Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku has confirmed his resignation as Minister of His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
King Tupou VI accepts a request for an audience from Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku and members of the Cabinet on the remote island of Niuafo’ou on March 7. This followed weeks of political turmoil in the kingdom after the King withdrew his confidence and consent to the appointment of two cabinet ministers. Image: Dr Viliami Latu
He also confirmed the resignation of Fekita ‘Utoikamanu as Minister of Tourism and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ‘Utoikamanu is now the new Minister of Tonga Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC)
They resigned on March 28, the Prime Minister told the Parliament this morning.
The two Ministries in question were vacant and the Prime Minister did not provide any detail about it.
The new Minister of Tourism was Dr Viliami Latu Uasike who was also the Minister of Economic Development and Trades.
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced a press conference for this afternoon, probably for the Prime Minister to elaborate further on the news.
The news comes after relations between the Prime Minister and the throne had been tense since the king issued a memo saying he no longer supported Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku as the Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces and Hon. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Tourism.
The Prime Minister ignored the king’s memo.
As we reported earlier, the Nobles responded by demanding that the Prime Minister and Hon. Utoikamanu resign immediately in order to assuage King Tupou VI’s disappointment.
The Nobles circulated a letter which described the Prime Minister’s refusal to accept the King’s show of power as very concerning and intimidating the peace of the country.
Since 2010, when Tonga adopted its frail constitution, the kingdom has been a democracy, but one that has been constantly under threat as forces in the palace seeks to reassert their dominance over the country.
His Majesty King George V agreed to relinquish his executive to a government elected by the people.
Clause 51 (7) of the Constitution bars the king from making any interference in the daily operations of Cabinet, including nominating the Ministers for the king to appoint.
Two people have been arrested after a kidnapping in Auckland’s North Shore on Tuesday night.
Earlier, police had been on the hunt for three people they believed to be involved in forcing a woman into a car from a house in the suburb of Beach Haven just before 7.30pm on Tuesday. She was later found injured in Greenhithe.
Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said two people were taken into custody after being found in central Auckland on Wednesday afternoon.
“Our investigation has been progressing throughout the day, and we have been speaking with the pair late this afternoon.”
Footage provided by Auckland businessman Leo Molloy showed two people were arrested in one of his bars – the Headquarters bar on Customs Street in central Auckland.
He said he was at home when staff rang him and told him about the arrests.
“Two people came in, took a seat in a quiet corner, a female walked over to the lobby shop to get Lotto tickets, before she got back the police swarmed the place.
Molloy said he visited the bar after the arrests to check on the other patrons and staff, but they were undisturbed.
A 32-year-old man from Dairy Flat is facing multiple charges, including kidnapping, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, commission of a crime using a firearm and burglary with a firearm.
A 28-year-old woman from Bayview has been arrested in relation with outstanding warrants, and also faces a charge of failing to carry out obligations relating to a computer search.
McNeill said further arrests could not be ruled out.
“The investigation will continue, and while matters are before the court, what I can say is that we do not believe this was a random incident.”
The pair will be appearing in the North Shore District Court on Thursday.
Police said the victim was recovering from her injuries in hospital.
“She will have a long road to recovery, and we will be looking to speak further with her around what has occurred.”
Police thanked those who have helped in their investigation, and they said staff would continue to be present in the Beach Haven area and provide reassurances to community.
Residents describe ‘scary’ situation
One neighbour, who RNZ have agreed not to name, was home when the situation unfolded in Beach Haven on Tuesday.
“There was a woman and a couple of small kids, primary school aged kinda kids, and very shortly afterwards a couple of teenagers ran out into the street, obviously all in a state of distress and confusion,” she said.
“They said people with guns were in the house, so I said ‘Right, you need to get off the street, come inside,’ took them all inside to my house, and we called 111.”
The neighbour didn’t see the kidnapping, which left a woman requiring hospital treatment after she was found in the nearby suburb of Greenhithe.
