Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has announced the government will evacuate Tongans from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
The government has asked New Zealand and Australian
governments to help quarantined the returrnees in their countries despite the
fact these Tongans do not hold arrival permits into their countries.
It is expected the Tongan sport teams and students in Wuhan will return home next week or as soon as possible and they will face 14 days quarantine.
Hon Tu’i’onetoa said the Government is considering suspending China incoming flights which were scheduled to fly to Tonga through New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Samoa amid an escalating death toll from the new coronavirus.
The Government has allocated funding for the Ministry of Health to fund facilities and equipment as part of its preparation for a potential arrival of the deadly coronavirus, the Prime Minister said in a statement.
There have
been no confirmed cases in the kingdom, despite critics saying on social media
the Government has been slow to take action to prepare if it does land on our
shores.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Government has announced any seats not taken by Kiwi evacuees on its chartered flight to bring New Zealanders from China would be offered to Pacific Island and Australian citizens as a matter of priority, Stuff reported.
New
Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said the Government will charter
an Air New Zealand aircraft to assist Kiwis leaving coronavirus hit
Wuhan.
He
said the aircraft will have capacity for around 300 passengers and will fly
from the Chinese city to New Zealand.
Kiliki ‘i he halangaope ‘i ‘olunga’ ke ke fanongo ki he fakataha ‘a e kāinga Ha’apai’ mo e ‘Eiki Palēmia’ ‘i he lea fakaTonga’. For our Tongan readers here is the audio in Tongan Language
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An audio of the Prime Minister’s meeting in Ha’apai was provided by the Prime Minister’s office and transcribed and translated into English by Kaniva News. Some parts of the content of this article had been abridged and rephrased (in English) to make them clearer to our English readers.
Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa undertook to rebuild and repair damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Tino within 100 days during his visit to Ha’apai.
He said his government had changed the normal procedure in which previous governments used to address damage caused by natural disasters to make sure people’s needs were addressed as soon as possible.
He reminded the Ha’apaians at the meeting in Pangai
that Tonga has been identified as the country with the second highest disaster
risk in the world.
Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said this meant the possibility of
more natural disasters affecting Tonga in the future was high.
The Prime Minister and a delegation of five cabinet
ministers and government officials as well as People’s Party members got a
ground-level view of the havoc wreaked by Cyclone Tino as it smashed across the
northern outer islands and into main island Tongatapu last week.
He said he had been to the damaged roads, the wharf
and the foreshore and he understood what to do.
The Prime Minister said his government was the
people’s government and his party was known as People’s Party.
He said he wanted to make a difference by helping
address people’s most urgent needs.
During the meeting he talked about the government’s
new roads and repair projects for all of the 17 constituencies.
Ha’apai resident Fīnau Uata told the Prime Minister and his delegation they were happy that they came to Ha’apai to look at the damage.
He was concerned at the order of the constituencies and how they were organised for the road project and asked if the Ha’apai roads can be brought to the front of the queue.
Uata said when it was rainning the conditions of the road were really poor and it was a pity.
The Prime Minister told Uata the New Road Project must
come to Ha’apai.
The Minister of
Finance said a group from the World Bank was supposed to visit Tonga this week.
The World Bank offered countries like Tongan insurance
cover against natural disasters, he said.
The Minister said the government was expected to start
spending a US$28 million World Bank grant in March. The money would be spent
over three years. The wharves and community roads would be funded from this
grant.
He said the construction of the ‘Eua wharf began in
December in preparation for this year’s Free Wesleyan Church’s annual
conference.
After ‘Eua the construction process would move on to
Ha’apai and Vava’u.
He told Uata it was better for the Ha’apai community
roads to wait for this project because it was handled by World Bank.
He said the World Bank engineers would make sure these roads were well constructed and would last for up to 25 to 30 years.
The CEO for the Ministry of Finance said the government has also allocated $20 million to fund constructions of selected community roads. She said there was also $6 million grant from ADB.
The CEO for Ministry of Infrastructure said Ha’apai has 35.4 kilometres of road to be constructed or repaired in the Prime Minister’s New Roads Project.
He said the Prime Minister’s 100-day pledge was a big challenge for him but he will do his best to make it happen.
The MEIDECC CEO Paula Ma’u said the foreshore in Lifuka was priority and there was plan to continue its construction starting with 400-500 metres from Pangai and will continue on from there until it reached the Foa-Lifuka causeway.
Miss Thorhilda Abbott-Watt OBE has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga as they reopen their resident High Commission in Nukuʻalofa.
