Claims of corruption at the University of Fiji must be investigated independently, a former Fijian academic says.
Biman Prasad, National Federation Party leader. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
Any allegations of dishonest and fraudulent practices at a university cannot be ignored, said MP Biman Prasad, who is the National Federation Party leader and was a professor of economics at the University of the South Pacific.
“Corruption allegations of this nature at any tertiary institution is a matter of serious concern.”
Professor Prasad said the fact the document was disclosed to the media indicated a lack of academic freedom in Fiji.
“Academic freedom does not necessarily mean that academics can say whatever they want to say about things outside of the university, but academic freedom also means that staff in the university should be able to raise the issues with the management with respect to any suggestion that there might be corruption or bad governance.”
He said if there was serious allegations about management, governance, finances or other issues there must be an immediate independent inquiry.
“If the issues involve the council members, then it is incumbent upon the council to appoint some independent organisation – such as a reputable accounting firm not influenced by any state apparatus within the country – to give those who are making the allegations and those the allegations are made against … a fair hearing.
“Then any governance issues is dealt with in a proper way.”
RNZ Pacific has contacted the university’s vice-chancellor Shaista Shameem to respond to the allegations. A response is expected to be provided today.
Outgoing Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has allegedly suspended the chair of Tonga Power Ltd (TPL) in what had been reported as disappointment over the noble’s support for Prime Minister-Designate Siaosi Sovaleni.
Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa (L), Lord Lasike
Lord Lasike said he was told to leave while being investigated.
The former Speaker said he was accused of misspending the organisation’s fund to support Sovaleni. He denied this.
He told Setita Tu’i’onetoa of Tnews on Wednesday he did not break the spending rules. He said he was entitled to have dinner with “prospects and ministers” and can approve sponsorships.
The king’s noble said he believed the move was politically motivated and Pōhiva was unhappy because of Lasike’s link with Sovaleni.
Denial
The suspension was first reported on Facebook on Tuesday. However, the Kakalu ‘O Tonga newspaper Editor ‘Ulu’alo Po’uhila responded to the report and said they interviewed Pōhiva and he denied the report.
Pōhiva was no stranger to controversy and providing conflicting and misleading statements to the media and the public.
Among other misleading statements, we reported last year that Maikolo Fa’asolo was forced to resign as CEO of Lulutai airline. In response Tu’i’onetoa said Fa’asolo was not the CEO of Lulutai, only to fall completely silent when we sent him a copy of the contract that clearly showed Fa’asolo was in fact the CEO.
Lasike’s suspension came after Tu’i’onetoa threatened to dismiss John Paul Chapman, the former CEO of TPL in June. Tu’i’onetoa’s warning was leaked to media after Chapman demanded former Chairman Dr ‘Aisake Eke tendered his resignation.
Chapman later resigned but Tu’i’onetoa told media Chapman asked for leave so he could travel to his family.
Auckland businessman Chris Barrett has served the former governor of Vava’u, Lord Fulivai, with a demand for the repayment of $340,200 over a yellow fin tuna project.
Lord Fulivai
Barrett is demanding full repayment of the amount plus $91,255.86 interest by December 31 or else he has threatened to take the couple to the New Zealand High Court.
The High Court has already found in favour of Barrett an earlier case involving the Lord Fulivai and his wife.
As Kaniva News reported earlier this year, the tuna project was intended to establish open water fish farms off Lord Fulivai’s estate of Hunga Island, Vava’u through a company called Horizon Deep International.
Barrett’s company Pacificon issued an invoice dated August 31, 2020 for US$340,200 to Lord Fulivai, his cousin Michael Thompson and Horizon Deep, of which Thompson is the CEO.
The bill included consultation services, preparation of documents for investors and loans and financial advances for Lord and Lady Fulivai.
Barrett told Kaniva News that Lord Fulivai had ignored demands for payment.
Copies of texts from Lord Fulivai seen by Kaniva News appear to show that he guaranteed Barrett payment of all expenses.
