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Anticipation grows for “terrific grudge match” against Australia at Mt Smart on June 22

By
Philip Cass
-

Anticipation is growing ahead of next month’s clash between Mate Ma’a Tonga and New Zealand, with news that Tēvita Pangai jnr will play for the kingdom.

Pangai has turned down a potential $90,000 State of Origin matches and will receive jut $3000 for the clash at Mt Smart Stadium on June 22.

Pangai has played four tests for Tonga, including Tonga’s game against Australia.

The June 22 fixture is part of the Oceania Cup which features two pools, with New Zealand Kiwis, Australian Kangaroos and Mate Ma’a Tonga in Pool A and Toa Samoa, Fiji Bati and the Papua New Guinea Kumuls in Pool B.

While Mate Ma’a Tonga are showing their mettle in the Mt Smart Stadium, across the Ditch, Toa Samoa will play Papua New Guinea Kumuls in another Oceania Cup match and Fiji Bati will take on Cook Islands at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Sydney.

Mate Ma’a Tonga has stunned the world’s top tier teams with it performance in recent years.

Even its loss to Australia was seen as a step on the way to the upper reaches of the game.

Mate Ma’a Tonga owes much of its success to players from the Australian and New Zealand leagues such as Jason Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita and Sio Siua Taukeiaho who chose to play for the kingdom.

Fifita said Mate Ma’a Tonga had created “something really good for international footy,”

“The pinnacle of our game is to play for your country.”

Tonga’s coach, Kristian Woolf said he was delighted that Mate Ma‘a would have the opportunity to face New Zealand again after beating them in Hamilton in 2017.

“It’s a terrific grudge match and one that both teams will be right up for and really looking forward to,” Woolf said.

Woolf said the way fans had supported Mate Ma’a Tonga in the last two years was unbelievable.

“We really appreciate the support and while it’s played in New Zealand, we certainly want to make it feel like a home game for Tonga as well,” Woolf said.

New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Greg Peters said the game would be played in “the heartland of rugby league – South Auckland” and expected Tongans to flood in and support the game.

Peters said the Oceania Cup was a big chance for Pacific Island nations to build on their impressive performances in recent years.

“A big part of this is obviously embracing and respecting the contribution of Pacific Island players to rugby league in New Zealand,” he said.

Lions

The Oceania Cup will not be the Tongan team’s only international exposure this year.

Mate Ma’a Tonga will also face the touring British Lions in Hamilton on October 26 before taking on world champions Australia on November 2 as part of an international triple header at Eden Park. The event will also feature New Zealand against the British tourists and Toa Samoa taking on the Fiji Bati.

The Lions are touring the southern hemisphere for the first time in 13 years and will also play Papua New Guinea.

Women’s opener

The June 22 clash will be a Pacific double header as the Kiwi Ferns play the Fetu Samoa womens team as part of a blockbuster Pacific double header.

The Kiwi Ferns-Fetu Samoa match kicks off at 5pm.

The women’s match will be the first time the two Pacific rivals have clashed in 11 years, with the Kiwi Ferns winning the last match between the two nations at the 2008 Women’s Rugby League World Cup in Brisbane.

Doors open at Mt Smart at 4pm.  Mate Ma’a Tonga and New Zealand are expected to take the field about 7.30pm

The main points

  • Anticipation is growing ahead of next month’s clash between Mate Ma’a Tonga and New Zealand, with news that Tevita Pangai jnr will play for the kingdom.
  • Pangai has turned down a potential $90,000 State of Origin matches and will receive jut $3000 for the clash at Mt Smart Stadium on June 22.
  • Mate Ma’a Tonga has stunned the world’s top tier teams with it performance in recent years.

Son and daughter may stay in New Zealand, but mother must return to Tonga, says Tribunal

By
Philip Cass
-

The New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal has allowed a brother and sister to stay in the country, but has turned down an appeal against deportation by their mother.

The three family members, a  55-year-old mother, her 31-year-old daughter and her 29-year-old son, all citizens of Tonga, were all living unlawfully in New Zealand.

The mother was born in Tonga in 1963. She married, and she and her husband had two children, the daughter born in May 1987 and the son in July 1989. The couple later divorced. The former husband still lives in Tonga.

