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Government has learned nothing from the past in its handling of Lulutai Twin Otter purchase

By
Kalino Latu and Philip Cass
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KANIVA COMMENT: The government’s purchase of a De Havilland Twin Otter has stirred up concerns among Parliamentarians about the level of transparency surrounding the deal.

Unfortunately, Tongans do not have to look very far to find  examples of previous governments not being completely open about major purchases. Sometimes, as in the case of the MV Niuvakai, the purchase has led to a major financial disaster.

Unfortunately, the government of Prime Minister Hu’akvameiliku does not seem to have learned any lessons from the past.

As we have said repeatedly, governments must not just do the right thing, they must be seen to do it. If they do not,  people may lose faith in the government if it cannot reassure them that it is acting properly.

If they do not, then people may fear that financial disasters like the one surrounding the purchase of the MV Niuvakai may be in danger of occurring again.

In the end the story of the government’s dealings over the MV Niuvakai came to light, but by then it was too late.

Readers will remember that the Tongan government bought the Niuvākai, then called the St Therese, in February 2014.

In 2019 the Ombudsman reported that a New Zealand-based marine surveyor had identified 17 deficiencies in the MV Niuvākai before Tonga’s national shipping line paid three times what the 34 year- old vessel was worth.

Former Ombudsman ‘Aisea H. Taumoepeau said that in February 2014, Pacific Royale Shipping sold the vessel  to the Friendly Island Shipping Agency for TP$1.5 million/NZ$936,500. 

The Ombudsman said FISA’s board had failed to conduct a proper evaluation of the vessel.

The vessel was bought because it was thought it could carry Tongan produce for sale in Fiji and Samoa.

However, there were not enough goods to export and the MV Niuvakai became a financial liability.

The vessel was unable to lift the 20 foot (six metre) containers typically used for shipping with its deck crane and was deemed to be unprofitable on voyages lasting more than three days.

The purchase of the 35 year old ship was surrounded by controversy, not least because it was surrounded by financial complications.

In March 2014 Kaniva News published details of an e-mail by former Finance Minister Lisiate ‘Akolo which revealed that the Tongan government had urged a potential buyer of the former St Theresa to help pay the owners’ loan with their bank in New Zealand.

The vessel was owned by the Ramanlal brothers, who were close friends of the late King George V.

‘Akolo asked Mosese Uele, director of EZI World Cargo in Auckland, to pay  10-15 percent in advance for the Ramanlals, as part of a settlement payment to their bank.

However, ‘Akolo later admitted the ship could only make a profit if it was restricted to voyages of three days.

Calculations based on the cost of fuel, operational costs and cargo carrying capacity meant it could only profitably sail to neighbouring countries like Fiji, Samoa and American Samoa, Niue and Wallis and Futuna.

The Friendly Islands Shipping agency created a new company called Tonga Exports Shipping Agency Limited (TESAL) to operate the MV Niuvakai.

FISA’s former CEO, Vaka Utapola Vi, told Kaniva News in 2014 that FISA only bought the former St Theresa because the price of  other ships they looked at, including one in the Caribbean, were  either too high or because it would have cost too much to bring them to Tonga.

When he was told a company in Auckland had turned down an offer to purchase the ship because it would lose money on voyages lasting longer than three days, Vi said FISA had tested the ship and he had recommended it.

The MV Niuvakai had had a troubled history since being bought by FISA.

In 2015 it was anchored in Vava’u for a month because of a mechanical failure.

It later became stranded on a reef.

All of this might have been avoided if the purchase of the MV Niuvakai had been open to public scrutiny and Parliamentary debate.

The current government would be wise to be fully open with every aspect of the purchase of Lulutai’s new aircraft. That way it will avoid what it doubtless regards as unwanted – but in our view completely understandable – speculation about the purchase of the aircraft and the government’s financial dealings.

Tongan woman who dies after becoming trapped in burning ute in Sydney laid to rest

By
Kaniva Staff
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The woman who died after becoming trapped in the back of a burning ute following a horrific collision was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Sydney.

