Critics have called for the Prime Minister and board members of Lulutai airlines as well as the airlines’ CEO, to resign.
Hu’akavameiliku
The calls came in the wake of the release of a preliminary report into the accident which put Lulutai’s Saab airliner out of action.
The report said that the flight data recording on the Lulutai airliner that was damaged in December last year was not working properly.
Aviation industry experts have contacted Kaniva News to say they were “shocked” to read that the data recorder of the aircraft was not working properly.
One aviation source described the report about the recorder as “so serious.”
There have been extensive calls by concerned citizens for the resignations.
The report does not make any findings as to the cause of the accident.
A preliminary report from the investigation into the accident organised by the Ministry for Infrastructure’s civil aviation department said the flight data recorder did not contain any information about the aircraft’s progress before it ran off the runway and crashed into a concrete wall.
Nobody was injured.
As we reported earlier, the recorder indicated that it last worked properly on July 11, 2023.
There were signs that the recorder may have been deliberately disabled.
The cockpit voice recorder was working, but the cockpit microphone appeared to have been operating at a very low level. The underwater locator beacon had not been fitted.
Flight data recorders are popularly known as black boxes, even though they are painted bright orange. They capture critical flight data, such as altitude, airspeed, vertical acceleration, pitch, roll, heading, and engine performance data. Flight data recorders are designed to survive crashes, fire and being submerged.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is helping with the investigation, said black boxes were invaluable tools for helping investigators work out what might have caused an accident.
Cockpit voice recorders (CVR) record audio in the cockpit.
According to the United States National Transport Safety Board, “sounds of interest to an investigator could be engine noise, stall warnings, landing gear extension and retraction, and other clicks and pops.”
The information recorded can help understand what happened in the sequence of events leading up to an accident.
The installation and operation of black boxes is governed by national and international legislation, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), of which Tonga is a member.
We have contacted the Prime Minister and CEO Of Lulutai for comment.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources is currently holding meetings in Christchurch despite Opposition arguing the purpose of his global trip could have been conducted online to save taxpayers money.
Lord Tu’i’āfitu, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources
Unlike the Australian trip, the New Zealand visit was not publicly announced on the Ministry’s social media prior to the first public meeting last night Monday 15, raising questions about transparency and communication regarding government activities.
Lord Tu’i’āfitu faced scrutiny after providing inconsistent explanations regarding the purpose of his global tour, which included visits to Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.
This week’s meetings came in the wake of the Opposition criticizing the Prime Minister of increasing government traveling budget with TOP$8 million to $21 million altogether. The Prime Minister told the House the hike was decided to facilitate Ministers travelling overseas to negotiate grants for the country.
Lord Tu’i’afitu had faced strong public criticism in December after it was revealed he and a delegation including his wife arrived in Australia to consult with Tongan community there on lands issues.
In Tonga, after their return from Australia early this year, the Opposition questioned the Minister in Parliament.
Lord Tu’i’afitu justified the necessity of the trip by highlighting the manual processes involved in handling land issues, such as administering oaths. He mentioned seeking advice on relevant laws including clause 86 of the Lands Acts from the Minister of Justice. He also cited a request from Princess Angelika Tuku’aho as reasons for the Australian trip.
He also praised the Ministry for making great effort in its attempt to reduce the number of land court cases involving the Ministry. He said this has been recorded in the Ministry of Justice’s annual report.
Costs detailconfidentiality
Opposition MP Dr ‘Aisake Eke told the Minister the meetings with the international community should have been conducted online to avoid costs. He reminded the Minister that Tongans overseas were travelling to Tonga from time to time and can address their land needs when they were in the kingdom.
Dr Eke asked the Minister about the costs of the trip but Lord Tu’i’afitu was quick to defend it saying it was approved by the Cabinet and it was “confidential”.
“Ko e totongi e folau na’e tali pē he Kapineti pea ko u lave’i pē ‘oku ‘ikai ko ha me’a ia ke fakahā noa’ia ha pa’anga ‘oku fakataha’i confidential ‘i he tali pē ‘a Kapineti ki ha feitu’u ‘oku public mālō”, the Minister replied in Tongan according to Hansard February 15, 2024.
However, his response was disputed by Dr. Eke, who emphasized that since public money was involved, the spending details should be made public.
When the Ministry announced the Australian trip in December, it said that the meetings would address key areas of improvement, share updates, and provide important information about land. It included explaining how land processes work, addressing concerns and working closely with Tonga’s High Commission offices overseas, to make land-related transactions easier.