The residents who had fled stayed at the neighbour’s home until the coast seemed to be clear … but she insisted the children remain with her until they were sure it was safe.
“While mum and the teenagers where off dealing with what they needed to do and talking to the police and everything, the kids stayed with me,” the neighbour said.
She said the children’s father was able to make it through the police cordon, and stayed with them.
“We just waited until the police said ‘Yes, you can head on home now’.”
Martin has lived in Beach Haven for 40 years. He said he first heard a helicopter flying above the street last night.
“I got a phone call from my son who was trying to get home, he was telling me there had been a bit of a confrontation at the corner there and they’d blocked off the roads and he wasn’t able to get back,” he said.
“So he was sitting at the roadblock […] and waiting to come home.”
Another resident, Alexandra, said it used to be a quiet neighbourhood.
“I’ve been back in Beach Haven for just over a year now, and it’s got really bad, crime-wise it’s got really bad,” she said.
“It’s getting quite scary actually.”
She described the police response at the scene.
“There was about nine police cars, and they blocked off part of Sunnyhaven [Avenue] there, and there was armed police,” said Alexandra.
“That was quite scary, you know, when you’ve got police walking around with these great big guns.”
Alexandra said crime in the area was affecting her day-to-day.
“I’m getting to a stage where I’m not wanting to go anywhere, and that’s not good,” she said.
“Especially at night, I won’t even go to the shop at night.”
The neighbour who looked after the woman and children who fled the house praised the police officers involved.
“The police have been absolutely amazing,” she said.
“Really, big thanks to the police, they’ve done a great job.”
The neighbour said she was still trying to process what happened.
“This is the sort of thing you see on TV, it’s not something you think is going to happen in your street, or next door to you, or to people who’ve been your neighbours for a long time,” she said.
People are reportedly trapped under buildings in Taiwan after a 7.2 earthquake that has also prompted tsunami warnings in the region.
Media in Taiwan are reporting people have been trapped under collapsed buildings in the city of Hualien following the quake on Wednesday,
TV stations are screening footage of buildings that have collapsed and power is out to some parts of capital Taipei, witnesses say.
There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand, GNS Science and NEMA have confirmed.
Japan has also issued an evacuation advisory for the coastal areas near the southern prefecture of Okinawa after the tsunami warning.
Waves up to 3 metres were expected to reach Japan’s southwestern coast around, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Its epicentre was in the waters off the eastern coastline of Taiwan, according to the country’s Central Weather Administration.
A tsunami measuring 0.3 metres has already reached Yonaguni island, in southwestern Japan, NHK has reported.
Japan was rocked by its deadliest quake in eight years on New Year’s Day when a 7.6 magnitude temblor struck in Ishikawa prefecture, on the western coast. More than 230 people died in the quake that left 44,000 homes fully or partially destroyed.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about one-fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami. Those events triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.
By Gill Bonnett, immigration reporter of RNZ, and is republished with permission.
A man who had his refugee status revoked has been accused of helping others make fraudulent asylum claims and offering to sponsor a woman’s visa through a fake marriage.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The 37 year old returned to China six times after claiming he was at risk of persecution there – the first just weeks after he was told he could settle here.
Authorities cancelled his recognition as a refugee, saying he procured it by fraud or false information and his trips showed he no longer needed protection in New Zealand.
The man claimed in 2016 that he converted to Christianity and had been detained overnight in China for attending an underground house church. He provided photographs of his baptism and attendance at a church in New Zealand and an affidavit from a fellow member of the church congregation.
But two months after getting permanent residence he returned to China and stayed seven weeks.
In 2019, he was convicted of assault with intent to injure and threatening to kill or commit grievous bodily harm and has since been charged with receiving stolen property.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal ruled it could not hear his appeal until he was served with a deportation liability notice, but it detailed the accusations against him.
“In 2018 and 2019, the Refugee Status Unit became concerned that [he] may have been facilitating fraudulent refugee claims after he had been observed visiting the Unit’s office on a regular basis and taking multiple blank claim forms,” it said in its decision.
