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Outgoing minister Lord Ma’afu is reinstated after reconciliation, PM office says

By
Kalino Latu
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The king’s noble who stepped down from Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s cabinet in early March has been reinstated.

Lord Ma’afu resigned as Tonga’s Minister of Lands and Survey as well as Minister of His Majesty’s Armed Forces, two days after the Minister of Police Hon. Māteni Tapueluelu resigned on February 28. Hon. Pōhiva rejected Hon. Tapueluelu’s resignation.

The reinstatement of Lord Ma’afu came after what the Prime Minister’s office has described as a reconciliation meeting this morning.

The  meeting was attended by Tapueluelu,  Lord Ma’afu and the Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva, the Prime Minister’s media advisor Lōpeti Senituli told Kaniva News this afternoon.

Senituli said Hon. Pōhiva was seeking a reconciliation between Lord Ma’afu and Hon. Tapueluelu after what appears to be a clash erupted in cabinet in February which had led to the two ministers tendering their resignation.

Senituli said the two ministers had reconciled and Lord Ma’afu accepted an invitation by the Prime Minister to return to cabinet.

Hon. Tapueluelu said the Prime Minister has written to the king withdrawing his letter of revocation of Lord Ma’afu’s ministerial post appointment.

Young boy, girl killed by vehicles in Tongatapu in separate incidents  

By
Kalino Latu
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Police have charged a 60-year-old man after a 4-year-old boy died after he was run over by a vehicle in Vainī yesterday May 15.

The accused was the driver and he had been charged with reckless driving causing death.

On a separate incident, a 3-year-old girl was killed after she was struck by a van in a cemetery in ‘Utulau on May 12.

She was hit by a family reversing vehicle.

The vehicle was being driven by her 26-year-old father, a Police spokesperson said.

No one has been charged in relation to the incident.

Police investigation continues.

Fight breaks outside Tongan church out in US

By
Kaniva Staff
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Footage has emerged of a brutal brawl outside a Tongan church in East Palo Alto in the United states.

The video, uploaded to Facebook by Tita Nutt’s this morning, shows women wearing Tongan church attires fighting on a veranda in front of a crowd of more than a dozen.

A child can be heard crying while some women can be heard yelling abuse and swearing.

The women were seen punching, wrestling, grabbing each other and hair-pulling in a fist fight that eventually spilled out into a car park.

One woman was seen pelting a stone and another object at some of the women involved in the brawl.

The 2.10-minute video has attracted more than 40,000 viewers, 1275 shares and more than 500 reactions on Nutt’s Facebook account within three hours since it was uploaded.

“Lookz (sic) like the East Palo Alto Siasi Tonga Church had a wonderful Motherz (sic) Day yesterday,’ a caption posted with the video read.

Eventually some men and women intervened and split up the church brawl.

It was not clear what caused the stoush.

Alcohol and speed believed to be factors in crash that killed 38-year-old

By
Kaniva Staff
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Speed and alcohol are believed to be factors in a fatal crash in Kolonga, that killed a 38-year-old man from Afā, police said.

The man died instantly when the vehicle he was travelling in hit a coconut tree on Saturday night, Police said.

The crash happened on the main road at around 11.30pm.

It was unclear whether or not there was no one else in the car when it crashed.

Tongans could play alongside rivals if combined Pacific rugby team goes ahead

By
Philip Cass
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Tongan rugby players could be playing alongside traditional rivals Samoa and Fiji if a proposal for a combined Pacific Islands team goes ahead.

The proposed team would compete in the  Super Rugby competition.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign affairs and Trade paid $80,000 for a feasibility study into the proposal.

The plan has gone to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga for consideration.

Chair of the Pacific Players Association chair Tevita Hale Nai Tu’uhoko welcomed the move.

“For so long now that we’ve been in the back seat with Super Rugby, and now it’s about time that we were in charge,” the former Tongan and Ninternational player said.

“Sport is an integral part of the cultures of many Pacific Islands countries and the New Zealand aid programme recognises it can be an effective vehicle for development in the region,” an MFAT spokesperson said.

The spokesperson says MFAT has not committed to supporting start-up costs or operating capital for any possible future team.

Sceptics have argued that the Pacific could not support a combined team in a Super Rugby Franchise.