Heart-wrenching tributes are flooding onto social for the ‘humble and loving’ victim of the fatal head-on crash between two utes in south-west Sydney on September 11

Her relatives and friends remembered her for her “Countless Deeds Of Kindness  and “Always Giving Never Expecting any Favors In Return”.

Sela Maumalanga was a passenger in the ute when it collided with a dual cab vehicle on Menangle Road at Douglas Park, in Sydney‘s south-west, at 4.20am a week ago.

Her uncle Peni Tu Itupou struggled out of the ute with help from witnesses and was taken to hospital with ‘significant injuries’, the Daily Mail reported.

But the damage to the ute prevented those on the scene from pulling Ms Maumalanga free.

The ute burst into flames and Ms Maumalanga, 37, died in the vehicle. 

The other driver, the only occupant of his vehicle, suffered only arm injuries.

Ms Maumalanga was an admired and beloved member of Sydney’s Tongan community, which was rocked by her sudden passing.

‘Sissy, I’m so sorry no one [could] get you out. I’m sorry I was not there with you,’ a loved one wrote on Facebook. 

‘Wake up sis, I don’t want to let you go,’ she wrote.

‘You never changed,’ another added.

‘So humble and loving with a pure heart of gold. Your smile and laughter was so infectious, you made everyone feel loved.’ 

‘The beautiful moments you shared with us will never be forgotten,’ a third wrote.

‘Your countless deeds of kindness, always giving never expecting any favours in return.’

Friends also added to the tributes as they came to terms with the shock death. 

‘Fly high beautiful,’ one wrote.

Ms Maumalanga’s family-oriented nature was clear from the many tributes.

‘No matter how busy we were with our own little family you were always checking up on us,’ one wrote.

‘She always checked up on me and the kids. A beautiful soul taken too soon,’ another friend said.

‘Thank you for being the only one who continued to always check up on my kids,  a third wrote.

A GoFundMe has since been started with $7,565 raised in four days. 

‘She was a ray of positivity and she will be missed by everyone,’ it read.

NSW Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the cause of the crash is under investigation.

Ōtāhuhu murder case: Sosaia Vaitohi, Methuselah Talakai sentenced for death of Alec Moala

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Craig Kapitan of the New Zealand Herald

Two Crips gang members who killed a father of three in a shotgun ambush outside a South Auckland home – shooting him in the back at close range, after having already inflicted a fatal wound to his torso – remained stand-offish today as they were each handed life sentences.

“Neither of you express any remorse for what you have done,” Justice Sally Fitzgerald told Sosaia Vaitohi and Methuselah Talakai as they sat in the dock in the High Court at Auckland.

She ordered Vaitohi – who wore a jumper emblazoned with the words “blue cartel”, mumbling insults to the judge throughout the hearing – to serve a minimum period of imprisonment of 13 years and seven months before he will be eligible to apply for parole. Talakai was handed a minimum period of 13 years and six months.

The duo were found guilty by a jury in August of opening fire on Alec Junior Moala, 31, in the early morning hours of May 23, 2021. Vaitohi was accused of firing three shots, the first of which missed the victim, while Talakai was found to be the driver and the person most responsible for having instigated the fatal confrontation.

All three men were members of the Crips-affiliated gangs, although Moala, known as “Blacc8”, was in a different sub-group than his attackers.

The bad blood between the victim and the defendants had started a day earlier, after Talakai went to the same home for a drug deal set up by Moala’s cousin that fell through, prosecutors said during the trial. The cousin, Chanelle Mafileo, was allegedly slapped by Talakai as he demanded money from her.

Hours later, Moala got into a heated phone exchange with the defendants about the slap, prosecutors said.

During their five-week trial, Vaitohi claimed he wasn’t at the Ōtāhuhu property where Moala died and didn’t open fire on him. He took the witness box to testify on his own behalf, but the evidence was stymied by his refusal to answer any questions about his co-defendant, saying that doing so would be a violation of his gang code.

