Several schools around the country have received threats this morning.
Police outside Cambridge High School on Tuesday. Photo: Supplied / Elizabeth Kirkby-McLeod
Awatapu College in Palmerston North said on its Facebook page that it received a bomb threat and evacuated the school.
The college said older students were being sent home while Year 9 students were waiting in the gym, which had been cleared by police.
On Tuesday, four North Island high schools received phone bomb threats.
The schools were in Waikato, Thames, and Gisborne – and had locked down in the wake of the calls.
Police said enquiries were underway in relation to threats at schools in Masterton, Kaikōura, Greymouth, Queenstown, Levin, Whanganui, Rolleston, Tākaka, Geraldine, Dunstan, Ashburton and Palmerston North.
They said they did not believe there was a safety risk.
However, they said police take such threats seriously and were making enquiries to determine the source of the calls.
They thanked the schools involved for following their emergency procedures.
Community supports and assistance have poured in for the children of the Va’epopua mother who died yesterday after giving birth to her seventh child.
Pōteni and her children
Poteni Moimoi died on Wednesday morning, shortly after giving birth to her newborn baby.
Her friends and kāinga described her on social media after her child’s birth as safe and sound.
Her family shared to Facebook a photo of Poteni lying smilingly on a bed while her husband ‘Isoa Moimoi was standing by her bedside carrying their newborn in what appeared to be a room at Vaiola hospital.
The sharing of those photos did not take long before the family returned to social media but this time launching a blood A+ donation appeal for Poteni.
They also asked for prayers for the mother of seven.
A friend who knew the Moimois told Kaniva News he believed the eldest child was still at intermediate school and he was around 11 or 12 years old.
Meanwhile, tributes have flown for the victim.
‘Isoa posted a heartbreaking tribute to his wife online, which translated to “Poteni, you have taught me to learn from your way of life and to always try. Your smiling face reminds me of the pathway you went through and how you endured difficulties. You taught me to be courageous and never complain. You taught me that love was religious and put God first. I love you my sweetheart”.
‘Isoa Moimoi and her wife Poteni Moimoi and their newborn child before his wife died. Photo/Supplied
Some community members took to Facebook and asking for ‘Isoa’s contact details. Some even wanted to talk to him to see if they can help raise some of the kids. Some people have indicated they could offer scholarships and other supports for the children.
“I feel sad I wasn’t with Teni when she died, I was so upset I couldn’t think. She’s an absolutely amazing mother,” a commenter wrote in Tongan.
“I missed her smiling face. After her work she came and met her children held them up and hugged them. What a loss”, a neighbour wrote.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t believed that you left so young”, a commenter wrote.
Some of the photos shared to Facebook showed her family and kāinga surrounded a bed in what appeared to be a room at hospital on which Moimoi and her child were laid.
“Wake up Teni and look at your dad he’s so devasted after you left,” another wrote.
“It is so heart-breaking to see she left so early leaving back her six children”, one wrote.
Tonga Metrological Services has confirmed there is no tsunami threat to Tonga after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck Tonga’s northern groups .
“An earthquake hit at 10.36pm on July 27 at a depth of 10km and it was located 32 km east south east of Neiafu, Vava’u”.
Vava’u residents told Kaniva news the shake was ‘strongly’ felt in Neiafu.
“It was just a one huge shake”, a Vava’u visitor said.
Meanwhile, a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the northern Philippine island of Luzon on Wednesday killing four people, damaging buildings and sending strong tremors through the capital, Manila.
Heartbreaking tributes have been paid to an ‘absolutely amazing mother’ who died after the birth of what appeared to be her seventh child.
Pōteni Moimoi and her children. Photo/Supplied
Poteni Moimoi died this morning, shortly after meeting her newborn baby.
Her friends welcomed the newborn on social media and described their conditions in Tongan as ‘māvae mo’ui’, meaning, they were happy to see them both alive.
However, the celebrations eventually turned nasty after Moimoi’s family launched a blood A+ donation appeal for her on social media, days before her death.
It had been claimed Moimoi was not in a good health condition after her baby was born.
“I feel sad I wasn’t with Teni when she died, I was so upset I couldn’t think. She’s an absolutely amazing mother,” a commenter wrote in Tongan.
“I missed her smiling face. After her work she came and met her children held them up and hugged them. What a loss”, a neighbour wrote.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t believed that you left so young”, a commenter wrote.
Some of the photos shared to Facebook showed her family and kāinga surrounded a bed in what appeared to be a room at hospital on which Moimoi and her child were laid.