However, more than a million people live in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, more than New Zealand’s South Island, which supports two Super Rugby franchises.

It is also four times the population of the Australian Capital Territory, home to the Brumbies.

There are also 300,000 New Zealanders and 170,000 Australians of Pacific Island heritage.

Supporters of the idea of a combined Pacific team have suggested that the number of supporters could reach  many millions if Papua New Guinea was included.

The main points

  • Tongan rugby players could be playing alongside traditional rivals Samoa and Fiji if a proposal for a combined Pacific Islands team goes ahead.
  • The proposed team would would compete in the Super Rugby competition.
  • The plan has gone to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga for consideration.

For more information 

Revealed: NZ Govt’s secret plan to set up Pacific Islands Super Rugby team

Why Nemani Nadolo’s plea for a Pacific Islands team would give Super Rugby a real boost

Police seek witnesses to two serious crashes in Counties Manukau

By
Kaniva Staff
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Police are seeking witnesses to two crashes, one fatal and one serious, that occurred in Counties Manukau on 12 and 13 May, 2018.

The first crash occurred on Saturday 12 May at approximately 11:00pm on Te Irirangi Road, Flat Bush between Smales Road and Accent Drive.

The crash involved a white Mazda Familia driving on the wrong side of the road and colliding head on with another vehicle.

Police would like to speak to anyone who may have seen the Mazda being driven around this time.

In particular there are a number of reports of near misses with other vehicles.

If you have any information which may assist our enquiries, please contact Constable Gabrielle Griffiths, Counties Manukau Serious Crash Unit on 021 192 1542 and reference file number 180513/1846.

The second crash occurred on Sunday 13 May at approximately 9:25am on Ti Rakau Drive, Flat Bush at the intersection with Edgewater Drive.

The crash involved a black BMW 745I and a black Honda Civic.  Police would like to speak to anyone who may have seen these two vehicles being driven around this time.

If you have any information which may assist this enquiry, please contact Constable Griffiths, Counties Manukau Serious Crash Unit on the number above and quote event number P033481261.

Alternatively, information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Two Aucklanders arrested with half a kilogram meth after traffic stop in Tasman

By
Kaniva Staff
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Two men from Auckland were charged with possession for supply of methamphetamine after 500 grams of the drug was found in their car during a traffic stop in Murchison.

The two men, aged 26 and 27, were stopped in Murchison after they were reported for an earlier driving offence in St Anaud.

Nelson Police have arrested the duo after a substantial quantity of methamphetamine was located in their vehicle in Murchison on Friday morning.

Police subsequently searched their vehicle and located a quantity of methamphetamine weighing approximately 500 grams.

They appeared in the Nelson District Court later the same day.

Legality of PM Pōhiva’s media advisor’s job in question; no contract, works unpaid

By
Kalino Latu
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The Prime Minister’s media advisor Lōpeti Senituli works without pay and has not signed an employment contract with the government.

Senituli told Kaniva News he had not been given any work equipment, despite being in the job for about two months.

He worked in a similar capacity for Lord Sevele’s government.  Lord Sevele was Prime Minister from March 30, 2006 to December 22, 2010.

However, the lack of an employment contract did not stop the government from paying Senituli to accompany the Prime Minister to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London last month.

The government has also given him a vehicle to use.

According to unconfirmed reports the Public Service Commission and the Prime Minister’s office have asked why the post was given to Senituli without being publicly advertised.

There was also a question regarding his academic qualification for the job and whether he was qualified to be given the same salary scale and entitlements to which government Chief Executive Officers are entitled.

Senituli said Hon Pōhiva wanted him to start immediately.

“Whether it is legal or illegal is not for me to say,” Senituli said.

“I started as soon as possible. But I made clear before starting that I would work on the same terms and conditions that I was employed under when working for Dr. Sevele’s government.

“When I worked under Dr. Sevele I had access to a vehicle and a laptop and mobile phone the same week that I started work even before my contract was signed.”

Senituli said he thanked the Prime Minister for his decision to give him a government vehicle to be used.

As Kaniva News reported in March, Hon Pōhiva has appointed Senituli as his media advisor.

Senituli, a law degree student at USP’s Tonga campus was a former political ally of Hon. Pōhiva who once turned against the Prime Minister. They repeatedly clashed in public when Senituli was press secretary to Lord Sevele.

