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International sporting body will hear TRNL appeal against expulsion on September 22

By
Philip Cass
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The Tongan National Rugby League continues to claim its expulsion from the International Rugby League was illegal as it heads towards a hearing before the  Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The CAS will meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on September 22.

Tonga was suspended from the IRL following a tumultuous period that began in September last year with a player revolt over the sacking of national coach Kristian Woolf.

The TRNL was expelled in February this year.

As Kaniva News reported earlier this month the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation recommended that Tonga Ma’a Tonga Rugby League be considered for full membership of the International Rugby League.

The TNRL appeal is separate from any approval of Tonga Ma’a Tonga as a member of the IRL.

The TNRL is appealing its expulsion, arguing that the IRL investigation was flawed, based on dubious grounds, and did not follow its own rules.

TNRL secretary William Edwards said the expulsion was triggered by a complaint from the –that it was concerned that the mismanagement of Tongan Rugby League could damage the commercial success of the British Rugby League Lions tour of New Zealand in late 2019.

Edwards was appointed to the TRNL board in March last year following the removal of the previous board by the Tongan Supreme Court,

Edwards argued that the complaint was invalid because it was about an anticipated breach, not something that had actually happened.

TNRL officials have complained that while their appeal is underway the IRL was working to help establish a new governing body for Tonga.

They claimed this is outside of the international body’s constitutional mandate.

The TRNL initially co-operated with the IRL, but this stopped after its lawyers wrote to the IRL last November claiming the international body had no power to suspend a member pending an investigation.

The IRL said it had been working with members of the Tongan rugby league community who it deemed to be acting in the best interests of Tongan rugby league.

“IRL has not imposed nor tried to impose structural reform on one of our members.”

Tonga has qualified for next year’s Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) by making the semi-finals at the 2017 World Cup. It has to regain membership of the IRL before it can compete in the UK in 2021.

Stay safe, be sensible; ignore the crazy talk on social media and let’s get through this together

By
Philip Cass
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Kaniva commentary 

New Zealand went back into lockdown again this week after the discovery of a new cluster of Covid-19 infections.

Nobody yet knows where the virus came from or how it got into the country.

As a result, the government has put Auckland back  into level three and the rest of the country into level two.

Unfortunately, the reappearance of the virus also led to the reappearance of something just as bad – stupidity.

Swarms of shoppers nearly overwhelmed some supermarkets.

There have been reports of supermarket staff being abused and people panic buying because of rumours they had heard or things they had seen posted on the internet.

At Countdown in Henderson on Wednesday morning one woman approached the counter with a trolley piled high. When asked why she had so much, she replied that her husband had told her that he had heard that Countdown was going to close on Wednesday  and not re-open.

That wasn’t true.

Nor was the story – believed by some other shoppers – that Countdown was going to close at midday on Wednesday.

Fortunately we haven’t seen the mass idiocy that happened when we went into level four. This time, nobody is trying to buy a year’s supply of toilet paper.

Unfortunately, crazy rumours have still been spread on the internet.

Now there have been reports of online abuse aimed at people who tested positive in the new outbreak.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins has rightly  described the abuse as “disappointing and dangerous.”

He said people needed to be able to come forward for testing without worrying about  being attacked.

The Minister said people should not believe everything they read on social media. His comments came as rumours swirled online about where the Auckland cluster originated.

Nobody wants to be back at level three or, if you are outside Auckland, level two.

It means restrictions.

Tomorrow we cannot go to church in Auckland.

In Dunedin, which is now under level two, the super rugby clash between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders will go ahead in front of an empty stadium.

But let’s remind ourselves that when the new infections were discovered, we were still at level one, which  meant that we weren’t completely clear.

We had also been warned that the virus could come back.

And now it has.

Nobody wanted this, but now we have to get through it again and hope that with all the experience and knowledge that has been gained the virus will be  brought back under control.

Nobody  enjoys being in lockdown, whether it’s level two or three and nobody wants to go back to level four.

The best way for us to do that is to stay safe.

That means wearing masks, staying home and working from home if you can.

It also means not shouting at supermarket staff or anybody else trying to do their job.

It also means listening to what the government and medical authorities are saying and ignoring gossip and crazy talk on the internet.

Let’s stay safe, be sensible, ignore the rumours and get through this together.