This is not the first time Barrett has pursued Lord Fulivai for non-payment of debts.
In October the High Court in Auckland ordered Lord Fulivai, and his wife to repay Barrett $253,370.60 over a failed land and development deal and personal debts, with interest and all court costs.
The court found the couple had promised Barrett they could provide him with a 99- year lease on land on Pangaimotu in Vava’u as long as he gave them money to pay off people occupying the land.
Barrett said he did not receive any lease and the defendants were therefore in breach of the agreement.
The couple also took loans from Barrett.
An examination of documents surrounding that case showed that Lord Fulivai used the King’s name and that of a former Prime Minister and former Health Minister Saia Piukala in his dealings with Barrett.
New Zealand Police charged the Fulivais with obtaining money by deception. It is understood they will appear in court on January 22.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has confirmed the country’s first case of the Omicron variant has been found at a MIQ facility in Christchurch.
Dr Bloomfield confirmed the news in a media conference this afternoon.
Watch the press conference here:
Dr Bloomfield said the person arrived in New Zealand on a flight from Germany via Dubai that landed in Auckland. People on that flight were then transferred to Christchurch on a chartered domestic flight.
He said all the people on that flight are in two separate hotels in Christchurch.
“This person was tested on day 1, a positive test result on day 2 was reported – that was on the 12th [of December]. The case was reported on the 13th in our numbers as a case that had come from the border.”
Dr Bloomfield said there was one other case that had already been confirmed from that flight on day 0-1 testing, “but the whole genome sequencing on that other case show it’s Delta strain”.
“We’re doing urgent whole genome sequencing on all our cases at the border. We fully expected we would find a case of Omicron and in fact we are treating every border related case as if it were Omicron until proven otherwise.”
Dr Bloomfield said today there were good protocols in place “that are designed to stop the virus getting across the border that have served us incredibly well”, like with the highly transmissible Delta variant.
He said one change made to protocols is that if there were an Omicron case at the border then everybody on that flight would be considered a close contact – on both the international and domestic flights.
Everyone on the floor of the MIQ facility where they were staying would be considered a close contact.
“They complete their full 10 days at the isolation facility at this point while we await further data on Omicron, that’s our interim approach.”
Bloomfield said returnees could not leave their rooms until day 1 test results were in.When this case was found, they were immediately moved to a quarantine facility, he said.
“We think there’s very little risk to others in the MIQ facility, both staff and people who are staying there.”
Dr Bloomfield said he did not know the name of the hotel where the Omicron case was found.
But he confirmed the new case would stay in MIQ for the full 14 days as part of the new protocol.
“We have every intention of keeping Omicron out of the country for as long as possible.”
He said New Zealand was “very well prepared” in case Omicron was found in the community.
Health workers flown to American Samoa, Vanuatu gets Maritime Council seat, a vaccination deadline extended in American Samoa and more.
Health workers flown to American Samoa, patients to Hawaii
A charter flight carrying almost 80 healthcare workers and their families from Fiji is to arrive in American Samoa today to boost the workforce.
RNZ Pacific’s correspondent reported the essential healthcare staff are for the Department of Health and the LBJ Tropical Medical Centre.
The American Samoa Covid-19 Task Force said the new arrivals will be quarantined for seven days.
Meanwhile, a special medical charter left the capital Pago Pago early this week for Hawaii with 151 passengers.
Many of the travellers were patients from LBJ hospital seeking medical treatment in the US, but some were non-medical passengers.
Vanuatu gains seat on Maritime Council
Vanuatu has been elected to the International Maritime Organisation Council.
The country was elected during the Council’s 32nd Assembly as a Category C member with 19 other countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, RNZ Pacific’s Vanuatu correspondent said.
Category C represents states with special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.
Vanuatu is the first Pacific small island developing state to be elected.