She will succeed the current, non-resident High Commissioner, Ms Melanie Hopkins, who will remain British High Commissioner to the Republic of Fiji, a statement said today.
Miss Abbott-Watt will take up her appointment during
February 2020.
As Kaniva news reported last
year, the British announced its embassy in Nuku’alofa has reopened, nearly 13
years after it was closed down in 2006.
Mr
Robin Ord-Smith MVO has been appointed High Commissioner to the Kingdom of
Tonga, a statement said.
Tonga’s diplomatic relationship with Britain could be traced back to 1880 after
the Treaty of Friendship between Great Britain and Tonga was signed in 1879.
Kiliki ‘i he halangaope ‘i ‘olunga’ ke ke fanongo ki he fakataha ‘a e kāinga Vava’u’ mo e ‘Eiki Palēmia’ ‘i he lea fakaTonga’. For our Tongan readers here is the audio in Tongan Language
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An audio of the Prime Minister’s meeting in Vava’u was provided by the Prime Minister’s office and transcribed and translated into English by Kaniva News. Some of the content of this article had been abridged and rephrased (in English) to make them clearer to our English readers.
Prime Minister Hon Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa pledged to help areas
affected in Vava’u by Tropical Cyclone Tino.
Hon Tu’i’onetoa toured the damaged areas in ‘Otu Motu Lalo –
Talihau, Ovaka, ‘Ōtea, Falevai, Kapa and also Vava’u 15 and Vava’u 16 in
Neiafu.
The storm brought winds of up to 180 kmh and torrential rain to
the island group.
It destroyed wharves in Ovaka, ‘Ōtea and Falevai’s wharf was
partly damaged.
The Prime Minister said the Ngū hospital in Neiafu had been
damaged. He said the building was previously affected before Cyclone Tino hit.
Hon Tu’i’onetoa also visited the foreshore in Talihau which was
built in 2015.
New bridge
The Prime Minister told a meeting in Vava’u a proposal to build a
new bridge to connect ‘Ōtea and Falevai was approved by Parliament after it was
submitted by former MP ‘Etuate Lavulavu in 2003.
He said it was now 17 years since its approval and his government
and the People’s Party undertook to build the bridge.
Hon Tu’i’onetoa said he was happy that he visited the proposed
site for the construction.
He said the project has been included in his Party’s priorities
and talks had been held with Chinese authorities to include it in their aid
provided to Tonga.
He said this was not a complicated project and was part of his
government’s long-term policy.
He said his village roads policy included sealing roads with tar.
He said these roads were important because villagers mostly used them. The
Prime Minister said sometimes people and town officers wanted these roads’
directions changed to make them more convenient. He said the government agreed
and would follow accordingly.
He said the community roads were funded by the World Bank.
A strong delegation, including seven Cabinet Ministers, government
CEOs and some members of the People’s Party, was with the Prime Minister
while he was visiting Vava’u.
Safe water tanks
The Prime Minister told the meeting all towns and villages needed
safe water tanks and filters.
He said 50 percent of this project was expected to be completed by
2021.
“The plan was to make sure eight constituencies have these clean
water supplies during our two-year term and leave the remaining nine
constituencies for the following two years,” he said.
Flush toilets for all households
Hon Tu’i’onetoa said a new project was created to make sure every
household in Tonga had a flush toilet.
He said the plan was to eliminate the use of traditional pit
toilets.
The Prime Minister said this would ensure the living conditions were
cleaner, more civilised and people in Tonga were healthier.
He said typhoid fever had struck Vava’u in the past and that was
of concern. Hon Tu’i’onetoa said this project was one of his attempts to make
sure the outbreak could not happen again.
“The People’s Party wanted to change the old procedure and for the
government to stand up and help the people and the towns and assist the
families so they could have clean water to drink,” the Prime Minister told the
meeting.
“There is a need to change our toilet system so we will be
healthier in the future.”
He said the government was looking for funding for this project.
Beautiful Vava’u
He said his government’s policy to keep Tonga cleaner was given a
slogan – Beautiful Tonga.
“When it comes to Vava’u it will be Beautiful Vava’u,” he said
The Prime Minister told the Vava’uans in the meeting and listeners
of a live broadcast of the meeting that he was extremely elated after he was
welcomed by their kāinga.
He shared with them what he said was information he received after
he asked why Vava’u was nicknamed as the
Fatafata Māfana. He said the phrase described the people of Vava’u as people
who loved and were warm-hearted.
They were people who lived a life of tranquility, were courageous,
encouraging and nothing was difficult for them.
