The Attorney General’s Office is pleased to announce, that on Thursday 21 March 2019, His Majesty King Tupou VI, upon receiving advice from the Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel and His Majesty’s Privy Council, has appointed Mrs Linda Simiki
Folaumoetu’i SC, to be the new Attorney General of the
Government of the Kingdom of Tonga.
Mrs Folaumoetu’i holds a Bachelor of Arts and Laws degree (BA LLB) from the University of Auckland (1994), a Post Graduate Diploma in Legislative Drafting from the University of the South Pacific (1997), and a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from the University of Melbourne (2000). She was admitted to the High Court of New Zealand in 1994 and to the Supreme Court of Tonga in the same year, and was also admitted to the High Court of the Solomon Islands in 2008.
Mrs Folaumoetu’i was first employed in 1993 as a Legal Officer in the then Crown Law Department, now the Attorney General’s Office before she graduated and was admitted to the legal bar. She was appointed the Solicitor General and Head of Department of the Crown Law Department from December 2006 to June 2008.
She then worked as a Litigation and Advice Advisor for the Law and Justice Project in the Solomon Islands under the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) from July 2008 to December 2014. She then returned to Tonga and was appointed to her current role of Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Ombudsman on 5 March 2015.
Mrs Folaumoetu’i is also a member of the Electoral Commission since 2016, and was appointed by His Majesty the King as a Law Lord and Member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 2018.
Mrs Folaumoetu’i will replace Mr ‘Asipeli ‘Aminiasi Kefu SC, the current Acting Attorney General, once she is released from her current role of Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Ombudsman, and terms of employment are finalised.
The Acting Attorney General will then complete and end his appointment in the Attorney General’s Office after 22 years of service.
The king’s
decision not to dissolve Parliament after receiving petitions led by anti
government leaders was a significant move in Tonga’s struggle to see a more
democratic government after the 2010 political reforms.
It has also
been seen as a remarkable move forward after the king’s dissolution of Parliament
in 2017 failed to oust the ‘Akilisi Pohiva government.
The rejection
of the request to dissolve Parliament could be seen as a precautionary measure
for those who have animosity against the democratically elected government or
anybody else who wanted the king to use his constitutional powers to support
their political agenda.
The king
could now be seen by democrats as a reasonable ruler rather than a monarch who was
quick to exercise his absolute constitutional power without listening to those
who had been accused, as some saw happening in 2017.
After that dissolution analysts believed the king’s reputation and that of the country as a whole were damaged. This was because not only voters returned the government to office after the snap elections, but more MPs who supported Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva were elected and some noble MPs lost their seats.
King’s
decisions
The king’s decision to refer the petitions to the Ombudsman,
the Attorney General and to the Police Commissioner has strengthened the Democrats’
trust in him and their hopes for a more democratic government during his
tenure.
The king’s decision was a milestone on Tonga’s democratic
reforms because the Ombudsman, Attorney General and Police commissioner’s roles
which His Majesty has used to investigate the petitions were created on
principles of transparency, accountability and good governance- the core ideologies
of democracy.
Because he has used these tools, we have good reasons
to believe that he could continue to use them in the future.
And because he could continue to use them in the
future, we have good reasons to think he will continue to accept more
democratic mechanisms to help him run the country according to the
constitution.
This means the king’s decision not to dissolve Parliament
after receiving the petitions mean people
should hope for more democratic reforms in the near future led by this king.
His decision for the government to fund the Anti-Corruption Commission and for the Commissioner to be paid a judge’s level salary to be approved by the king was another sign of hope for the Democrats.
The constitution gave power to the king to dissolve Parliament but it did not give him power to dissolve the government.
The petitions
The petitions were organised by former government Ministers and MPs, including lawyer William Clive Edwards, Sione Teisina Fuko, ‘Isileli Pulu and Dr Viliami Uasike Latu. All are fierce political foes of ‘Akilisi Pohiva.
They demanded the king immediately dissolve Parliament after what they described as signs of corruption, dishonesty and abuse of power.
