New PAC chairman today
commentary to some media on issues yet to be decided by the committee. Government members on PAC are: Mr Sudhakar, Alex O’Connor and Abe Dean while Opposition members are Mr Prasad and Aseri Radrodro. The amendment reads: “The members may at any meeting of the standing committee by majority vote replaces a chairperson or a deputy chairperson and elect another member from amongst themselves as a chairperson or a deputy chairperson, provided, however, that a chairperson/deputy chair person can only be replaced under this clause after he or she has served as chairperson or deputy chairperson for at least 12 months during the four-year term of Parliament.” Fiji is not the only country where a Government MP can chair a committee like PAC. The New Zealand equivalent of Public Accounts Committee is the Finance and Expenditure Committee. The current chairperson is David Bennett of the National Party Government from Hamilton East.
In Australia, it is called the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. It was most recently chaired by Ian Macfarlane of the Liberal Party Government.
Ashneel Sudhakar:
Mr Sudhakar replaced Commander Semi Koroilavesau as the Government Whip when the latter became Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations. He is a lawyer by profession and has quietly and quickly risen through the ranks within the FijiFirst party and Government.