In December 1996, the mother and the two children came  to  New  Zealand.  They were granted visitor visas, valid to February 1997, after which they were unlawfully in New Zealand.

In December 2003, the mother married  her  second  husband,  a  Tongan-born New Zealand resident.   His mother, sister and six married children live in Tonga.

In September 2006, she was granted a work visa on the basis of her partnership, and this was renewed in April 2007, valid until March 2008. The daughter and the son were granted visitor visas in line with their mother’s visas.

In May 2007, the son was married.  He and his wife had three children, all   New Zealand citizens, born in July 2007, July 2009 and July 2012. His wife recently left him.

In July 2018, the appellants were granted visitor visas to test their  eligibility for resident visas. However, their requests for further  visas were unsuccessful.

The Tribunal said that in assessing he circumstances of the appellants, it was satisfied, on  the basis of their lengthy settlement in New Zealand and the best interests of the son’s children, that they met the high threshold required for exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature.

The Tribunal said that the son and the daughter, who arrived as children, could not be held initially responsible for their unlawful status.

They had been settled in New Zealand for a lengthy period and formed a supportive family unit together with the son’s three young  New Zealand-citizen children.

The son and daughter were therefore allowed to stay in New Zealand.

“However, the mother has known throughout of her unlawful status of 19 years,” the Tribunal said.

“She married her husband knowing that she did not have the right to ongoing status here and she and her husband must reasonably have turned their minds to what would occur if she was required to leave”

She had  spent most of her life in Tonga and was familiar with the language and lifestyle.

Her husband, being a citizen of  Tonga, would have the right to visit her or settle there again. His mother, sister and six married children all live in Tonga.

However, the Tribunal noted that the mother had a possible  pathway to New Zealand residency through her husband and this can be processed to completion while she was in Tonga.

The Tribunal directed that a work visa  be granted to the mother,  valid for nine months,  to give her time to get  her affairs in order, in relation to her visa application and living arrangements, before leaving New Zealand.  

Should the processing of the mother’s application not be completed within the  nine months, Immigration  New Zealand had  the  discretion  to grant  a further temporary visa until the processing was completed.

The main points

  • The New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal has allowed a brother and sister to stay in the country, but has turned down an appeal against deportation by their mother.
  • The three family members, a  55-year-old mother, her 31-year-old daughter and her 29-year-old son, all citizens of Tonga, were all living unlawfully in New Zealand.

Fire guts ambulance at Ōtāhuhu train station

By
Kalino Latu
-

By Radio New Zealand

An ambulance has been gutted by fire near an Auckland bus station.

The St John vehicle, used for non-critical transport of patients, was on its way to Auckland Hospital when the driver noticed smoke.

It was carrying a patient, caregiver, and two St John staff.

The driver pulled over at the Ōtāhuhu Station before the vehicle caught fire and the occupants escaped unharmed. The patient, caregiver and a medical assistant were transfered to another vehicle.

The service is looking into what caused the fire and are supporting those involved.

Auckland Transport evacuated Ōtāhuhu Station and diverted all bus services for a time this morning.

Spokesperson Mark Hannan said it was not clear why the ambulance was at the station but CCTV shows the fire is now out and the vehicle is destroyed.

Mr Hannan said they were first alerted to the fire about 8.40am.

Suspended sentence for fire arms offence after lawyers for both side argue for leniency

By
Philip Cass
-

The Supreme Court has sentenced a man to a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to fire arms charges.

Sitiveni Loupua Mahe was sentenced to a year in prison on a charge of carrying arms in public place, one year for discharging a firearm with intention to intimidate and one year for  possession of firearm without a licence.

All sentences were fully suspended for a period of two years.

The court was told the offence were committed in Popua outside  the Church of Tonga hall where some dance practice was held.

Mahe  fired a .22 rifle it on the road just behind or beside Litili Televave’s feet  twice. The gravel thrown up by the first bullet hit his hands. You then got into your vehicle and drove away.

When questioned by the police Mahe said that he was fired the shots because he was drunk and happy.

Judge Niu said he accepted that Mahe’s behaviour was out of the ordinary and attributable to his having drunk alcohol, something that as a Mormon he was not supposed to do.

