A Catholic priest who ignored a passenger’s warning to slow down before a crash that killed his close friend has been jailed for one year and 10 months.

Haʻunga Junior Tupou, 41, was sentenced in the Supreme Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Salesi Hopo.

The offending followed an afternoon and evening of drinking on January 20, when Tupou, Hopo and others drank kava and wine at Veitongo before continuing at Billfish Bar in Nukuʻalofa.

Around midnight, Tupou drove from the bar with Hopo and another man, ʻAlipate Ngata, as passengers.

Justice Targowski KC said Tupou drove at excessive speed, prompting Ngata to wake and tell him to slow down after the vehicle crossed a speed hump near Lavengamalie College.

Tupou ignored the warning and continued speeding, at one point veering onto the wrong side of the road and later narrowly avoiding a stone wall at Pea.

He then failed to stop at a four-way intersection while heading towards Tokomololo before losing control of the vehicle.

The vehicle struck a residential fence and flipped onto its side.

Tupou left the scene before police arrived, while Hopo suffered a severe head injury and died at Vaiola Hospital at about 7am the following morning.

The judge said the crash was not the result of a momentary error because Tupou had several opportunities to reconsider his driving but continued despite an explicit warning from his passenger.

The court heard Tupou had consumed alcohol for several hours, but no blood-alcohol result was available because he had left the crash scene.

Tupou, who had no previous convictions, was placed on administrative leave from his duties and public ministry by the Catholic Church pending the case.

His sentence was reduced for factors including remorse, cooperation and his early guilty plea, with two years of a three-year-and-10-month sentence suspended.

He was also disqualified from driving or obtaining a licence for four years after his release and ordered to undertake alcohol-awareness, road-safety or other rehabilitation directed by the Probation Office.

Another serious road crash has been reported in Tonga, with eyewitness footage showing police and bystanders attempting to assist an occupant trapped inside an overturned vehicle while a tractor was used to pull the car back onto its wheels at Halaliku.

The incident is the latest in a series of vehicle crashes reported in Tongatapu within days.

A photograph initially obtained by Kaniva News showed a red vehicle against a large tree and surrounded by vegetation, with significant damage visible around its front section.

An eyewitness has since sent Kaniva News video footage from the scene, providing further details about the apparent severity of the crash.

The footage shows a police officer controlling the scene while a tractor attempts to pull the overturned vehicle upright.

A police officer and bystanders can also be seen rushing to assist an occupant who appeared to be trapped inside while the vehicle remained overturned.

The eyewitness, who spoke to Kaniva News on condition of anonymity, alleged that the trapped occupant was seriously injured.

She said other occupants of the vehicle had already been rushed to hospital by the time the footage was taken.

The number of people involved and the nature and extent of their injuries have not yet been officially confirmed.

The precise location and circumstances of the crash also remain unclear, including what caused the vehicle to leave the road and overturn.

The incident follows another crash reported within the previous 24 hours in which a vehicle overturned after damaging a high-voltage power pole, forcing an emergency electricity shutdown affecting parts of Pea and Haʻateiho.

That followed a separate crash only days earlier in which a vehicle struck and broke a power pole at Nukunuku, resulting in a major overnight power outage across several communities in western Tongatapu.

Editorial – For decades, New Zealand politicians and governments have acknowledged the country’s deep historical, cultural and social links with Pacific peoples. At times, that recognition has gone beyond words: overstayers have been offered amnesties, regularisation programmes or other opportunities to legalise their status, with Pacific communities among the major beneficiaries.

But alongside those concessions sits a more troubling history. Pacific peoples have also experienced some of the harshest and most controversial applications of New Zealand’s immigration laws — most notoriously during the Dawn Raids, when Pacific communities were disproportionately targeted despite significant numbers of overstayers coming from outside the Pacific.

That history has continued to fuel calls for another amnesty, particularly for Pacific overstayers. But it has also confronted governments with a difficult question: could an immigration concession specifically for Pacific people be justified when overstayers from many other countries were also living unlawfully in New Zealand?

Previous Fairness Concerns Raised

Tongan lawyers and immigration advisers have told Kaniva News over the years that one government response they encountered to proposals specifically benefiting Pacific overstayers was that such preferential treatment could be considered unfair to people of other nationalities.

That is what makes the wording of New Zealand First’s newly announced immigration policy particularly significant.

NZ First does not avoid that distinction. It makes it explicit — and provides a justification for it.

The party proposes a 24-month clemency period in which Pacific overstayers could apply to remain legally in New Zealand. More importantly, it explains why they should receive that opportunity:

“In recognition of our commitment to our enduring Pacific relations, we will allow for a 24-month clemency period to facilitate any Pacific overstayer to apply to remain in the country legally on a valid visa.”