He said Vava’u people were unique when compared with the rest of
the people of Tonga.
Brief report on cyclone damages
Lucy Fa’anunu from the Ministry of MEIDECC, Vava’u said a team of surveyors consisting of members from NEMO, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forests and Fisheries, His Majesty’s Armed Forces and the Tonga Red Cross assessed 11 islands in Vava’u after cyclone Tino.
She said the damage to Ovaka and Otea wharves meant they could not be used by the public at this stage
She said the people of the islands now docked their boats directly
on sand beaches.
The cyclone damaged part of Falevai wharf, but the people could still use it. Parts of Matamaka wharf and a teacher’s house at its primary school had been damaged. The Noapapu wharf was previously damaged before Cyclone Tino hit.
The Fale Hufanga’anga and the Church of Tonga hall in Hunga were
also damaged. Three families in Ovaka moved to the primary school buildings and
one family moved to the Free Wesleyan church’s hall during the cyclone, she said.
In Falevai a verandha was damaged after an ‘ovava tree fell on it.
His Majesty’s Armed Forces helped cut fallen trees into pieces and
removed them from roads.
Produce and trees at beaches had been hugely affected. The Pangai
area is still dependent on generators for its power. Kava plants at Vahe Hihifo
and Leimātu’a had been affected.
Rugby Australia’s decision to settle a legal case with Israel Folau over his sacking for homophobic comments has paved the way for him to join Catalans and possibly return to the Test arena with Tonga.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys and his predecessor Peter Beattie have made it clear Folau would not be welcome in the NRL after posting his views on social media but he has never been officially banned.
Knowing the obstacles and reaction to signing Folau, no NRL club has been willing to take a risk on him but RFL officials admit the threat of court action prevented them from blocking his recruitment by Catalans.
“However distasteful his previous comments, we don’t believe that, under our current regulatory framework, these can prevent his participation in the sport,” an RFL statement said.
Super League CEO Robert Elstone added: “Super League does not have the authority to veto the registration of players and is satisfied by the due diligence carried out by The Rugby Football League.”
Put simply, the RFL does not have the financial resources to pay out millions of dollars like Rugby Australia did after Folau sued them for wrongful dismissal.
With Folau seeking damages of up to $14 million, RA reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the controversial star in December and issued an apology.
Elstone and RFL officials tried to dissuade Catalans from signing Folau and have imposed conditions on his registration, which include a hefty fine for the French club if he makes any homophobic comments.
Beyond that, they had little option but to accept his registration on a one-year deal valued at £200,000 and said the “moral responsibility for deciding whether to sign a player sits with individual clubs”.
This contrasts with a statement last year in which the RFL said it had the “ultimate discretion to refuse to register a player where … he has been deregistered by any other governing body”.
The International Rugby League board discussed Folau’s eligibility at the end of last season after he declared his availability for Tonga amid a dispute between the Pacific nation’s governing body and players over the sacking of coach Kristian Woolf.
With the IRL suspending the Tonga National Rugby League and reinstating Woolf, Folau’s selection did not become an issue as the St Helens mentor stuck solid with the players who had been loyal to the red jersey.
Tonga’s next Test will be against the No.1-ranked Kiwis during the June standalone representative weekend but it remains to be seen if Folau would force his way into a squad that has largely been together since the 2017 World Cup.
Officially, he will be considered but the 30-year-old has not played league for a decade after leaving Brisbane Broncos in 2010 to join AFL club GWS Giants.
Salary cap issues prevented Folau’s return to the NRL with Parramatta in 2013 and he signed with RA instead.
The moral responsibility for deciding whether to sign a player sits with individual clubs.RFL statement
Despite the ugly end to his Australian union career, the IRL is unlikely to stand in the way of Tonga selecting Folau in June or for this year’s Oceania Cup fixtures in October providing he is registered to play league.
He is not eligible to represent Queensland again as only NRL-contracted players are able to play in the State of Origin arena.
Folau said via a club statement that he would not be making any public comments over his controversial views on homosexuality.
“I’m a proud Christian, my beliefs are personal, my intention is not to hurt anyone and I will not be making further public comment about them,” Folau said.
If he does break that agreement, his contract can automatically be terminated by the Super League.
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the NRL, ARLC, NRL clubs or state associations.
Police were satisfied there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a 25-year-old woman whose body was found at a home in Sopu on Tuesday evening.
This was despite a post mortem being scheduled this week to determine the exact cause of death, reports said.
Four people have been arrested in Tongatapu following drug busts in Matangiake and Tokomololo on Sunday 26.