“Wake up Teni and look at your dad he’s so devasted after you left,” another wrote.
“It is so heart-breaking to see she left so early leaving back her six children”, one wrote.
The Supreme Court Registrar has announced the appointment of Lawyer Petunia Tupou as new Supreme Court judge.
“Please be advised that His Majesty in Council has approved the appointment of Mrs Petunia Tupou KC as a Judge of the Supreme Court and Land Court of Tonga”, the Registrar said in a statement.
Justice Tupou was the second female justice appointed after Magistrate ‘Elisapeti Langi. Langi was also an Acting Supreme Court judge.
Justice Tupou was one of the king’s counsellors.
The appointment came after allegations swirling on social media that the Supreme Court Judge Laki Niu’s contract ended and will no longer be sitting on Tonga’s top court.
When asked about Judge Niu’s job, the Registrar said:
“The Lord Chancellor will issue a press statement regarding this tomorrow”.
The king through his Privy Council oversees the appointments of some key public servants including the police commissioner, judges and the attorney general.
The National Reserve Bank Governor Dr Sione Ngongo Kioa has allegedly handed in his resignation to the Minister of Finance Tatafu Moeaki, a reliable source told Kaniva News.
Dr. Sione Ngongo Kioa, Governor, National Reserve Bank of Tonga. Photo/Supplied
It is understood, Dr Kioa’s resignation letter was submitted on July 12 and is expecting a response from the government before October 12.
The law allows the resignation to be received by the employer within three months before any decision was made.
The Minister of Finance was contacted for comment.
The news came after we were told in April that members of the bank’s board of directors queried Lord Sevele’s appointment as Chair of the country’s most important financial institution.
Lord Sevele’s appointment drew strong criticisms from the public with PTOA activists asking if there was no one else in Tonga who would be a better fit for the post rather than Sevele.
Critics have argued that since most of the businesses with which Lord Sevele has been associated have ceased to function, he should not be regarded as a successful business operator. They did not believe the king’s noble was the right person for the job. His record while in government as Prime Minister and chairman of a number of boards and committees is open to question.
The noble has been accused of being involved in the illegal transfer of million of dollars from a Chinese grant to Princess Pilolevu Tuita and Tongasat.
The Supreme Court has declared the transfer as illegal.
He was sacked as CEO of the organising committee for the 2019 Pacific Games that were going to be held in Tonga.
In 2017 the then Prime Minister Akilisi Pōhiva withdrew the kingdom from hosting the Games. He said he was unhappy with the financial budget organised by the organising committee chaired by Lord Sevele.
Lord Sevele was Prime Minister when the MV Ashika sank in 2009, killing 74 people.
Some people were charged and jailed after the tragedy, including the captain of the vessel Makahokovalu Tuputupu, Acting Director of Marine and Ports Viliami Tu’ipulotu and John Jonesse the Managing Director of the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia Ltd, which owned the vessel.
However, critics said the prosecution should have brought to justice everybody involved, including Lord Sevele, who was accused of being instrumental in bringing the doomed vessel to Tonga.
A 2012 Parliamentary report was set up to investigate how the Chinese loan to rebuild Nuku’alofa after the 2006 riot, was spent. An economic analyst believed the damage to the Nuku’alofa central business district could have been rebuilt with an estimate of around $20 to $30 million loan and asking why the Sevele government decided to borrow $118 million. The noble later said in an interview he thought that China would write off the loan.
The Parliamentary report revealed Lord Sevele’s business City Assets business, which was formerly known as Molisi Tonga Ltd, was allowed to borrow money from the Chinese loan for its reconstruction without Parliament’s approval.
The report said the allowances made for Lord Sevele over the loan were not publicised in Parliament and money for the City Assets building was simply embedded in the Government Budget of May 2011.
In 2017, the Late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva accused Lord Sevele and his City Assets business in Parliament of rejecting a demand from the Tongan government to sign a contract to make sure he is obliged to pay back the money he borrowed to rebuild his business.
Pōhiva described Lord Sevele’s reactions against the demand in Tongan as being ‘evasive’.
In his appointment as Chair of the Tonga Reserve Bank, Hon Moeaki said Lord Sevele would “manage any perceived conflict of interest on his part and any other members of the board.”
As we wrote in in our commentary yesterday, there have been few if any definitive statements about how the bank will manage those concerns.
Hon Moeaki also defended the appointment by saying that the Noble would bring experience to the position. He also denied there would be any conflict of interest.
