Home Blog Page 658

Magistrate’s decision sent out wrong message, Supreme Court declares

By
Philip Cass
-

The Supreme Court has described a magistrate’s decision to release  a senior policeman whose vehicle had collided with another car with only a severe reprimand as manifestly inappropriate.

The court was told that on December 26 last year, a vehicle driven by Chief Inspector Ashley Fua collided with the rear of a parked vehicle outside a Chinese takeaway on the Taufa’ahau Rd at Fanga.

The parked vehicle was occupied. Chief Inspector Fua apologised to the driver and passenger and told them he would repair their vehicle. A number  of policemen arrived and officers noted that  his eyes were bloodshot and he smelt of alcohol.

Police officer Taufe’ulungaki took Fua to the hospital, but an alcohol test could not be performed because the equipment was not working.

The Chief Inspector accepted that he was at fault and said he would pay to have the other car repaired.

When he appeared before the Magistrate’s Court he was discharged without conviction, but was severely reprimanded.

The Crown appealed against the outcome and Fua  accepted  that  he  should  be  re-sentenced.

In the Supreme Court Hon. Justice Cato said the result had been “manifestly inappropriate” and that the sentencing process had miscarried.

“The Magistrate’s decision merely to severely reprimand was inadequate and sent out entirely the wrong message to the  public,” Hon. Justice Cato said.

He noted that Chief Inspector Fua had pleaded guilty immediately and had suffered embarrassment in the police force and in public because of the incident.

Nevertheless, he said that the Magistrate should have imposed a proper penalty.

He convicted Chief Inspector Fua of reckless driving and fined him $500.

The main points

  • The Supreme Court has described a magistrate’s decision to release a driver whose vehicle hit another car with only a severe reprimand as manifestly inappropriate.
  • The court was told that on December 26 last year, a vehicle driven by Chief Inspector Ashley Fua collided with the rear of a parked vehicle.
  • When he appeared before the Magistrate’s Court he was discharged without conviction, but was severely reprimanded.
  • The Supreme Court He convicted Chief Inspector Fua of reckless driving and fined him $500.

Maori Party responsible for inequality as National’s partners, Labour MP says

By
Philip Cass
-

Mangere Labour MP Aupito William Sio has hit out at claims by Tongan Maori Party candidate Manase Lua that Labour had done nothing for Pasifika people.

In comments reported by Kaniva News last week, Lua said Labour had backed 80 percent of the National Party’s legislation.

Sio, who is Labour’s Spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs, said the Maori Party had been part of the National Government and were responsible for New Zealand’s growing unequal society.

“They are responsible for the growing unequal society we now have,” Sio said.

“While the wealth of the wealthiest New Zealanders continues to rise, we see more homelessness in our communities.

“People live in cars, garages, or share a bedroom among several people in a boarding house, a caravan, or hotel room.

“New Zealand never used to be this way. The Salvation Army tell us they see more and more people who work full-time coming to them for food parcels.

“All this has happened under the National government, supported by the Maori Party.”

Sio said that in Opposition Labour had challenged the Government on its spending of public funds and advocated strongly for more affordable housing, better fund healthcare, free education and for the lifting of family incomes and workers’ incomes.

“National has refused and only promised tax cuts, which favour the very wealthy.

“Labour has voted against the Government’s budget in the last nine years because we don’t believe in giving wealthy people more money at the expense of creating more poverty, more homelessness and making it difficult for families to put their children through tertiary studies.”

2014

In an interview with Kaniva News before the last election in 2014, Sio said that in the previous six years inequality in New Zealand had become severe.

“People come to my office for a variety of reasons and often turn up as a last resort where they just aren’t getting any assistance from the various government departments,” he said.

“A lot of these issues have been determined by the struggles our families are facing.

“There’s also the housing crisis which affects so many of our Pacific families.

“The housing crisis has also been exacerbated due to the government removing itself from providing state houses.”

In the same interview Sio defended Labour’s record against criticism from the Pacific community for its stand on gay marriage.

He said at the time that while he respected members of the gay community he had voted against gay marriage to reflect the views of the   majority view of his Pasifika constituency.

