Home Blog Page 237

Tonga joins group of nations calling for phase out of ‘coal, oil and gas’

By
Kaniva Staff
-

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

Tonga has formally joined a group of nations calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Pacific Islands activists protest demanding climate action and loss and damage reparations at COP27 in Egypt

Pacific Islands activists protest demanding climate action and loss and damage reparations at COP27 in Egypt Photo: DOMINIKA ZARZYCKA/AFP

Prime Minister of Tonga Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni made the official announcement at the Fifth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Port Vila on Thursday.

Vanuatu and Tuvalu were the first state parties to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“Climate change is the single greatest threat to Tonga and Pacific Island countries, and Tonga therefore stands together with our neighbours in calling for urgent action to combat the root cause of this crisis,” Hu’akavameiliku said.

In March, Tonga joined a group of Pacific countries – Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Niue – making an ambitious call for a global phase out of fossil fuels, and a just transition from fossil fuels in the Pacific, the Port Vila Call.

“Now we urge all Pacific governments to join Tonga, Vanuatu and Tuvalu in publicly calling for the negotiation of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he said.

“A new global treaty can provide the framework for finance, technological support and knowledge sharing needed to ensure a just transition away from coal, oil and gas across the Pacific and in the world.”

Environmental organisation 350.org Pacific’s managing director Joseph Sikulu said Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Tonga have stepped up to the plate and now it is time for world leaders to decide if they want to be a part of the solution.

“As Pacific Climate Warriors, it fills us with hope to see our leaders continue to show the world true climate leadership,” Sikulu said.

Sikulu said this leadership is a commitment to do what is needed to transition Pacific economies away from fossil fuels and keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees.

“In Tonga we say, ‘Ko Tonga moʻunga ki he loto’ meaning, ‘in Tonga our mountains are within, our strength-hold is our heart’ and we thank the Tongan government for standing up for our people.”

An elder of the group, Inangaro Vakaafi, said Tonga’s call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty was another step towards the future Pacific islanders deserve.

“The Pacific is displaying the leadership and political will that we need to see emerging across the globe,” Vakaafi said.

“There is so much room for innovation and equity in the energy transition, but we must phase out the climate-destroying fossil fuels that got us into this mess in the first place. If island nations like ours can take the first step, what is stopping the rest of the world?”

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is supported by World Health Organisation, the European Parliament, as well as over 100 nobel laureates and 3,000 scientists and academics.

Hon. Tapueluelu wins right to apply for Supreme Court review of MPs’ pay rise

By
Philip Cass
-

UPDATED: The Supreme Court has granted leave to apply for a judicial review of a decision by Parliament to grant MPs pay rises.

Member for Tongatapu 4 Mateni Tapueluelu sought leave to apply for judicial review of two resolutions of the Legislative Assembly – 58-A/2018 and 60A/2018 – passed in 2018 and a decision in 2022 to implement those resolutions.

Māteni Tapueluelu. Photo/Tnews, Youtube

The application was heard  by Lord Chief Justice Whitten.

The effect of the resolutions was to grant Members and staff of the Legislative Assembly a 14% pay rise backdated to 2018.

The court document said the timing of the approvals was unreasonable given that the kingdom was in a financial crisis following the volcanic eruption, tsunami and Covid-19 epidemic.

The first resolution was not the subject of a motion prior to its circulation for Members’ approval.  Voting was done by placing a tick next to MP’s names and signing their names.

The effect of the resolutions was to propose pay rises for MPs amounting to $TP1,997,742 for 2018/19;  $TP1,538,742 for 2019/20; $TP1,538,742 for 2020/21 and $TP1,968,662 for 2021/22.

The pay rises derived from consultancy work done by Dr ‘Aisake Eke and investigations by the Standing Committee on Privileges and the Standing Committee on Finance.

The court was told that none of the reports from the Standing Committees or Dr Eke were referred to Parliament for debate and vote in accordance with Rule 79 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Assembly.

During a sitting of Parliament in June last year the then Minister of Finance, Tatafu Moeaki, referred to a provision of $TP6.7 million for salary increases for Members of the Legislative Assembly and staff.  

