A Lomaiviti man had been arrested after a man was injured in machete assault and a vehicle was set on fire at the scene on Sunday night April 29 at around 5am.
Police said a firearm had been used during the incident to threaten a group who were drinking at Sopu waterfront.
Local news media said Police were called to the scene but by the time they arrived the suspects had already fled the scene.
The injured man had been reportedly discharged from hospital.
A Hawai’ian princess has had her medals given to her by the late King George Tupou V of Tonga stolen from her home on May 1.
A man reportedly entered the Nuuanu home and stole the medals along with a designer dog carrier, Hawai’i News Now has reported.
91-year-old Native Hawaiian multimillionaire heiress Princess Abigail Kawananakoa who married her longtime partner Veronica Gail Worth in 2017 was reportedly at her home with her wife when the robber struck at 6am.
“The man also broke a vase. Worth said the medals were a gift from the late King George Tupou V of Tonga. The dog carrier was a Louis Vuitton purchased for Worth’s Chihuahua years ago,” the News said.
Worth reportedly said security cameras captured several images of the suspect, who may be known to police.
The incident came amid a probate court battle over control of Princess Abigail’s Trust, which is worth $215 million.
“While Kawananakoa has no official status or duties, she has long been a financial supporter of the Iolani Palace, America’s only royal residence and a popular Hawaiian tourist destination, as well as other Native Hawaiian causes,” Associated Press reported.
Kawananakoa’s former lawyer, James Wright, is arguing that the heiress is impaired and unable to make decisions about the distribution of her assets.
“In July of 2016, Wright filed a petition asking to be named successor trustee to all of her trust assets, stating that Kawananakoa is “impaired as a result of an acute stroke” in court documents.”
“The petition also suggested that Veronica Gail Worth, Kawananakoa’s then-girlfriend, now wife was abusing her.
“A judge granted the petition, and now Kawananakoa is fighting it.”
She is the last princess of the United States, according to Hawai’i news media.
Counties Manukau Police are searching for two Tongan men as part of a homicide investigation following an incident this morning where a male was located deceased in Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand.
Police were notified around 6am to reports that two people were lying on the ground on Greenwood Road.
A 28-year-old male was discovered deceased and a female had serious injuries.
The female victim has been transported to Auckland Hospital where she is being treated for gunshot wounds.
Detective Inspector Faa Va’aelua says Police have been speaking with the victim to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“We are confident that this is not a random incident and we are currently following positive lines of enquiries to identify two Tongan male offenders believed to be involved in this incident,” says Detective Inspector Va’aelua.
A cordon will remain in place today on Greenwood Rd while staff carry out a scene examination and a forensic analysis of a vehicle located at the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to call Counties Manukau Crime Squad on 09 261 1321 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Police are currently responding to an incident in Greenwood Road, Mangere.
A male has been found deceased and a woman has been taken to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition.
Police were unable to confirm reports it had been a shooting.
Kaniva News arrived at the intersection of Greenwood and Ascot road and found police had blocked Greenwood road from both ends.
Locals told Fairfax media the police operation was concentrated in a paddock near the road’s intersection with Ascot Rd.
An employee of Auckland Airport’s Holiday Inn, nearby, reportedly said Greenwood Road had few streetlights and was “not an area people usually gather in”.
She said it was lined with paddocks and construction sites, which were fenced off and only accessible to authorised people.
“It’s a dark road at night, and we don’t hear of any incidents there usually,” she said.
Police have identified three men allegedly involved in a violent assault at the Auckland City Hospital Accident and Emergency Department on Friday 27 April 2018, Detective Senior Sergeant Nina Pedersen said.
Police are actively looking to locate 27-year-old Anthony Chown, 28-year-old Murray Matthews and 30-year-old Mua Fa’Anunu who have warrants to arrest for Assaults with Intent to Injure.
These men are linked to the Hell’s Angels gang and are considered dangerous and should not be approached.