“To be clear, gang code will never be something that can come into this courtroom and override… the law,” Justice Fitzgerald said today, finding him to have committed contempt of court but declining to impose an additional sentence, in light of his life term.

The judge also noted that many witnesses in the case claimed memory loss when it came to that night and had to be declared hostile – meaning their initial police statements could be shared with the jury. She described the police statements as “remarkably consistent”.

“No doubt, because of your gang connections a number of witnesses were reluctant to come forward and give evidence,” she said.

The judge today had to warn Vaitohi that he would be taken to a cell and the sentencing would continue in his absence if he didn’t comply with her simple instructions, such as not loudly playing with the folding seat next to him. At one point she referenced his mother, who was pleading with him across the courtroom via pantomime to obey.

Defence lawyer Anoushka Bloem, who represented Vaitohi, has asked for a minimum term of imprisonment of 11 to 12 years, with an additional substantial discount due to his deprived background. He grew up in a gang environment – his father a Black Power member and his older brother in the Crips – and has been in state care and in prisons since a young age, according to a cultural report prepared for the hearing.

The judge allowed a modest six-month discount for Vaitohi’s background but declined to reduce Talakai’s sentence, noting that he seemed to come from a loving home. She weighed possible discounts against the need for denunciation in the wake of an increase in firearms offending in Auckland in recent years, she said.

The hearing started with a victim impact statement from Moala’s widow, who described through tears her struggle to find peace and forgiveness. The couple had been together 16 years and had three young children together.

“You took someone that meant the world to my family,” she said. “My now 9-year-old daughter… always wanted to ask you, ‘Why did you kill my daddy?’

“You will never know the pain you have caused my children and I.”

Vaitohi leaned back with his arms spread over the backs of the two chairs next to him as the widow described her anguish. He wore sunglasses for a medical condition but showed no emotion as she spoke.

Waiting outside the courtroom, a larger-than-usual presence of uniformed police officers waited for the hearing to end.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.

Covid 19 wage subsidy sentence: Uatesoni Filimoehala created bogus company to get $120k payout

By
Kaniva Staff
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By  Craig Kapitan of the New Zealand Herald

A financially strapped father-of-five who created a fake company in order to defraud the Government of more than $120,000 in Covid-19 wage subsidies has been sentenced to two years and three months’ imprisonment.

Uatesoni Filimoehala had sought home detention as he appeared in Auckland District Court today on four counts of dishonestly taking or using a document.

Judge Robyn von Keisenberg rejected the idea – noting, among other things, that his promise he could pay $20,000 back by Monday appeared to have no basis in reality given his inability or reluctance to pay much smaller instalments in recent months.

“It is evident that offending against the State is not victimless,” von Keisenberg said, quoting an appeal decision issued two weeks ago in which another wage subsidy scammer tried unsuccessfully to have his prison sentence tossed. “…Where the offending involves abuse of a special scheme, particularly one established to assist people in a time of emergency or crisis, this will be aggravating.”

Filimoehala registered 42 Construction as a business in April 2020, just weeks into New Zealand’s first nationwide Covid-19 lockdown and shortly after the wage subsidy scheme became operational.

Within hours he made a first subsidy application, naming himself and his brother as employees, according to court documents. He used an alias, calling himself Watson Filimoehala, to hide his bankruptcy.

He successfully applied for wage subsidies six times over the next 17 months, receiving $126,532 in total. An additional attempt to receive $42,491 was unsuccessful. The employees he listed were actual people, but they didn’t ever work for the company. Some were receiving wage subsidies from their actual employers, court documents state.

Filimoehala pleaded guilty to the charges in Waitākere District Court in May.

During today’s hearing, defence lawyer Graeme Newell submitted a letter of apology as well as letters of support from the defendant’s wife and pastor. They described him as a loving father, a hard worker and a significant contributor to his church’s congregation.

“He’s accepted full responsibility,” Newell said, describing his client as highly remorseful and motivated to pay the money back.

