after a patrol in the District of Helmand, when an improvised explosive device (IED) was triggered by a Mastiff vehicle.

The vehicle was behind Sgt Vono’s vehicle and the blast caused serious injuries to all nine of the soldiers it was carrying.

Three of them were later confirmed as having been killed in action.

The apparent absence of debate, particularly among the Taukei, is attributed by commentators to ‘a culture of silence’. Open, vigorous public discourse is not yet a feature of Taukei or Fijian society at large. It has been explained in terms of a cultural milieu in which authority and communal structures coalesce to muffle expression. While media controls and self-censorship have not helped, it is the epistemology, ways of thinking, of the Taukei that invites closer scrutiny.

‘Silence’ does not necessarily mean consent. It is the lack of oral and written expression about issues passing for acquiescence. From the colonial era to the present, Taukei took refuge in silence until the political climate improved. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, blog sites etc.) represent a contemporary variation, allowing disaffected Taukei to express opinions anonymously.  An assertive few, on opposing sides of the divide, eschew such inhibitions in that virtual world. Safe haven notwithstanding, it is outside the wider public domain. Sanctuary afforded by ‘silence’ comes at a price: uncontested interpretations of issues and events become historical truth and received wisdom.

Reluctance persists among Taukei to ventilate issues of interest openly whether the traditional system, sustaining Taukei culture, the Taukei language, qoliqoli, the protection of land or the status of indigenous people post-December 2006. It is compounded by several factors. Blood and kinship ties remain significant. Personalities matter more than issues. Opinions are an extension of the person and difficult to separate. And the ubiquity of connections renders security in numbers of larger societies meaningless. Continue reading →

Election Issues, Bulletin 6: Gender, Sports, Indigenous Fijians in Business, Music, National Identity”. 19 March 2014

Click the following link for a list of pertinent questions posed by Professor Wadan Narsey that all political parties should be prepared to answer, and that you might wish to ask the candidate of your choice:

http://narseyonfiji.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/election-issues-bulletin-6-gender-sports-indigenous-fijians-in-business-music-national-identity-19-march-2014/

There can be do doubt that lack of transparency facilitates corruption and incompetence, which leads to a waste of taxpayers monies, increased national debt and an ever increasing burden on future generations.

It is also true that Franks administration and period of government could have been much more successful had he fully endorsed and supported transparency in all aspects of government business.

The following is one mans view, which is supported by statistics provided by him and as yet is unchallenged by the administration.

We welcome the administrations response in the comments column of this article.

http://narseyonfiji.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/ellection-issues-bulletin-5-gdp-jobs-income-and-public-debt-17-march-2014.pdf