NZ trip not announced on Ministry’s social media
The meetings in New Zealand, as announced in a Tongan community social media in Christchurch yesterday, was aimed at engaging members of the Tongan community, explain the Ministry’s roles and policies, and clarify guidelines for land registration process in Tonga.
Kaniva News contacted the Minister for comment and asked why was the meetings not publicly announced on the Ministry’s Facebook account as the Ministry did before they travelled to Australia in December.
While we were waiting for a response, an announcement of the meetings was later posted to the Ministry’s Facebook this morning.
It says meetings would be held in Christchurch, Wellington, Palmerston, North Hamilton and completed in Auckland with “one-on-one” appointment.
It also listed the delegation as the Minister including his wife Lady Tu’i’afitu, Deputy CEO, Surveying Services/Corporate Viliami Folau, Services Senior Urban Planner Makakaufaki Matekitonga ; Chief Draftsman Sione Leki ; Land Registration Officer Warwick Vea ; Land Registration Officer ‘Amipelela Tokelau , Quality Control and Assurance Officer Siuola Feinga Nai and the Minister’s Secretary ‘Ilaisaane Sefana
The Christchurch meetings were only made public yesterday on Tongan Society South Canterbury Facebook account.
It said the meetings would be held at the Fale Lotu Fakakoosipeli Methodist Church, 42 Sommerset Cres, Christchurch on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 at 9am to 5pm.
“This is an opportunity for the people in Christchurch to meet with the Minister Lord Tu‘i‘afitu and his staff”, the post read in Tongan.
As we reported previously, the Australian trip triggered a strong negative reaction since this same Ministry made a similar excursion in 2010s. Its report on people’s concerns was published, but no action seems to have been taken so far.
By Illiesa Tora of rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission
Aerial view of Tongatapu. Photo: Expedia
Understanding where culture and corruption needs to be separated will be the biggest challenge for Tonga’s first anti-corruption commissioner.
James Christopher LaHatte, a New Zealand barrister and mediator, was confirmed to lead the Tongan Anti-Corruption Commission in Parliament last week.
LaHatte was appointed to the role by King Tupou VI in a Privy Council meeting earlier this month.
He told RNZ Pacific what might be right culturally in Tonga maybe deemed as corruption somewhere else.
“I think the first thing I have to do is spend a lot of time listening to people,” he said.
“I need to learn how Tongan culture is different from what I’ve learned in New Zealand and other places and put that cultural understanding into the concept of what is corruption.
“Because I’m very conscious, that behaviour that might be seen as culturally appropriate, would be seen in other places as corruption.”
He used the widely accepted “gift giving” culture in Pacific nations as one example that he said needs to be looked at.
“So gift giving, for example, I’m aware is a big part of Tongan culture,” he said.
“There’s going to be a line sometimes between what is appropriate and culturally required, and something which goes beyond that.
“So I’m going to have to learn a lot about how these things work, so that I have an understanding of what is corruption and what is culturally safe.”
The culture of gift giving was recently part of public discussions during court cases where a number of Tongan MPs lost their seats because they were found guilty of what were actions of gift giving during election campaigns.
He said there would be a lot of education and awareness work done so people understand what corruption is and how it is defined.
“I think my primary role is really one of education so that people understand what should and shouldn’t happen. And then there’s an element of deterrence as well,” he said.
“From time to time, it would be necessary to take steps to identify corrupt practices, and to ensure that that’s made known and publicised so it is discussed at all levels so that people understand whether that should or should not have happened.”
Winning trust
LaHatte also said he and his team will need to win the people’s trust in the commission and their work, which will be critical for their work.
“People will need to trust the commission and have the confidence that what they report can be investigated and if found guilty those involved would be dealt with according to law.”
He said the office has been on the statute books for about 17 years.
“People tend not to have necessarily the faith and trust in the office until it can be demonstrated that it has a strong place in parliamentary and governance in Tonga.”
LaHatte said he is looking forward to the challenge and taking up office in Nuku’alofa on 1 July, starting his four-year term.
Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku said LaHatte’s appointment is a big step forward for the Kingdom.
“This is a great milestone for Tonga now with the appointment of the first anti-corruption commissioner.”
The Anti-Corruption Commission Act was first enacted in Parliament in 2007.
But Parliament only passed the Anti-Corruption Bill in February 2023, after Hu’akavameiliku and his government pushed it through, which allowed for the setting up of the anti-corruption watchdog.
LaHatte has been a practising ombudsman, mediator, and lawyer in New Zealand and overseas for over 40 years.
He said his experience in the different works that he has been involved in over the years had prepared him for the new post.
