Opposition Leader Manasseh Sogavare has called on the government to be cautious against getting parliament to endorse laws that are more convenient to foreign states than to addressing Solomon Islands problems.
Mr Sogavare was contributing to the parliamentary debate on the Currency Declaration Bill 2009 Monday morning.The Currency Declaration Bill is part of the counter-terrorism legal mechanisms that the United Nations required all of its member-countries to adopt.
He said the bill as highlighted by the government at its introduction to parliament added more legal mechanisms that the country has to counter money laundering.
The Opposition Leader said he had no problem with Solomon Islands joining the world in the fight against terrorism.
However, Mr Sogavare said he was concerned that the country might get bogged down with passing laws to realize objective that and forget to address the issues that really mattered to it.
He said parliament had recently seen an increase in bills that were basically replicas of laws enacted in other countries to address international problems that had very little to do with Solomon Islands.
The bills referred to include the Counter-Terrorism Bill, the Money-Laundering Bill and the Proceeds of Crimes Act which were already endorsed by parliament and the Currency Declaration Bill 2009 itself.
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