The information from the Ministry of Tourism Today Tonight refused to wait for

Late Monday morning I sent a fax to Today Tonight providing evidence that conflicted with the substance of the allegations made by Tapper in our one-sided interview on the previous Friday afternoon . These faxes included a glowing testimonial from a member of the group who visited Namatakula and an email in which confirms that the relevant authorities in Fiji supported FijiBure.com. It is important that we appreciate the major thrust of their story against my operation was that it was illegal and that the Ministry of Tourism were investigating FijiBure.com.

Shortly after receiving this fax from me on Monday (12.23pm) Karryn Cooper, the State Producer of Today Tonight, sent the following email to the Ministry of Tourism. (Screen dump of email at this link)

The email reads:

As discussed by phone earlier today, here is a short list of questions we'd like to put to the Ministry of Tourism regarding Scott Balson and Fiji bure.com homestay.

  1. Why is Scott Balson and Fiji bure.com being investigated by the Fiji Government?
  2. What concerns does the Ministry of Tourism have regarding Mr.Balson's village homestay scheme?
  3. Are hygiene standards among the concerns?
  4. Have you had other complaints about Mr Balson and his Village homestay scheme?

Many Thanks ,

Karryn Cooper
State Producer
Today Tonight
Channel 7
Brisbane Australia.

These questions were asked AFTER Channel Seven had run a large number of promotional ads over the weekend under the heading "cheating Australians out of their holidays". Cooper did not wait for the Ministry's response. Today Tonight went ahead and ran the programme that night (4th October) without waiting for the Ministry of Tourism to reply.

On the 6th October, after a proper investigation of the issues raised by Ms Cooper, the Ministry of Tourism replied to her questions thus (Screen dump of email at this link):

Hello again and NI sa bula from Fiji. We had another meeting here yesterday to discuss the matter you raised. We also have evidence that the complaints as highlighted in the media there might not be the whole truth.

Here are some facts you need to note.

  1. Some of those people who visited the village and stayed with the party at Namatakula village made very positive comments about their hosts and their experience in general.
  2. Apparently, we understand that one of the people in the party who was reported very ill during the visit was ill upon arrival to Fiji.
  3. The home belonging to Simon in which the group stayed was one of the very best homes in the village and quite good by Fiji village standards.

These observations may affect the perceptions created by the previous story that motivated you to seek comments from us.

We consider it most proper that you know the whole story and act accordingly if people are keen to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Anyway, please know how serious we are in making our visitors feel at home and have a delightful experience here in Fiji, no matter where they go.

Very best regards

Keresoni

Inviting you to come sample Fiji for yourself and telling the truth as you experience it.

Of course Today Tonight were never interested in the truth. They were only interested in pursuing the campaign of one woman against a project which was bringing direct financial benefits to impoverished village communities in Fiji.

Find out more about Karryn Cooper at this link