The judge said that Mahe had no previous criminal conviction and had apologised to the victim.

He had offered to resign from his position as head of the Popua community police force, but  the community wanted him to stay in the position.

Legal counsel for the prosecution and defence both argued that Mahe’s sentence be suspended.

Judge Niu said if Mahe committed  another offence within the two years he would be jailed for the firearm offence as well as the new offence.

His air rifle was confiscated.

The main points

  • The Supreme Court has sentenced a man to a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to fire arms charges.
  • Sitiveni Loupua Mahe was sentenced to a year in prison on a charge of carrying arms in public place, one year for discharging a firearm with intention to intimidate and one year for  possession of firearm without a licence.

Crown wins appeal to overturn Magstrate’s decision to discharge Lord Tu’ivakanō’s four charges

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Crown has successfully challenged a Magistrate’s decision to discharge four charges against former Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakanō.

The Supreme Court said the appeal has been allowed on the ground that there is a sufficiency of evidence to commit the king’s noble for trial on the four charges on a date that is yet to be fixed.

The magistrate discharged the former Prime Minister and Speaker on four charges of accepting a bribe as a Government servant contrary to section 50 of the Criminal Offences Act, citing lack of evidence.

“So as not to prejudice a fair trial, the ruling has been released only to the parties,” a court statement said.

“Until further Order there shall be no publication of the contents of the ruling.

“This Order does not prevent it being reported that the appeal has been allowed on the basis that there is a sufficiency of evidence to put the respondent on his trial.”

The case has been called and adjourned numerous times due to various filing of document needs and related matters.

Tu’ivakanō was arrested on March 1 and charged with 12 counts, including one of making a false declaration to obtain a passport, two perjury counts, five for accepting bribes and two counts of money laundering.

Tu’ivakanō served as Prime Minister between December 2010 and 2014 and was Speaker of the House during the last term.

He has had his bail extended last week.

Queen Sālote to be honoured for song writing achievements at Pacific Music Awards

By
Philip Cass
-

The Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award will be posthumously awarded to Her Majesty Late Queen Sālote Tupou lll on Thursday night.

Her grand-daughter,  Princess ‘Ofeina ‘e he Langi Fakafānua, will accept the award at this year’s Pacific Music Awards.

Queen Sālote has  been described as a gifted composer who expressed love, loss and culture in her work. He composed more than 100 songs, lullabies, laments and dances.

“The Pacific Music Awards acknowledges Her Majesty Queen Sālote’s huge contribution to the preservation and creative use of the Tongan language and recognises her as a celebrated writer of poetry and song,” a spokesperson for the award said. 

“She possessed unrivalled knowledge of genealogies, traditions of Tongan customs and a strong sense of duty and love for her people of Tonga, which also meant strong connections and responsibilities to the South Pacific region.

“Her compositions of Tongan music continue to inspire a new generation, now aware of our rich past and to our shared futures.”

Her music is still played all over the world.

There will be a special tribute performance to Queen Sālote on the night.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Sir Woolf Fisher Arena Vodafone Events Centre, 770 Great South Rd, Manukau City, Auckland from 6.30pm on Thursday, May 23.

The main points

  • The Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award will be posthumously awarded to Her Majesty Queen Sālote Tupou lll on Thursday night.
  • Her grand-daughter,  Princess ‘Ofeina ‘e he Langi Fakafānua, will accept the award at this year’s Pacific Music Awards.

For more information

Pacific Music Awards

www.pacificmusicawards.org.nz

Stutton Park students entertain Tokaima‘ananga church seniors

By
Kalino Latu
-

Tokaima’ananga church’s older members have been treated to a performance from Stutton Park school as part of a year-long initiative to get people moving.

Stutton’s Iuniti Sia Ua students performed faivas (dances) during the entertainment activities last month.

Students performing during the visit included junior and senior students at the schools.

“The elderly were so excited,” Apitanga Kailea Mafi, a teacher at Stutton, said. 

“You can imagine how excited the elderly were to see the students entertaining them,” she said.

“The students value the importance of honouring the elderly for what they have contributed to the community while they were young,” Mafi said in Tongan.

The Principal of the school, Mr Esera. said the programme, known as School Partnership with the Community, would continue in the future and would be taken to various groups in the community.