“Thereafter, the Refugee Status Unit received a number of what appeared to be templated claims from Chinese nationals who provided an address, phone number and email address which the appellant had used previously.”
They either did not attend interviews or were identified as having lodged false claims.
“One such person indicated that they had simply paid someone to get a work visa and were unaware that they had claimed refugee status.
“In March 2020, the Refugee Status Unit was made aware of a notice in simplified Chinese placed on a notice board at a tertiary education institute in New Zealand by a person stating they were a male, permanent resident, aged 33 years who was willing to sponsor a woman to immigrate through a ‘business marriage’.”
The phone number was the same as the man’s passenger arrival card contact details and he was also aged 33 at the time.
The man told the Refugee Status Unit (RSU) he still needed protection because of his religion, and had returned to China to see his mother who was in danger from Covid-19.
But the RSU cancelled its recognition of him as a refugee.
“It found that the evidence ‘strongly suggests’ that the appellant was involved in fraud relating to the refugee and protection system in New Zealand. When this was considered against his multiple returns to China, and that five of these six returns occurred prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 in China, a refugee and protection officer was satisfied that [he] may have falsely represented that he was a genuine Christian convert who had been detained and warned in the circumstances that he had claimed.”
His returns without incident to China showed he had no adverse profile with authorities there, it said.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has said new legislation to enable roadside drug testing is on the cards. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
There are growing calls for random roadside drug testing after seven people were killed in crashes over the Easter weekend.
The previous Labour government introduced legislation to allow for roadside drug testing – but Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the legislation was flawed and unworkable – after police could not find a suitable testing device.
Labour spokesperson for police Ginny Andersen told Midday Report the legislation was not unworkable and the government could have implemented testing if they wanted to.
Changes were made to the legislation in August 2023 – to back up the roadside saliva test with a laboratory test.
“That’s what Australia does and that’s best practice to use,” Andersen said.
Former police minister Ginny Andersen. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Legislation was being drafted and if the “current government wanted to enact that, they could have done so very quickly”.
It would have been ready to be enforced by August this year.
“I don’t know why they haven’t proceeded with the work that was undertaken back in August last year,” Andersen said.
She said the only technology available was a saliva test which could “throw a false positive”.
“This government’s priorities are very different to ours and it does seem that cost is a prohibitive factor.
“Potentially the cost of those lab tests or the cost of rolling this out nationwide may be one of the reasons why they haven’t acted quicker than they have.”
For now, it was up to Brown and Police Minister Mark Mitchell to front up, she said.
Instead, the National Party suggested two roadside saliva tests for drug testing – if a driver failed both, then a sample from the second test will be sent to a lab.
It had proposed to fund it by tapping into NZTA’s road safety partnership programme with police.
AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said drivers were losing their lives as a result of risky behaviour.
He hoped the legislation would change this year to allow the use of drug testing devices like in Australia and Europe.
By Alvise Armellini of Reuters, and is republished with permission
Pope Francis presides over the Easter Vigil in St Peter’s Basilica. Photo: AFP/Tiziana Fabi
Pope Francis has soldiered through a more than two-hour Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, one of the longest services in Catholic liturgy, amid renewed concerns about the 87-year-old’s frail condition.
His voice at times sounded raspy and out of breath, but he read out all of his prepared texts, including a more than one-page long homily, and he smiled and waved at the congregation as he left in a wheelchair.
In other occasions, Francis has delegated longer readings to aides.
On Friday, the pope skipped at the last minute the night-time Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum in what the Vatican said was a bid to “preserve his health” ahead of other Holy Week events.
The surprise move came after weeks in which Francis repeatedly limited his public speaking and cancelled engagements while struggling with what has been described as colds, bronchitis and the flu.
The pope is also restricted in his mobility due to a knee ailment, and regularly uses a wheelchair or a cane.
Francis looked in better shape on Thursday as he performed a foot-washing ceremony in a women’s prison, recalling Jesus’ gesture of humility to his apostles at the Last Supper, and at a Good Friday service in St Peter’s.