Lord Chief Justice Whitten said the 2022/23 Appropriation Act was assented to on 30 June 2022. At the bottom of page 152 of the approved Budget, the sum of $TP6.7 million is stated in the “Note” without any explanation or detail as required by ss 7(5) of the Public Finance Management Act.

“Mr Tapueluelu believes that sum represents the amounts for the pay outs pursuant to the resolutions,” the judge said.

Speaker Lord Fakafanua. Photo/Fale Alea ‘O Tonga

In July 2022, the Legislative Assembly resolved to implement the salary increases and backdate the payments to commence from 1 July 2018. That decision was not the subject of any motion presented to, or debate within, the Legislative Assembly. There was no record of any proper resolution to that effect as required by Clause 19 of the Constitution.

“The financial implications of the decision are said to have been immense, given the nation was in a critical situation and in a recovery phase from the impacts of the volcanic eruption and tsunami in January 2022 and the Covid-19 pandemic from the first week of February 2022,” the judge said.

The salary increases for the Members and staff were described in the Reports of the Standing Committees as being justified on the basis of increases in the costs of goods in Tonga. The effect of the decision was to grant Members of Parliament a pay rise of 14%. Meanwhile, the cost of living allowance for all other civil servants was only 3%.

In his application, Hon. Tapueluelu said Parliament’s powers were bound by the Constitution of Tonga, which was the supreme law. 

The Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Assembly were mandated by clause 62(2) of the Constitution. The Legislative Assembly’s failure to comply with its Rules was a breach of the Constitution.

The Legislative Assembly did not have the privilege of supremacy over the Courts.

On the use of circulars, Lord Chief Justice Whitten said Part 5 of the Rules of Parliament prescribed the procedure for matters for discussion in the Legislative Assembly. Rule 79 required such matters to be presented by way of a notice of motion. Both the resolutions under consideration were communicated to the Members in the form of circulars delivered to their homes for them to tick and sign their names to express agreement.

The circulars were neither a motion nor a resolution, the judge said.

The manner in which the resolutions were communicated was in breach of Rules 79 and 80 which is, in turn, inconsistent with clause 62(2) of the Constitution.

Circulars were usually used for administrative purposes such as issues concerning travel, donations and other minor matters.   In this instance, the practice was inconsistent with Rule 117 and therefore clause 62(2) of the Constitution because it denied Members their right to debate and vote before reaching a decision by means of a resolution as per clause 19 of the Constitution.

“The timing of the approval was so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could ever have decided it,” the judge said.

“Tonga was still recovering from the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami and the Covid-19 lockdowns. The nation was in crisis and subject to severe financial constraints.

“Yet, the Legislative Assembly made a decision, without any proper motion, debate or vote, to apply substantial amounts of money to pay out salary increases for Members and staff back dated 1 July 2018.”

Lord Chief Justice Whitten granted Hon. Tapueluelu leave to apply for judicial review of the lawfulness of the two resolutions in 2018 and the decision in July 2022 to implement those resolutions.

Nursing Council suspends Tongan nurse’s licence, accuses her of endangering children

By
Philip Cass
-

Tongan nurse Vaiola Ha’unga has been accused of risking the health of children in her care.

Ha’unga was accused of continuing to work, even though her practising certificate had been suspended.

The New Zealand Herald reported that she had been the subject of two charges of  professional misconduct.

The first charge related to Ha’unga working as a public health nurse in the Early Childhood Health Team at Starship Community Services, within the former Auckland District Health Board, now Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland.

She worked with children from high needs families for five years to 2018.

She was found to have failed to meet one or more nursing competencies including documentation, case management, and clinical competence, and failing to undertake one or more essential components of the Well Child/Tamariki Ora programme when ought to have known these were required.

Between October 2018 and March 2020 Ha’unga worked as a nurse in Wellington when her practising certificate had been suspended. This amounted to professional misconduct.

