The Ministry of Health chief executive Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola denies claims there is a recent surging number of deaths of new-born babies in Tonga.
Ministry of Health Chief Executive Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola
Dr ‘Akau’ola said he was aware of the allegations being shared on social media.
He said the Ministry compared this year’s number of deaths to those recorded during the last couple of years. The results suggested a decline in this year’s number of deaths.
He said the number of overall deaths from January to July 2019 was more than 360 while less than 170 deaths were recorded during the same period this year 2022.
He was responding to questions from local journalists during a press conference on Friday.
A journalist said the head pediatrician Dr Siaosi ‘Aho reportedly said two babies dead, and their mothers were unvaccinated.
Dr ‘Akau’ola told the journalist to confirm her concerns with Dr ‘Aho.
The chief executive’s response came following allegations which had been widely spread on internet by some Tongan Anti-Covid vaccine conspiracy theory Facebook groups.
He said he has yet to receive any complaint from the public regarding any death related matters.
Dr ‘Akau’ola said before a deceased’s body was cleared and released their family agreed with the Ministry to the conditions and results of their deaths.
He believed members of the extended family at some stages made allegations on social media about the cause of deaths.
Dr ‘Akau’ola said there is a legal process available for the public to launch a complaint if they wanted to find out the cause of death.
President Joe Biden says the US government will forgive US$10,000 in student loans for many debt-saddled college graduates, a move that could boost support for his fellow Democrats in the November congressional elections but also may fuel inflation.
US President Joe Biden (file photo). Photo: AFP
Cancelling the debt will free up hundreds of billions of dollars for new consumer spending that could be aimed at homebuying, according to economists who said this would add a new wrinkle to the country’s inflation fight.
“Earning a college degree or certificate should give every person in America a leg up in securing a bright future. But for too many people, student loan debt has hindered their ability to achieve their dreams – including buying a home, starting a business or providing for their family,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
The White House said the country’s “skyrocketing cumulative federal student loan debt – US$1.6 trillion and rising for more than 45 million borrowers – is a significant burden on America’s middle class.”
Many Democrats had pushed for Biden to forgive as much as $50,000 per borrower, but cheered his action.
Republicans, seeking to regain control of Congress in November, oppose the move, arguing it is unfair because it will disproportionately help people earning higher incomes.
“President Biden’s student loan socialism is a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed to save for college, every graduate who paid their debt, and every American who chose a certain career path or volunteered to serve in our Armed Forces in order to avoid taking on debt,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday.
US consumers carry a massive $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, most of it held by the federal government, the result of university tuition fees substantially higher than in most other rich countries.
Repayment pause extended
Biden’s administration will extend a Covid-19 pandemic-linked pause on student loan repayment to the end of the year, while forgiving $10,000 in student debt for borrowers whose income falls below $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for a married couple, the White House said.
The forgiveness could impact eight million borrowers automatically, the Department of Education said, while others would need to apply for forgiveness.
The government is also forgiving up to $20,000 in debt for recipients of federal Pell Grants, some six million students from low-income families, and is proposing a new rule that protects some income from repayment plans and forgives some loan balances after 10 years of repayment, the Education Department said.
Cutting $10,000 in federal debt for every student would amount to $321 billion of federal student loans and eliminate the entire balance for 11.8 million borrowers, or 31 percent of them, a New York Federal Reserve study shows.
Borrower balances have been frozen since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, with no payments required on most federal student loans since March 2020.
Inflation impact
A senior Biden administration official told reporters the student loan forgiveness plan could benefit up to 43 million student borrowers, completely cancelling the debt for some 20 million.
But after 31 December the government will resume requiring payment on remaining student loans that were paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. The official said this move would offset any inflationary effects of the forgiveness. Payment resumptions could even have a dampening effect on prices, the official said.
The White House view contrasts with that of former Treasury secretary Larry Summers, who said on Twitter that debt relief “raises demand and increases inflation. It consumes resources that could be better used helping those who did not, for whatever reason, have the chance to attend college. It will also tend to be inflationary by raising tuitions.”
Moody’s analytics chief economist Mark Zandi sided with the White House, saying the resumptionof billions of dollars per month in student loan payments “will restrain growth and is disinflationary.”
Small business sales have fallen to their lowest level since September last year, as consumers feel the rising cost of living.
Inflation is continuing to hit small businesses. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The latest Xero small business index shows sales in July fell 1.5 percent year-on-year, down from 4.4 percent growth in June.
At the same time, inflationary pressures continued for small firms, as wage growth was above 6 percent – with construction and hospitality leading the growth.
Xero country manager Bridget Snelling said inflation also meant the fall in sales was much worse than it appeared.