In a democracy, elected officials are accountable to
the public they govern and they must be held accountable for any wrong doing.
Taxpayers have the right to complain, protest and petition
if they were concerned at how their leaders run the government of the day.
But only the petitions that have merit, validity and which
have been created in good spirit should be submitted for the king’s
consideration.
There are good reasons to believe the petitions the
King has ordered to be given to government bodies to investigate had a hidden
political agenda of opposition to the government behind them.
One of the engineers of the petitions, William Clive
Edwards was the lawyer for Princess Pilolevu and Tongasat in their fight
against the government in which the court ruled Tongasat receiving of TP$90
million Chinese money was unlawful.
He was also the lawyer for former Speaker and Prime
Minister Lord Tu’ivakano who was charged with 10 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.
The Pohiva government was instrumental in pushing for an inquiry and investigation which led to the arrest of Lord Tu’ivakano.
Edwards also represented the Pacific Games Council and Lord Sevele ‘O Vailahi in court cases in which they were fighting against government.
The
investigation
Everyone should be happy that the complaints have been handed over to the right authorities to investigate and if there has been any wrong doing they must hold those responsible accountable.
King Tupou
VI has ordered three petitions attacking the government to be referred to the
Ombudsman.
The petitions have been organised by long standing opponents of the government and have demanded the government be dissolved.
In August
November 2017 the Speaker persuaded the
king to dissolve Parliament and put the government of ‘Akilisi Pohiva out of office.
Hon.
Pohiva’s government was returned at the subsequent election.
In June last
year a 3000-strong signature petition to impeach the Prime Minister and seven
of his cabinet ministers was submitted to parliament.
A Radio New
Zealand report carried by Kaniva Tonga
news last week said three petitions with more than 10,000 signatures had
been presented to the palace in Nuku’alofa.
Former
government minister Clive Edwards presented a petition signed by former
politicians.
Edwards said
he believed that once a Royal Commission for Investigation was appointed, a
caretaker government would need to be put in place.
Noble MP
Lord Nuku presented a petition from the country’s nobles.
The third
petition was presented by former MP Teisina Fuko from members of the general
public.
In a
statement issued today, the Lord Privy Seal said the Ombudsman would
investigate complaints in the petition, take such action as he considered
appropriate and make a determination on any instance of mal-administration
which he found to have been established to his satisfaction.
The Ombudsman would report to the king.
The Lord
Privy Seal would order the government to fund an Anti-Corruption Commission and
pay for the Commissioner to be paid a judge’ level salary to be approved by the
king.
The
petitions would be referred to the Attorney General, the Director of Public
Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police for Investigation and prosecution
where a case had been established.
The
main points
King Tupou VI has ordered three
petitions attacking the government to be referred to the Ombudsman.
The petition have been organised by
long standing opponents of the government and have demanded the government be dissolved.
For
more information
Multiple petitions call for
dissolution of Tonga Parliament
Acting
Speaker Lord Tu’ilakepa has apologised in Parliament after a comment he made
sparked outrage on social media.
As Kaniva Tonga news reported earlier this
week, the Acting Speaker made the remarks during a fierce debate in Parliament
over six Bills which the government said needed to be discussed urgently.
Lord Tu’ilakepa said he went to Liahona High school and praised the level of English there. However, he then said that in Toloa – another name for Tupou College – the standard was “faka’ofa” (poor).
In Tongan he
said: “‘Oku ke mea’i e ako ko eni ‘a Liahona, na’a ku ako aí, ko e fu’u ako lea
fakapālangi ia. Ko e Minisitā Laó pē
na’e ako ‘i Toloa, ko e faka’ofa atu e lea fakapālangí ia ai.”
The king’s
Noble has now said he was making a joke with the Minister of Law, who had
studied at Tupou College.
He said the Prime Minister was also an ex-student at Tupou College, as was the Minister of Finance, and MP for ‘Eua 11.
The Acting
Speaker said these were “great men” and said he apologised to the Prime
Minister.
