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Regional service to Samoa could be reality by August says Real Tonga CEO

By
Philip Cass
-

Real Tonga Airlines Deputy CEO Tele Faletau said today a regional service to Samoa should be up and running by August.

And he said that tickets would be less than TP$874.

He made the remarks after a Real Tonga Bae Jetstream turboprop airliner landed in Faleolo International Airport after an 80 minute flight from Vava’u.

Faletau, who is also General Manager Commercial for the Tongan airline, said flying to Samoa had always been a primary goal of the airline’s regional expansion.

“We’re brothers, and we haven’t had any direct services for more than 10 years,” he said.

The Real Tonga test flight brought a delegation of more than 20 employees who were met by a delegation of Polynesian Airlines staff, including Chief Executive Officer Seiuli Alvin Tuala.

Real Tonga was looking to develop a relationship with the Samoan carrier, Polynesian airlines.

Faletau said Samoa and Tonga were next-door neighbours and it made sense for them to work together.

“We’re very happy to be discussing a code share with Polynesian Airlines so that will be a joint Polynesian Airlines and Real Tonga,” he said.

While Polynesian Airlines Chief Executive Officer Seiuli Alvin Tuala declined to comment on the negotiations, Faletau was optimistic about the possibilities.

He said there many Tongans in Samoa and Samons in Tonga, but at the moment they had to take a long and expensive route home via Fiji or New Zealand.

He said a direct flight from Vava’u would be much cheaper, with airfares  below TP$874 (WST1000/ NZ$540)

A ticket between Vava’u to Nuku’alofa with Real Tonga varies from TP$341.50 to TP$381.50.

Real Tonga already has an agreement with Fiji Airways to extend its services to have offer a weekly connection between Vava’u and Nadi via Nuku’aofa.

In a further sign of growing regional airline co-operation, Polynesian Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding with Fiji Airways earlier this week.

The main points

  • Real Tonga Airlines Deputy CEO Tele Faletau said today a regional service to Samoa should be up and running by August.
  • And he said that tickets would be less than TP$874.
  • He made the remarks after a Real Tonga Bae Jetstream turboprop airliner landed in Faleolo International Airport after an 80 minute flight from Vava’u.
  • Faletau, who is also General Manager Commercial for the Tongan airline, said flying to Samoa had always been a primary goal of the airline’s regional expansion.

For more information 

Real Tonga Airlines touches down

New agreement to provide vital connection between Nadi and Vava’u

Triple birthday celebrants reminded of advice to their parents to remain faithful

By
Kalino Latu
-

Three sisters celebrating their birthdays last Saturday were reminded that on the day their parents were married they had been told to be faithful to each other.

Theresa ‘Ofa Avilla Uaisele (21), Tisiola Uaisele (17) and Anna Jr Uaisele (16) celebrated their birthdays at the Greyhound Function Centre in Manukau.

In a speech made during the event their great-uncle, Tito Fīnau, said he took pride that their parents were still together more than 20 years after they were married.

Fīnau said that on the day they were married he told their parents it was important to stay together as husband and wife until the end of their lives.

He said he was happy to meet them again on Saturday at an event that showed they had a great family.

An emotional Finau said these days many young Tongan parents could not resolve the difficulties they faced and separated from each other.

He praised his niece, ‘Alakoka, the birthday girls’ mother, for the more than two decades she had stayed with her husband.

‘Ofa Avilla made an emotional speech after she was given the traditional 21st birthday key. She asked her parents to keep it until she could find somebody she could trust.

Her statement brought laughter, but she said it was difficult for her to think of moving on with her life because she was 21.

She said at home her parents spoiled her and did whatever she wanted including sleeping and waking up to find her meals were ready.

The celebration opened with a kava ceremony led by heralds from Fatai and Ma’ufanga, where the Uaiseles’ parents come from.

The kāinga performed tauʻolunga and raised fund to donate tor the birthday girls.

The day was closed with a prayer by the Otara priest.

The main points

  • Three sisters celebrating their birthdays last Saturday were reminded that on the day they were married their parents had been told to be faithful to each other.
  • Theresa ‘Ofa Avilla Uaisele (21), Tisiola Uaisele (17) and Anna Jr Uaisele (16) celebrated their birthdays at the Greyhound Function Centre in Manukau.
  • In a speech made during the event their great-uncle, Tito Fīnau, said he took pride that their parents were still together more than 20 years after they were married.
  • He said he was happy to meet them again on Saturday at an event that showed they had a great family.

Man aged 70 charged following boy killed by reversing vehicle in Veitongo

By
Kalino Latu
-

An eight-year-old boy has died after he ran behind a reversing vehicle being driven by a 70-year-old man in Veitongo Monday 25 at about 5pm.

The old man has been charged with manslaughter by negligence.