‘Long overdue’ – lawyer
A local lawyer and former political adviser to two Tongan prime ministers has welcomed the new appointment.
“Our Anti-Corruption Act came into force in 2007 and yet no one has been appointed to the post,” Lopeti Senituli said.
“His Majesty had recommended someone whilst ‘Akilisi Pohiva was PM, but he vetoed it because he felt that particular person was too close to the Privy Council.
“The appointment is welcomed because right now only the Office of the Ombudsman handles allegations of corruption but their area of responsibility is limited to government and statutory bodies.
He said the Anti-Corruption Commission has more power and covers government and private sector.
“The appointment of our Anti-Corruption Commissioner is long overdue.”
Five people – four women and one man – died at the scene. The sixth, reported by Australian media to be the baby’s mother, died in hospital a short time later.
Eight other people, including the nine-month-old baby, were fighting for their lives in hospital after the attack. The baby had undergone surgery on Saturday evening, New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said.
The attack unfolded before 4pm (local time), after a man wearing a sports jersey and shorts was seen running through the mall, armed with a knife.
One witness told 9 News the attacker looked “scattered and chaotic”.
“He wasn’t going for anyone personally, you could tell it looked quite random, he was just running around with his knife,” the witness said.
The 38-year-old woman and her baby were reportedly the first to be stabbed.
In a video interview with 9 News, two brothers who had been shopping at the mall described the woman running towards them badly injured, thrusting her baby into their arms.
They hid in a store and pulled clothing off the racks to try and staunch the blood coming from the pair’s wounds.
One brother described the injuries as “very bad”, telling 9 News there was “a lot of blood on the floor”.
The other said he thought the baby was going to be OK, thanks to his brother’s efforts.
“The mother, unfortunately … she started to have a lot of blood coming out of her mouth.”
A man uses a bollard to keep the alleged attacker from advancing. Photo: Screenshot
Video shot elsewhere in the mall showed a brave shopper fending off the alleged attacker with a bollard.
The man jabbed the bollard at the suspect as he advanced up an escalator, holding the knife.
One witness told news.com.au they saw the bodies of two young people in front of the JD Sports store on level four.
Another witness, Adriana, was with her two daughters at a beauty store when they heard gunshots.
“All of a sudden the front doors were closed and in a matter of seconds we heard some gunshots and got sent to the storage room at the back of the shop. There were about 30 or 40 people there,” she told ABC.
“Everyone was screaming, crying, trying to call their relatives. It was an horrific experience.
“There was a lot of screaming and people just screaming ‘Get out, get out, get out of the shopping centre’.”
The alleged offender was shot by a police inspector who had been in the area and gone to the mall – alone – after being informed of the incident.
“She confronted the offender, who had moved by this stage to level five, as she continued to walk quickly behind him to catch up with him. He turned to face her, raised a knife,” New South Wales Police assistant commissioner Anthony Cooke said.
“She discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased.”
The police officer who shot the alleged attacker was being hailed for her “enormous courage and bravery”. Photo: SUPPLIED
Cooke said the suspect was believed to be a 40-year-old man, but his identity was yet to be confirmed as of late Saturday night.
No motive had yet been established, but police were not ruling anything out, he said.
It appeared the man acted alone and there was no sign any other attacks had been planned.
Rakesh Sanga, who owns Bondi Alterations on level five of the mall, told the Sydney Morning Herald he saw the man coming with the knife, and “everyone running”.
Sanga was “very panicked”, he said.
He thought the officer shot the alleged attacker two or three times.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the police officer as a “hero”.
“There is no doubt that she saved lives through her action.”
He described the mall attack as a “horrific act of violence indiscriminately targeting innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday”.
Shoppers outside the mall following the attack. Photo: DAVID GRAY / AFP
The Australian Federal Police were assisting with the investigation, with Commissioner Reece Kershaw saying they had offered “our full specialist capabilities such as digital forensics”.
AFP members had been deployed to the crime scene, he said on Saturday night.
“It is too early to determine a motive and it would be unhelpful to speculate.
“I want to reassure the community that the AFP is providing NSW Police with whatever support is required.”
Webb said police were confident there was no ongoing risk to the public.
“We are dealing with one person who is now deceased.”
Police “don’t have fears for that person holding an ideation, in other words, that it’s not a terrorism incident”, she said.
“The investigation will be ongoing for many, many days but there are elements that we understand at this point in time that don’t indicate that.”
The alleged attacker was known to law enforcement.
The officer who shot him dead would be formally interviewed on Sunday.
She was doing well under the circumstances and showed “enormous courage and bravery”, Webb said.