Ha’unga began working at the Starship Community with patients aged from four weeks to five years old. In 2017  concerns were raised about her cases related to documentation, case management and aspects of her clinical care.

She was placed on a series of support programmes and in 2018 was stood down on full pay during an investigation of serious concerns about her competence and conduct.

A supervisor said Ha’unga was unable to “consistently apply knowledge to practice”.

The statement also noted that six children assigned to Ha’unga had never been seen by her.

Ha’unga resigned on May 3, 2018 – the day before she was due to attend a meeting to discuss the outcome of the investigation, but soon after she began working as a special clinical nurse for the Pacific Health Unit for inpatients at Wellington Hospital.

The Nursing Council was advised of the concerns around the nurse’s competency and professional conduct.

Two months later Ha’unga’s case was referred to a Professional Conduct Committee for investigation, but she did not take part.  The Nursing Council then suspended her practising certificate.

In February 2020 as the nurse director at Capital & Coast Health could not find her on the Nursing Council’s register. She rang the Nursing Council and was told the nurse’s practising certificate had been suspended in October 2018. Ha’unga resigned from her position at Capital and Coast DHB and did not return.

Haunga is listed on LinkedIn as having been as a Parish Community Nurse with the Tongan Health Society in Onehunga since 2006.

Her LinkedIn page describes the Parish Community Nursing service as a programme run by the Auckland District Health Board in collaboration with Pacific Churches in Central Auckland to improve their health and well-being.

She is listed as holding a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health from the University of Auckland and a Bachelor of Health science in Nursing from Manukau Institute of Technology. She also studied for a Master’s of Nursing at Massey University.

For more information

Auckland Starship hospital nurse Vailola Ha’unga struck off, censured for professional misconduct

Covid-19: Person in 20s among 66 deaths, cases steady

By
Kaniva Staff
-

‘Oku taupotu ‘i lalo ha fakamatala fakaTonga

There have been 11,739 new Covid-19 infections reported in New Zealand over the past week.

The numbers cover the week from Monday, May 8 to Sunday, May 14.

As at midnight Sunday there were 247 people in hospital with the virus.

Six people were in an intensive care unit as at midnight Sunday.

Sixty-six people with the virus have died.

One was in their 20s, two were in their 50s, eight were in their 60s, 20 were in their 70s, 21 were in their 80s and 14 were aged over 90.

Forty were women and 26 were men.

Of the 66 deaths reported, 13 were from Canterbury, 11 were from Auckland, 10 were from the Southern District, seven each were from Waikato and Wellington, four each were from Bay of Plenty and the Lakes District, three were from Nelson Marlborough, two each were from Northland, the MidCentral District and Whanganui, and one was from an unknown location.

The total number of deaths confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor, is 2850.

FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA

Na’e lipooti ‘i Nu’u Sila ha keisi fo’ou ‘o e Koviti ‘e 11,739 ‘i he uike kuo osi.

Ko e fika ‘eni lele mei he Monite ‘aho 8 ‘o Mee ki he ‘aho 14 ‘o Mee. I he’ene a’u mai ki he tu’uapo Sapate ne fe’unga mo e kakai ‘e toko 247 ne ‘i fale mahaki tupu mei he vailasi.

Ne ‘i ai ‘a e toko ono ‘i he ‘initenisivikea. Ko e toko 66 ne nau mate i he vailasi. Tokotaha ne i hono  20 tupu , toko ua he 50t pea toko valu he 60t, 20 he 70t 21 he 80t pea toko 14 he 90t. Toko 40 ko e kakai fefine pea toko 26 kakai tangata.

I he kau mate ‘e toko 66 ko e 13 mei  Canterbury, 11 Auckland, 10 Southern District, fitu Waikato mo Wellington, taki fa a e  Bay of Plenty mo   Lakes District, tolu mei Nelson Marlborough, taki ua mei  Northland, mo e  MidCentral District pea mo Whanganui, pea toko taha ikai ilo feitu’u mei ai.

Ko e tokolahi fakakatoa ‘o e kau mate e toko 2850 ne fakapapau’i ko e tupu mei he Koviti 19 pe ko e uhi ne ‘i ai hanau mahaki tauhi  pe ne hoko ‘a e Koviti ke mate ai.