Police said three young boys, including the victim ran after the van trying to climb over the rear end.

Unfortunately only two of them managed to climb up while the victim did not and fell down before he was run over.

The victim was rushed to Vaiola hospital before he was announced dead shortly after he was arrived.

Police investigation continues.

Cow’s head and intestine found at tax allotment treated as suspicious

By
Kalino Latu
-

A cow which had been butchered and removed leaving its head and intestine behind in a tax allotment in Houma, Tongatapu is being treated as suspicious by locals.

One of the three passers-by who came across the incident yesterday said they also found the cow’s rope lead still attached to a coconut tree by the scene.

It is understood the owner of the tax allotment is staying in New Zealand and had visited Tonga regularly.

‘Uhila Takataka, who took a picture of the scene, told Kaniva News he strongly believed a group of thieves had slaughtered and stolen the cow.

He arrived at his conclusion after he saw the intestine and the head were not taken.

Cow’s intestine was one of the traditional tasty food in Tonga when it was prepared and baked.

Takataka shared the photo on Facebook.

Some commentators on the image agreed that this was burglary.

Some said the illegal practice was becoming prevalent these days with thieves selling the meats to black markets.

Attempts to contact the owner of the tax allotment in New Zealand had been unsuccessful.

As Kaniva News reported last year, Police were hunting for thieves who were responsible for slaughtering and stealing of two cows in a tax allotment in the same village, Houma, Tongatapu.

That incident was discovered by a local after he spotted two heads and intestines believed to be those of the cows were left in their owner’s tax allotment.

For more information:

Two cow heads and animal intestines found, Tongan Police investigate

Rapist remanded for sentencing after being found guilty on multiple charges

By
Philip Cass
-

Sione Fangatua Mafi has been remanded in custody for sentencing after being found guilty in the Supreme Court on multiple charges of rape.

Mafi was charged with three counts of rape and one of abduction.

Mr Justice Cato, presiding, said Mafi abducted and raped a woman three times on February 15 this year.

The victim had been drinking with friends when Mafi persuaded them to go with him in his car.

The complainant said they then went to a beach area at Kolonga and she later asked to be driven closer to where her mother lived.

It was decided they would go and drink at a cemetery which was closer to where she lived with her parents.

In the early hours of the morning Mafi dragged her into the car. She passed out and when she woke he raped her. He raped her again twice in different locations before she managed to reach home.

When her mother saw the accused she told her daughter Mafi had propositioned her in Fiji.

“This would have been a very frightening  and indeed harrowing experience  for  any woman,” Mr Justice Cato said.

He said that he accepted  that  she  was  telling  the  truth and that the accused had sexual intercourse with her on three  occasions that evening, all  without  her  consent.

“I accept also that he had threatened to harm her that evening if  she resisted  and would only take her home if they had  intercourse,” the judge said.

“I reject entirely any suggestion that the mother and complainant conspired together to falsely implicate the accused because of his action with the mother  in Fiji.”

Mr Justice Cato said he had no doubt  Mafi had designs  on the  complainant at an early stage of their meeting.

“I find the accused guilty on all counts beyond reasonable doubt, convict him accordingly and remand him in custody for  sentence.”

The main points

  • Sione Fangatua Mafi has been remanded in custody for sentencing after being found guilty in the Supreme Court on multiple charges of rape.
  • Mafi was charged with three counts of rape and one of abduction.
  • Mr Justice Cato, presiding, said Mafi abducted and raped a woman three times on February 15 this year.
  • “This would have been a very frightening and indeed harrowing experience  for  any woman,” Mr Justice Cato said.

Police seek witnesses following serious hit and run incident in Blockhouse Bay

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward after a pedestrian was seriously injured in a hit and run incident in Blockhouse Bay yesterday morning.

A 22-year-old female received serious injuries after she was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Blockhouse Bay Rd and New North Rd at approximately 6.45am.

The driver of the vehicle involved, which has been described as red in colour, fled the scene after the incident.

Police are appealing for the driver to come forward as well as anyone who may have witnessed yesterday’s incident or saw the red vehicle in question.

Please contact Detective Sergeant Richard Sami from Avondale Police with any information on 021 191 2981.

Alternatively you can provide information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

No mercy for Indonesian drug dealers in Widodo’s ‘just shoot’ policy

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By Dames Alexander Sinaga
JAKARTA (Jakarta Globe/Asia Pacific Report/Pacific Media Watch): President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered law enforcers to shoot drug traffickers to deal with what he called a narcotics emergency facing the country.

“No mercy for foreign drug traffickers. We are currently in an emergency in terms of drug abuse,” Widodo said.

The president spoke after police seized a ton of crystal methamphetamine worth Rp 1.5 trillion (NZ$151 million) in Serang, Banten, on July 13, 2017. The narcotic, locally known as shabu-shabu, was smuggled from China and constitutes the Indonesia’s largest seizure to date, reports the state-run news agency Antara.