“I would like to publicly declare my apology
to the ex-students of Tupou College after I was accused of putting the college
down,” Lord Tu’ilakepa said.
The Prime Minister accepted Lord Tu’ilakepa’s apology and
said there were times when people made mistakes.
The main points
Acting
Speaker Lord Tu’ilakepa has apologised in Parliament after a comment he made
sparked outrage on social media.
As
Kaniva Tonga news reported earlier
this week, the Acting Speaker made the remarks during a fierce debate in
Parliament over six Bills which the government said needed to be discussed
urgently.
Nine days
after the Christchurch massacre, major events are scheduled today to allow
people to show their grief and support for the victims of the racist attack.
Thousands of
people are expected to attend a memorial service, ‘Remember Those Who Lost
Their Lives’, in Christchurch this evening.
The memorial
service will be held in Hagley Park from 5-7pm.
It will be
started by Linwood mosque Imam Alabi Lateef Zirullah.
Other
speakers will include Catholic Bishop of Christchurch Paul Martin. Cashmere
High School, which several of the victims attended, will be represented.
In Auckland,
an anti-Islamophobia rally, ‘Kia Kaha Aotearoa: Stand Against Racism,’ will be
held at Aotea Square from 2pm.
Vigils and
memorial services have been held all over New Zealand in the past week.
A vigil was
held in New Plymouth and a hikoi was held in Hastings. An estimated 15,000
people attended a memorial in Dunedin.
On Friday
hundreds of staff and students at Unitec in Auckland attended a memorial
service that included the planting of an olive tree in the institute’s memorial
garden.
Many New
Zealand women covered their heads as a mark of respect on Friday,
including policewoman Michelle Evans.
Constable
Evans was standing guard outside the Christchurch Memorial Park Cemetery.
On Friday,
people were asked to stay off Facebook for 50 hours from 1.40pm, the time the
alleged gunman started broadcasting live video of the shooting last Friday.
There has
been anger at Facebook for allowing the gunman to broadcast his attack online.
Internet providers in New Zealand have been working to have the footage blocked
or removed.
Pacific response
The effects
of the Christchurch shooting has been felt throughout the Pacific.
As Kaniva Tonga news reported earlier this
week, on Monday Members of Parliament took part in a one minute silence on
Monday morning to pay respects for the victims of Christchurch’s terror attack.
Acting
Speaker Lord Tu’ilakepa said the minute was in respect for the memory of those
killed and hurt in the attack on Friday, which left 50 dead and at least 50
injured
Lord
Tu’ilakepa said in Tongan: “Oku ou fie ‘oatu ‘a e fie kaungā mamahi ‘a e Fale
Alea ‘o Tongá mo e kakai ‘o Nu’usilá, ‘oku ‘oatu heni ha faka’apa’apa, mo e
fiekaungā mamahi mo’oni ‘a e Fale Alea ‘o Tonga, mo e kakai ‘o Nu’usila koe’uhi
ko e pulonga kuo tō he fonuá, tupu mei he fakapō ta’e’amanekina, ne hoko ‘i
Christchurch, ‘i he ‘aho Falaite 15 ‘o Mā’asi, 2019.”
In Port
Moresby, an editorial in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier described New
Zealand as “one of the most peaceful and culturally open countries in the
world, which makes this vicious attack even more disgusting.”
In Fiji,
people were asked to stand in solidarity with New Zealand at a candlelit
service.
The Fiji Times reported that Musa Vali
Suleman Patel, 60, a leader of the Fiji Muslim League, was killed in the racist
attack.
According to
Radio New Zealand, two other Fijians, Ashraf Ali Razat and Hafiz Musa Patel,
were also killed.
Messages of
condolence have come from political leaders and regional bodies across the
Pacific.
Cook Islands
Prime Minister Herny Puna said his country’s prayers first and foremost were
with the victims of the shooting, “their families, friends and loved ones
who are now faced with the irreconcilable loss of their loved ones.”