Its ambassador Laurent Parente was also elected chairperson of the council’s assembly committee, which deals with all administrative, financial, legal and technical matters.
Vanuatu secured a substantial number of votes, placing it equal with Mexico and the Philippines and before Qatar, Denmark and Thailand.
Vaccination deadline extended for American Samoa political employees
Those working for American Samoa’s top politicians have been given more time to get fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
RNZ Pacific’s correspondent reported that Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga pushed out the deadline for Executive Branch employees to get fully vaccinated against Covid-19 till next month.
American Samoa’s executive branch includes the governor, lieutenant governor, and executive cabinet.
Lemanu also extended the deadline for “overstayers” to apply for the Amnesty Programme.
Previously, all Executive Branch employees were given until 15 December to be fully vaccinated. They now have until January 14th.
The last Amnesty Programme was in late 2019 during the measles epidemic, where many people died in neighbouring Samoa and restrictions were placed over entry into the territory as well as a mass measles immunisation drive.
Call for UN to reject results of New Caledonia referendum
Pacific civil society organisations are calling on the United Nations to reject the results of New Caledonia’s third and final independence referendum.
The vote was held on Sunday in spite of requests from indigenous Kanaks for it to be postponed because of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pro-independent groups boycotted the vote, resulting in a record low turnout and an overwhelming majority in favour of staying with France.
In a joint statement nine Pacific NGO’s accused France of “colonial manoeuvring” while New Caledonians were caught in a Covid-19 health crisis “to arrive at a premeditated outcome.”
They said the outcome of the referendum could not be taken as the “genuine resolve of the Kanak people” and called on the United Nations to reject the poll result.
By Anusha Bradley of RNZ. Republished with permission.
Only 1 percent of sexual assault survivors that lodged sensitive claims with ACC since 2010 have received weekly compensation.
ACC Sign in Wellington Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
It comes as RNZ has reported concerns from two sexual assault victims who said ACC discouraged them from making claims and failed to inform them about the financial help they could be entitled to. One of the women said ACC told her she was better off staying on a sickness benefit because the process for applying for weekly compensation from the agency was “too traumatic”.
The ACC figures are revealed in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse In Care’s interim report into redress, publicly released on Wednesday, noting “few sensitive claims result in a financial payment at all”.
“Weekly compensation is for people whose injuries have left them temporarily unable to work. Eligible claimants receive 80 percent of lost earnings or loss of potential earnings at 80 percent of the minimum wage. To receive weekly compensation, survivors must prove that they are earners, and also provide evidence they are unable to work,” the report said.
“Only 1.25 per cent of those who have lodged sensitive claims since 2010 have received weekly compensation, likely because they are not able to show they are ‘earners’.”
Of the total sensitive claims lodged since 2010, only 2.4 percent had received lump sum payments and 6.6 percent received independence allowances, which are paid to claimants with permanent impairment.
“The sums involved are not generous. The average lump sum payment was $7764, while the average total amount paid to claimants through independence allowance payments was $3936.770 Although difficult to directly compare, the biggest lump sum payment was $45,648 and the largest weekly independence allowance was $94.97 per week.”
Very few sensitive claimants received rehabilitation from ACC. Only 1.3 percent received vocational rehabilitation, such as training and job trials, and only 8.7 percent received social rehabilitation such as aids, appliances and home help, but these were often fraught with problems, the report said.
“A practitioner told us that, in her experience, survivors with sensitive claims must usually specifically request social rehabilitation in order to receive it. Survivors must also undergo assessment to qualify for these services. For social rehabilitation, this involves a needs assessment which can involve sharing very personal information with assessors.
“For vocational rehabilitation, survivors must be incapacitated and receive weekly compensation in order to be eligible. They are required to undertake occupational and medical assessments at the beginning and end of their planned rehabilitation. The vocational independence process has been criticised as once claimants are deemed able to return to work, they are removed from the accident compensation scheme even if no jobs exist for them in reality or are far removed from their training.”