Holy Week consists of several solemn ceremonies leading to Easter on Sunday, the most important festivity in the Christian calendar, celebrating the day in which the faithful believe Jesus rose from the dead.
Saturday’s evening service, held in Christendom’s largest church, started in near total darkness before lights were turned on, signifying the passage from darkness to light when the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead.
It was attended by about 6,000 people, the Vatican said.
In his homily, recalling that the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb was rolled back as he was resurrected, Francis urged Christians to keep their faith even when weighed down by sorrow, fear or other adversities.
He mentioned, among other things, “the rubber walls of selfishness and indifference that hold us back in the effort to build more just and humane cities and societies”, as well as “all our aspirations for peace that are shattered by cruel hatred and the brutality of war”.
Francis is set to conclude Easter celebrations on Sunday with Mass in St. Peter’s Square and his twice-annual “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
By Colin Peacock of rnz.co.nz, and is republished with permission
A review of the Cyclone Gabrielle response found the emergency management response was not fit for purpose – and not good for media providing critical ‘real time’ coverage of the disaster. But one broadcaster that’s criticised officials for being overconfident and underprepared also downplayed the danger at the time.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The independent review led by former Police Commissioner Mike Bush found Civil Defence officials were not prepared for Cyclone Gabrielle and were overwhelmed by its severity, speed and scale.
The review released this week also concluded they were “overconfident” and took a best-case scenario approach rather than preparing for the worst.
That review – which didn’t pull punches either – also had a thing or two to say about the media’s disaster response.
The news media were caught out by the downpour on a holiday weekend – and the severity of it wasn’t highlighted in warnings by forecasters.
When the water rose rapidly, the most useful information ended up on social media rather than traditional media channels – at least in the earlier stages.
Last Tuesday Mike Bush told RNZ that emergency planners had responded well to previous emergencies in Hawke’s Bay.
“That doesn’t mean that you can take a more relaxed approach to looming crisis,” he said.
Most of the report’s conclusions were specific to the emergency management organisations and hierarchies – and not the media. But some broadcasters – including TVNZ and RNZ – are ‘lifeline utilities’ obliged by law to offer coverage during a disaster.
The Bush report does say “the overall lack of a common operating picture . . . made it hard for staff with public information functions to respond to requests from government, communities and media.”
It also said overstretched staff had “little understanding of national communication assets and their role as lifeline communications channels, with the result that national media was arguably underutilised.”
The resulting communications “were seen by many in the community as generic, lacking timeliness” and “overly focused on social media as opposed to mainstream media channels.”
“I saw their comms. To me it was all just the usual Civil Defence spam,” the report quotes one person as saying.
“I got more from watching TV than from the councils,” said another.
“Why did the Council say to see Facebook for info when there was no bloody power? Why didn’t they just use the national media for more location specific info?” another complained.
They did – but evidently, national and local media alike didn’t always get news people could use from authorities.
The Bush report said NEMA should now develop “pre-planned emergency communications for use across multiple channels, along with clear criteria for the use of emergency mobile alerts.”
The report said alerts communicated by national media “could have given some families and communities more time to prepare” and “ driven a heightened communications tempo which improved public understanding of the potential seriousness of the event.”
One of the starkest quotes from those affected was this one:
“We got helicoptered out after hours on the roof and with nothing to our names. We were taken to Napier and as we drove there, I could see people out mowing their lawns, with no idea of what was going on. It was surreal.”
Clearly the message did not get through to them.
Heather du Plessis Allan Photo: NZME
Media respond to report with blunt questions
“Is it true that when people were ringing Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence emergency management in the days before the flooding, they were told they were overreacting?” Newstalk ZB host Heather du Plessis Allan asked Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management joint committee chair Hinewai Ormsby, last Tuesday.
“In the findings, he’s picked up things that relate to that. And so it’s really important that we take those learnings and make sure that we build a stronger system going forward,” Ormsby replied.