Police arrested four Taiwanese men who allegedly attempted to distribute the drugs in the greater Jakarta area. One of them was shot dead while resisting arrest.

Widodo said the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) were working together to act decisively against drug traffickers.

“Now, the police and the TNI are really firm, particularly against international drug dealers who enter Indonesia. Just shoot them if they even show a little resistance,” he added.

National police chief General Tito Karnavian was quoted by Antara as saying that drug smugglers were targeting Indonesia because they deemed the country’s law enforcement efforts weak – unlike Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Drug traffickers ‘rampant’
“Drug traffickers have noticed that, apart from the potential market, law enforcement officers may be weak to act. Our laws are considered weak; that causes them to become rampant in Indonesia,” Karnavian said.

He said international drug traffickers have been given a stern warning not to consider Indonesia as one of their main destinations for the illegal drug trade.

“I have ordered the police to crack down and act tough, especially against foreign drug dealers. I have also told officers to act in accordance with their standard operational procedure, which also means shooting them if they resist arrest,” Karnavian said.

Indonesia is not the only Southeast Asian country under threat from the widespread distribution of illicit drugs. The Philippines government under President Rodrigo Duterte declared war on drug pushers last year.

Extrajudicial killings in the Philippines have drawn condemnation from the international community and human rights groups.

Usman Hamid, country director for the United Kingdom-based rights group Amnesty International in Indonesia, said the statements by Jokowi and Tito may result in law enforcement officials on the ground committing unlawful actions, such as extrajudicial killings or summary executions, which constitute gross human rights violations.

“Duterte’s war on drugs is the wrong kind of approach for a democratic country. Indonesia must look for a better approach or best practices from other countries,” Hamid told the Jakarta Globe.

Shoot-on-sight policy
He added that Duterte declared war on drugs after the state imposed martial law with the approval of Congress. The implementation of Duterte’s shoot-on-sight policy violates the country’s constitutional law and other regulations.

Hamid said Jokowi and Tito’s remarks could be regarded as a move to implement martial law in Indonesia. He added that their statements show a lack of understanding of basic norms of human rights and the rule of law.

The Jakarta Globe also reports an overdue election bill has finally been approved, which will serve as the legal basis for the 2019 presidential vote.

The bill, which is waiting to be signed into law by Widodo, requires presidential candidates to gain the support of a political party or coalition of parties with 20 per cent of the seats in the legislature as of the 2014 poll.

Candidates can also be supported by parties that won 25 percent of the vote in the election.

However, this has drawn criticism as fears emerge that the new threshold may limit the right to stand for election.

This comes as Indonesians will, for the first time in 2019, choose the legislature and executive on the same day.

Dames Alexander Sinaga is a reporter with the Jakarta Globe 

–Pacific Media Centre

Tongan based Australia fruit picking authorities in court over defamation claim

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Tongan fruit picking contractor in Australia was in court in Tonga last week in a legal fight to have his name cleared over allegations made by the Tonga Australia Seasonal Worker Association (TASWA).

Walter Fangatua has accused TASWA president Falepaini Prescott Maile, for making fabricated stories on Radio FM 87.5 and Facebook about his company and the way how he treated Tongan and Pacific Island fruit pickers in Australia.

Fangatua and his wife Melissa owned the Plant Grow Pick, an Emerald-based company which provided more that 100 seasonal workers to growers across Australia.

According to reports Maile told the court TASWA was set up to advise Tongan fruit pickers in Australia about the Seasonal Work Programme policies and acted as a mediator between workers and employers.

Maile admitted in court that she falsely announced on the Radio and Facebook the Australian Securities and Investments Commission had cancelled Plant Grow Pick’s license to operate as a fruit picking work contractor, Talaki Newspaper reported.

She said she got the information from a second party.

The court was told Walter allegedly mistreated his workers and sometimes swore at them in which Walter had denied, Kakalu ʻo Tonga reported

Maile was allowed by the Magistrate last week to return to Australia on condition she had to pay and sign a bail bond of TP$2,000.

In September 2016 Radio ABC reported that there were 2,179 Tongan workers in Australia on the Pacific Harvest Scheme’s seasonal worker programme.

The program allows these workers up to six months of work each year, it said.

There had been reports of claims of worker exploitation throughout Australia including one case of workers in northern Victoria earning less than $10 a week after deductions.

Moora Citrus orchard manager Shane Kay said it was “really sad to see” these cases appeared to be reality, the Radio reported.

There were also reports of Tongan workers abusing the opportunity while they were in Australia and also in New Zealand through the Recognised Seasonal Employer programme.

As Kaniva News reported, the Tongan government has established a task force to deal with New Zealand and Australian employers’ concerns over Tongan fruit pickers who have worked in their farms.

