Nukuʻalofa – Allegations that MPs and Cabinet Ministers have misused overseas travel to obtain personal allowances have resurfaced in Tonga, after Speaker of Parliament Lord Vaea raised concerns last week about ministers missing their oath due to overseas travel.
The Speaker’s intervention comes against the backdrop of lingering public unease following explosive allegations in July 2025 that three Cabinet Ministers in the former Hu’akavameiliku government received travel-related payments totalling up to $8 million, reportedly split as $5 million, $2 million, and $1 million.
The revelation emerged during scrutiny of a major increase in that government’s travel budget, which surged by more than 60 percent—from $13 million to $21 million.
The allegation, made during a press conference, claimed that some ministers travelled and remained overseas for months, leaving their ministerial posts effectively vacant.
During the media briefing, then–Deputy Prime Minister Taniela Fusimālohi warned that Cabinet Ministers should not exploit travel to inflate their salaries.
Before raising the alleged payout at the press conference, the government had defended the increase in the travel budget in Parliament, stating that ministers’ overseas travel was essential for international diplomacy and securing foreign aid, particularly as borders had only recently reopened following the COVID-19 lockdown.
Speaker Questions Ministerial Accountability
The renewed scrutiny over ministers’ overseas travel resurfaced last week when Lord Vaea stressed in Parliament that taking the oath is a fundamental constitutional requirement.
His comments followed notification to the House that Minister for Lands Taniela Fusimālohi was in Australia on official business and would miss his oath for the second time.
The Speaker said that although the law allows MPs to excuse themselves for overseas travel, there is also an unwritten expectation from the public that they should be present to take their oath.
He expressed serious concern over the repeated absence of MPs during the oath-taking, warning the Prime Minister about the issue and indicating he may seek to review the law to ensure it does not happen again.
Overseas travel by MPs, particularly Cabinet Ministers, has long been a source of controversy, with former Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pōhiva previously telling this reporter that the King once questioned why several ministers were travelling excessively after being presented with a list of ministerial trips during a royal audience.
Public Questions Cost Of Travel
Public criticism over ministers’ overseas travel has also extended beyond questions of parliamentary accountability.
The government’s recent decision to send overseas delegations under the Talatalanoa Programme, led by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to consult Tongan communities abroad, has drawn criticism from some members of the public.
Critics noted that the same ministry undertook a similar overseas consultation programme in the 2010s, during which concerns raised by Tongans overseas were compiled into a report. However, they argued that little visible action had resulted from that earlier exercise.
Photos shared with this outlet last year appeared to show then–Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Lord Tu’i’āfitu posing for photographs with apparent restaurant staff in Sydney during the Australian leg of the programme.
A hotel employee alleged to Kaniva News at the time that some members of the ministerial delegation were seen playing pokie machines during the dinner.
Kaniva News sought comment from the Ministry at the time.