– Kaniva News

Information in Tongan on what you can do in level three and two:

Kaniva mediawatch August 14, 2020

By
Kaniva Staff
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Warriors

Eliesa Katoa will take to the field with the Warriors for tonight’s game against the Panthers in the Central Coast stadium tonight.

Katoa, originally from Ha’apai will play in the2nd row in the 4th round of the current NRL season.

Tonight’s game comes after the Australian  media showered praise on the Warriors for the way they have followed the social distancing protocols surrounding training.

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, journalist James Mathey said the Warriors’ behaviour put Australian teams to shame.

He quoted Katoa’s team-mate Chanel Harris-Tavita saying: “Our motto is ‘All In’ and as long as we stick together we will get through this.

“If we can survive this, who knows what we are capable of back in Auckland.”

Pacific Forum leadership

Tongan economist Amelia Kinahoi-Siamomua is one of five leading contenders to replace Dame Meg Taylor as next head of the Pacific Forum.

She is currently head of the Commonwealth’s Gender section and was the Regional Programme Director of the United Nations Development Fund’s (UNIFEM) Pacific Regional Office, based in Suva.

The other candidates are outgoing Cook Islands PM Henry Puna; Fiji’s former Foreign Minister Inoke Kubuabola; former Director General of the Pacific Community Dr Jimmie Rodgers and Gerald Zackios, the Marshall Islands Ambassador to the U.S.

However, according to Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat, the  leaders of the Micronesian countries have been reminding other Forum countries that they agreed last year that it was Micronesia’s turn to put their candidate forward.

Navy warning

The Head of the Touliki Masefield Naval base, Commander Taniela Tuita, has warned the public to be  better prepared when they put to sea.

His comments came after  the patrol vessel Neiafu rescued five beche de mer (sea cucumber) divers after their boat ran out of fuel.

The divers sailed to an island called Tokuu to dive, but on their way back their boat ran out of fuel and they drifted to the southern part of Fonualei.

They were rescued after calling for help on their VHF radio.

The Neiafu has been in the news lately after a series of encounters with yachts entering Tongan waters despite the kingdom’s borders being sealed.

UAE medical aid

The United Arab Emirates has sent 14 tonnes of medical supplies to Tonga and 13 other Pacific Island Countries.

The medical supplies including testing kits and person al protective equipment.

The UAE’s Charge d’Affaires in Wellington said the aid was part of the Emirates’ support for Pacific nations to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak.

Tonga opened an embassy in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, in September last year.

Virus alerts

Melbourne Pacific community leader Rita Seumanuatafa has expressed concern that warnings that Stage 4 restrictions were being introduced in Melbourne were not translated into Pacific languages quickly enough.

There are about 5000 Tongans in Melbourne.

The new curfew came into effect only hours after the state government’s announcement.

Victoria’s Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Ros Spence, said  a message in English was released on the Department of Health and Human Services site and translated messages were added a few days later,

“Unfortunately it does take some time for the translated messages to go out because it’s important they are checked and double checked by accredited translators,” Ms Spence said.

China says frozen chicken wings from Brazil test positive for virus

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Ainslie Chandler, Bloomberg

Consumers in the Chinese city of Shenzhen have been urged to exercise caution when buying imported frozen food after a surface sample of chicken wings from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement from the local government.

The positive sample appears to have been taken from the surface of the meat, while previously reported positive cases from other Chinese cities have been from the surface of packaging on imported frozen seafood.

The chicken came from an Aurora Alimentos plant in the southern state of Santa Catarina, according to a registration number given in the statement.

Virus tests of people who have possibly come into contact with the product, and tests of related products, all came back negative, the statement said. Consumers should be cautious when buying imported frozen foods and aquatic products, the government added.

Three packaging samples of imported frozen seafood tested positive for Covid-19 in Yantai, a northern city of Shandong province, the city government said on its official Weibo account Tuesday. State television Wednesday reported that the outside of an Ecuador frozen shrimp package tested positive for the virus in a restaurant in Wuhu, a city in China’s Anhui province. Packaging on Ecuador shrimps has also tested positive in Xi’an, state television said Thursday.

(Updates to add new report of virus on shrimp packaging in final paragraph)
UP NEXT

Auckland War Memorial Museum donates to Tonga Royal Archives

By
Kaniva Staff
-

New Zealand High Commissioner HE Tiffany Babington handed over a second consignment of donated materials from Auckland War Memorial Museum to Hon Siosifa ‘Alematea Vaha’i for the Tonga Royal Archives today.