A 50-year-old man and another who is 58-year-old, both from Navutoka and a 21-year-old woman from Talafo’ou were arrested from a bush allotment in Matangiake
Police seized 26 packs of methamphetamine (7.94 grams), and
1 pack of cannabis (2.46 grams) while arresting them.
Following this arrest the Taskforce also arrested a
50-year-old Fangaloto man from a residence at Tokomololo with 14 packs of
methamphetamine (11.09 grams), 5 packs
of cannabis (2.46 grams), and over $400 pa’anga cash.
All accused are in police custody and to be charged
accordingly with possession of illicit drugs.
“This is a significant result as part of the main objective
of police operation is to help the community feel safe, and we are hopeful the
operation will have a positive effect in reducing drug related harm in the
community,” said A/Deputy Commissioner Vailea.
“The impact of any ongoing supply of illicit drugs on a
community results in huge social harm, negative health implications and
financial harms, particularly drug users and their families.
Two members of Brisbane’s Tongan Community have been awarded Australia Day Local Heroes Community Service Awards.
Rev.
Maile Molitika and Mele Ngauamo, both active members of the Brisbane Tongan
Community, were presented with the awards at Oxley Bowls Club on Sunday.
Rev.
Molitika has been Minister of the Uniting Church of Australia Tongan
Congregation at Highgate Hill for the past seven years.
He
has volunteered in a range of activities, including co-ordinating fund raisers,
championing respite programmes, broadcasting spiritual devotions and being President
of the Brisbane Tongan Community Inc.
Mele Ngauamo (nee Manu) has been an active volunteer broadcaster with the Voice of Tonga on Radio 4EB FM since 1988.
MP Dick Milton with BTC members
She
has served on community boards, fund raising events, respite care and as
Treasurer of the Brisbane Tongan Community Inc.
Both
Rev. Maile and Mrs Ngauamo have represented the Tonga High Commission at local
functions with the Australian Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“It’s so humbling to see two of our fellow Tongans recognised for their tireless efforts in serving as volunteers to build our community,” the Brisbane Tongan Community’s Public Officer said.
Australia Day Local Hero Community Service Award recipients
“We
all enjoy the fruits of successes for our people, but it’s the sacrifices of
time, finances and at times, set-backs, by a dedicated few that often go
unseen, that inevitably become the heartbeat of our thriving Tongan Community.”
The
Australia Day Awards were open to volunteers living in or active members of
community groups based in the Moorooka, Oxley and Teneriffe Wards of Brisbane
City Council.
They
were nominated by Cr Steve Griffiths from the Brisbane City Council Moorooka Ward.
Fungalei Uailangilala passed away last night, Monday 27.
He was employed by Silverfern Meatworks in Dargaville.
The cause of his death is currently being determined by post-mortem.
The next of kin has been advised and they’ve asked for privacy at this time so that they can let their extended family know, Tonga’s RSE liason officer in New Zealand Sefita Haouli told Kaniva News.
Tongan police arrested four men and seized drugs and ammunition in weekend raids.
Assistant Deputy Commissioner Tevita
Vailea said , the Police Drug Enforcement Taskforce made the arrests on
Saturday morning from a mechanic’s workshop at ‘Umusi.
Vailea
said police seized two packs of cocaine weighing 1.04 grams, 1.43 grams of
cannabis, two .22 bullets and over TP$5000 cash.
The
four arrested include men from Kolomotu’a, Kolofo’ou, Fangaloto and Vaini.
All
four were due to appear at the Magistrate Court today, January 27.
“These
arrests should reassure the community that preventing illicit drugs supply is a
high priority for Police,” the Assistant Deputy Commissioner said.
“We
will continue to target those who supply drugs within our community, and hold
them to account for their crimes.
“As
always, the Police rely on members of the public to pass on any information
about drug cultivation, manufacture and/or dealing.”
Vailea
said anybody with information relating to drug related offending should contact
police on 22782.
Last
year Tongan police launched a campaign
against drugs, with 250 people arrested by mid tear and more than 30kg if methamphetamines
worth NZ$36 million seized.
Arrests
and court appearances continued through the year, with six arrests in December
at different locations in Tongatapu.
They
were arrested and charged with possession and distribution of methamphetamine
and cannabis, as well as the possession of drug processing utensils.
The main points
Tongan police arrested four men and seized drugs and
ammunition in weekend raids.
Assistant Deputy Commissioner Tevita Vailea said , the Police
Drug Enforcement Taskforce made the arrests on Saturday morning from a
mechanic’s workshop at ‘Umusi.