During a sentence indication hearing earlier this year, former defence lawyer Lucy Qian said Filimoehala did not live a lavish lifestyle and his offending was driven by the desire to provide for his children. He had used some of the funds to pay contractors for bills on which he defaulted when he fell on hard times, she said but acknowledged her client couldn’t provide evidence of such payments.

Prosecutor Jessica Blythe, representing the Ministry of Social Development, noted today that Filimoehala faced several significant hurdles in his quest for home detention.

“It was highly pre-meditated offending,” she said of the long-term fraud, noting also that a pre-sentencing report writer recommended a custodial sentence due to Filimoehala’s “poor response” to a community-based sentence in 2014.

She also pointed to the sentencing of fellow wage subsidy fraudster Nathan Peter Irvine Downey, who was given a prison sentence out of Manukau District Court in August despite having paid back all of the nearly $200,000 he fleeced. He appealed that sentence but the effort was shot down in a decision dated September 15 by High Court at Auckland Justice Layne Harvey.

“Mr Downey’s offending involved repeated dishonesty of a system designed to help those most in need during that unprecedented time,” Justice Harvey wrote. “While this specific offending cannot continue to occur as the system no longer exists, abuse of a system of this kind still requires specific deterrence for the future.”

In Auckland District Court today, Judge von Keisenberg said she accepted Filimoehala’s claim he was remorseful. She reduced his overall sentence by 5 per cent for remorse and another 5 per cent for the hardship his imprisonment will cause his school-aged children.

But the judge also agreed with the prosecution that Filimoehala’s offending was highly premeditated.

It is common, although not mandatory, for sentences under two years to be served on home detention instead of prison. But Judge von Keisenberg noted today that even had the sentence been under two years she would have ordered the sentence be served in prison for purposes of deterrence, as was done in the Downey case.

The Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme was established by the Ministry of Social Development in March 2020 to help businesses and their staff survive the initial lockdown and those that followed over the next two years.

Because the fund was established hastily in response to an unfolding situation, the Government acknowledged it was relying on a “high trust” approach to applications. That was necessary, officials said at the time, to provide rapid relief to those who needed it.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.

Is Lulutai new aircraft purchase payments ‘true or false’, MP Tapueluelu says as new information emerges

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Tonga government says it has paid US$6.25 million into two accounts with the Bank of America and the Abu Dhabi  Commercial Bank for the purchase of a new aircraft for Lulutai Airlne.

Lulutai CEO Poasi Tei (L), MP Mateni Tapueluelu (Middle) and Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku

The concerns about the purchase came after the De Havilland Twin Otter failed to arrive in Tonga, despite a promise  by Lulutai airlines chief executive Poasi Tei that it was on its way.

The government has been accused of continuing to make decisions about Lulutai airlines “in secrecy”, failing to inform Parliament about its plan to buy the aircraft, the Prime Minister’s repeated refusal to answer questions from MPs and his failure to submit any financial statements for the Lulutai airlines to Parliament.

Tongatapu 4 MP Māteni Tapueluelu said the Prime Minister had confirmed in Parliament the government had purchased a new aircraft.

READ MORE:

The MPs questions were made in the wake of a report by Kaniva News in early August that the government was purchasing the Twin Otter aircraft. Our report also said the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs had awarded a tender for the maintenance of the aircraft.

Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, who was accused of providing misleading information in Parliament and failing to respond to questions from MPs, regarding the purchase of the aircraft,  finally confirmed the purchase in August.

Hon. Tapueluelu said he immediately asked Hon. Hu’akavameiliku to provide evidence of the purchase. He said the PM submitted a document which appeared to show the purchase was fully paid for.

“The validity of that document of evidence is still being questioned,” Hon. Tapueluelu said.

He said the document showed the payment was made into two different bank accounts.

It provided information which raised question about the validity of the bank accounts and whether they were indeed the correct digital characters and account code used by the banks, Hon. Tapueluelu said.