The main points

  • Mangare Labour MP Aupito William Sio has hit out at claims by Tongan Maori Party candidate Manase Lua that Labour had done nothing for Pasifika people.
  • In comments reported by Kaniva News last week, Lua said Labour had backed 80 percent of the National Party’s legislation.
  • Sio, who is Labour’s Spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs, said the Maori Party had been part of the National Government and were responsible for the growing unequal society we now have.
  • “They are responsible for the growing unequal society we now have,” Sio said.

For more information 

Aupito William Sio

Haʻapai governor regarded development fund as a blessing for his own projects, report says

By
Philip Cass
-

The Governor of Ha’apai, Moʻale Fīnau, spent nearly all of a TP$150,000 meant for a community development fund, an auditor’s report has found.

The Auditor General’s office investigated the spending, which was allocated to the 2016/17 year.

It said the money was allocated to the Ha’apai Community Development Operation Fund.

Because it was located in Ha’apai it came under the governor’s budget, who used it as “he saw fit.”

The auditor’s report said the governor admitted that he was aware that the fund was for the Ha’apai Development Fund.

However, Governor Finau told Kaniva News today that he had asked the former Minister of Finance, ʻAisake Eke, to assign the $150,000 to his Haʻapai Governor office budget and not to the Haʻapai Development Committee as been done in previous years.

He said Eke agreed after he visited Haʻapai.

The money was spent on goods and services approved  by the governor.

The Noble’s representative from Ha’apai, Lord Tu’ihaangana, who is also the chair of the  committee, asked for an audit through the Speaker of the House, Lord Tu’ivakanō.

The report said the governor regarded the money as “a blessing” and used it to fulfil some projects he had wanted to complete for a long time.

These included a number of construction projects, including fencing, a grandstand and Jonah Lomu Park.

All of the construction costs exceeded the  Ministry of Finance and National Planning’s threshold of TP$7500, which requires projects to be processed through the ministry’s procurement division.

The report said most of the rest of the money was spent on cleaning up of Pangai downtown area and road side.

Proper procedures were not followed in hiring labour.

Assets purchased included a laptop for the use of the governor.

The report described the governor’s spending as “not appropriate.”

Funding for 2017/18 Ha’apai Community Development Operation Fund still came under the governor’s budget.

“The governor is advised to refrain from  repeating the practice,” the report said.

“It is advised that the governor and his office adjust their practices to be in line with government rules and regulations.”

Governor Finau said he had only seen the auditor General’s report yesterday and said its recommendations were “based on what he thinks.”

However, the money was under his control and his interpretation of how it should be spent was different.

The main points

  • The Governor of Ha’apai, Moʻale Finau, spent nearly of a TP$150,000 meant for a community development fund, an auditor’s reports has found.
  • The Auditor General’s office investigated the spending of the money, which was allocated to the 1916/17 year.
  • Governor Finau told Kaniva News the former Minister of Finance, ʻAisake Eke, had agreed to assign the TP$150,000 to his Haʻapai Governor office budget.
  • The report described the governor’s spending as “not appropriate.”

For more information 

Ha’apai Governor charged with careless driving after man injured

Consulate denies Maori Party claims of royal endorsement of Tongan candidate

By
Philip Cass
-

Tongan Consul has denied claims by Tongan Maori Party candidate Manase Lua that he was endorsed by His Majesty King Tupou VI.

Lua made the claims in comments posted underneath photographs of him and his supporters meeting the consul on Monday.

His comments under the photos on Facebook said this was proof he was endorsed by the king and the Tongan consulate to be the only Tongan candidate in New Zealand for Tongans to vote for.

“Here are photos of our meeting with His Excellency Sitaafoti Aho the Tongan Consulate General for NZ on 20th July, 2017, confirming me as the number 1 Tongan candidate for the Maori Party. In humble response to the Maori King’s request to the King of Tonga”, Lua wrote on Facebook.

Tongan Consul Stafford ‘Aho told Kaniva News today Lua was wrong.

He said neither the king nor him has endorsed Lua.

On Sunday a Maori Party press release said: “He (Maori King Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII) made a request for His Majesty King Tupou VI to ask his subjects living in Aotearoa to join and provide a Tongan candidate to stand for the Māori Party. The King of Tonga answered the call.”

“Manase Nehemaia Lua is the chosen Tongan candidate blessed by the Royal Houses.”

It claimed similar requests had been made to the Head of State in Samoa and the Ariki of Rarotonga.

