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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.

Police closer to nabbing ‘head of the octopus’ after latest arrest, says Minister of Police

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Minister of Police Hon. Mateni Tapueluelu said one of the drug lords in Tonga had been arrested, although he did not name or specify them.

He said Police were moving closer to arresting more drugs lords in Tonga.

He said most of the drugs arrests Police have made were only those who distributed and consumed the illicit drugs.

We are closer to arresting the ‘ulu’ifeke (the head of the octopus – referring to the drug lords), the Minister said.

“Pea kuo mou ‘osi fanongo pe kuo ‘osi puke toko taha,” he said in Tongan.

This translates into English as: “And you have heard one has been arrested.”

Family business

It has been revealed that selling of illicit drugs has become the basis of family businesses in the kingdom, Hon. Tapueluelu said in a recent televised public panel discussion.

He warned that the public would be shocked to find out that some public figures, including church leaders, had been involved in drug dealing.

These drug dealers included leading people who appeared to be of good character, well behaved and trusted in the community, the Minister said.

He said a recent drug arrest at Fahefa by Police involved parents and their own children.

Hon. Tapueluelu made the revelation shortly after Princess Pilolevu’s and Lord Tuita’s son-in-law, Sione Filipe Jr, was arrested and charged with the unlawful importation of illicit drugs, unlawful possession of illicit drugs, possession of firearms and ammunition without a license and making a false declaration on arrival card.

A Tongan senior customs officer appeared in court last month following the seizure of more  than $US2.5 million dollars worth of illicit drugs along with illegal firearms and ammunition.

Paula Naitoko, 59, faces nine charges for engaging with others to import illicit drugs and for aiding and abetting the importation of illegal firearms and ammunition.

The main points

  • The Minister of Police Hon. Mateni Tapueluelu said one of the drug lords in Tonga had been arrested, although he did not name or specify them.
  • He said Police were moving closer to arresting more drugs lords in Tonga

Wallaby hooker Tolu Latu arrested and charged with drink driving.

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Sam Worthington, Fox Sports

A miserable week for Australian rugby has got even worse after Wallabies and Waratahs hooker Tolu Latu was reportedly found slumped behind the wheel and charged with drink driving.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Latu was found sleeping behind the wheel near Rugby Australia headquarters in Sydney around 4.30am on Thursday.

It is alleged that police then stirred him and Latu recorded an alcohol reading of 0.135 — a mid-range offence under New South Wales law.

The newspaper also reported that police will allege Latu was driving on a suspended licence and that he will front court on June 6.

Despite the report, Latu surprisingly came off the Waratahs bench and took the field in Saturday night’s cracking Super Rugby clash with the Reds in Brisbane, making a turnover in the final play of the 40-32 win.

He had not told his employers about the early morning incident and Latu will now return to Sydney to face the music instead of staying in Brisbane for this weekend’s Wallabies camp.

The Waratahs said they found out about the incident via the newspaper report.

“It is disappointing to hear when any of our players behave in such a fashion,” Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson said.

“It’s taken us by surprise and I’ve got to obviously ascertain all the facts and go from there.

“It has been an emotional week…

“I was pretty disappointed to only learn of it so close to the game.

“That’s the disappointing aspect as a coach.

“I’m sure there’s a number of things that he needs to say to the team.”

Waratahs chief executive Andrew Hore said Latu was still eligible to play “under the code of conduct” and that he was informed about the incident on Saturday afternoon.

“We checked with SANZAAR and with Rugby Australia in and around the facts we did have and there was nothing we could clarify that it was a breach of the code of conduct,” Hore said.

“As far as we are aware, he’s an innocent man until there has been a formal investigation. “You have to be fair.

“We went through all the processes.

“When you find out late in the piece, it makes it really tough…

“Of course we talked to him today.

“Even then you have to go through a formal process before you can do anything.

“That’s the difficult part.”

Former Wallabies and Waratahs star Drew Mitchell said it was surprising Latu hadn’t informed his employers about the charge.

“But of course he’s probably a little bit worried about how it’s going to be received, maybe the impact it’s going to have on the team,” Mitchell said on Fox Sports.

“It’s inexcusable, if it turns out to be true, to be drink driving.

“Andrew Hore’s a nice guy but I’m just tired of hearing from CEO’s, we’ve heard too many interviews from CEO’s of late — we’d love to be talking to the players more.”

Another former Wallaby, Justin Harrison, said Latu was entitled to due process.

“He’s been charged with something, it’s an alleged offence — we need to let it play out,” Harrison said.

“He’s probably not realising the importance of reporting something that could potentially be in the public forum very quickly and out of control.

“So we just need to be patient now and see hopefully, if there’s a reasonable excuse for it.”

Before the match, Wallabies and NSW great Phil Kearns said the Latu news wouldn’t affect the Waratahs in their performance.

“Rugby players are a bit weird — I don’t think it’ll have any impact whatsoever,” Kearns said.

“They’ll just completely block that out of their brains and they’ll just focus on the game.

“Maybe after the match a few of the boys might tell him what a moron he’s been in his actions, if that’s true.”

The timing is awful for the Waratahs and rugby’s image after Wallabies and NSW star Israel Folau was sacked on Friday following his controversial social media posts.

“The last thing they need is something like that,” former Wallabies captain George Gregan said on Fox Sports before the match.

“It’s something which will be dealt with in coming days and the coming week but they’ll have to knuckle down and just try and focus on the job.

“They’ll be all aware within that team environment — coaches, players, management — it’s really important that they try and focus on getting a really important victory over there at Suncorp.”

Latu, 26, has played 12 Tests for the Wallabies but his Rugby World Cup selection hopes now look grim.

He has been plagued by on-field discipline problems throughout his career and was banned for six weeks this season for a dangerous clean-out on Sunwolves flanker Ed Quirk.

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