“Inflation in Aotearoa has hit 7.3 percent. This suggests the volume of goods and services sold has actually been much lower and price increases are hiding this real drop in sales.
“We estimate the real sales drop for small businesses is closer to negative 8.8 percent year-on-year.”
Snelling said falling sales and rising wages created pressure for firms.
“For wage growth to be sustainable, we really need to see it matched by high sales.
“We want to be a high wage economy, absolutely, but this is only really going to last if sales can grow and we can match that high wage rate with a growth in sales.
“At the moment small businesses will really be feeling the pinch, still paying high wages but getting less money in the door.”
Snelling said the falling sales was a clear sign that small businesses needed support from people shopping locally.
Small business jobs also continued to grow, with 4.7 percent more jobs in small firms than there were a year ago.
It was the third successive month that jobs growth was above the long term average of 3 percent year-on-year.
“Job growth means more Kiwis are choosing to work in small businesses. We’re in the middle of a significant labour shortage and it’s encouraging to see small businesses are continuing to compete against larger corporations.”
The CEO of Air Vanuatu has determined that an airline policy which blocked local Ni-Vanuatu pilots from captaining the airlines’ big aircrafts must be removed.
Air Vanuatu Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director ‘Atu Finau and Prime Minister Bob Loughman. Photo/Supplied
The move was made in response to the Prime Minister Bob Loughman’s concerning at lack of local Ni-Vanuatu Boeing 737 captains after meeting the airlines’ CEO ‘Atu Finau.
The reform was met with some resistance from what Finau had described as people in the industry who were supporters of the more than three decades controversial policy.
It followed with Finau sacking some senior officers at the airlines and repeated calls for him to attend Parliament as well as Cabinet Ministers’ visiting his office.
Finau told Kaniva News in an exclusive interview that the change was now at the hands of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He said the Authority told him there was nothing in the government’s airline regulation that blocked the processing of the changes.
The policy
A pilot with a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) qualification was able to Captain a Twin Otter.
However, the airlines at some stages decided to upgrade the level of qualification needed to become a captain of a Twin Otter.
The change required pilots to obtain a higher qualification called an Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) before they can become a captain and to fly the Boeing 737 at Air Vanuatu.
Finau said that since studying an ATPL license in New Zealand and Australia was expensive it meant the local Ni-Vanuatu pilots were disadvantaged by the policy.
“The level of their salaries could not afford pay for them to study the ATPL” he said.
He said the fees for the ATPL license was around AU$80,000 to $100,000.
“The best salaries in any airlines are the pilots and the bigger the aircraft they fly the higher their salaries.
“If they were allowed to captain the Boeing 737 with their CPL license it would give them salaries high enough to fund studying their ATPL license”.
Finau said the controversial policy has been there for about 35 years now.
He said the policy meant, only pilots from Australia, who can afford to study the ATPL license, can captain the airlines’ Boeing 737.
PM first meeting
Finau said in his first meeting with the Prime Minister, Loughman asked him why couldn’t any local Vanuatu pilots allow to fly the airlines’ Boeing 737.
He said after the meeting he studied the airlines’ policy and found out the reason was because of the ATPL license guideline.
Finau said, as far as he knew, the two biggest airliners in the region Fiji and PNG did not have such controversial policy.
He said the policy had been created by people who were not Ni-Vanuatu and it was based on the assumption the locals could not do such highly professional jobs safely and skilfully.
“I have heard about this many times before in Tonga and in the region”.
Finau said he did a thorough research on the matter before he made the condlusion that the airline’s policy must be changed.
“I spent time researching it and also I had time talking to other airlines in the regions including Fiji and PNG”.
“Those two airliners had nothing to block the pilots from promoting with the CPL license up to the Boeing 737s”.
The airlines has four levels of aircraft including the smallest plane which was the Islander, twin otter which required two pilots to fly. The next level was ATR which has 72 seats than the Boeing 737, the largest aircraft.
The policy meant, all pilots in Vanuatu who did not hold a ATPL license cannot be promoted to the ATR aircraft.
Finau described the condition as unnecessary.
“It’s like a cleaner who was awarded with a qualification from a University. Their educational background was too high for the job”.
Tongan close-knit value
Fīnau said his change to the policy affected the domestic flights because more pilots were needed but they have to wait until the policy was changed.
There was a push for him to hire more pilots from Australia to fulfil the shortage of the number of the domestic pilots.
He said the change also had caused a public outrage after he sacked his pilot operation general manager.
His replacement came in but they clashed after Finau rejected a suggestion from him regarding a new audit flight.
Finau said the tension within the airline was leaked to social media and some people tend to take it for granted.
He said a letter of complaint against him was sent to the Prime Minister, the parliament and Civil Authorities in Australia.
