Issue No: 701; 25 April 2001

The University managed to acquire prime freehold land and buildings on the Suva waterfront during the SVT reign. The land initially belonged to the government and was the home of the government's Telecommunication Training Centre (TTC). When the Post and Telegraph Department was corporatised, the land was given to the Telecom Fiji Ltd.

Through a deal with the SVT government and the Telecom Fiji Ltd, the CQU acquired the property. No advertisement was placed by the regime then for renting out or selling the property.

It is understood that the University of the South Pacific and the Fiji School of Medicine had shown strong interests in acquiring the property. The USP had also reportedly offered $12m for the land and the buildings. This was rejected by the regime then. Instead in 1998 the CQU was given a lease (with reportedly an annual rental of $300,000) with an option to buy the property within a year.

Telecom Fiji yesterday revealed that the CQU did not pay any rent for the past two years. The rent due is $600,000. Telecom Fiji has taken the CQU to court for this.

The CQU deal was another of the less than transparent deals struck by the Rabuka regime with foreign interests.

It is now well-known that at the time the deal was being worked out, Rabuka was offered an honorary degree by the CQU.

CQU's head of Fiji operation, John Sharpham, wrote a book on Rabuka where he alleged that Ratu Mara was the person behind the 1987 military coup, and that the solution to Fiji's problems is in a programmed exit of ethnic Indians from Fiji. The book was published by the CQU. Sharpham wrote in the acknowledgements to the book: "I am grateful for the research support given to me by Campus Group Holdings, the company that operates an international campus in Fiji for the Central Queensland University. I came to Fiji to set up the campus, then resigned after a year to write this book with the full support of both Mark Skinner from CGH and Lauchlan Chipman, the Vice-Chancellor of CQU, in this regard". The book was published in 2000. Many see the book as a public relations exercise in preparation for the 19 May and 2 November attempted coups.

The royalty details of the book are not clear. But it is believed by many in Fiji and outside that Rabuka was expecting a large sum of money for the book. One New Zealand based activist had earlier stated that the money offered to Rabuka was not so much for the book, but for the land deal through which the CQU acquired the Telecom property.

The CQU also had a special deal with the SVT government on visas for students from other countries, mostly China and Hongkong, studying at the CQU. Details on this are sketchy, but the Qarase regime has reconfirmed the visa deal which Rabuka's regime had made. It is known that the visa arrangement was being reviewed by the People's Coalition Government.