Tonga Customs and Police have seized 137.36g of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia as well as personal items.
Screenshot
The items were concealed in a metal drum in a Customs warehouse at Ma’ufanga.
The items were consigned to a 45 year old Tongan woman from Kolofo’ou, Tongatapu.
“The illicit drugs were intercepted on Thursday 4 April, after Customs inspections using X-ray scanners detected substances inside two resealed Coffeemate containers”, the Ministry of Customs said in a statement.
It said the consignment was sent from United States of America (USA).
The illicit drugs were seized with the assistance of Tonga Police and the consignee was also handed over to Police. Investigations are ongoing.
It was unclear whether any charges would be filed.
A bid to liberalise Easter trading laws has inched closer, after a bill to repeal alcohol restrictions on Good Friday and Easter Sunday was drawn from Parliament’s ‘Biscuit Tin’ ballot.
In restaurants, customers must order a ‘substantial’ meal if they want to drink.
Luxton said the restrictions were “dumb” and the bill would treat adults like adults.
“It just doesn’t make sense that bar staff spend much of Easter telling customers when they can drink, how long they have to drink it, how much they are required to eat, and what they have to eat.”
Luxton said it would allow business to self-determine which days they want to open, and expand existing employee protections.
The bill would amend the Shop Trading Hours Act to extend employee protections currently in place on Easter Sunday, such as the right to refuse work, to Good Friday as well.
Restrictions on Anzac Day morning and Christmas Day would not change.
Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni confirmed LaHatte’s appointment in Parliament last week. It follows King Tupou VI’s approval in a Privy Council meeting two weeks ago.
James Christopher LaHatte Photo: Twitter.com / @ChrisLaHatte
LaHatte will take up his four-year posting on 1 July.
“This is a great milestone for Tonga now with the appointment of the first anti-corruption commissioner for the Kingdom,” Hu’akavameiliku said.
The Anti-Corruption Commission Act was first enacted in Parliament in 2007.
But Parliament only passed the Anti-Corruption Bill in February 2023, after Hu’akavameiliku and his government pushed it through, which allowed for the setting up of the anti-corruption watchdog.
Hu’akavameiliku told local media the government is now working on finalising staff for the Tonga Anti-corruption Commission office.
LaHatte has been a practising ombudsman, mediator, and lawyer in New Zealand and overseas for over 40 years.
His LinkedIn account said he has wide range of experience in litigation, and has practised both as a litigation solicitor and a barrister for most of his career.
He also has international experience including as the director of claims for the Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corporation as in-house advocate.
He has also served in Kazakhstan on international litigation and arbitration.
By Iliesa Tora, Senior Sports Journalist, RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission
Tonga sevens coach Tevita Tu’ifua has been named head coach of the ‘Ikale Tahi for the next four years.
Tevita Tu’ifua Photo: RNZ Pacific/Talei Anderson
The Tonga Rugby Union named Tu’ifua as head coach of their national team along with former Tongan captain Nili Latu as his assistant.
TRU chief executive officer Aisea ‘Aholelei told a media conference in Nuku’alofa on Monday they had received over 20 applicants from around the world, including some from South Africa, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
‘Aholelei said they had worked with World Rugby on the shortlist and appointment of the new coaches.
Tu’ifua was the best choice and Latu as his assistant, he said.
“And I have unwavering faith that these are the men for the job,” he said.
Tu’ifua, who played for both the Tongan sevens and full fifteens teams, has been the coach of the Tongan men’s sevens team for the last 11 years.
“I am honoured to be allowed to coach the ‘Ikale Tahi,” he told the press conference.
“This is going to be a tough job, but I believe that we can do it.”
He played for the ‘Ikale Tahi along with Latu, also a former captain.
Latu was the coach of the Tongan women’s rugby team and helped with Moana Pasifika as well.
“Appreciate the faith entrusted in us,” he said.
“There’s a lot of work to be done and we will work with the Board and the union on how we are going to move things forward.”
Tu’ifua takes over from Toutai Kefu, whose term ended at the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
He and Latu now have four years to prepare the next team for the world event, to be hosted by Australia in 2027.
Their work starts with Test matches against Italy and Spain in June.
Then there is the new-look Pacific Nations Cup series in August and September, involving Fiji, Samoa, Japan, Canada, and the United States of America.
Meanwhile, the Tonga union board will have to decide who will be Tu’ifua’s replacement as the Sevens team coach.
The Sevens team is currently playing in the Rugby Sevens Challenger 2024 series.
They have been pooled with Uganda, Hong Kong China, and Mexico in Pool B of the last round of competition in Munich and Krakow respectively on Mat 18-19.