In May 2016, Auckland Museum launched the Pacific Collection Access Project (PCAP) to improve knowledge and understanding of the Museum’s Pacific collection; and undertake cataloguing; conservation and storage improvements to the collection including ensuring all taonga are available online.

PCAF has collections from: Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawai’i, Kiribati, Niue, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui, Samoa, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna and Tonga.

In rehousing and repacking of taonga, the Museum had built up a supply of storage material it no longer required but which are still in good condition.  These materials are often expensive for institutions, especially in the Pacific, to purchase.

The Museum therefore created an ‘Upcycling/Recycling’ programme to donate quality materials to other institutions both in Aotearoa and across the Pacific including Tonga.

The first consignment was delivered last year to the Government of Tonga and received by Hon Semisi Sika (acting Prime Minister at the time) and put to good use by organisations such as Ancient Tonga as well as the Royal Archives.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the Museum’s ‘Upcycling/Recycling’ came to an end in June so it was fortunate this second consignment of materials could be delivered.

The Royal Archives represents a rich and precious repository of Tonga’s history and culture.

HE Tiffany Babington accompanied their Majesties when they visited Archives New Zealand during their official visit last March.  As a result we have been developing linkages between our respective Archives and the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (PARBICA).

New Zealand is committed to working with Tonga to assist and preserve Tonga’s taonga for future generations.

Hon Siosifa ‘Alamatea Vaha’i thanked Auckland War Memorial Museum for its donation.

Family no longer has to worry about food or  shelter, mother says after family granted visas

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Tongan woman told Kaniva News this afternoon she was “over the moon” at receiving permanent residence in New Zealand.

Tepola Finau and her family were granted residency by the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal after an appeal on their behalf by immigration adviser Koli Vanisi.

She said her family had overstayed their visas and had to hide from immigration authorities.

It was worse when the country went into lockdown in March.

“We have been released after years of being in captivity,” she said.

“We no longer feel like being pressured to do things that we did not want to do and to have to work out what we might eat and where we could live.

“Now my children receive the family tax credits and we have our own house.

“Seeing the doctor was really a burden because of the costs, but now we are really happy that we get all the benefits the New Zealand citizens and permanent residents have.”

Her husband Feao entered New Zealand on visitor visas in 1999, twice in 2006 and in 2007.  He held work visas until April 2010.  In January 2012, he was granted a further work visa for 12 months.

In August 2009, Tepola and the three eldest children entered New Zealand.  She held a work visa sponsored by her husband and the third child held a visitor visa.  The oldest two children both held student visas which expired in April 2010 and, in October 2010, they were granted limited visas to complete their education that year.

The parents had been unlawfully in New Zealand since 2010 (in the case of the wife and three oldest children) and 2013 (in the case of the husband).  The youngest four children are citizens of Tonga and have never held visas to remain in New Zealand.

The parents held no visas when the children were born in July 2010, November 2013 and January 2016.  These children had therefore been in New Zealand unlawfully since their births.

The other child was born in October 2012, when the father held a work visa valid until January 2013.  This child was deemed to have held a temporary visa until January 2013 and was then unlawfully in New Zealand.

The husband and wife made many unsuccessful attempts to regularise their immigration status in New Zealand.

In December 2015, Immigration New Zealand served deportation orders on the husband, wife and three oldest children.

The Tribunal was told the family was well-established in New Zealand.  The husband had lived here for 12 years and the wife for 10 years.  The three oldest children had lived here for 10 years and had little understanding of life in Tonga.  The youngest four children had lived in New Zealand all their lives.

There was no guarantee of the family’s life in Tonga.  The husband and wife had no shelter or employment and the husband had no entitlement to land.

The youngest child had been diagnosed with a heart valve dysfunction.  Without surgery to repair the valve, he would live a shortened life.

The Tribunal agreed that the family had exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature which would make it unjust or unduly harsh for them to be deported from New Zealand.

The Tribunal ordered that the family, including the seven children, be granted resident visas.

Plane with Lulutai logo spotted performing test flights at Vava‘u airport

By
Kalino Latu
-

Vava’u residents spotted an aircraft with Lulutai logo on it at the Lupepau’u International Airport amid services currently being ceased to the outer islands.