Fijian Prime
Minister Frank Bainimarama said Fijian hearts were breaking.
“An atrocity
of this nature is shocking almost beyond comprehension,” he said.
“Across
all religions, our houses of worship are a source of refuge, of prayer, and of
love; to see such a heinous and hate-filled act occur in what should be places
of peace is the darkest of evils.”
President of
French Polynesia, Edouard Fritch described Friday’s attack as a “despicable
act.”
However, not
all Pacific leaders have been so altruistic.
In Samoa, a request by MP Tafua Maluelue Tafua for a
minute’s silence to remember the victims of the shooting was knocked back by Speaker
of Parliament on procedural grounds.
Samoan PM Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi criticised Tafua
for making the request, saying he should have known that a minutes’ silence was
only offered for MPs.
Dr. Malielegaoi said his official statement on the shooting,
which was extended on behalf of Parliament and the whole country meant more
than just a moment of silence.
“Message of sympathy and condolences were sent to New
Zealand on that Friday from one leader to another, period,” he said.
He then went on to attack his political opponents and
appeared to claim they and people campaigning for human rights in Samoa were
like the Christchurch gunman.
The
main points
Nine days after the Christchurch
massacre, major events are scheduled today to allow people to show their grief
and support for the victims of the racist attack.
Thousands of people are expected to
attend a memorial service in Hagley Park in Christchurch from 5-7pm.
In Auckland, an anti-Islamophobia
rally, Kia Kaha Aotearoa: Stand Against Racism, will be held at Aotea Square
from 2pm.
For
more information
Christchurch shooting: Details of
vigil revealed, thousands expected
Siaosi Koloamatangi, of Kolomu’a has been elected Chairman
of the Board
of Directors of the Tonga
National Rugby League.
Koloamatangi
was elected during a special general meeting of the TRNL ordered by the Supreme
Court.
The meeting,
on March 9, was chaired by Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu.
The newly
elected Vice-Chairman of the
Board of Director is Petuliki Mafile’o of Kolonga.
The secretary is William C. Edwards Jr of Kolomu’a. Silivenusi Taumoepeau was elected as director of the Kolofo’ou District.
The new director
of Kolomotu’a District is Heimuli Pangai from Toa-ko-Ma’afu.
The new director
of the Vahe Loto district is Lokingi Mavae from Vaini.
Siamelie Latu of Mu’a Saints was elected director of Vahe Hahake District.
The new director
of the Vahe Hihifo District is Tonga Fonua, Ha’akame.
The supreme
Court rules in November last year that the new Board was to “carry on the
affairs of the League, one of which shall be to have the finances of the League
properly audited by a properly qualified chartered accountant”.
Once a
proper audit is completed, the new Board of Directors will convene an Annual
General Meeting to elect a new Board of Directors.
Deputy Prime
Minister Semisi Sika, Deputy Prime Minister, remains as the President of the
Tonga National Rugby League.
Hon. Tevita
‘Unga Ma’afu remains as the Vice-President of the Tonga National Rugby League,
until replaced in an election in an Annual General Meeting.
As Kaniva Tonga news reported in February,
the Supreme Court banned former members of the TRNL board from attending the
election.
It also
banned the former president and vice-president of the TRNL from attending the
election meeting.
And it has
warned that it may take further action depending on the outcome of the audit of
the TRNL finances.
The orders
came as the Supreme Court reaffirmed that it had the power to dismiss the TRNL
board and to order new elections under the Incorporated Societies Act.
As Kaniva Tonga news reported earlier, the
Supreme Court dissolved the Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL) board and
ordered an election of new board members.
The sacked
board members included Chairman Stan Moheloa, General Secretary Tavake Fangupō,
Board Director Siu Fangupō, Board
Director Pita Vakautakakala, and Board Director Mātani Nifofā.
The Court
appointed Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu as Amicus Curiae (friend of
the court) to organise and oversee new elections.
The
main points
Siaosi Koloamatangi, of Kolomu’a has been
elected Chairman of
the Board of
Directors of the Tonga National Rugby League.