“All have answered the call, hence why we now have eight candidates from these Pacific Nations running,” the press release said.

Six candidates from New Zealand’s Pacific communities will stand in general seats for the Maori Party in the national elections.

They are standing in areas with strong Labour support and in some cases against sitting Labour MPs with Pacific backgrounds, including Jenny Salesa and Aupito Su’a William Sio.

Lua has been contacted for comment.

The  main points

  • Tongan Consul has denied claims by Tongan Maori Party candidate Manae Lua that he was endorsed by His Majesty King Tupou VI.
  • Lua made the claims in comments posted underneath a photograph of him and his supporters meeting the consul on Monday.
  • A Maori Party press release on Sunday claimed Lua had been “blessed by the royal houses.”

For more information

Māori King reaches out to the King of Tonga King 

No illusions about challenge of elections, says candidate Manase Lua

Anglican church of Tonga consecrates first bishop

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Anglican church has consecrated its first bishop to serve the country during a ceremony in Nuku’alofa on Sunday.

Fr  ‘Afa Vaka’s election as Tonga’s first constitutionally-mandated bishop is the fulfilment of long-held desires among Anglicans in Tonga for a greater level of autonomy within the Diocese of Polynesia, a church statement said.

His election follows the decision taken by the Diocese of Polynesia synod in May to establish the Archdeaconry of Tonga as an episcopal unit.

Fr. Vaka was made Bishop of Tonga in front of more than 300 people at the St Paul’s Church.

During the service, Archbishop Winston Halapua outlined the episcopal history of Tonga, and said that for the past 50 years, this distinct entity in the Pacific, with its own language, its own culture, its own traditions, and its own fervent love for monarchy, had been without its own bishop.

“The significance of today is that the mission of God for the people of Tonga – the leadership of that work – is now being taken up by a Tongan, living in Tonga,” he said.

“The mission here was started by a bishop. And in the middle was a bishop. Then then a 50-year gap. Now there is this bishop. And there won’t be any more gaps.”

The appointment of Fr. Vaka as the new Bishop of Tonga puts the Anglican church in the country on the same footing as other major churches in the nation, which are all led by Tongans, he said.

“And Bishop ‘Afa is such a worthy embodiment of those efforts, hopes and dreams because he’s humble. He has a servant heart, and he loves the people. He’s the right kind of leader.”

Archbishop Winston’s fellow primate, Archbishop Philip Richardson, described the creation of the new episcopal unit as a significant event in the history of the province.

“You couldn’t really say about this ordination, as you might in some, that this was ‘Afa’s day,” he said.

Fr. Vaka is actually the third bishop to serve Tonga.

“The first Anglican missionary to Tonga was Bishop Alfred Willis, who arrived in 1902. And in the mid-1960s, Bishop Fine Halapua, the father of Archbishop Winston Halapua, lived in Tonga as he served as a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Polynesia. But now, after a gap of 50 years, Tonga has its third bishop – this time the first bishop of the newly constituted episcopal unit of Tonga.”

Cannabis and shotgun seized after raids on two ʻEua tax allotments

By
Kalino Latu
-

Three people have been arrested and charged after drugs raids on two tax allotments in Angahā and Futu in ʻEua yesterday Monday 18 September at about 1pm, Police said.

106 cannabis and a 12 gauge shotgun were seized during the searches.

Inspector Loluhama Fine said police were acting on information received from the public.

“A 35-year-old man from Angahā was arrested and charged with cultivation of illicit drugs and possession of unlicensed firearm.

“A couple from Futu both 39-years-old was also arrested and charged with cultivation of illicit drugs”, Fine said.

All accused remain in Police custody until Friday 22 September 2017.

“We would like to acknowledge the assistance of members of the public which led to the drug seizures yesterday. It only takes one call to disrupt the supply of drugs in your community and we encourage anyone who can provide information of drug dealing to contact Police,” Inspector Fine said.

Anyone with information can contact Police on 922, 23 417 or 25 147.

Tonga flight repeatedly delayed as Auckland jet fuel crisis deepens

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Virgin Australia flight from Tonga to Auckland tonight Tuesday 19 has been repeatedly delayed this evening as thousands of people are expected to have their travel plans disrupted over the coming days.