It then removes any ambiguity:

“This will apply only to overstayers of Pacific origin.”

Those few words could be more significant than the clemency period itself.

Against that longstanding concern that a Pacific-specific immigration concession could be unfair to other nationalities, NZ First appears to offer an answer: New Zealand’s enduring relationship with the Pacific can provide a legitimate basis for Pacific people to receive particular consideration.

That marks an intriguing shift in a decades-long debate: the question is no longer simply whether preferential treatment for Pacific people is unfair to other nationalities, but whether New Zealand’s unique relationship with the region justifies treating them differently.

This is not to suggest that NZ First’s wider immigration package will be welcomed by everyone. It contains a number of tougher measures likely to concern migrants and their advocates.

This editorial, however, focuses specifically on the Pacific overstayer proposal and what it could mean for the more than 2,000 Tongan overstayers believed to be living in New Zealand.

Will Rivals Go Further?

What is even more interesting about NZ First’s move is that, with the election only months away, it could trigger a much larger offer from Labour and the Greens for Pacific overstayers.

Both parties have traditionally been more supportive of opportunities for overstayers, particularly those from Pacific communities. Yet it is NZ First — a party better known for tighter immigration controls — that has moved first with a concrete Pacific-only clemency proposal.

That puts Labour and the Greens in an interesting position. The question may no longer be simply whether they support another amnesty or pathway to legal status, but whether they are prepared to match or surpass NZ First’s 24-month offer to Pacific overstayers.

If either party responds with a more generous proposal, NZ First may have done something unexpected: shifted the election debate from whether Pacific overstayers should receive special consideration to how far that consideration should go.

Auckland, NZ – Footage of a church minister apparently reprimanding two camera operators for not wearing taʻovala during a Tongan wedding ceremony in Auckland has sparked debate on social media, with viewers questioning why the minister and several other men appeared not to be wearing taʻovala themselves.

The incident occurred during the Mr & Mrs Fakapalea Wedding Ceremony in Auckland on Saturday, September 12. The wedding ceremony was livestreamed and shared on the Mai Niu Productions Facebook page.

In the footage, the cameraman and camerawoman, who appeared to be of Indian descent, seemed unaware that the minister was addressing them or apparently instructing them to leave or move from where they were filming.

Both were dressed in neat casual attire, including long trousers, but were not wearing taʻovala.

However, viewers quickly focused on what they regarded as an apparent contradiction.

The minister himself appeared not to be wearing a taʻovala at the time, while several men standing around him in a circular formation as part of the ceremony also appeared to be without the traditional Tongan waist mat.

The apparent contradiction became a point of discussion as footage from the livestream circulated on Facebook, dividing commenters over the incident.

Others debated whether different cultural or ceremonial rules may have applied to the minister and the men participating in the wedding ceremony, compared with a cameraman working inside the church.

The incident has prompted wider discussion about the application of Tongan dress and cultural protocols at church ceremonies, particularly whether such expectations should apply consistently to everyone present.

Critics argued that churches should focus on people’s spiritual wellbeing rather than material or cultural requirements such as taʻovala.

Others said that if wearing taʻovala was a requirement inside the church, there should have been a clear policy, with church members informing hired photographers and videographers beforehand about the expected dress code and where they were permitted to stand, walk or film inside the building.

A vehicle accident has damaged a high-voltage power pole in Tongatapu, forcing Tonga Power Limited (TPL) to schedule an emergency electricity outage affecting parts of Pea and Haʻateiho today.

TPL said electricity would be temporarily disconnected between 1pm and 3pm on Saturday, September 12, while crews carry out emergency repairs to the damaged high-voltage pole.

Photos shared by the company show the vehicle overturned on its roof, with all four wheels facing upwards and extensive visible damage, particularly to its front section.

Debris also appears to be scattered around the wreckage. Details surrounding the crash remain unclear, including how the vehicle left the road, how many people were inside and whether anyone was injured.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Customers in the affected areas have been advised to prepare for the two-hour interruption by charging mobile phones, power banks and other essential devices beforehand.

TPL also urged households to keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed during the outage and unplug sensitive electrical appliances.

People who depend on electricity for essential needs have been advised to make alternative arrangements before the shutdown begins.

The company also warned members of the public to stay clear of the repair site, where crews may be operating heavy equipment and working around live power lines.

TPL apologised for the disruption and said the temporary shutdown was necessary to allow the damaged infrastructure to be repaired safely.

The latest incident follows other recent vehicle crashes involving electricity poles in Tongatapu, which have disrupted power supplies and required emergency repair work.

Customers seeking further information can contact Tonga Power Limited on 944.