The task force duties included making sure only the reliable and trustworthy employees were picked for the programmes.

Photos of dead cows in Vavaʻu spark outrage on social media

By
Kalino Latu
-

Pictures of seven dead cows which were uploaded to Facebook this morning have left some people disturbed and emotional.

Vavaʻuan correspondent Filomena Hansen shared the images with some Facebook users, who were quick to react emotionally.

Hansen claimed the cows were shot dead in a tax allotment in the village of ʻUtui in Neiafu.

Vavaʻu authorities could not be reached for comments.

It is understood the cattle invaded and began grazing in the allotment before they were allegedly shot dead apparently by the landowner.

A Facebook user said in Tongan the action was “senseless”.

One user has likened the killing to ISIS style of execution.

However, several commentators said they were struggling with this problem because some farmers could not control their livestock.

They said this had led to the animals either roaming on the road or invading plantations and had caused enormous damage to their crops.

Former TBC head loses Supreme Court case over dismissal from top job

By
Philip Cass
-

The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by Nanisē Fifita to quash a decision  by the Minister for Public Services to void her reappointment as the General Manger of Tonga Broadcasting Commission.

However, Chief Justice Paulsen said he made no comment as to whether she may still have remedies available to her in respect of any failings of the Board of TBC to obtain the Minister’s approval to her reappointment.

The judge said he had considerable sympathy for Mrs Fifita.

“She has by all accounts been an excellent employee,” he said.

He described her as “a long term, loyal  and  able servant of TBC” who had been general manager  since October 2008.

Some evidence had been presented by Mrs. Fifita that she was not reappointed because the Prime Minister was angry with journalists at TBC.

“However, this issue hardly featured at  all  in  counsel’s arguments and was not relevant to the issues I  had to   decide,” the judge said.

Mrs Fifita had initially sought an injunction to restrain TBC and the Minister from appointing any  other person as the General Manager of TBC.

On June 26 Mrs  Fifita’s lawyer, Clive Edwards, asked  to submit an affidavit from the former Company  Secretary of TBC, Ane Mailangi, which it was said had a “critical bearing on the  case.

“The admission  of    the affidavit of Ms. Mailangi marked a fundamental shift in the basis  of Mrs. Fifita’s case,” Lord Chief Justice Paulsen said.

Mr Edwards disavowed the earlier arguments that Mrs Fifita had a right of renewal under her contract of employment which had already been approved by the then Minister or that in withholding his approval to her  reappointment  the  Minister  had  breached an implied obligation  of mutual trust  and confidence,  did not  act in good faith or failed to observe natural justice.

Following the submission of the new affidavit, Mr Edwards argued that the Minister had in fact given his approval to the reappointment of Mrs. Fifita.  Secondly,  he argued that  the Minister could not withhold his approval because  he did not  accept the terms of employment agreed between Mrs.  Fifita  and  TBC.

“Mrs. Fifita says that prior to  the expiry  of  the contract  she  made the  then Chairman of the Board, Mr. Tapu Panuve,  aware that her contract was up for renewal and she understood from him that it would be  renewed,” the judge said.

“Despite a sub-committee of the Board conducting a review of her performance and finding it satisfactory, Mrs. Fifita’s contract was not renewed.”

Lord Chief Justice Paulsen said that Ms. Mailangi gave evidence that the Minister had approved the renewal of the contract, but that he wanted it to be amended so that the  renewal  clause  would  not appear again in any future employment document.

However, after analysing the different claims, the judge said Mrs. Fifita had entered into a new contract  with TBC on March 21 this year. This expressly provided that  the appointment was subject to section 26 of the Public Enterprises Act. Her reappointment therefore undoubtedly  required  the  Minister’s  approval, but that approval was never obtained.

“In relation to Mrs. Fifita’s contract the Minister had legitimate reason to be concerned that it contained a right of renewal,” the judge said.

“That provision was inconsistent with Government policy which required that posts be advertised and thereby subject to open competition. Even had his approval been given subject to the removal of the renewal provision, that was a condition the Minister was entitled to impose.

“It follows that. Mrs. Fifita’s application for judicial review must be dismissed.”

The main points

  • The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by Nanisē Fifita to quash a decision by the Minister for Public Services to void her reappointment as the General Manger of Tonga Broadcasting Commission.
  • However, Chief Justice Paulsen said he made no comment as to whether she may still have remedies available to her in respect of any failings of the Board of TBC to obtain the Minister’s approval to her reappointment.
  • Some evidence had been presented by Mrs. Fifita that she was not reappointed because the Prime Minister was angry with journalists at TBC.
  • “However, this issue hardly featured at all in  counsel’s arguments and was not relevant to the issues I  had to   decide,” the judge said.
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