The CNURA Government has appointed Mr. John Hauirae, a local private practitioner to the vacant post of legal draftsman.

The position has been left vacant for sometime after the former legal draftsman, Ranjit Hewegama was told to leave the post by the Sogavare government eight months ago.

"It is a privilege to serve the government...an opportunity to do something for the people of Solomon Islands," said Mr. Hauirae.

Mr. Hauirae, who went into private practice after obtaining his masters from the University of West Indies, Barbados, specialising in legislative drafting said that there are very few people with the qualification of legal draftsman within the Commonwealth.

Mr. Hauirae, 47, is from Masupa, East Areare. He did his secondary at Tenaru School and went on to USP in Fiji for two years. He later went to UPNG where he obtained his LLB. In 1988 he started work with the Public Solicitors office and in 1989 he moved to the AG Chambers working in the legal draftsman division as trainee legal draftsman under Ranjit Hewegama.

In 1990, Mr. Hauirae then went to the Royal Institute of Public Administration in UK, to do specialised training in drafting.

From 2001 to 2004 he worked as legal Assistant with the Forum Fisheries Agency. When his contract ended he decided to go back to his private practice and firm which he runs until his recent appointment as the government's legal draftsman.

Currently, the country has only two qualified legal draftsman and according to Mr. Hauirae there is a growing need for more young people to be trained in the profession.

Mr. Hauirae's appointment came into effect yesterday and he has since moved into his new office.