Senituli said he saw no problem in working with Hon. Pōhiva again.

The Prime Minister’s office had been contacted for comment.

For more information

Pohiva: I won because people helped make it happen

Rumours that China wants Vanuatu naval base recall Pohiva’s 2013 claim over debt threat

By
Philip Cass
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Claims that China wants to establish a naval base in Vanuatu have revived memories of Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s warning that the Asian super-power might demand similar facilities in Tonga.

In 2013, when he was leader of the Opposition, Hon. Pōhiva warned that China might demand Tonga let it open a naval base if the government tried to have its massive debt written off.

Vanuatu owes China a large amount of money and there have been allegations that government may hope to strike a deal with China on the naval base in return for forgiveness of debt; the same threat Hon. Pōhiva warned of five years ago.

Last month the Reserve Bank said Tonga would start repaying the principal of its loan from China this year, but did not release any other details.

Tonga and China have had diplomatic relations since 1998. Military relations between the two countries have been relatively low key.

In 2001 the Chinese People’s Daily reported that the two countries had decided to strengthen their “military relations”. In 2008, China provided Tonga with military supplies worth more than TP$900,000. In August 2013, General Wu Changde, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Political Department, led a military delegation to Tonga.

Meanwhile, Cook Islands Finance Minister Mark Brown has told the Cook Islands News his country was unlikely to ever see the Chinese military coming in to take over the country if it was unable to repay its debts to China.

The Cook Islands owes the Exim Bank of China US$34 million.

Naval vessels from New Zealand, Australia and France have regularly visited the Cook Islands.

In 2008 the Cook Islands signed a co-operation agreement on joint maritime surveillance operations with the United States.

China has been increasingly active in the Pacific in the past 20 years.

It has been competing with Taiwan for recognition by Pacific island states and both countries have tried to woo island nations with offers of aid and easy loans. It has been especially active in Fiji.

Western countries have been extremely concerned by China’s expansion. Last year a Chinese naval vessel appeared off the coast of Queensland during joint Australian-US military exercises.

For more information

‘Akilisi Pohiva: Tonga is lost to China

Tuilaepa accuses Pōhiva of being ‘jello’ over Samoan press freedom

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu (Samoa Observer/Asia Pacific Report)

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielelgaoi has accused his Tongan counterpart ‘Akilisi Pōhiva of being “jello” – jealous – of Samoa’s media freedom ranking.

Tuilaepa made the comment in response to Pōhiva questioning Samoa’s ranking on the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index.

Samoa is ranked 22nd while Tonga is ranked 51st.

Speaking at the opening of the 5th Pacific Media Summit being held in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Pohiva suggested that something was “odd” with the rankings.

“You have all heard by now how that Tonga dropped two places from 49 to 51 on the 2018 World Press Freedom index,” he said.

“You have also learned that the reason for the drop is because of my government’s unfair treatment of senior journalists in the Tonga Broadcasting Commission.

“I have no problems with that but let me assure you all that it is a work in progress.

‘Continuing to talk’

“We are continuing to talk with the management and staff members of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission about improving our relationship, and of course our position in the 2019 Press Freedom Index.”

This is when he turned his attention to Samoa.

“I must say that I am surprised by Samoa’s position on the Press Freedom Index where Samoa is 22nd,” he said.

“Oh congratulations! However, what I went on about is the ongoing battle between my Samoan counterpart and the Samoa Observer. I can’t believe that Samoa is 22nd and Tonga is 51st. This is unbelievable.”

Asked for a comment, Prime Minister Tuilaepa laughed.

“Our ranking is far superior than the United States of America, which is ranked 45th and this is good news for the media and everyone who is here in my office,” Tuilaepa said.

Freedom of journalists

“I am thankful that the government puts up with you people,” he said, laughing.

“I am talking about freedom of journalists in our country and that is why the Tongan Prime Minister is somewhat “jello” (jealous) given that their ranking is very low, yet Samoa’s ranking is quite significant.”

According to Prime Minister Tuilaepa, there is a difference in the governance of Samoa and Tonga, but he did not elaborate on this.

Kaniva Tonga New has a republication arrangement with Asia Pacific Report.

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