In short: The document says Australia and New Zealand are “far removed from Pacific realities” and frequently use “condescending rhetoric”.
One expert says the document shows frustrations felt in the region towards the larger nations.
What’s next? New Zealand says it still has objections to the security pact, while Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has not yet commented
A leaked document from Tonga’s Foreign Affairs Ministry shows that officials in the Pacific Island country sharply criticised Australia and New Zealand’s response to the security pact signed by China and Solomon Islands, while declaring that Pacific diplomacy from Western nations was “failing”.
In 2022, the Morrison and Ardern governments tried to rally Pacific nations to press Solomon Islands not to sign the vaguely worded and deeply contentious agreement with Beijing – in part because they feared it would allow Beijing to establish a military presence in the country.
The ABC has now obtained a strongly worded assessment of the strategic situation, penned by officials in Tonga’s Foreign Ministry in the first half of 2022, that was intended to guide the Pacific island nation’s response to the controversy.
The five-page document calls New Zealand’s response to the Solomon Islands-China security agreement “nothing short of frantic” and flags that its then-foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta had requested a phone call to her Tongan counterpart to express Wellington’s “grave” concerns about the pact.
“The views expressed by ANZ [Australia and New Zealand] on the situation in the Solomon Islands that only they (or the Pacific) can decide which countries Pacific states should align themselves with,” the document says.
“This clearly shows they remain far removed from Pacific realities and only echoes the condescending rhetoric that we, unfortunately, see too often from ANZ leadership.”
The document acknowledges China’s “growing clout” in the region and says many Pacific island states are facing “threats to strategic independence as a result of growing indebtedness to Beijing”.
But it says that in the end, Solomon Islands is a “sovereign nation and has the right to make decisions about its own security”.
“Tonga should continue to promote that fact including the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states,” it reads.
The document also says then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison had “taken it upon himself to place phone calls to his PNG and Fijian counterparts to put pressure on the Solomons not to sign the Agreement with China.”
“FM Mahuta will likely speak along the same lines tomorrow to our Minister.
“However, it is highly unlikely either PNG or Fiji would condemn Solomon’s sovereign decisions by nature of their close historical and cultural links.”
The document also says that in the end, the matter would be dealt with by the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting that year, which would be a more “acceptable channel” than “reactionary demands over the telephone”.
It adds that Mr Morrison’s lobbying phone calls would likely “irritate” Pacific states, particularly because Australia was “outright refusing to accept Pacific Leaders’ concern over climate change as the single greatest threat to the Pacific’s security and further refusing to limit emissions”.
And it argues that if the West were unhappy about China’s growing role in the Pacific then it would “only need look back at their Pacific rhetoric and their failure to live up to their respective Pacific diplomatic strategies to find solutions” to the region’s pressing problems.
The document also takes aim at Australian and Western media outlets over their coverage of China and the Pacific, accusing them of being “obsessed” with China’s presence in the region.
But despite its acknowledgement of Beijing’s expanded ambitions in the region, it devotes no time to assessing what China’s strategic, political or military aims might be in Solomon Islands or in the Pacific.
Document shows ‘disconnect’
Dr Anna Powles from Massey University told the ABC that the document reflected the “disconnect” between how Australia and New Zealand perceived the “Pacific family” and the “frustrations felt in the region” towards the two larger nations.
“The document captures the tensions between how some Pacific nations view strategic competition in the region and the geopolitical anxieties held by Canberra and Wellington,” she said.
“It reveals that deep reservations about the China-Solomon Islands security agreement are held by some Pacific governments, but also suggests that the way in which Canberra and Wellington responded to the security deal lacked sufficient understanding of astute Pacific diplomacy.”
Dr Powles said while there were some “contradictory” messages in the document, it nonetheless “challenged the assumption in Canberra and Wellington that Australia and New Zealand should be the region’s primary security providers, and in doing so sends a clear message that alternative security actors are welcome in the Pacific.”
New Zealand’s response
A spokesperson for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the ABC that it was “for Tongan officials to determine how they brief their ministers”.
“New Zealand’s objections to Solomon Islands and China’s secretive security pact have not diminished. We see that agreement as unnecessary and unwelcome,” they said.
They added that Pacific leaders had “repeatedly affirmed a strong commitment to support each other to meet the region’s security needs” and New Zealand remained “firmly committed” to that principle.
“We will continue to take opportunities to caucus with our Pacific partners, bilaterally and in regional forums, on issues of shared concern or significant regional impact,” they said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has not yet responded to the ABC’s request for comment.
