Parliament sittings have been extended for the 2018 – 2019 calendar with the House expected to convene 10 months compared to only seven months in the previous schedule.

Agreed too unanimously by both sides of the house, the extra sittings will mean even more robust debate on the various issues affecting the country.

Opposition Whip – Lynda Tabuya says this is a timely adjustment to the calendar which has been a long held request from their side of the house.

“We needed to ensure that we had more sitting time especially with the Opposition that has increased now in our numbers and you know we wanted to have enough sitting time in the coming year and we’re very glad that this has worked out, so we’re looking forward to very robust debates in parliament with more sitting time.”

Leader of the government in Parliament – Inia Seruiratu has noted that there is some flexibility around the June sitting with the date for the National Budget address still to be finalized.

In comparison to the last Parliament calendar, there will be 45 days for the 2018-2019 session compared to 30 for the 2017-2018 period.