Pacific Profile
Hilda Lini, Freedom Fighters
A believer in people oriented governance.
Age:47
Education: Graduated from the University of Papua New Guinea with a
Diploma in Journalism
Factoid: A former Member of Parliament Lini was the
first women¹s programme officer at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community
(formerly South Pacific Commission) responsible for 19 English-speaking
countries. Prior to independence, she was a member of the provincial
government cabinet. Sister of Vanuatu¹s first Prime Minister Father Walter
Lini.
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Hilda Lini: former parliamentarian, journalist by profession, and an active participant in the development of women¹s issues.
Lini, director of the Fiji-based Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC) is a believer in communal struggle and the harmonising of traditional leadership with modern systems of governance.
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Prior to her directorship post, she worked as a volunteer with Vanuatu¹s indigenous leaders from 1996 to 2000. Vanuatu still has a very strong chiefly system. Lini was involved with reviewing what the grassroots aspirations were in terms of independence, which was achieved in 1980 from the British and French. As a member of parliament for 20 years she found that certain things weren¹t working the way they should.
There were conflicts between Vanuatu¹s culture and belief system and the country¹s Constitution. "When you look at the Constitution, these values are not taken into account and every time there¹s an implementation of laws and government policies based on these laws, there was always conflict," explains Lini. "People still lived in villages where there was harmony with the environment and culture and where community life is still alive. But the constitution and the laws are promoting the Western models of governance without basing it on existing systems." She wanted to see either an integration of Western and traditional systems of governance or develop a new model based on both. Lini helped to document the political, economic and leadership systems and the collective ownership and responsibility to life, which in the Vanuatu/Melanesian society, she says, involves upholding peace as a collective goal.
"If peace is maintained at all times then everything falls into place." That work culminated in what is k known as the Natural Laws of Vanuatu, which could be called the Indigenous Constitution.
Lini feels that the biggest achievement for her has been experiencing Vanuatu's achievement of independence status. As a young woman working as a coordinator for the women¹s wing of the liberation movement and editor of the movement newsletter, Lini found the collective struggle to gain political power a personal fulfilment. Working with the chiefs has humbled her.
"Normally if you're not careful, once you get into a high position, you lose touch with the community. I always felt that my constituents were the backbone of my work and I never wanted to lose touch with the people."
In line with her involvement with the liberation movement and collective struggle, Lini believes that the Commonwealth, the United Nations, the European Union and human rights organisations were not giving space to the wisdom of Fiji people to define a path for themselves.
"Any country would face a crisis. But when there¹s a crisis let the wisdom of that country dictate its own path before attacking it."
Lini was editor of the newsletter of the liberation movement for four years before doing journalism studies. That led to the publication of her magazine in 1980 called Nasiko (Kingfisher). Her community involvement extends to the Vanuatu Pacific Community Centre, which was a secretariat set up by the liberation movement immediately after independence.
As the Women¹s Programme Officer with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (formerly South Pacific Commission), a post she held from 1982 to 1987, she helped develop the Pacific Women¹s Resource Bureau in Noumea, New Caledonia.
In 1987 she returned to Vanuatu and contested the elections. She was a Member of Parliament until 1998, the only woman parliamentarian. It was her journalistic background and work with the liberation movement that gave her the edge over her colleagues in terms of access to information.
She held the portfolio of Minister of Health and Water Supply, Population Policy, Children¹s Rights and Traditional Medicine. In 1996 Lini was the Minister of Justice, Culture, Religion and Women.
In between posts she had been an ordinary MP, holding the position of Leader of Government Business in parliament and also leader of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which has branches in all the Commonwealth countries.
In 1996 Lini resigned from her brother¹s political party over issues that were against her principles.
She felt the decisions weren't made by the people anymore, but by individuals. "I saw my brother, although in a leading position, was unable to make decisions. Certain businesspeople, who were members of the party, manipulated the decisions.
"And when that happened I felt it wasn't the kind of liberated Vanuatu that I was fighting for. I wanted to see a more people-oriented governance."