Koloamatangi
was elected during a special general meeting of the TRNL ordered by the Supreme
Court.
The
meeting, on March 9, was chaired by Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu.
For
more information
Supreme Court bans former rugby board
members, president, from election meeting
The New
Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal has turned down an appeal by a
Tongan couple against deportation.
The Tribunal
said they did not meet the exceptional requirements for being allowed to stay
on humanitarian grounds.
The couple
and two of their children arrived in New
Zealand with the two older children on visitor visas on October 18, 2017.
After a
first extension of their visa was granted a second was refused and they became
liable for deportation in July last year.
A third
child as born to the couple while they were in New Zealand.
The couple
relied on the difference in economic conditions and opportunities for them and
their children as a reason for they and their children to be allowed to stay in
New Zealand, the Tribunal said in its report on the case.
The Tribunal
said economic disparity was a motive for many people looking for better
opportunities in New Zealand.
However, the
fact that they would be able provide a better standard of living for themselves and their children in
New Zealand is not, in itself, exceptional
“The
Tribunal accepts that the standard of living available to the appellants will
be lower in Tonga than in New Zealand,” the report said.
“However,
the appellants will have the opportunity to work and to support their children.
There is no evidence that they do not have adequate accommodation to return to
and their children will have available to them the same level of primary and
secondary schooling that they had.
“While the
appellants submit that the level of healthcare available to them in Tonga is
inferior to that in New Zealand, that is not, in isolation, exceptional and, in
any event, there is no evidence that either appellant or any of the three
children have particular healthcare needs.”
The Tribunal
said it had considered the circumstances of both appellants and of each of their children.
The
main points
The
New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal has turned down an appeal by a
Tongan couple against deportation.
The
Tribunal said they did not meet the exceptional requirements for being allowed
to stay on humanitarian grounds.
The new head coach for Tonga Netball is excited by the chance to grow and develop the sport at the grassroots and high performance levels.
Jaqua Heddle returned to New Zealand last
year to take up the role General Manager of Netball Taranaki, after 26 years
living in Australia.
She spent two decades coaching netball
across the Tasman and in 2016 was named Netball New South Wales coach of the
year.
Heddle is from a Rarotongan and Tahitian
background but said the chance to coach with Tonga was a fantastic opportunity.
“I’m particularly interested in how
Tonga netball are trying to establish a high performance programme and, for me,
starting at the foundation level and being a part of building that programme
with them is really exciting so I’m glad that came about,” she said.
Jaqua Heddle has selected an even mix of
players based in Tonga and New Zealand to compete in the Pacific Nations Cup,
which gets underway in Auckland on Thursday, which she believes will bode well
for their long-term development.
“We have six athletes that are based
in Tonga so that’s really exciting for us and the bigger picture of that is to
be able to develop athletes that are actually residing in Tonga and the
knowledge that they take back and be able to share with their community, which
ultimately is going to increase the skill development level in Tonga,” she
said.
“The other half of our squad are New
Zealand residents so they live here, they’re Tongan athletes…a big part for
us is being able to get them to connect as a team so that they’re competitive
when they go into competition at the end of the week.”
The Kingdom finished winless at last year’s
Oceania World Cup Qualifying tournament but apart from a 35-goal blowout
against Cook Islands proved competitive in matches against Papua New Guinea,
Fiji and Samoa, where the losing margin ranged from eight to twelve goals.
Heddle believed the team has plenty of room
to keep improving on the international stage.
“The short-term plan for us was
obviously preparation for athletes having them in camp for the Pacific Nations
Cup and just gaining some experience for them playing against some nations that
had some skill and it will give them some experience within that space,”
she said.
“Then for us leading into the South
Pacific Games in July: that’s a really important event for us because there is
an opportunity for us to increase our world ranking, which is the ultimate
goal, and it’s going to take some time but I think Netball Tonga are on the
right pathway for that to happen.”