That lack of clarity about why it happened in the first place disturbed du Plessis-Allan’s ZB colleague Kerre Woodham.
“To hear that word-soup from the chair of the Civil Defense response unit in Hawke’s Bay . . . are we better off coming up with a neighborhood plan and relying on each other?” she asked her listeners on Wednesday.
But when Cyclone Gabrielle was gathering strength in mid- February – and already caning Coromandel – Woodham was one of several voices on Newstalk ZB condemning over-reaction.
Kate Hawkesby was also dismissive of other media raising the alarm early on the 14th of February.
“It may well be coming in later on, but if it doesn’t then they have really done their chips on these warnings. One of the headlines I saw was Newshub saying: ‘There will be destruction.’ Have you ever seen anything more anxiety-inducing in your life?”
Mike Hosking. Photo: screenshot / Newstalk ZB
Mike Hosking took it up a notch knocking the experts who appeared on her show.
“What we’ve done is whip ourselves into this extraordinary frenzy. I’m listening to you with Mike from the MetService talking about 100k winds like a hurricane. Anyone who has lived in Wellington knows 100k wind is a breezy day. You’re still outside at the cafe,” he said.
Woodham and Hawkesby also criticised the closure of schools in Hawke’s Bay.
“Did we reeeeally need to shut all the schools? I reserve the right to be wrong – if it comes in like a wrecking ball this afternoon, then, you know, they were right. Maybe it was just a bit slower than we thought . . . but I don’t know,” said Hawkesby (who is now no longer on air at Newstalk ZB).
She also claimed it was evidence the country had become “paranoid and soft.”
Clearly the comments didn’t age well.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority eventually ruled the comments were “dismissive and insensitive” but that ZB listeners wouldn’t have been misled. But that was only because of regular news bulletins that were reliable, accurate feedback from affected listeners and interviews with experts who were taking the situation seriously (even if ZB hosts weren’t always giving them the same respect).
Emergency management officials criticised as over-confident and underprepared by the Bush report will have found it pretty galling to also be accused of that now by a broadcaster whose hosts were downplaying Cyclone Gabrielle stridently on the air even as it was intensifying.
Reflecting on the Mike Bush report this week on his daily ZB news podcast, Mike Hosking’s sidekick Glenn Hart said it should have asked questions about “prevention rather than the response.”
“I feel like the weather forecasting is terrible and it’s never accurate. Sack the lot of them if you’re basing their job performance on anything. They don’t know what they’re doing,” he said last Wednesday.
It was just a tongue-in-cheek throwaway line, but interesting when you consider it wasn’t the forecasters who failed to warn Cyclone Gabrielle was coming – and the emergency response of ZB front-rank hosts wasn’t entirely fit-for-purpose either when it was on the way.
By Niva Chittock and Danielle Clent of rnz.co.nz, and is republished with permission
Foodstuffs says its Wānaka New World stores have decided to stay open across Easter Weekend in breach of the holiday’s trading laws.
Almost all shops across the motu were required to close on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday, unless they were deemed essential or had an exemption, the Labour Inspectorate said.
But New World Wānaka and New World Three Parks were trading as usual, without an exemption or essential store status.
Both stores had previously been fined for trading on Good Friday, in 2021 and 2022, in breach of the Shop Trading Hours Act.
“Wānaka is part of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, and while Queenstown has an exemption to trade on Good Friday which dates back to the mid-1980s, Wānaka isn’t included in that exemption,” Foodstuffs spokesperson Emma Wooster said.
“With tens of thousands of visitors expected to come into town over the holidays, the two New World stores in Wānaka took the decision to open throughout the Easter holidays, including Good Friday and Easter Monday,” she said.
Wānaka was hosting its iconic air show, Warbirds Over Wānaka, for the first time in six years, following pandemic-related cancellations.
“Their motivation is to make sure the local community and visitors alike, have the convenience of access to food and groceries from a full-service supermarket throughout the break,” Wooster said.