If you know where they are or have information on their whereabouts please call Police immediately on 111.
If you have any information that could help our investigation, please contact Auckland City Crime Squad on (09) 302 6557.
Alternatively, information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Staff of the Ministry of Ombudsman have paid tribute to pioneer of the Ministry, Siaosi Taimani ‘Aho on social media.
‘Aho, 79, died peacefully on April 27 following an undisclosed illness.
The Ministry tweeted on Saturday that ‘Aho was Tonga’s first Commissioner for Public Relations in 2001.
The post was established under the Commissioner for Public Relations Act 2001, to carry out duties similar to those of a traditional Ombudsman.
The law was changed in 2016 and the title of the Commissioner for Public Relations was replaced with Ombudsman.
‘Aho, who was the Public Relations Commissioner until 2004, was also a former Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Police,
He was also Tonga’s first High Commissioner to New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
He was laid to rest today April 30 at Fasi’s Takaunove cemetery.
Amongst his many accolades during his loyal service to the Government of Tonga, Mr. ‘Aho was the founding Commissioner for Public Relations and started the Office in 2001. He held the post as Commissioner until 2004. #Siaositaimaniaho pic.twitter.com/BdHi33kcKJ
— Ombudsman Tonga (@OmbudsmanTonga) April 28, 2018
We thank you for your service, constant support and positive contributions in planting the seed for the current Office today.
May you Rest in Peace and in God’s love. #Siaositaimaniaho pic.twitter.com/TfOkyCGkjK
— Ombudsman Tonga (@OmbudsmanTonga) April 28, 2018
A Tongan licensed Immigration Advisor has warned that New Zealand has no law allowing overstayers to be granted a resident visa if they return to the kingdom and apply for it there.
Koli Vānisi of the Pacific Immigration Consultancy & Services Ltd, said some people (“fa’ahinga ‘e ni’ihi”) in New Zealand misled Tongan overstayers about having a New Zealand residence visa granted in Tonga.
He told Kaniva News there was an opportunity for overstayers to return and apply for a resident visa in Tonga, but there was no guarantee that their application would be successful. He said this should be the advice given to the overstayers.
Vānisi said he had explained the law and policy to a number of clients, but they ignored it and sought advice from other people who told them to return to Tonga and obtain their resident visa there.
He said most of these returning overstayers got stuck in the kingdom and never returned. Some of them contacted him seeking advice.
He said immigration advisors should tell people right from the begining when they assessed their clients’ immigration visa application whether they had a chance of getting a visa or not.
Vānisi said the only person in Tonga who held a New Zealand immigration advisor’s licence was Mele Nau.
Under New Zeland Immigration laws, people entering the country on a visa were not allowed to stay after their visa expired.
If they did remain in New Zealand after their visa had expired they would be liable for deportation.
Overstayers
Earlier this month Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway defended a profiling programme that is being tested by his department to identify people who are likely to be overstayers.
Tongan Advisory Council Melino Maka claimed the programme was racist and said people from the Pacific Islands could be unfairly targeted.
In February an immigration agent claimed 61 Tongans were facing deportation to Tonga in the aftermath of Cyclone Gita, but this was denied by the Minister.
Most overstayers in New Zealand are from Tonga, Samoa and China.
The main points
For more information
Eight years after it was submitted to Parliament, Kaniva News reviews the Constitutional and Electoral Commission Report of 2009 and looks at one of the might-have-beens: Reserved Parliamentary seats for women.
Since 1951 there have been fewer than a dozen women in Tonga’s parliament, many of whom were appointed rather than being elected.
However, although women were almost invisible in Tongan politics, the Constitutional and Electoral Commission recommended against making any special provision for them in Parliament.
In its 2009 report to Parliament, the Commission said there could be no dispute that women were, and always had been, inadequately represented in the Legislative Assembly.
It said this was largely because of entrenched male prejudice.
The Commission noted that a number of other Island states reserved seats for women.