The Flight VA60, Virgin had been rescheduled to arrive at 11.32pm after it was planned to arrive at 11.20pm. The latest updates on flight arrival and departure schedules on the Airport website this evening showed the Virgin flight arrival time was delayed again until 11.45pm.

Meanwhile, an Air New Zealand flight from Tonga NZ977 to Auckland tonight at 11.59pm and an Air New Zealand flight NZ270 from Auckland to Tonga tomorrow Wednesday 20 at 9.15am were going ahead as planned.

27 flights were cancelled yesterday after the oil pipeline from Marsden Point burst on Thursday after it had been previously damaged by a digger trying to extract kauri logs near Ruakaka.

A total of four trans-Tasman and 26 domestic flights have been cancelled between Sunday and Wednesday.

Up to 3000 customers are expected to be impacted by cancelled flights on Wednesday, and a further 6000 inconvenienced by unexpected schedule changes, an Air New Zealand spokesman told Fairfax Media.

“Air New Zealand has taken the extraordinary step of restricting ticket sales, including halting sales of some international services”, NZ Herald report said.

“The airline has been taking increasingly disruptive steps to hit the target of cutting its fuel uptake from Auckland Airport to 30 per cent of normal.”

New Zealand’s air traffic control provider said it was implementing fuel conservation measures to help alleviate the impact of the Auckland aviation fuel shortage.

It expects up to 10 days of disruption to passengers while Airways enforces stricter air traffic sequencing and normal fuel supplies are restored.

Using advanced aircraft sequencing technology, Airways is able to queue aircraft arrivals and departures at New Zealand’s major airports in the most efficient way to avoid air traffic congestion across the national network and reduce fuel burn.

“This is an important tool for us which, under normal operating conditions, is responsible for around 11,500 tonnes of fuel savings for airlines annually,” Airways acting General Manager of System Operations Tim Boyle says.

“Due to the current fuel shortage, we’re enhancing this capability to reduce consumption as much as possible.”

“Passengers may notice that they are held on the ground for longer than usual. This is because it is better to have aircraft holding on the ground with the engines off, rather than slowing down en-route and burning more fuel in the air.”

Workshop in Tonga to help media organisations’ roles and language skills

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A workshop was being conducted in Tonga today on media organisations’ roles and the use of Tonga language skills.

The workshop was led by Sione Tuʻitahi, a former Tongan editor and broadcaster.

“To help media organisations with their role on nation building and preserving the Tongan Language”, Tu’itahi said.

It was organised by the National Media Committee of the Baha’i Faith.

Tuʻitahi is now an educator and author in New Zealand.

“The public is enlightened and informed when the media tell the news as they see it without fear or favour.

And people are more knowledgeable while the Tongan Language is preserved and remain elegant when it is used with high professional standards, including translating from English,” he said.

Tuʻitahi facilitated a workshop on translation for the Baha’i community over the weekend, one of the activities to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith. Tongan Baha’is join millions of Baha’is across the world who are celebrating the birthday.

“It is an honour to have been invited to do the training,” Sione said, “and it is a double blessing to conduct the media workshop for editors and publishers who are my colleagues and friends over the years.

Police arrest fourth suspect in heart surgery equipment theft

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Tonga Police said a fourth person had been arrested in connection with theft of equipment which belonged to an Australian team of heart surgeons.

Police have arrested the 33-year-old man on Thursday.

As Kaniva News reported, Police had charged three suspects with housebreaking and theft after the equipment were stolen from the Tanoa Hotel in Nuku’alofa.

Police have arrested  a 42-year-old  man from Tofoa and his 25-year-old  girlfriend from Lomaiviti on September 1,  in relation to the  housebreaking  and theft  of a laptop and 4 flash drives which belonged to the surgeons.

A 48-year-old man from Kolomotu’a was also arrested from a house at a bush allotment in Lomaiviti on September 1 at 5.24am, where Police found the  stolen laptop and flash drives  as well  as 4 cannabis plants.

Police investigation continues after seven cows stolen from Nualei

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A Police investigation continued this week to find out who stole seven cows from a farm in Vaini last month.

A Police spokesperson said the owner became aware of the incident on Friday night, August 25.

The owner of the farm lived in Kolofoʻou.

Police were appealing to the public for any information that might help them in their investigation.

1...657658659...953Page 658 of 953