A second death this month has led to authority shutting down the cell at Mu’a Police station ‘until further notice’.
Tonga Police. Photo/Kalino Lātū
Police said a 22-year-old man from Lapaha was overly intoxicated when he was arrested at around 5.15pm on Saturday, July 23 from a petrol station at the town, following a complaint and call for assistance from staff at the petrol station.
Police found the young man dead within hours in a police cell where he was placed,” in circumstances indicating suicide”.
“This is the second death in police custody in only a month,” Commissioner Shane McLennan said.
“We need to fix our problems, so this will never happen again. As an immediate response to these deaths in custody, I have ordered the following:
The Mua Police Cell is shut and is not to be used until further notice.
The investigations into all deaths in custody are to be a priority and if needed, further resources/investigators will be provided to assist the Professional Standards Investigators until these investigations are completed.
An inspection and assessment of all cells used by Tonga Police across the Kingdom is to occur today, Monday 25 July, followed by the consideration of options needed to remedy any deficiencies with a matter of urgency.
The Tonga Police Custody Management Policy is to be reviewed and updated this week.
Some in-service training on custody management and human rights, is to be provided to all frontline staff as a matter of priority.” Investigation into this regrettable incident is underway, and an inquest will be held upon completion of the investigation. Contact Police on phone 740-1660 or 922 to report crime.
The news came after a police investigation was underway after a 69-year-old man died in what had been described as an alleged ‘suicide’ while at Mu’a police custody earlier this month.
Police said at the time the deceased, was overly intoxicated, and was arrested and detained following a complaint and call for assistance from his wife.
University of Canterbury epidemiologist Arindam Basu said cases could emerge after New Zealand’s border reopens next month.
“This is not just a disease of homosexuals or men having sex with men, it used to be, but it is not anymore. Children as young as 7 months are being infected, and women definitely, it’s spreading.”
Genomic surveillance of Monkeypox is going to be more complex than Covid-19 because of the nature of the virus, he said.
COMMENTARY: As concern continues to simmer over the appointment of Lord Sevele ‘O Vailahi to the board of Tonga’s National Reserve Bank, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank is facing the same question of conflict of interest with the appointment of a new member.
Rodger Finlay has a lot of governance experience, the Reserve Bank chair says. Photo: RNZ /Dom Thomas
The difference is that while the New Zealand Reserve Bank is defending the appointment, it has also made clear that it recognises public concerns and is keen to be seen to be managing them.
Former chair of New Zealand Post, Rodger Finlay, chairperson of NZ Post joined the central bank’s board at the beginning of this month. NZ Post has a majority stake in Kiwibank.
The Reserve Bank has defended his appointment on the grounds of his experience in governance and his work as a consultant.
Former RBNZ senior official Michael Reddell described Finlay’s appointment as outrageous.
“Whatever the possible merits of Mr Finlay it sets a dreadful precedent and [is] outrageous,” he said.
Reddell said it was unthinkable that a person from a bank supervised by the RBNZ should be involved with the central bank and he should quit one of the roles.
New Zealand Reserve Bank chairperson Neil Quigley told Radio New Zealand it was aware of potential conflicts with the appointment and was satisfied they could be managed.
“We are satisfied his interest can be managed appropriately and does not disqualify him to be a member.”
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, who appointed Finlay on advice from the RBNZ, said any potential conflict of interest could be managed.
Earlier this year the New Zealand body faced public criticism over the announcement of Paul Conway as its new Chief Economist.
Lord Sevele ‘O Vailahi (L) and FInance Minister Tatafu Moeaki
Conway was employed by the Bank of New Zealand.
Lord Sevele’s appointment
As we wrote in April, there do appear to have been concerns about Lord Sevele’s appointment, but there have been few if any definitive statements about how the bank will manage those concerns.
Instead, Minister of Finance Tatafu Moeaki defended the appointment by saying that the Noble would bring experience to the position. He also denied there would be any conflict of interest.
Critics have argued that since most of the businesses with which Lord Sevele has been associated have ceased to function, he should not be regarded as a successful business operator. His record while in government as Prime Minister and chairman of a number of boards and committee is open to question.
The lesson to be learned from New Zealand’s Reserve Bank is that it not only recognises there is public concern, but that it has to deal with it, not just as a reaction to public criticism, but for the good of its reputation.
Learning to manage the concerns of taxpayers and citizens is something that could benefit Tonga’s Reserve Bank.