‘American Idol’ has revealed its top 3 singers

By
Kalino Latu
-

By Lottie Elizabeth Johnson of Yahoo.com

Who are the top 3 singers on ‘American Idol’ 2023?

Iam Tongi

Iam Tongi

Iam Tongi’s “American Idol” audition is the most viewed of the season — by a landslide. Posted just over two months ago, it already has 15 million views on YouTube. For his audition, 18-year-old Tongi, who is from Hawaii, performed “Monsters” by James Blunt and dedicated the performance to his father, who died a couple of months before the audition.

With emotion, Tongi told the “Idol” judges that his father was the reason he got into music. He carried his emotion into his performance, and had judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan crying with his rendition of the song.

Tongi choked up as he reached his last note — but he had already convinced the judges that he would be a strong contender in the “Idol” competition.

“You hit a nerve, and that’s what great storytellers do,” Katy Perry said. “That’s what great artists do, and your voice is just so magnificent.”

“I cannot handle your heart breaking about your dad,” Bryan added. “Just seeing you missing your dad just sucks. Gosh, man, you just got a great voice. … You just did everything perfect, and I love you.”

“You take this into the world and you’re going to fracture some souls,” Richie said.

After the audition, Tongi spoke with producers about how he and his dad bonded over music, and how his dad had long wanted him to audition for “American Idol.”

“People thought I cry because I miss him, but it’s ’cause I hear him singing — I can hear his harmony,” Tongi said. “I know he’s with me. Through my music he’ll always be with me.”

Megan Danielle

Megan Danielle, a 20-year-old singer from Georgia, got the surprise of a lifetime when she auditioned for “Idol” with Lauren Daigle’s “You Say”: Daigle, who previously competed on “Idol,” ended up joining her audition and singing along.

During her audition, Danielle, who works at a Southern restaurant with her mom, told the “Idol” judges that she had a band when she was 18 and would frequently perform in bars. But one day, she said, her grandfather pulled her aside and asked her how she could use her talent to serve God, and the singer decided to make a switch to performing Christian music.

With Daigle at her side, Danielle received feedback from the judges, who praised her authenticity. Bryan, specifically, said Danielle had “a real honest rawness.”

Danielle previously competed on “The Voice,” getting eliminated during the semifinals on Season 18.

Colin Stough

From a small town in Mississippi, 18-year-old Colin Stough made it to the “Idol” judges for one main reason: His mom signed him up to audition for the show.

Stough — who hopes to put the small town of Gattman, Mississippi, on the map — wowed all of the judges with his rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” His mom, who was standing outside of the room during the performance, then came in and told the judges a little more about her son. She said Stough asked for his first guitar when he was in the fifth grade — and now their house is overflowing with guitars.

All of the judges thanked Stough’s mother for signing her son up.

“Colin is exactly what we hope and dream for at ‘American Idol,’” Bryan said. “Somebody that’s just raw, real, humble.”

Who got eliminated on ‘American Idol’ 2023?

Singers We Ani — who placed third on Season 11 of “The Voice” — and Zachariah Smith were eliminated Sunday night. “American Idol” will reveal this season’s winner during the finale, which airs May 21 at 6 p.m. MDT.

1 dead after 2-car crash in South Auckland

By
Kaniva Staff
-

One person has died and four others have been injured following a two-car crash in South Auckland this evening.

St John Ambulance . Photo/Kalino Lātū

Police say they were called to the scene on Great South Rd, in Ōtāhuhu, around 7.40pm.

One person died at the scene.

Three others were critically injured in the crash, while one sustained moderate injuries.

They have since been taken to hospital.

Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.

Call for Tongans in America to vote for singer Iam Tongi in next round of American Idol

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Hawai’ian academic has called on Tongans to vote for Iam Tongi in the next round of American Idol.

Professor Tēvita O. Ka’ili has also supported a special show for Tongi scheduled for next week as part of the Tongan community’s support for the young singer’s performance in the American Idol final.