Kaniva News has seen a copy of what appears to be a letter of proof of purchase of the aircraft. It was sent from what appeared to be a financial controller at the Veiling Aircraft Leasing Ltd to CEO Tei on August 11.

The letter “acknowledged receipt of funds” and listed the details of its bank accounts and invoices thereunder. It included this information:

Invoice reference: VAL-06-2223 dated 5th May 2023.

Amount received: US$2,000,000.

Date credited: 1st June 2023.

Beneficiary name: Veiling Aircraft leasing Ltd.

Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Bank account Number:  AE02003001 1299357920002

The letter also listed the details of the second payment as follows:

Invoice reference: VAL-01-2324 dated 10th August 2023.

Amount received: USD$4, 50,000.

Date credited: 14 August 2023.

Account credited: McAfee & Taff Escrow Account (Acting as Escrow Agent for Veiling Aircraft leasing Ltd).

Bank Name : Bank of America.

Bank Account number: 07160156205

Veiling group has been listed as being founded in 2002 with a mission to offer “innovative and responsive solutions to our aviation partners by engaging, empowering and retaining the best talent to build strong and profitable relationships”.

The company describes itself as focused on key businesses in leasing, sales and remarketing of commercial airliners and executive jets, aircraft asset management and structured finance.

The Veling Group is headquartered in Mauritius, with offices in Dubai and team members in the USA, China, France and Russia.

Hon. Tapueluelu said this was why he criticised the Speaker and the Prime Minister’s move in Parliament to stop the Opposition from debating and responding to the Prime Minister’s written answers to queries about the aircraft purchase raised in his vote of no confidence motions last month. The Prime Minister survived the confidence motion.

Hon. Tapueluelu said if MPs had been allowed to debate the issue before the vote they may have helped clarify the lingering doubts which have been swirling in the community about the purchase of the aircraft.  

Aircraft expert comments

Hon. Tapueluelu’s comments came after Kaniva News contacted some experts in aircraft engineering and sales asking whether they had any knowledge about the aircraft Tonga had purchased.

Some who did not want to be identified, as they did not want to be seen as getting involved in the political side of this deal, said the aircraft was currently in China and had allegedly been grounded since 2018.

They said the five-year period of the aircraft’s inactivity from 2018 to 2023 should have been a concern for Tonga because aircraft parts had certain timeframes which require replacements when they were expired.

An expert said he was surprised after he learnt the money was paid in full while the aircraft was sitting in China.

He said that from his experience the payment should have been deposited part by part in a process in which Tonga should only deposit the last portions of payment when the aircraft arrived in the kingdom or departed China.

It is understood the aircraft was inspected as part of the purchase. However, it is believed the person who inspected the aircraft was sent by the aircraft agent.

“The interest of the agent is to sell the aircraft while at the same time Tonga should have done their own inspection to make sure the aircraft is safe according to New Zealand safety rules and requirements which apply in Tonga,” an expert said.

“Some parts of the aircraft are calendar time, meaning after two or three years they have to be replaced, no matter whether the aircraft is in operation or is being grounded”, the expert claimed.

He said Tonga should have been involved very closely with the inspection process to make sure it did not spend extra money to replace the parts once the aircraft arrived in Tonga.

“Tonga should know about this and should have asked the seller to replace such parts of the aircraft because the aircraft was not a brand new”.

In a letter dated August 14 sent to the Parliament’s Chief Secretary, Tei claimed Veiling and Lulutai Airlines had signed the “Sale and Purchase Agreement”.

He also said the aircraft would arrive in Tonga last month.

The expert said he had information that the aircraft would be dismantled and sent to Tonga by sea through a shipping container.

The expert said if this was true it was not a wise decision as the assembly process would take months.

Kaniva News has contacted Tei for comment this morning. He said he would update the media towards the end of the week.

We asked if he could provide us with a copy of the aircraft’s sale and purchase agreement and what step by step process he took before he paid the money for the aircraft.

