Commentary – Enough debate. Tonga’s Sunday laws aren’t about piety—they’re about inequality.
Former Prime Minister Hu‘akavameiliku recently clarified in Parliament that Sunday isn’t completely banned in Tonga.
Ministers can issue permits for emergencies or essential services.
But here’s the truth: the law is selectively enforced, creating a two-tier system where tourists and the well-connected thrive while ordinary Tongans face punishment.
On Sundays, tourists sip beers at waterfront bars. Asian construction crews work under government permits. Yet a local selling bread risks fines. Airlines are grounded—unless it’s a medical evacuation. Hospitals and police operate, but small businesses must shut.
Where’s the Christian morality in that?
This isn’t about faith—it’s about control. If the law can’t be applied fairly, it shouldn’t exist at all.
Why should a foreigner enjoy freedoms denied to Tongans? Why are some businesses privileged while others are penalised?
Tonga’s Sunday laws don’t uphold holiness; they entrench hypocrisy. It’s time to scrap them or enforce them equally.
Tonga’s Sunday restrictions are defended as a sacred tradition—but here’s the irony: the very nations that brought Christianity to the kingdom don’t enforce such laws.
France introduced Catholicism. British, Australian, and New Zealand missionaries spread Protestantism. Yet none of these nations ban Sunday commerce. Instead, they thrive with open economies, flexible workweeks, and personal freedom, while still upholding Christian values. Worse, these same countries fund more than half of Tonga’s budget.
So why does Tonga cling to a law its spiritual mentors abandoned long ago?
If shutting down businesses truly strengthened morality, Europe and the Pacific’s richest Christian nations would do the same. Instead, they trust their people to honour the Sabbath without state coercion.
The choice is simple: practice what you preach, or abandon the pretence.