Many survivors told the commission they had difficulty understanding how the ACC scheme worked and how to make a claim.
“Some spent years unaware they were even eligible to make a claim until being told by family, work colleagues or doctors,” the report said.
“To access entitlements, survivors must first satisfy various legal tests and undergo medical and/or psychological examinations. Many survivors describe the process as long, intrusive and re-traumatising.”
A shortage of qualified ACC assessors contributed to survivors’ trauma, the report said. One survivor described dealing with 15 people and divisions in 18 months, while another’s bad experience with ACC’s sensitive claims prevented her from making a claim about a later rape. “I just didn’t want to go through that same tunnel again,” she told the Commission.
“ACC said it was aware of the impact of requiring survivors to see a string of assessors and was taking steps to streamline the process by forwarding previous assessments to subsequent assessors (with individuals’ consent) to limit survivors describing their abuse once again. It said it funded two free services – Way Finders and Workplace Advocacy Service – to help people through the claims process, although not review hearings and appeals,” the report noted.
ACC said it is “looking to improve the client experience” by consulting sensitive claims providers, therapist and clients, starting with an online hui on Thursday
“This is so we can gain a joint understanding of the issues and solutions to progress over the next couple of years,” ACC said in a statement.
Ninety percent of eligible New Zealanders are now fully vaccinated, with the official count through overnight, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The milestone means nearly 3,800,000 people have rolled up their sleeves for two Pfizer doses.
It comes hot on the heels of the three DHBs in Auckland’s metropolitan area reaching the target.
Seven of the country’s 20 DHBs have now reached 90 percent double-vaccination, and a handful of others are on track to reach the target in the next few days.
Ninety-four percent of the eligible population nationwide have had their first dose.
That means all three DHBs in the Auckland region have hit the vaccination target. By yesterday Auckland DHB was sitting on 95 percent and Waitemata DHB was on 92 percent.
Counties Manukau has the second biggest eligible Māori population for a DHB and the biggest eligible Pacific population in the country.
Heavy rain is causing slips and flooding around the country, affecting motorists across the regions.
Flooding near Te Araroa and the East Cape in the Tairāwhiti region today. Photo: Supplied / Gisborne District Council
Metservice have put heavy rain warnings in place for the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne regions.
Meanwhile in the South, Tasman (about and west of Motueka), eastern Marlborough south of Blenheim, Canterbury Plains north of Ashburton, including the foothills and Christchurch, are all under a heavy rain warning.
The East Cape in the Tairāwhiti region has been hit with serious flooding with heavy rain battering the area.
State Highway 35 near the East Cape, between Potaka and Te Araroa, is closed due to flooding.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area. It is not yet known when the flooding will subside enough for the road to be safely reopened to traffic.
Waka Kotahi is advising motorists in Tairāwhiti and further south in Hawke’s Bay to take extra care and to “stay alert” as severe weather creates challenging driving conditions.
The downpours caused potholes to appear on the road, which crews were doing their best to address.
“Our contractors have been out in the rain over the last couple of days, working hard to ensure that the state highways remain safe for motorists,” Waka Kotahi’s regional maintenance and operations manager Jaclyn Hankin said in a statement.
“Potholes and debris have appeared on roads across the region, so please keep speeds down and stay alert. We want everyone to get to their destinations and back home safely.
“It will take some time for us to repair all the potholes, especially while the severe weather continues. Making permanent repairs to potholes requires warm, dry weather so until the rain clears we can only make temporary repairs.”
“We need people to drive to the conditions for the safety of everyone on the roads, including our contractors who are doing a great job in very bad weather.”
“If anyone sees any issues on the state highways, please call 0800 44 44 49 so that our contractors can get to the site quickly and fix the issue.”
The highway between the small towns of Pōtaka and Te Araroa near the East Cape (SH35) shut due to flooding just before 4pm.
Waka Kotahi said it was not yet known when the flooding would subside enough for the road to be safely reopened.