The students, teacher and parents of the school were welcomed to the church by Melesiu Tu’iha’angana, Rev. Hola Paea and older members of the congregation.

The main points

  • Tokaima’ananga church’s older members have been treated to a performance from Stutton Park school as part of a year-long initiative to get people moving.
  • Stutton’s Iuniti Sia Ua students performed faivas (dances) during the entertainment activities last month.

Will Real Tonga start new flight services between Tonga and Auckland in June?

By
Kalino Latu
-

New Real Tonga airline flight services between Tonga and Auckland are set to be launched next month or July, a reliable source has told Kaniva news.

It is understood that the national airliner has leased an aircraft from Nauru Airlines for its international services, which will fly two times a week.

Nauru Airlines currently operates five Boeing 737-300s.

Fiji Airways flies a Boeing 737-800, which has a longer range, from Nadi to Fuaʻamotu International Airport.  Virgin Australia flies a Boeing 737-800 from Sydney and Auckland.

The services were planned to include flight services between Tonga, Fiji and Auckland

It is understood the Real Tonga has opened an office in Ōtāhuhu, New Zealand.

It is also understood Real Tonga staff and flight attendants are being trained in Queensland for the launch.

A meeting was conducted in Brisbane in November last year between Real Tonga Director Tēvita Palu, Nauru airline managers and Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva.

It is not clear when exactly in June the flight services will begin.

However, it is believed Real Tonga has considered launching its services before the Mate Ma’a Tonga clash with New Zealand on June 22.

Real Tonga has been contacted for comment.

Last year airline Fly Niu, which has not operated since 2004, tried to partner with the Tongan government to launch international flights between Auckland and Tonga.

The airline’s founder and owner, ‘Atu Fīnau, met with Hon. Pōhiva to present  his idea for the resumption of operations. Finau said Fly Niu would initially operate with two as of yet unspecified aircraft. He claimed to have access to aircraft from Iceland and Canada.

Finau said he had not received a formal response from the government regarding his proposal, but was recently told the government has supported the Real Tonga airline proposal.

He said he was considering another option.  

The  main points

  • New Real Tonga airline flight services between Tonga and Auckland are set to be launched next month, a reliable source has told Kaniva news.
  • It is understood The national airliner has leased an aircraft from Nauru Airlines for its international services, which will fly two times a week.

For more information

Tonga’s Fly Niu eyes restart, flights to Auckland

Parliament team leading public consultations on government’s new laws in question

By
Kalino Latu
-

The government has criticised the role of a Parliamentary committee in leading a public consultation on six new Bills it submitted to Parliament recently.

The Bills have been labelled as urgent, which meant the House should have tabled them without processing for parliamentary public consultations.

But after heated debates on how the Acting Speaker Lord Tuilakepa interpreted the law which dealt with the urgency process, the new Bills ended up at the Legislative Assembly of Tonga’s Standing Committee which decided that the Bills must be made available for public consultation.

Two MPs, Noble Lord Fusitu’a and Vava’u 15 Samiu Vaipulu, who strongly opposed the Bills when they were submitted to the House, were leading the consultation along with the Minister of Justice Vuna Fā’otusia and Solicitor General Sione Sisifā.

A government spokesperson said the team’s travelling allowances and expenses involved the consultation process would be paid by the taxpayers.

The government believed these were unnecessary expenses after Acting Speaker Lord Tu’ilakepa appeared to have misinterpreted the Urgency law.

The government believed a talkback show consultation conducted by the Acting Attorney General on local radios earlier this year was enough.

Government bills

The government spokesperson said these were Bills belonged to the government ministers who were elected by the people.

He said there was no need to spend taxpayers’ money on another meeting to consult with the people on these Bills because the government had been elected by the people so they can do this for them.

The government spokesperson said it was normal that if the Bills came from the public than a nationwide public consultation should be conducted.

He said the government chose the radio talkback show for its public consultation because it believed almost every household throughout Tonga has a radio to listen to.

“The problem with face to face public consultation, as we learnt from the past, is that the turn out at some villages and islands can be low to nothing,” the spokesperson said.

The public consultation began on Monday, May 6 on six Government Bills, that were tabled in Parliament in March 2019.