We also asked him to tell us when will the aircraft arrive in Tonga.

Tei previously said he would update Kaniva News  after we questioned him about the arrival of the new aircraft, but we did not receive any further information.

Little re-affirms election promise to give some overstayers a chance to legalise their status

By
Philip Cass
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Minister of Immigration Andrew Little, has re-affirmed Labour’s commitment to allowing overstayers who meet the right criteria to apply to have their status legalised.

He said a re-elected Labour Government would pass legislation in its first 100 days to deliver a one-off regularisation programme for overstayers who had been in New Zealand for 10 years or more.

The Minister’s comments follow claims by Tongan  Lawyer Nalesoni Tupou that Labour was targeting Tongans for votes.

Tupou questioned the timing of the announcement of the amnesty policy  in the middle of the election campaign. He asked why Labour did not offer the amnesty while they were in government.

“When the general election will be over, and if the Labour would win, they need to submit a bill to the Parliament to be approved as a law to allow those who are overstayers to apply to make their staying in New Zealand legal,” Tupou said.

“It is a long story as Labour will need to lobby for some other political parties to support their amnesty promise to 10 year plus overstayers. It is unclear whether any political party would support Labour’s amnesty proposed policy.”

In response, a spokesperson for the Minister said: “We want to ensure every survivor of the Dawn Raids era who has never left New Zealand has the opportunity to apply for regularisation.”

“The best way to achieve that is to by passing legislation in Parliament, because this will give people confidence to come forward to apply.

“Labour has been upfront about the timelines on when we can deliver regularisation, which is after the election. The historic Dawn Raids Apology has happened since the last election and this is a new policy that Labour is offering, so it’s appropriate that the next step is voters are given the opportunity to have their say.”

“It is always true that any government needs to have a majority of votes in Parliament to be able to pass any legislation. Other parties’ policies are a matter for them (and the National Party has been clear that they do not support regularisation). What voters can be certainty about is Labour’s policy is to pass legislation in our first 100 days to deliver regularisation.”

During a radio debate organised by RNZ Pacific and the Pacific Media Network, Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni and the Greens’ Teanau Tuiono backed the amnesty.

Sepuloni said the amnesty announcement was not an attempt at baiting voters.

“You have to think about everything that has been expected of immigration New Zealand in the last couple of years and the immense pressure that they have been under,” Sepuloni said.

Green Party Pacific Peoples spokesperson Teanau Tuiano criticised Labour for taking too long.

“Amnesty for overstayers is more than timely. It is late,” she said. 

Both National and ACT have said they would not back an amnesty.

Key issues for Pasifika voters during the debate were health, with half of voters unable to afford dentistry and housing. RNZ said 11 percent of Pacific children lived in damp and mouldy homes, where they are 80 times more likely to develop acute rheumatic fever, which can lead to heart disease and death.

Education was also seen as a major issue, with National’s Fonoti Agnes Loheni claiming the government had failed Pasifika children. She said pass rates were declining and that only 14.5 percent of Pasifika students reach the minimum curriculum for Maths compared to the rest of the population of 41.5 percent.

Crime remained a serious problem, with almost half Pasifika children  likely to live around family violence. Pasifika children were twice as likely to be hospitalised due to assault, neglect and maltreatment.

All parties taking part in the radio debate said they were taking action on climate change.

Statement

In its formal  statement on migration policy, Labour said it was committed to honouring the historic Dawn Raids Apology to Pacific people by backing it up with action.

It said the amnesty would not be limited to any particular group, meaning people from all migrant communities would be able to apply to regularise their visa status.

Labour said it expected between 14,000 and 20,000 people could be eligible, including every victim of the Dawn Raids era who has never left New Zealand.

Successful applicants would have access to more Government services, such as higher education.

Children born in New Zealand to a parent who was an overstayer would have more certain access to work rights, education and other public services.

Voting

Early voting starts on Monday, October 2. People can vote at any voting place in New Zealand.