Neither store would be selling alcohol on Good Friday or Easter Sunday, she said.
In January 2023, MBIE put out a statement criticising the stores for ignoring warnings.
“Despite MBIE reminding the two stores and Foodstuffs’ South Island chief executive in early April 2022, the two stores opened on Good Friday, which was against the law,” Labour Inspectorate regional manager Loua Ward said then.
“As a leader and major employer in the retail sector, it is extremely disappointing to see a prominent group like Foodstuffs South Island’s having two owner/operators blatantly choosing to ignore their legal responsibilities and focus on profit making.
Confusion over shop restrictions
Labour Inspectorate compliance and enforcement head Simon Humphries said there was often confusion around the Easter trading restrictions and which shops could open.
There were three ways shops could get an exemption, he said.
“Shops are allowed to open if they’re classed as an essential shop or business permitted to trade, then some shops may have an area exemption, and finally councils might put local policies in place within their area,” Humphries said.
Essential shops or businesses allowed to open included dairies, petrol stations, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and barbers.
Area exemptions were generally given in tourist areas such as Taupō or Queenstown, he said, though there had been calls to overhaul the trading hours across the motu.
The Inspectorate would not release the number of complaints or what enforcement action it had taken until after the restricted trading period ends, Humphries said.
Wānaka Business Chamber general manager Glenn Peat said it was time the town’s Easter trading restrictions were re-evaluated.
“The trading has been positive, it’s been good to see a lot of people around town. There is a lot of traffic around, I have to say that – it’s something we’re not used to,” he said.
“There is some trading that does go on, but at the same time there are equally opportunities that are missed, so that would definitely be something we need to look into.
“You can look at the Easter trading hours two different ways. Obviously it would be nice if trading was as per usual, but at the same time, we have to respect the laws that are in place and it does give the families of those businesses and their staff members an opportunity to join in on Warbirds as well,” Peat said.
Record crowds for the air show and perfect weather was helping foot traffic around businesses, he said.
“There is the pre and post of the event too, which certainly does help when you’ve got thousands of people in and around town.”
But it was not just Wānaka that would benefit from it, Peat said.
“It’s fantastic to see so many people around and I’m sure that the local economy, which does include Queenstown, because all the accommodation providers and hospitality over there, would be seeing an influx too.”
The Chamber thought it was time for a renewed debate around the holiday trading exemptions, he said.
“It’s not for us to decide, it’s got to be something that we can look into and advocate for with the Queenstown Lakes District Council. Remember, this is the first time we’re hosting Warbirds in six years and a lot’s changed in six years, maybe the regulations haven’t kept up.”
Police say illegal street racing took place across Auckland Saturday night.
The men were taken into custody on Henderson Valley Road in West Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
About 200 vehicles were involved, splitting into smaller groups across Penrose, Onehunga and Westgate.
Police said just after midnight, a car with three people was seen running a red light on Bush Road in Albany. The driver then fled from police.
Three young men were taken into custody when the vehicle eventually stopped on Henderson Valley Road in West Auckland.
The trio, aged 16,18 and 20, are due to appear in court this week.
Two others were taken into custody, but not charged, after a different vehicle was seen driving dangerously earlier in the evening, and then spotted in Karaka about 3am.
The page was launched on March 28 and had a target of $20,000 to be raised.
“I am fundraising for my brother Kelei Maea Latu’s funeral”,
Latu was in Australia to join Tongans who were in that country under the Seasonal Worker Program.
He was sent to work in a farm in Mildura before relocating to Melbourn, the GoFoundMe message read.
“Unfortunately, a tragedy accident happened and police had discover (sic) Kelei’s deceased body. Police are still investigating. This gofundme is to raise money in the hope of taking my brother’s deceased body back home. This is a devastating time for the family of sudden death of Kelei and wishes to reunite with him one last time before sending him off. Your help will be very much appreciated”, a sister of the deceased”, ‘Elenoa Fifita wrote.