Parliament statement

A Parliament statement said: “The purpose of the public consultation is to brief the public on the amendments proposed in the Bills and to gather the public’s opinion on those proposed amendments, and invite written submission from the public. There was a public awareness programme to provide information about the Bills in the lead up to the public meetings.”

The Members of the Standing Committee on Legislation hosted public meetings in Vava’u from May 6–10 and Ha’apai from May 13-14. More meetings will be held in Tongatapu from May 15-22 and ‘Eua on May 24.

The Bills are listed as follows:

(i) Bill no. 15/2019 – Act of Constitution of Tonga (Amendment) Bill 2019

(ii) Bill no. 16/2019 – Act of Constitution of Tonga (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2019

(iii) Bill no. 17/2019 – Tonga Police (Amendment) Bill 2019

(iv) Bill no. 18/2019 – Magistrate’s Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019

(v) Bill no. 19/2019 – Judicial and Legal Service Commission Bill 2019

(vi) Bill no. 20/2019 – National Spatial Planning and Management (Amendment) Bill

The main points

  • The government has criticised the role of a Parliamentary committee in leading a public consultation on six new bills it submitted to Parliament recently.
  • The Bills has been labelled as urgent, which meant the House should have tabled it without processing it for a parliamentary public consultations.

For more information

Noble and Independent MPs walk out, but work of Parliament continues as normal

Noble and Independent MPs walk out, but work of Parliament continues as normal

NZ drug syndicate had insiders at Auckland Airport to import US meth, court hears

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By Edward Gay, stuff.co.nz

The Crown says a syndicate that was importing methamphetamine into New Zealand from the US, had contacts working for them inside Customs or New Zealand Post at Auckland International Airport.

Tevita Matangi Fangupo, Tevita Sitanilei Kulu and Toni Rajendra Finau are on trial at the High Court in Auckland.

The three have denied charges including importing methamphetamine and cocaine into New Zealand.

In her closing address at the High Court in Auckland, the Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney outlined the roles of the three men.

She said Fangupo and Kulu headed the partnership.

Kulu, who spent much of his life in California before moving back to New Zealand, had the US contacts and was sourcing the drugs, she said, while Fangupoo organised addresses to get the drugs sent to in Auckland.

She stated that Fangupoo also had contacts with a major gang in New Zealand to distribute the class A drug.

The drugs would come through Customs at Auckland International Airport.

Culliney reminded the jurors that a Customs expert had given evidence about packages being monitored by authorities as they travelled along conveyor belts at the airport.

However, staff members were not able to catch every package.

There was also evidence that the syndicate had an insider.

Intercepted messaging between members of the group included a message from Kulu during a discussion about a package. Kulu said: “We got boys that work in there”.

In the discussion about a missing package Kulu tells another syndicate member that he is “waiting on the lunch call” from a man he identifies as “Tama” – meaning boy.

In another exchange, Kulu said he had information about a missing package.

“They said it’s in Customs but they didn’t know the reason why it’s there. It’s there with some other boxes. They’re trying to figure out if they can grab it but I don’t know.”

Culliney said the meaning of the intercepted communications was clear.

“They had an inside man who was able to catch the packages and pick them up before the authorities knew what was going on.”

She said there was also evidence that the syndicate were getting nervous as packages were confiscated by authorities.

In one of the messages Culliney said Fangupo talks of growing fear as methamphetamine was being sold to the gangs before it had safely arrived in the country.

“He’s basically saying: ‘I’m stressed, the [gang] is coming after me, where is the meth? Where is it?'”

Another intercepted message concerns plans for a deal with the gang involving 100kg of methamphetamine – approximately worth $15 million.

“Methamphetamine, as you will no doubt know, is an extremely harmful and dangerous drug. It is extremely sought after and as such, fetches a high price.”

Culliney said this case was not about the damage the drug does in the community but the business side of it.

She said Finau also played an important role. He was the middleman and responsible for finding buyers for the drugs.

“At the end of the day, there’s no value in the drug if it sits idle at an address of one of these two men – the value is in splitting it up and moving it on.”

The trial, before Justice Mathew Downs and a jury, is expected to hear closing addresses from defence lawyers next week.

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