He said he was called to parliament twice and he met with some Cabinet Ministers and a parliamentary committee but he was confident the Vanuatu authorities now understand his position and what he was fighting for.
“I told those who did not believe in the change see I am Tongan and I am doing something for your benefit yet you did not appreciate it”. Finau said.
“This is for you not me. If you do not want it pay me all the money I suppose to have according to my contract with the airline and I will leave”.
Finau said he was thinking about the Tongan close-knit value.
“When we are competing regionally, or internationally we always support our Tongans and any opportunity which could open a door for out Tongans we will fight for them.
“We have seen system being created in our regions by people who colonialised the Pacific islands only for their advantage”.
Tonga’s new regulations for foreign investors benefits government and the locals, says the Minister of Trade and Economic Development, Dr Viliami Uasikē Lātū.
Telēsia Mā’asi (L) handing the petition to Parliament Deputy Chief Clerk Dr Sione Vikilani. Photo/Tonga Parliament
He was responding to a petition criticising the government’s policies. Petitioners say the new regulations endanger future generations by potentially taking away jobs from local people.
Hon. Lātū told Kaniva News the petition was misleading.
He said investors could only apply to invest in the “processing and marketing” of produce and services they were allowed to do in the kingdom.
Revised regulations were approved by the government this month under the Foreign Investment Act 2020. They have yet to be made available online. Parliament has been contacted for a copy.
The Foreign Investment Regulations 2021 allow foreign investors to do business in Tonga, but they must have a local business partner and hold a limited business license.
An overseas investor cannot carry on business in Tonga that is prohibited under the regulations as a prohibited or reserved activity.
The overseas investors also cannot carry on a business activity in Tonga which is “a restricted activity unless the overseas person satisfies the conditions prescribed by the Regulations for carrying on that activity.”
The regulations list retail sales of non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco on the “restricted list”. Foreign investors are expected to have at least $250,000 in paid up capital for companies in the form of cash from the operating date, to be fully brought into Tonga within the implementation period.
Activities such as growing of fruit bearing vegetables in the form of squash and growing of perennial crops in the form of pandanus, growing of kava and silviculture and other forestry activities relating to paper mulberry and scandal wood are also listed as restricted.
Foreign businesses can only invest in these areas if they have at least $250,000 to contribute or paid up capital for companies in the form of cash from the operating date, to be fully brought into Tonga within the implementation period.
Global trend
The government’s Fishing chief executive Dr Tu’ikolongahau Halafihi said the policy was in line with a “global trend” that had proved beneficial in New Zealand, the US and UK.
The Trade and Economic Development’s chief executive Distaquaine Pele Tu’ihalamaka said Asians in Tonga counted as foreign investors who hold valid Tongan passports and could do whatever business they wanted.
She said the policy was aimed at bringing investors from overseas who could compete with these Tongan businesses in areas like retail sales.
“Say for example we can get an investor from New Zealand who wants to set up just one Pak N Save store here in Tonga that’s enough and they will bring new technologies and things we could not get here in Tonga,” she said.
The petitioners
Critics of the policy believed otherwise.
The Tongan National Workers’ Council claimed the Minister’s “processing and marketing”-only campaign was untrue.
They claimed this was not specified in the regulations.
“The government will open an opportunity to allow foreign investors to come to Tonga and grow squash pumpkins, pandanus plants, kava, paper-mulberry, scandal wood and operate retail convenience stores”, the council said in Tongan.
They said Tonga’s children would be badly affected by this.
“There is nothing in the regulations which state that foreign investors can only invest in the processing and marketing of the produce,” the council said.
“If these investors come and do what we could afford to do what are we going to do then? Where will our children end up at in the future?”
A petition by the policy’s opponents was submitted to Parliament yesterday, August 23.
The Parliament said the petitioners were unhappy with the government’s Foreign Investment regulations for 2021.
It is understood copies of the petitions were also submitted to the king’s office as well as the Prime Minister.
The petitioners wanted authorities to scrap the policy which allows investors to operate retail sale stores as well as growing squash pumpkin and perennial crops.
The Minster of Infrastructure Sevenitiini Toumo’ua has confirmed the ousted former Minister of Finance Tatafu Moeaki is taking a new project management role in his Ministry.
Minister of Finance Tatafu Moeaki
Hon. Toumo’ua described Moeaki’s role as a significant “milestone” set up by an accomplished person.
“I am happy to publicly announce that Tatafu Moeaki is currently working here for the Ministry”, Hon Toumo’ua told Television Tonga news in Tongan.
He praised Moeaki highly during his interview with the television and said the former Minister has a lot of experience necessary to fill the role.