It appears the aircraft was conducting key test flights this week suggesting the government’s new domestic airline service is expected to be launched soon.

The aircraft was Saab 340 from Australia which was previously leased by Real Tonga Airline but a new lease deal recently transferred the ownership to the Tonga government, a reliable source told us.

A new engine for the aircraft arrived in Vava’u recently, another source said.

Photos obtained by Kaniva News also showed what appear to be renovation works conducted inside the airport terminal.

We were also reliably informed the domestic services could begin on the first week of September.

As Kaniva News reported, the aircraft suffered engine damage after it hit a bird during take-off from the Lupepau’u International Airport in May.  One of the engines was damaged during the incident.

The Prime Minister announced Tonga’s new domestic airline Lulutai the same month after the kingdom’s only domestic airline, Real Tonga, was reported to be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Owner and CEO of Real Tonga, Tevita Palu, said the airline was millions of dollars in debt.

Arson charges possible in Vava’u two separate house fires

By
Kalino Latu
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A man allegedly starting a fire on one of two house fires in Vava’u Friday last week faces a possible arson charge.

Authorities alleged accelerant was used to start the Neiafu fire after an apparent domestic dispute.

Neiafu Town Officer Vāvā Lapota said the alleged arsonist was injured in the fire.

A relative told Kaniva news last week a person was taken to hospital after the house fire.

Lapota also revealed another house fire was attended by fire fighters in Talau the same day.

He said that house was unoccupied and he suspected it was cause by arson.

He said the two house fires were unrelated.

They came after previous four house fires reported in Neiafu since January this year.

Auckland man, 66, killed in head-on collision in Tonga

By
Kalino Latu
-

The person killed in a fatal two-car crash in Hihifo, Tongatapu on Tuesday night has been named.

‘Aisea Lolongo Kaifa, 66, died in a head-on collision on Hihifo Road near Sia’atoutai at around 10pm.

Police said the New Zealand resident died at the scene while the driver of the other vehicle, a 55-year-old man remains in critical condition at Vaiola hospital.

Dozens of people have posted social media tributes to Kaifa, including Fuiva Kaifa, who wrote: “ Well it’s sad to know that my loving uncle has been departed from this life to eternal destination, what shall we say, we won’t complain…”

Kelei Kaifa paid tribute and expressed her condolences. She said: “I cannot withhold my tears. The loss of a beloved father, husband & a loving brother.

‘Aisea held a number of leadership roles in the Tongan community in Auckland.

In 2006 he and two others were elected to represent the Tongan community for Auckland City Pacific Island Advisory Board.

He joined a protest in South Auckland against the New Zealand Marriage Amendment Bill in 2012 which led to the approval of the same-sex marriage legislation the following year.

At the time when he was approached by the New Zealand Herald  Aisea said “New Zealand should learn from the lessons of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Media legislation open to abuse, warns association of Tongan journalists in NZ

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Tongan Journalists’ Association in New Zealand says recent media legislation passed  by the Tongan government is open to abuse.

According to the Communications (Infringement Notice Regime) Declaration, the government can impose fines of TP$2000 for a range of offences.

The government said it did not have to consult with the media about the new law.

The Editor of Kakalu ‘O Tonga newspaper said he believed the laws could undermine freedom of speech.

‘Ulu’alo Po’uhila called on Association members to be vocal in criticising the government over the legislation.

The Editor of Dateline Tonga radio programme Kite Tu’akalau said he needed more information from the government about the infringement notice before he could comment.

Tongan correspondent and former editor Faka’osi Maama said the new law was based on legislation from 2016 and based on bad spirit (“laumalie ‘ikai sai.”)

According to the government notice issued about the new law in May, it is based on Section 162(7) of the Communications Act 2015 (“the Act”).  The Act came in to force on February 18, 2016.

The Communications (Infringement Notice Regime) Declaration was made by the Minister of MEIDECC on May 21 this year.

An infringement notice can be issued if the Regulator has reasonable ground to believe that a person has contravened an infringement provision. If convicted, fines of up to TP$2000 can be issued for the following:

  • Unlawful publication of sensitive information
  • Supply of communications services without authorisation
  • Non-compliance with licence conditions
  • Provision of false and misleading information
  • Unlawful supply of content application services
  • Accidental damage to communications facilities
  • General penalty
  • Unlawful disclosure
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