On election day, Saturday, October 14, all voting places will be open from 9am to 7pm.

Preliminary results will be released from 7pm as soon as the polls close.

There will be a total of 2600 voting places around the country.

For more information

Labour Migration Policy

Election 2023: What you need to know before voting

Minister of Health says ‘no substance’ in claims against PM made by anti-vaxxer doctor

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall says there is no substance to the claims made by anti-vaccination campaigner Dr Ate Moala against Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

New Zealand Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall (L) and Dr Ate Moala.

Dr Moala used an interview with the Tongan Facebook media group Radio Television Tonga International to attack the Prime Minister, accusing him of covering up “the truth” about the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr Moala claimed the Labour government and the Medical Council of New Zealand had forced doctors to lie to the public that the vaccines had no side effects.

Moala claimed that at one stage the government through the Ministry of Health and the Medical Council of New Zealand wrote and prohibited (“tapu”) all doctors from advising the public about the side effects of the vaccines.

She alleged doctors were told to advise the public that the Covid-19 vaccines were safe and they would work just like Panadol tablets.

Moala has links to anti-mandate groups the Freedom and Rights Coalition and New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science (NZDSOS).

She previously protested in anti-government marches against Covid-19 lockdowns organised by the Freedom & Rights Coalition’, which was founded by self-styled Bishop Brian Tamaki.

 In a statement to Kaniva News, the Minister of Health denied Dr Moala’s claims.

“At absolutely no time did the Government, or any of its health agencies, force or encourage health practitioners to lie to the public about vaccination,” Dr Verrall said.

“The vaccination programme has helped saved many lives and helped protect our health system.

“During the global pandemic, the Government, health agencies, and public health providers took a number of steps to help keep New Zealand and New Zealanders safe.

“We thank all New Zealanders, including the Tongan community, for their commitment over the course of the pandemic.”

For more information

Doctor with links to anti-vaccination fringe groups accuses Medical Council and PM of ‘blatant lying’ and covering up Covid 19 vaccine side effects

New aircraft might not arrive this month as planned amid claims Lulutai airlines operating ‘unlawfully and in the darkness’

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Tonga government has been accused of falsifying its budget to hide the investment of millions of pa’anga on Lulutai airlines and the purchase of a new aircraft.  

Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku. Photo/Screenshot (Radio FM87.5)

 The allegations were part of 46 motions made against the Prime Minister in Parliament earlier this month before the failed vote of no confidence.

Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku survived the no confidence motion, but has been accused of giving misleading responses to the motions.

The government was accused of hiding  behind the Companies Act to allow Cabinet Ministers to become members of Lulutai’s Board of Directors.  

Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku was accused of failing in his role as the chairperson of the airline’s board of directors by not responding to Parliamentary letters by people’s MPs asking for financial statements for the years 2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/23 and 2023 2024.

The government was accused of breaching the law by failing to submit to Parliament any financial statements for the airline since its inception in 2020.

The purchase of the De Havilland Canada Twin Otter aircraft was confirmed on August 14 when the Prime Minister revealed the news in Parliament after questions from MPs.

Kaniva News carried reports of the purchase earlier this year, along with the news that the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs had awarded a tender for the maintenance of the aircraft.

The Parliamentary complaints included allegations that the government planned during 2022/2023 fiscal year and before the fiscal year 2023/2024 to buy the Twin Otter for US$6.25 million or TP$14.7 million, but the government failed to include this in its annual budget submitted to the parliament.

The government allocated US$2 million or TP$4.4 million in the 2022/2023 fiscal year and the purchase was made during 2022/2023 fiscal year, but it was also not included in the estimate, the motions claimed.

The new aircraft was expected to arrive in Tonga this month, according to a letter to Parliament’s Chief Secretary from Lulutai’s chief executive Poasi Tei seen by Kaniva News.

Lulutai airlines could not be reached for comment. A reliable source said it could take a few more months before the aircraft could be flown to Tonga from China through Australia.