Long before Tongasat was dreamed up, rockets were being used
to carry mail in Tonga.
While the rocket service was intermittent and may have blown
up more letters that ever got through, it produced more solid results than
anything that has happened since.
The story of Tonga’s involvement with rocketry began in 1882
when William Travers took over a plantation on Niuafo’ou.
Passing ships were unable to call at the steep-sided island
and it was difficult to even land a rowing boat.
According to several versions of the story, Travers asked the
Tongan postal authorities to put his mail inside a ship’s biscuit tin and have
it thrown overboard from a Union Steamship Company vessel.
The ship’s captain would blow the ship’s siren when the tin went over the side and Travers would send out a swimmer to collect it. Soon he was sending mail out the same way.
However, the reality was that even the strongest swimmer
might spend hours fighting strong currents to get to the mail and when the
weather was bad it was impossible to swim out to the ship.
It was then that gunpowder-powered rockets were brought into
play. Ship’s captains began to fire the rockets at Niuafo’ou.
Unsurprisingly, when fired from the deck of a sailing ship or
a steamer batting its way through rough seas, the mail rockets didn’t always
travel smoothly.
Hissing and spluttering, they usually hit the island, but
contemporary accounts say that sometimes they overshot it altogether and landed
in the sea.
Sometimes they landed in the lake or just got lost in the bus
and one at least one occasion the mail burst into flames in mid-air.
Whatever the outcome, when the rockets were in the air,
everybody stopped work to see what would happen.
Experiments
While the rocket mail was used to cover occasional
emergencies, elsewhere in the world serious experiments in carrying mail by
rocket continued for many decades.
In India tests were carried out in Calcutta and Darjeeling in
the 1930s and the press breathlessly asked whether rocket mail would one day beat
air mail, the telephone and radio.
There were experiments in many other places, most
spectacularly in the UK when German scientist Gehard Zucker fired two rockets
loaded with mail between the Scottish islands of Harris and Scarp. Both rockets
exploded, but most of the mail was saved.
The most expensive experiment in rocket mail took place in
1959 when the American submarine USS Barbero
fired a cruise missile which had had its nuclear warhead replaced by two Post
Office Department mail containers.
Tonga’s space race
Since the days of the Niuafo’ou mail rocket, several schemes
have been floated to put Tonga into space. In 1990 US entrepreneur Matt Nilson founded
Tongasat, which is now embroiled in lawsuits and, according to the supreme
Court, unlikely to be able to pay its court costs.
Later on, there were plans to launch tourists into orbit from
a spaceport in the kingdom. In 2003 California company InterOrbital systems
claimed it would put tourists into a seven day stay in low orbital.
By 2010 the company had lowered its sights and was claiming
it would soon launch a rocket carrying a
30kg payload a launch site on the king’s estate on the southern tip of ‘Eua
this year, with the aim of launching a rocket before the end of 2010.
The proposal for space tourism came to nothing. After 20
years nothing has ever quite matched the hissing, fizzing – and sometimes
burning – Niuafo’ou rocket mail.
The
main points
Long
before Tongasat was dreamed up, rockets were being used to carry mail in Tonga.
While
the rocket service was intermittent and may have blown up more letters that
ever got through, it produced more solid results than anything that has
happened since.
The
story of Tonga’s involvement with rocketry began in 1882 when William Travers
took over a plantation on Niuafo’ou.
Lord Tu’ilakepa’s derogatory remarks about the standard of English at Tupou College has sparked an outrage online.
The Acting Speaker said he went to Liahona High school, an English compulsory speaking high school in Tonga and English there was great while in Toloa – another name for Tupou College – the standard was “faka’ofa” (poor).
In Tongan he said: “‘Oku ke mea’i e ako ko eni ‘a
Liahona, na’a ku ako aí, ko e fu’u ako lea fakapālangi ia. Ko e Minisitā Laó pē na’e ako ‘i Toloa, ko e
faka’ofa atu e lea fakapālangí ia ai.”
