[1] In introducing the bill, the Minister for Fijian Affairs, Lands and Provincial Development, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, defended it on historical basis.
The bill provides for the establishment of a mutually agreed framework between commercial operators including hoteliers and the Qoliqoli owners together with the Commission.
BBC quotes a businessman Ashneel Singh:[4] Fiji's deputy opposition leader Bernadette Rounds Ganilau said the bill was a joke because a large mass of land is lying idle in the country while Fiji continues to import food valued at over 180-million US dollars.
She said the Qoliqoli Bill is a joke because Fiji imports over 13-million US dollars worth of prawns every year and most of it is from Kerala in India.
[5] The Finance Ministry defended the bill stating that more ethnic Fijian participation in the eco-tourism sector would boost rural development.