“The introduction of a special electoral quota would not be new to Tonga; the nobles are already the beneficiaries of such protection,” it said.
However, it cautioned that having reserved seats for women would not necessarily solve the problem.
“Those advocating increased participation by women do not help their cause by the frequent suggestion that, if elected, women representatives would be better able to represent women’s affairs,” the commission said.
“If women have a right to hold positions of influence in public life, including membership of parliament, they have the right to equal consideration for every aspect of the work.
“If the number of women is to be increased, it should be because they have something to contribute in the same fields and on equal terms to their male counterparts.
“If an able and suitable woman who knows she can offer as much as her male counterpart wishes to stand in the election, should she stand for a reserved seat or stand on equal terms with the other candidates on the general list?
“If she takes the first course, she will risk being treated as a second class member of the House and, once the quota is withdrawn, may not have the support of an electorate; if she takes the second, she will face the full force of male prejudice probably reinforced by the charge that she ‘should be’ standing for the ‘women’s seats’.
The Commission cited what it called the special status of women in Tongan society and the benefit of the different world views and perspectives women could bring to Parliament as reasons for supporting the presence of women in the House.
However, it ultimately recommended against having reserved seats for women in Parliament.
“We believe that women in Tonga today are in all ways as well prepared as men to compete for the people’s representative seats.
“Since there are more women voters, what is required is effective campaigning targeting both men and women voters, good organisation and quality women candidates.
“A good candidate, whether a woman or a man, should attract votes from all parts of the spectrum of opinions.
“We hope women will realise that the power effectively to correct their under-representation is in their hands.”
Arguments
However, for all the Commission’s optimism, women are still under-represented in Parliament and arguments about reserved seats continue.
In last November’s election only two women won seats, Losaline Ma’asi and ‘Akosita Lavulavu, who was re-elected.
After the election there were calls for reserved seats or quotas to get more women into parliament. Equally, however, others saw this as a short term solution and argued the real need was more education to overcome gender stereotyping in Tongan culture.
And New Zealand MP Jenny Salesa, who is of Tongan descent, said women were just as much to blame for opposition to women’s political ambitions.
Following a visit to Tonga to encourage women to stand for election, she said people were phoning a local radio station to say: “Women, their place is in the home. Women shouldn’t be heads of departments. Women shouldn’t be in Parliament. Women shouldn’t make decisions including in business or in Parliament.”
She said about 90 per cent of those calls were from women.
“Before we actually point the finger at others as to why there is not enough female representation, we also ask why it is that we do not support our own,” she said.
Eight years after it was submitted to Parliament, Kaniva News reviews the Constitutional and Electoral Commission Report of 2009 and looks at one of the might-have-beens: A new voting system.
Tongans could have gone to the last three elections under a voting system the 2009 Constitutional and Electoral Commission described as “one of the fairest systems devised.”
The Commission recommended the kingdom change to a single transferable voting system.
“We are satisfied that it will give Tonga the fairest results,” the CEC’s report said.
Instead, Tonga has continued to use a variation of the first past the post system.
Under the original voting system, Tonga had a mixed multi- and single- seat first past the vote system, with single-seat districts such as each of the Niuas and ‘Eua and districts with two or more seats in districts such as Tongatapu, Ha’apai and Vava’u.
Voters were required merely to indicate which candidate(s) on the ballot paper list they favoured, and in the block districts, they had as many choices as there were seats in the district. The candidates with the most votes won.
Critics have pointed out that where several candidates are standing for election in one constituency under a first past the post system, it could mean that more voters actually cast their ballot for other candidates than the winner receives.
As an example, presume that 100 people voted in an election and that Candidate A won because she had 40 votes, whereas candidates B and C, who attracted 30 votes each, lost. In effect, this meant Candidate A was somebody the majority of voters didn’t want.
Under the single transferable vote system a candidate must meet a set quota of votes to win outright. Voters are allowed to select second choices, so if a candidate does not meet the quota, then votes are recounted and redistributed.