Several rural council roads in the Gisbrone Tairāwhiti region are also shut due to flooding.
The heavy rain is expected to ease this afternoon.
Canterbury rain causing coastal slips
The heavy rain forecast for Canterbury is already causing chaos with slips along the Kaikōura coast making driving difficult.
Up to 140 millimetres of rain is forecast in the next 21 hours, three times the average amount the region would normally get in the entire month of December.
The police were urging motorists to avoid or delay travel between Blenheim and Kaikōura due to several slips, including one at Oaro where traffic was down to one lane.
They said there was a risk of injury from falling rocks.
Metservice meteorologist Peter Little said Christchurch was expected to bear the brunt of any flooding.
He said the worst was yet to come, with most of the rain forecast to fall on Wednesday evening.
Wellington trains suspended
Train services on the Johnsonville line in Wellington have been suspended due to a slip between Awarua Street and Simla Crescent.
Metlink is running bus replacements to the train timetable and will post updates on its website.
Meanwhile, the technical issue stopping smaller planes from landing and taking off at Wellington Airport yesterday has been fixed.
More than 100 flights in and out of the capital were cancelled or delayed yesterday.
Four flights were impacted today.
The landing system, which required fine weather to test it before it could be operational again, got up and running just before 5pm.
Tonga’s Parliament has elected a new prime minister to replace Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa.
Siaosi Sovaleni. Photo/Koro Vaka’uta, RNZ
Siaosi Sovaleni, 51, the current Minister of Education, has won convincingly with 16 votes, against former Minister of Finance and MP Dr ‘Aisake Eke, who got 10 votes.
The Interim Speaker, Lord Tangi, announced the results this afternoon after he first informed King Tupou VI about the winner.
The results showed what appeared to be the nobility MPs’ votes being split with apparently four of them supporting Sovaleni while the remaining five voted for Dr Eke.
Sovaleni, who was a minister in good standing in the Tu’i’onetoa government, recently crossed the floor to form his new bloc and gain the support from a united group of independent MPs and PTOA Party MPs.
Three other MPs who were part of Tu’i’onetoa’s PAK party, also crossed the floor and joined Sovaleni.
The only People’s MP and interim cabinet minister who supported Dr Tu’i’onetoa was the Niua MP Vātau Hui.
The defection of the four members meant Dr Tu’i’onetoa was forced to withdraw his candidacy for the premiership election because he did not have the number of MPs required by law to support and nominate him as a candidate.
Education, health and climate among priorities In his speech before the election today, Sovaleni said people, the chiefs and the king lived under what he described as one house. He said people had to learn to know how to live together.
He said education, health, economic developments, e-government, climate change, war on illicit drugs, natural disasters, youths and women initiatives and good governance were some of his priorities.
In his vote of thanks after he was declared the winner this afternoon, Sovaleni was emotional and congratulated his supporters and all MPs.
He also thanked his unsuccessful rival candidate Dr Eke and said they had previously worked together in the Ministry of Finance.
Auckland’s Counties Manukau District Health Board has hit the vaccination target of having 90 percent of its eligible population fully vaccinated.
Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen
That means all three DHBs in the Auckland region have hit the vaccination target. Auckland DHB is now sitting on 95 percent and Waitemata DHB is on 92 percent.
Counties Manukau has the second biggest eligible Māori population for a DHB and the biggest eligible Pacific population in the country.
DHB chief executive Margie Apa attributed it to the hard work of Māori and Pacific health providers and community organisations who’ve collaborated on the vaccine rollout.
Six DHBs are now 90 percent fully vaccinated.
The following DHBs are all close, on 89 percent fully vaccinated (with numbers required to get to 90 percent)
Midcentral (1755 doses to go)
Wairarapa (395 to go)
Nelson Marlborough (1905 to go)
South Canterbury (750 to go)
New Zealand is 7417 doses away from being nationally 90 percent fully vaccinated.
