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COMMENTARY: Prime Minister Pōhiva warned about use of circulars, said they muzzled Opposition MPs

By
Kalino Latu
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This commentary was edited to reflect the fact that the response from the Deputy Clerk was meant to say that the Parliament using the circular was a normal means of communication.

COMMENTARY: It is time for the practice of using circulars to make decisions in Parliament was reviewed.

Circulars should only be used on agendas that are urgent.

They should not be used on important issues such as pay rises for Parliamentarians.

Such issues should be properly debated in the House so that they can be recorded in the minutes for the public to read and also broadcast for people to listen.

As Kaniva News reported yesterday, the government’s use of a circular to canvas MPs’ views on a pay rise has been called into question.

However, the Legislative Assembly’s Deputy Clerk, Dr Sione Vikilani, said the circular was a normal means of communication approved by the House and any information sent through it was legal.

In Tongan he said: “Ko e tohi ‘avetakai ko e founga ngāue pe ‘oku ‘ataa ke ngaue’aki pea ‘oku ‘ikai ke ta’efakalao ha tu’utu’uni ‘i hono fakahoko ‘i he founga koia”.

Dr Vikilani did not respond to a question asking why a circular was used to ballot the pay hike and not a face-to-face voting in the House.

READ MORE

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Bad luck fears mount amid debates on MPs’ controversial Mate Ma‘a attendance

In 2018 Tonga’s former Prime Minister, the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva, warned that using circulars in Parliament was open to abuse.

Speaking to Kaniva News, Pōhiva said the use of circulars was normal but did not allow for discussion.

MPs, especially the Opposition, could not debate whatever agenda was being circulated.

He said that traditionally Speakers and the Noble’s representatives, who were mostly the majority  in the House, used it to ballot issues they wanted to be decided in their favour.

The late Prime Minister’s comments were made during an interview in 2018 about the decision to approve an invitation from the Tonga Rugby League for a Parliament delegation to attend a match.

The decision was adopted through a circular, by collective resolution of Parliament.

Prime Minister Pōhiva’s concerns are just as relevant today as they were four years ago.

Debates and voting in the House must be open so that all citizens can see how their MPs voted and debate can be held in public.

This was illustrated in our story yesterday when Dr Vikilani would not say how MPs voted on the circular. 

A Parliament with secrets is not truly democratic.

Dunedin Airport’s three-minute hug limit makes global headlines

By
Kaniva Staff
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By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

Dunedin Airport has gone viral and made global headlines after introducing a three minute time limit on hugs.

hug limit sign

Photo: Facebook

The time limit in the airport’s free drop-off zone was about improving traffic flow and safety around the terminal.

Anyone wanting a longer farewell would have to find a spot in the carpark.

Dunedin Airport chief executive Dan De Bono spoke to RNZ’s Checkpoint programme earlier this month and confessed he was “a hugger”.

They were trying to have a bit of fun with the announcement, he said.

“It’s caused quite a stir, we’ve got quite a bit of conversation going.”

CNN included it in its weekly travel newsletter under the headline “Catch flights, not feelings”.

The New York Post went with the “inhumane” angle, while the Times of India said the “quirky rule” had “sparked lively debate online”.

The UK’s Independent site took things to a more serious level, noting that in the UK more than a third of major airports had raised drop-off fees for drivers in the past year.

“Seven out of 20 airports analysed have raised so-called ‘kiss and fly’ charges – which are typically levied for dropping off someone as close to a terminal as possible.”

A Facebook post with a photo of the “Max hug time 3 minutes” sign has also had more than 56,000 likes and more than 1400 comments.

“You can’t put a time limit on hugs! That’s inhumane,” one person wrote.

Others were more supportive, suggesting other places such a limit would help.

“OMG school drop off lines need a similar sign (Max hug time 10 sec).”

The story has gained the attention of international news media.

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Man charged with manslaughter after Wellington death named

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Kate Green, of RNZ

Siale Siale, 29, has appeared in the Wellington District Court.
Siale Siale, 29, has appeared in the Wellington District Court. (Source: rnz.co.nz)

A man charged with manslaughter after the death of a man who was allegedly assaulted on Wellington’s Courtenay Place can now be named.

Siale Siale, 29, appeared in the Wellington District Court on Monday morning after the death of Luke Smith two weeks ago.

Smith, 21, was rushed to hospital in the early hours of October 6 and died when his life support was removed.

Supporters of Luke Smith gathered outside the court.

Luke Smith died after an assault in Welllington on the weekend.
Luke Smith died after an assault in Welllington on the weekend. (Source: Give A Little )

Police said at the time the assault happened about 3.15am outside the old Reading Cinema building.

Siale has been released on bail, with conditions limiting his travel.

He will next appear in the High Court in Wellington in November.

Smith and his parents had emigrated to New Zealand from South Africa earlier this year and settled in Upper Hutt, police said.