Iam Tongi.

Although he is from Hawai’i, Tongi’s mother Lillie comes from Tonga. Her father ‘Uluamu came from Mu’a, Tatakamotonga.

Tongi, 18, was born and raised on the island of Oahu. He currently lives in Seattle.

His father Rodney, also half Tongan, died a few months before his audition for the American talent show. Rodney’s father came from Ha’ateiho. Tongi credits his father for getting him into music.

He says he can hear his father singing.

He is now in the Top 5 of American Idol.

He recently sang at Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa in Ko Olina, and received praise from judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan.

“I always dreamed about performing on a big stage in front of a lot of people,” Tongi said.

“This means a lot.”

An American entertainment gossip sites claims Tongi, who is still at high school, has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and  336,000 followers on TikTok. His videos have racked up more than 1.2 million likes.

He had previously auditioned for American Idol, but did not progress any further.

Voting on Sunday May 14 during live show

8pm ET / 5pm PT.

2:00 pm – Hawaiʻi

5:00 pm – California, Washington, Nevada

7:00 pm – Texas

6:00 pm – Utah

Pasifika overstayer detained after dawn raid granted temporary visa

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By RNZ.co.nz

A Pasifika overstayer who was detained after a dawn raid in South Auckland last month has been granted a temporary visa and will no longer be deported.

Immigration Minister Michael Wood this week confirmed he had sent a letter of expectations to the agency’s chief executive “setting out the Government’s expectation that these sorts of deportations should only occur in extremis – in circumstances that absolutely require it”. Photo/Supplied

The man’s lawyer, Soane Foliaki, said police showed up at the man’s home at 5am, scaring his children and taking him into custody – and though Immigration NZ disputed the timing, it admitted the early morning raid was not a one-off.

Two years ago the government apologised for the infamous dawn raids of the 1970s.

The man’s lawyer, Soane Foliaki, said associate Immigration Minister Rachel Brooking reviewed the case and approved the temporary visa on Thursday.

It means the man is now eligible to apply for residency.

“We’re grateful for that. What it does is allows him to file a formal application for residency based on his marriage and his family.”

Foliaki said the man would need to prove to the minister that he was in a genuine and stable relationship, in order to be granted residence, and “he is well beyond that”.

The man was relieved to be granted a temporary visa, he said.

“Over the top. Really really happy. His issue became kind of political being a dawn raid but he’s only aware of that to a particular limit,” Foliaki said.

“It’s become bigger than him but for him personally and his family they’re really happy. All he ever wanted was to go to work, he’s a construction worker, and provide for his family and live peacefully here in New Zealand.”

The temporary visa had come through “really by political pressure”, he said.

Immigration New Zealand has been approached for comment.

Foliaki said the man was detained for three days and two nights at Manukau Police Station before being released hours before he was due to be deported.

“It’s not a nice place for somebody who’s not a criminal.”

The dawn raid caused the man and his family unnecessary harm, he said.

Immigration New Zealand has launched a review into what it calls ‘out of hours compliance visits’ and paused all such operations until the review has been completed.

Supreme Court hands down 12 year sentence after man pleads guilty to manslaughter

By
Philip Cass
-

Siosifa Vailima Tuita, 52, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the manslaughter of his twin sister.

Tuita appeared before Lord Chief Justice Whitten in the Supreme Court.

‘Alisi Tuita. Photo/Supplied

The sentence has been backdated to March 7, 2022 when the Defendant was remanded in custody. 

The final two years of the sentence have  been suspended for a period of two years from the date of the Defendant’s release from prison on condition that the prisoner comply with certain directions of the court.

On the morning of Saturday, 5 March 2022, ‘Alilia Lolohea was at her residence in Falaleu, Vava’u. She lived next door to Tuita and his twin sister, ‘Alisi Tuita. At around 7.35 am ‘Alilia heard a loud cry coming from the Tuita residence. When she got up and opened the door of her residence, ‘Alilia saw Iosifa, who was shirtless, running away from his housee.  ‘Alilia then walked to the fence of her property where she saw ‘Alisi lying on her verandah floor.