Moeaki was unseated by Parliament earlier this month and lost his ministerial position after he was convicted of electoral bribery.
He, and two other Cabinet Ministers appealed their conviction, but the Court of Appeal rejected it.
Two other Cabinet Ministers who also lost their Parliamentary seats were Deputy Prime Minister Poasi Tei, Member for Tongatapu 6 and Minister for MEIDECC; and Sangster Saulala, Member for Tongatapu 7 and Minister of Internal Affairs.
The news came after the Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku was strongly criticised for his failure to use his power provided by Clause 51 (b) of the Constitution, which gave him the discretion to immediately stand down the Ministers and potentially save taxpayers money.
After their conviction they continued on as Ministers and MPs before they were unseated three months later, all with full pay and entitlements.
A woman believed to be a family member of the two children whose remains were found in suitcases is in South Korea, Seoul police said on Monday.
Police are still awaiting post-mortem examination results to identify the human remains found in a suitcase at a Manurewa address in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Jonty Dine
The woman, a Korean-born New Zealander, arrived in South Korea in 2018 and had no record of departure since then, a police officer told Reuters.
Her whereabouts and whether she had other relatives with her when she arrived in South Korea were not immediately known.
“New Zealand police had requested confirmation whether the person who might be related to a crime case was in South Korea,” the police officer said, adding that given her past address and age, she could be the mother of the kids.
New Zealand police launched a homicide inquiry in Auckland this month after the remains of the children were found by a family going through the contents of a storage locker they had purchased unseen.
The children were aged between 5 and 10 years and had been dead for some time, New Zealand police have said.
The family who found the bodies were not connected to the deaths.
Tūpī is revered as a member of Tonga’s heroic national rugby union team which defeated the Wallabies in a 1973 test.
It is understood the former ‘Īkale Tahi lock died in a hospital in Brisbane on Friday after an illness.
The 1973 ‘Ikale Tahi team was once described by the international media as “an unknown Tongan Rugby Union Team “ which toured Australia to play two tests with the Wallabies.
Tonga won the second match 16-11 and it went down as one of Australia’s worse loss in Rugby history.
Tūpī joined His Majesty’s Armed Forces before he moved with his family to Australia.
The family is expected to farewell his body on Saturday, a family member told Kaniva News.
Tūpī’s death comes after Fatai Kefu, the current ‘Ikale Tahi coach’s father and the centre player in the 1973 Ikale Tahi team, passed away in 2013 in Brisbane, Australia.
Tūpī is survived by his wife and their six children.
The government will allow some sectors to pay skilled migrant workers less than the new median wage requirements in a bid to address workplace shortages across the country.
Photo: RNZ/ Liu Chen
It is also doubling the Working Holiday Scheme cap for 2022/23 and extending holiday makers’ visas.
Announcing the changes today, Immigration Minister Michael Wood said they were aimed at providing immediate relief to those businesses hardest-hit by the global worker shortage.
“We have listened to the concerns of these sectors, and worked with them to take practicable steps to unlock additional labour,” he said.
“We know these measures will help fill skills gaps, as businesses work towards more productive and resilient ways of operating.”
Businesses that were hiring skilled migrant workers in a number of key sectors would be exempt, for a limited period, from the new median wage requirements.
Wood said this would keep wage requirements during a transition period more in line with what they were under the old immigration settings.
“When we launched the immigration rebalance we heard from key sectors they would need time to transition to the new rules,” Wood said.
“We have worked urgently alongside industry to develop sector agreements for the aged care, seafood, meat processing, construction and snow and adventure tourism industries that will be put in place from today.”
Each of the agreements also included expectations for improvement, Wood said, including the implementation of workforce transition plans and industry transformation plans.
“Performance against these will be monitored and feed into reviews and decisions about future access to migrants below the median wage,” Wood said.
To address the shortage of casual workers more generally, the government would temporarily increase access to the Working Holiday Scheme which it said would allow 12,000 additional working holiday makers to come to the country.
Those already here on working holiday visas expiring between 26 August of this year and 31 May 2023 would have them extended by six months.
And people who previously held a working holiday visa but who missed out on travelling to New Zealand due to the pandemic would also be issued with new visas from October, allowing them to enter New Zealand by 31 January 2023 and remain in the country for 12 months.
Covid-19 had brough the world to a “standstill”, Wood said, and that was particularly being felt by the hospitality and tourism sectors, which traditionally relied on international workers.
“Since our borders have fully reopened we are seeing the return of working holiday makers with approximately 4,000 already in-country and over 21,000 have had their application to work here approved,” he said.
“These changes will have a positive impact on the workforce, and will make the most of the increase in working holiday makers we expect to welcome during the peak summer season.”