Effectively, it allows voters to indicate that they want a candidate to be elected, but if they don’t win, then they can indicate that their second preference would be another candidate.
This system means that the successful candidate is actually acceptable to a greater proportion of the voters than somebody who won under the first past the post system.
Political scientists have described the single transferable vote system as also extremely suitable for systems where voting districts might have more than one representative, such as existed in Tonga.
According to the CEC, in systems where political parties operate, the single transferable voting system encourages parties to co-operate by exchanging voter preferences. This means that they agree to tell their party supporters to select the candidate from the other party as their second choice.
In Tonga, where voters elect individuals rather than party members, candidates could make the same arrangements.
According to the CEC, under the single transferable voting system, voters could influence the composition of post-election coalitions.
The single transferable voting system is used in Australia, some local authorities in New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and some parts of Europe.
Instead of adopting the CEC’s recommendation, the Cabinet of the time, adopted a first past the post system under which all multi-member districts were sub-divided to become single-seat districts.
Tonga’s 17 constituencies have very small populations, with electorates in the outer islands have far fewer people than those on Tongatapu.
Tongatapu 3 had about 4000 people eligible to vote at the last election. The smallest electorate, Ongo Niua, had about 700.
For more information
Tonga: Constitution and politics
Political and constitutional reform opens the door: The kingdom of Tonga’s path to democracy
Staff from Sutton Park school in Auckland has presented a container of goods donated in the wake of Cyclone Gita to Queen Sālote College in Tonga.
Sutton Park and Queen Sālote are sister schools.
The Sutton team was welcomed by Queen Sālote College principal Rev Dr. ‘Asinate Sāmate.
The goods were officially presented at a function at Queen Sālote College school hall attended by former Minister of Education Rev. Dr. Tēvita Hala Palefau, who led the opening prayer.
“The warm singing and various voice sections from the girls filled the hall which reminded me of traditional hymn singing in the islands, to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for his continuous love and protection over us all,” Sutton’s Deputy Principal Vaitimu Togi Lemanu said.
Lemanu said in his speech at the function that it was not surprising Captain Cook called Tonga the Friendly Islands.
Activities at the presentation ceremony included a concert performance by the Queen Salote brass band.
Board of Trustee Chairperson, Ofa Kātoa, officially presented the keys for the container to Rev. Palefau.
Lemanu said the singing and the soloists who performed lifted the spirits of everyone in the school hall.
The six metre container was filled with donations including computer desks donated by some Catholic Schools, kitchen utensils provided by Sky City, sporting materials, electronic whiteboards donated by Westpac and water donated by Coca Cola.
Various donors also helped fill the container including parents whose children were studying at the school’s Tongan Bilingual unit and parents of the Rumaki reo classes, Samoan bilingual unit and the mainstream classes.
The Sutton team which went to Tonga included the chair of the Board of Trustees, Ofa Kātoa, Sia Ua Tongan bilingual team leader Maliana Taufalele and Apitanga Mafi.
Mafi described the support and donations for the container as “astounding.”
Mafi said the project to send a container full of donated goods in the wake of Cyclone Gita came from Sutton principal Fa’atili Iosua Esera and the Tongan bilingual unit, Sia Ua.
Sia Ua is a Tongan name given to the Sutton’s Tongan–English language unit by Princess Melenaite Siu’ilikutapu.
Tongan teachers at Suttons were: Maliana Taufalele, ‘Apitanga Kailea Mafi, Lineni Paea, Peta Mo’ungātonga, Simaima Fīnau, Luseane Kaifā and Fiona Filipe. Assistant teachers were: ‘Ofa Hausia, Loma Tau, ‘Alilia Tāufa, ‘Ofa Lapa and Lineni Hafoka . Trustees Board members were ‘Ofa Kātoa and Rev. Havea Fanga’i’uiha.
Sutton’s classes visited Queen Sālote in 2015.