By last week $22,000 had been raised to help pay for the return of his body to South Africa.

One dead after boat capsizes on Manukau Bar

By
Kaniva Staff
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By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

A person has died after a boat with seven people on board capsized on Auckland’s Manukau Bar.

Coastguard

Photo: Supplied / Coastguard

Police were alerted just before 10am.

“Several nearby boaties responded without hesitation, helping to recover seven people from the water,” Coastguard said in a statement.

Six people were pulled out of the water and were treated by ambulance staff.

Coastguard volunteers from Waiuku, Papakura, and Auckland and the Coastguard Air Patrol took part in the rescue.

Coastguard

Photo: Supplied / Coastguard

“Volunteers from Coastguard Waiuku met the assisting vessels at Little Huia to provide first aid and check the wellbeing of those rescued,” they said

Coastguard Auckland Air Patrol searched the South Channel for the overturned boat, while Coastguard Papakura checked the front of the bar.

The vessel is believed to have sunk and could not be located.

“As bars like the Manukau Bar can be unpredictable and dangerous, we encourage all boaties to refresh their knowledge by attending one of our Bar Awareness seminars, held across the country and online,” the Coastguard said.

Air NZ plane lands in Sydney after bomb threat – reports

By
Kaniva Staff
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By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

An Air New Zealand flight has landed at Sydney Airport following reports of a bomb threat on board.

A screeshot from Seven News

9 News said flight NZ247 arrived from Wellington about 5.40pm local time (7.40pm NZT), with a tactical operations unit, paramedics and firefighters all called to the scene.

The plane had 154 staff and passengers on board, the channel reported.

Multiple Australian news outlets said the huge emergency services response was due to a bomb scare on board the plane.

Journalist Brian Wilson said the plane stopped on a utility taxiway, away from the airport terminals, and remained there for more than an hour.

It then taxied to the international terminal, where it was met by Federal Police.

Air New Zealand was “aware of a security incident” on board the flight, the airline’s chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said in a statement.

“We are working with the local authorities and following standard protocols established for such incidents.”

7News said no-one had been seen coming in or out of the A320 plane since it landed.

Up to 40 emergency services vehicles were at the scene, including bomb squad cars and armed police, the outlet said.

It appeared planes at the airport briefly entered a holding pattern while the aircraft landed, 7News said.

9News reported about 9.15pm that emergency services were starting to be stood down.

The incident comes just one day after King Charles III and Queen Camilla touched down at Sydney Airport for a tour of Australia.

An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said the force had “responded to an incident on board an aircraft that was en route to the airport”.

Investigations were ongoing, they said.

“There is no threat to the community.”

New South Wales Police said the federal police was the lead agency for the incident, but “considerable NSW Police resources” responded to the airport.

“Most have now been stood down,” a spokesperson said about 10pm NZT.

Sydney Airport has been contacted for comment.

Joe Biden: Sinwar’s confirmed death is a ‘good day’ for the world

By
Kaniva Staff
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By 1news.co.nz

  • US President Joe Biden said that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli troops is a “good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world” and called it an “opportunity” to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas and end the year-long war in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden walks out of the White House.
US President Joe Biden walks out of the White House. (Source: Associated Press)

Biden, in a statement, compared it to the feeling in the US after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks.

He said the killing of the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel “proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes”.

Yahya Sinwar.
Yahya Sinwar. (Source: Associated Press)

Biden said he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them “and to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all”.

Biden said with Sinwar’s death “there is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike”.

He praised US special operations forces and intelligence operatives who helped advise Israeli allies on tracking and locating Sinwar and other Hamas leaders over the last year — though the US said the operation that killed Sinwar was an Israeli one.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan called Sinwar a “massive obstacle” to peace.

He added, “his removal from the battlefield does present an opportunity to find a way forward that gets the hostages home”.

Arrest in human trafficking sting in Tonga

By
Kaniva Staff
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Law enforcement officials in Tonga said they have arrested a person and recovered a victim during a human trafficking bust last week.

The report comes after the US State Department raised concerns about the lack of a prevention plan in Tonga to combat all forms of trafficking and support and protect victims.

The following year, Tonga launched its first action plan to combat human trafficking.

The victim is being assisted to return to their home country while the accused trafficker was remanded to be held in police custody.

Reports have revealed that Tonga’s Technical Working Group (TWG) for Trafficking in Persons (TIP) has uncovered a human trafficking case, resulting in the arrest of the accused.

Tonga police had been involved.

The TWG, with support from USAID Pacific RISE-CTIP, coordinated efforts to assist the victim, offering meals, temporary shelter, transportation, counselling, and ensuring the victim’s safe return to their home country.

As Kaniva News reported in 2022, Tonga has not done enough to combat people trafficking and would remain on an American watch list, according to the US State Department’s annual report.