He was reacting to the Minister of Law who, he said,
had studied at Tupou College.
The king’s noble made the disparaging comment during a
heated debate yesterday after the Minister of Education attempted to clarify to
the Acting Speaker the meaning of the word “certify” as it appeared on clause
131 of the law.
As Kaniva Tonga
news reported yesterday, there has been uproar in the House since Monday when
Lord Tu’ilakepa said the Prime Minister was obliged to tell the House in a
letter the reasons why the government considered the six Bills currently before
it were urgent.
The government disagreed and said certifying in a
letter the bills were urgent only required the Prime Minister to say they were
urgent and to sign the letter.
Lord Tu’ilakepa and seven other noble MPs wanted the government
to meet face to face with the public to consult with them on the new legislation,
but the government disagreed.
The government said it had already done the public
consultation process over a radio talk back show led by the Acting Attorney
General, ‘Aminiasi Kefu.
Acting
Speaker reacted
Lord Tu’ilakepa accused the government bench of regularly
belittling his educational background and often referring to his being a high
school dropout.
The MPs were arguing after a letter by the Prime
Minister supporting the urgency of the law was rejected by Lord Tu’ilakepa.
The government maintained that the law only required
the Prime Minister to certify that the Bills were urgent without giving any
reasons.
Acting
Speaker not keeping to role – PM
Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has accused the Acting
Speaker for not keeping to his role as a Chair of the House and not becoming involved in the MPs debates.
However, Lord Tu’ilakepa continued arguing with the Cabinet Ministers and maintained he was trying to clarify his side of the government’s accusation against him.
Legal advice and impeachment
Policer Minister Mateni Tapueluelu told the House the Cabinet Ministers had a meeting the night before and sought advice from the Solicitor General and Acting Attorney General who concluded that the Speaker’s interpretation of the word certify and the law it included was wrong.
Hon. Tapueluelu told Lord Tu’ilakepa he could be
impeached if he had made a wrong decision.
The Acting Speaker said he had been advised by legal experts.
He asked the Minister not to threaten him.
He told the Minister to go ahead and impeach him.
The Bills have still not been tabled because the
Acting Speaker is adamant that the government must submit the reasons why the
Bills are considered urgent.
Online
outrage
Lord Tu’ilakepa’s comments about Tupou College have attracted an outrage from Tupou College ex-students as far away as the United States.
An ex-student in US who goes by the name Manu Hasata Mafua Tuivai said on a
livestreamed video yesterday the noble’s comment was low and belittling.
He said the noble have to be careful of what he says
and respect the college.
“Ouaaaaaa teke ue’i ae ‘Uga e Tuilakepa, teke taelata
he nofo i Toga,” Tu’ivai also wrote on Facebook.
This translate into Tongan as: “Do not mess with the ‘unga Tu’ilakepa because it will cause you to feel uneasy while staying in Tonga.”
One Facebook group known as My Tongan Online Community
which has 18,000 followers has shared the noble’s comment.
It has 131 shares and received 161 comments and 525
reactions.
The comments in Tongan have included threats and
abuse.
Some questioned Lord Tu’ilakepa’s educational qualifications and whether this might affect his functioning in his present role.
Some recalled that in 2010 he was accused of being bribed to sponsor
a Colombian drug boss to enter Tonga.
However, some commenters stood by the noble and asked the other commentators to give him a break.
Some said the noble was correct in the way he
interpreted the law.
The main points
Lord Tu’ilakepa’s derogatory remarks
about the standard of English at Tupou has sparked an outrage online.
The Acting Speaker said he went to
Liahona High school, an English compulsory speaking high school in Tonga and
English there was great while in Toloa –
another name for Tupou – the
standard was “faka’ofa” (poor).
There
has been uproar in the House since Mondaywhen Lord Tu’ilakepa said the Prime
Minister was obliged to tell the House in a letter the reasons why the
government considered the six Bills currently before it were urgent.
For more information
Acting
Speaker shuts down discussion on new Bills, tells House to come back the next
day