The motions said the lack of response from the Prime Minister after the Opposition requested a copy of Lulutai airlines’ financial statement 2023 / 2024 had breached parliamentary rules and Clause 51 of the Constitution which stipulates that “he shall answer all questions put to him by the Legislative Assembly and report everything in connection with his ministry”.

“The government’s Lulutai airlines operates in the darkness and will still be there until the government legalises it under the government’s Public Enterprises Act and plans for its future must be transparent”, the motions said in Tongan. 

The motions said the government’s registration of the airline under the Companies Act was unlawful because all government’s businesses must be registered under the Public Enterprises Act.

Under the Companies Act the government does not have to provide Lulutai’s financial statements to the public or Parliament.

The motions said this was wrong as the law said the government must be accountable for all public money and must submit financial statements to Parliament every year.

Registering the Lulutai Airlines under the Companies Act without also registering it under the Public Enterprises Act put the government in a position to hide its decision making duty, the motions said in Tongan.

The motions said the presence of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Sāmiu Vaipulu, the Minister of Civil Aviation Sevenitini Toumo’ua and the Minister of Finance Tiofilusi Tiueti on the board of directors of Lulutai Airlines constituted a conflict of interest.

If the airline was not registered under the Public Enterprises Act,  it was unlawful for the government to operate the company, the Opposition MPs’ motions said.

The Prime Minister responded in the House and insisted that the set up of the airlines was legal. He said it was a good investment for the people and an opportunity which allowed other partners like Australia and China to assist the service financially. He said Australia did this already. He said the airlines was audited and the result was good which was sent to the AOC.

He said that the money allocated for the aircraft purchase was inserted in the revised budget 2023/ 2024 ended in March, as gift and shares (“me’a’ofa fakangāue mo e ‘inasi”), implying that it was not written in the budget as money for the purchase of the aircraft.

Tributes flow to Tongatapu man allegedly killed by falling glass in shipping container

By
Kaniva Staff
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Tributes are continuing to flow from grieving family and friends of the Houma man  who allegedly died after sheets of glass fell on him inside a shipping container on Tongatapu last week.

Fekumi ki he Lelei Finau

A video shared to Facebook this afternoon by a person who goes by the name Pita Vuna showed an audio of a man being overheard as saying a container, also captured on the video, was where the victim allegedly died .

The victim was identified as 24-year-old Fekumi Ki he Lelei Finau.

According to the video, it appeared the large sheets of glass crashed on top of Finau inside the container.

It also appeared to show some people were with the deceased trying to unload the glass from the container before the tragedy struck.

Facebook posts earlier showed the family were absolutely devastated by the loss of Mr Finau, who was affectionately known as “Kumi”.

Family members and friends had rallied to support his parents and siblings.

“Kumi was a really great guy, really likeable and heaps of fun to be around”, a commenter wrote in Tongan.

Finau was working as an electrician and his job was useful and convenient to his friends and relatives when they had urgent electrical needs.

“We all thought about what Kumi would have liked us to do. He was always such an enthusiastic electrician and love to help whenever he was contacted”.

“Fakaofa lahi sii sioloto atu heene faigataia”.

Security guard detained after selling cannabis while police lying in wait

By
Kaniva Staff
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A security guard was arrested on Tuesday night after allegedly selling illicit drugs following a police stake out at a bar in Nuku’alofa

The 33-year-old male bouncer from Ha’ateiho was posted at the entrance to the bar where Police witnessed the exchange of money and drugs before they made their move to arrest.

Found on this person were 147 packs of cannabis (42.10 grams) and cash, a statement said.

He remains remanded awaiting his appearance in court and is charged with possession of illicit drugs.

Tonga Police said it was taking this matter seriously as the nature of this crime is a concern, especially the breach of trust by a security officer, who is employed in a licensed premises that hosts people and youth.

We encourage anyone who may have information about illicit drugs to please come forward or contact Police on phone 740-1660 or 922.

Please help Police keep our families and communities safe from the unwanted harm caused by illicit drugs.

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