Since convicting its first trafficker in April 2011, the government has not prosecuted or convicted any traffickers, the State Department said.

Sex workers

Tongans working overseas were vulnerable to labour exploitation. However, it also said that Asian workers in Tonga were vulnerable to labour exploitation and being forced to become sex workers.

East Asian women, especially those from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), who were recruited from their home countries for legitimate work in Tonga were vulnerable to sex trafficking

They often paid excessive recruitment fees and sometimes ended up as sex workers in clandestine establishments operating as legitimate businesses.

Reports indicated that Fijians working in the domestic service industry in Tonga experienced mistreatment typical of labour trafficking.

Tongans working overseas, including in Australia and New Zealand, were vulnerable to labour trafficking, including through withholding of wages and excessive work hours.

Vehicle fire causes delays on State Highway 16 near Whenuapai

By
Kaniva Staff
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By 1News Reporters

  • Motorists are being warned to expect delays on State Highway 16 near Auckland’s Whenuapai after a vehicle caught fire.
A vehicle on fire on State Highway 16 near Whenuapai on Tuesday.
A vehicle on fire on State Highway 16 near Whenuapai on Tuesday. (Source: New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi)

Emergency services were called to the incident at around 6.05pm after receiving a report of a vehicle on fire on the road.

“The fire has been extinguished and no injuries are reported,” police said.

“The westbound lane is closed and traffic management is in place, thank you for your patience while the vehicle is towed and the roadway is cleared.”

The car pictured after the fire.
The car pictured after the fire. (Source: Hunter Lee)

Police investigate drowning after pulling toddler from a Tongatapu flooded pit

By
Kaniva Staff
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 UPDATED: A toddler is dead after drowning in a flooded pit at Popua on Sunday, police said.

Vaiola Hospital Ambulance. Photo/Kalino Lātū

The Police responded to a report received on Sunday, October 13, 2024 at approximately 1.45pm.

“The preliminary investigations indicated that the incident involved a little boy, aged 1 year and 8 months old, who was playing with his siblings near an unfinished ground hole filled with rainwater”, a police statement said.

“When his older brother noticed he was nowhere to be seen, they began searching for him.

“It was explained that about half an hour later, he found his brother’s body floating in the water hole just behind their home.

“Efforts were made to pull him out and call for help, but it was too late.

It said emergency services and an ambulance arrived at the scene around 2.15PM.

“The medical personnel confirmed the little boy’s death and was transported to Vaiola Hospital.

The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding this tragic suspected drowning incident.

“Tonga Police would like to remind and advise the community to be safe in their surroundings. It is important for parents and guardians to stay alert and ensure the safety of your children during bad weather. It is also advised to say away from flooded streets and encourage your children to stay indoor during a heavy rain”.

Three people taken to hospital after gas leak at Auckland early childhood centre

By
Kaniva Staff
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By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

Three people have been taken to hospital after a gas leak at an early childhood centre on Auckland’s North Shore.

Caterpillars to Butterflies Early Learning on Auckland's North Shore.

Caterpillars to Butterflies Early Learning on Auckland’s North Shore. Photo: Maia Ingoe / RNZ

Emergency services were called to the Caterpillars to Butterflies centre in Hillcrest just before noon.

One person in a moderate condition and two patients in a serious condition were then transported to North Shore Hospital by ambulance.

A teacher at the daycare says no children were injured and the centre remains open.

Hato Hone St John sent two rapid response units, four ambulances, and one operations manager to the scene.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said two fire trucks and one hazmat command vehicle were also sent to assist.

A Ministry of Education incident team was at the centre about noon.

Police say enquiries are under way into the exact circumstances.

Armed man arrested outside Trump’s Coachella rally — and sheriff says it was possible third assassination attempt

By
Kaniva Staff
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By 1news.co.nz

A Nevada man with a shotgun, a loaded handgun and ammunition in his vehicle was arrested at a security checkpoint outside Donald Trump’s weekend rally in the Southern California desert, authorities said.

The suspect, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was driving a black SUV that was stopped by deputies assigned to the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine, the department said.

“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event,” the statement said.

Media members, as well as VIP ticket holders, were routed through a number of intersections manned by state and local law enforcement officers before arriving at a large, grassy area where drivers were asked to open hoods and trunks, and each vehicle was searched by a K-9 officer.

Other general ticket holders were directed to a site roughly 5km away from the rally, where they were boarded onto buses and driven to the site.

Donald Trump Coachella
Donald Trump appearing at Coachella on Saturday, when cops say a third assassination attempt was thwarted.Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco planned an afternoon news conference to discuss the arrest.

Riverside County Sheriffs Deputies
Riverside County Sheriffs Deputies outside of Coachella during Trump’s rally on Saturday.Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is a breaking story. Please refresh for updates.

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