She and a neighbour summoned the Town Officer, Simoneti Toko, and asked for his help. Simoneti found ‘Alisi lying face down close to the door to the living room, in a pool of blood and with a knife lodged in her head.

By this time, Iosifa Tuita  had gone to the Neiafu Police Station where he spoke with Sergeant Fe’aomoeata. As a result, police attended the residence where they found ‘Alisi’s body and rushed her to hospital. 

Dr Mosese Taumoepeau examined the body and found that ‘Alisi died at 7.50 am, from a total of nine stab wounds to her chest causing aortic rupture, armpit, back, abdomen and her head where the knife was about five centimetres into her skull.

On  October 17, 2022, Tuita  appeared before Judge Cooper who noted that the accused had a history of mental health problems and that in those circumstances, it was imperative to understand whether the Defendant was fit to enter a plea.

Tuita made a statement in which he said he said he did not remember doing anything with a knife; that there was a struggle on the front verandah of their house; that his sister fell down and became injured; but did not know how she got her injuries.

Judge Cooper gave directions for a psychiatric assessment by Dr Mapa Puloka as to whether the Defendant was legally insane, as defined by s 17, at the time of the offending. 

Dr Puloka reported that the defendant had a long history of alcohol and drug abuse. He began experiencing hallucinations in 2015 and his continued substance abuse led to psychosis, paranoia, and other bizarre behaviours.

He had been admitted to the Vaiola psychiatric unit on a number of occasions.

Tuita told Dr Puloka that on the day in question he arose early and was doing some domestic chores when his sister scolded him for making noise and for his past drunkenness. She threatened to report him to the police and said he would be sent back to the psychiatric unit in Tongatapu.

This made him angry and he picked up a knife and attacked his sister, chasing her as she ran towards the door. He only remembered inflicting two of the nine stab wounds reported by Dr Taumoepeau;

He ran to the police station and told officers that his sister was hurt and that he had stabbed her.

He said he did not intend to kill his sister, only hurt her. 

Dr Puloka gave as his opinion that Tuita was suffering from a mental and behavioural disorder due to use of drugs and other psychoactive substances. He said it was unlikely that he was insane during the commission of the offence;

However, his alcohol addiction and chronic brain disorder substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts in the killing. His drug related psychiatric or mental disorder and recurrent depressive moods were within the meaning of diminished responsibility during the time of the commission of the offence. Tuita was fit to stand trial. 

Tuita later said he would plead guilty to the charge of manslaughter.

In response Lord Chief Justice Whitten said that in his opinion, a defence of diminished responsibility was not actually available under Tongan law and suggested that Parliament consider changing the Criminal Offences Act to include a partial defence of diminished responsibility.

However,  the court was advised that following instructions from the Attorney-General, the Crown maintained its acceptance of a guilty plea to the manslaughter charge, principally because, on the evidence, there would be “difficulty in proving the mental element for reckless murder”, and as such, there was “little to no reasonable prospect” of obtaining a conviction for murder.

In sentencing Tuita, Lord Chief Justice Whitten said he would reduce some of the sentence because of the defendant’s mental disorder.  However, he said it was not clear what, if any, part the addiction related disorder played in the offending.

“It is even less clear as to whether it would have occurred at all had the Defendant not been so afflicted,” the judge said.

“The Defendant is to be allowed a discount for his guilty plea to manslaughter. I also take into account that but for Cooper J’s astute intervention, the Defendant was prepared to plead, without legal advice or representation, guilty to murder.

“In that regard, I commend this case to Government as yet another example of the potential for travesties of justice resulting from a lack of a full legal aid service, particularly for serious criminal prosecutions”   

COMMENTARY: Tongan overstayers should be seen as refugees from an economic war against ordinary people

By
Kalino Latu
-

COMMENTARY: The New Zealand government should treat Tongan overstayers as people fleeing economic war and persecution.

Decades of corruption and mismanagement have led people to flee to New Zealand looking for a better life. Often, because of the way land is owned by the nobility. They have nothing to go back to.

Deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni is being questioned by the media after a public meeting that included government ministers and community leaders following an incident recently that was reminiscent of the Dawn Raids of the 1970s. Photo/John Pulu

Kaniva News does not condone law breaking, but in many cases those who overstay are really in the same position as those fleeing war or persecution. In this case it is an economic war against ordinary people and persecution by a corrupt system that favours the rich and powerful.

The dawn raids of the 1970s were a black page in New Zealand’s history and to see them again is deeply disturbing. The most recent case triggered outrage in New Zealand’s Tongan community whose members were upset by reports that children had been traumatised  by the early morning attack.

Immigration New Zealand called the raid an “out of hours immigration compliance visit.”

Tongan community leader Pakilau Manase Lua told a public meeting called after the latest incident: “We are crying for our dawn raiders, we are still being dawn raided.”

Such behaviour by police flies in the face of the Labour Party’s claims that its Children and Families policy puts “the wellbeing of children at the centre of everything we do.”

The dawn raids are uncivilised,  inhumane and have no place in New Zealand when human rights are at the core of everything we do to eliminate violence against human beings. They should be scrapped.

READ MORE

New Zealand has a long history of offering a safe home to people fleeing war or persecution especially from the Middle East. Under its Ethnic Communities policy the Labour government has increased the refugee quota to 1,500 places per year and has boosted support to refugee communities already in Aotearoa, helping people reunite with family and supporting their settlement.

The government should re-examine the case of Tongans who come to this country and treat them as refugees. Although they have not fled a physical war or persecution in Tonga, in reality, years of corrupt behaviour by Tongan leaders has traumatised our people.

There is no Ministry of Social Development in Tonga, meaning there is no government help for the people living at the grassroots level. Jobs are scarce and the only reliable financial assistance available is the remittances sent from the kāinga in New Zealand and other countries to Tonga.

Yet while many of the kingdom’s 105,000 people live in poverty, the  king is given a budget of about $TP5 million a year from taxpayers’ money. Each noble is given a salary of more than  $TP20,000 a year, something  that has been criticised for years because there is no job description to justify the Treasury paying out these salaries. The nobles are  paid just for being nobles.

Tonga’s political system and constitution have been described by a Commonwealth Lawyer as the worst among all the Commonwealth countries. A poor constitution allows corruption and abuses of power by government leaders. It brings untold moral harm at the grassroots level.  

Ordinary Tongans have seen classic examples of these abuses such as the transfer of tens of millions of pa’anga from a Chinese payment to Princess Pilolevu’s Tongasat company, condemned as illegal by the Supreme Court.

The former government of the late Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa  was accused of creating its own multi-million roading project just to please some of his Cabinet Ministers who helped him win the premiership election. That roading project was estimated to cost $TP$400 million. It was heavily criticised, with many saying the budget would devastate Tonga’s annual national budgets, which relies heavily on overseas donations, for years. However,  Tu’i’onetoa went ahead and approved it and that was his constitutional right to do so.

Some abuses and examples of questionable behaviour go back decades, such as the fate of the $TP119 million loan from China to rebuild Nuku’alofa after the 2006 riots. Critics said that the amount of the loan was imprudent and would burden taxpayers for ages. It was estimated by some economists that the loan should have only be $TP20-30 million. The then Prime Minister Sevele was later accused of not re-paying the money he used to rebuild his business which was burnt down in the disturbances.

About 30 percent of the land in Tonga is controlled by the nobility and the king. This means that most people living on these lands do not legally own them. They are obliged to donate to the nobility from time to time and in some cases, some people have been evicted when they have not donated.

Ordinary Tongans are facing an economic war and persecution and this is why many have overstayed their visas in New Zealand. They do not want to go back and face this war. Rather than stage dawn raids, the New Zealand government should help them.

For more information

‘We’re still being dawn raided’, Tongan leader tells emotional public meeting

‘We’re still being dawn raided’, Tongan leader tells emotional public meeting

1...236237238...969Page 237 of 969