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New Cabinet leak shows Crown Prince Tupouto‘a tipped for Defence; review of Ministries top on first month to do list 

By
Kalino Latu
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Four people critical after Hamilton stabbing

By
Kaniva Staff
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By rnz.co.nz

Four people were in a critical condition after a stabbing in Hamilton overnight.

Hamilton suburb of Fairfield.

Four people are critical after a stabbing in Hamilton overnight. Photo: Google Maps

Police were called to an address in Fairfield at 2.10am.

Five ambulances, two critical care paramedics and two managers also attended the incident.

Four critical patients were taken to Waikato Hospital

Two police officers critically injured in Nelson car-ramming

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Two police officers were critically injured after incident at Nelson event early on Wednesday morning.

police car at night in street

File photo. Photo: 123RF

Another person was also seriously injured.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said a vehicle driven by a member of the public hit a police vehicle at a gathering in the Buxton Square Carpark at 2.10am.

“Two police officers were critically injured and one member of the public was seriously injured as a result,” he said.

They were taken to Nelson Hospital.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested and will face charges, police said.

Chambers said Buxton Square was cordoned off while a scene examination was conducted.

Leading by Example: Tonga ACC publicly publishes gifts, benefits it receives as part of its commitments to fighting against corruption   

By
Kalino Latu
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Record cocaine bust in French Polynesia

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Patrick Decloitre, Correspondent French Pacific Desk

Authorities in French Polynesia have seized a record 524kg of cocaine on board a Spanish-flagged vessel.

Over 500 Kg of cocaine seized in French Polynesia

Over 500 Kg of cocaine seized in French Polynesia Photo: OFAST

The operation on Christmas Eve was conducted by the French Navy Overseas support and assistance vessel Bougainville, in co-ordination with French Gendarmerie and the OFAST (anti-narcotics office), the French High commission said in a release.

The Australian Federal Police was also involved in what is described as an international intelligence co-operation.

The fishing vessel, identified as Raymi, was intercepted and boarded south of French Polynesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 700 nautical miles south of Papeete, with 14 crew members from Columbia and Ecuador aboard.

They have been remanded in custody pending a planned appearance before a local court, deputy public prosecutor Yann Hausner said.

A total of 524kg of cocaine was immediately found inside 11 packs.

It has not been established as yet where the vessel was heading.

The estimated street value of the seized shipment was around US$122 million (NZ$215m).

The Raymi was then escorted back to French Polynesia’s capital Papeete, where it was subjected to further searches.

“It’s the kind of operation for which we are also trained”, Bougainville Commander Mathieu Leman told local public broadcaster Polynésie La Première.

Pacific “drugs highway”

French Polynesia, as well as other Pacific countries and territories (such as Samoa, Fiji, Tonga), has been identified as a major transit point of the so-called “drugs highway” from North and South America (the United States, Mexico, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama) to major markets such as Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

In March 2019, another French Navy vessel, Prairial, in collaboration with the US Joint Interagency Task Force – South intercepted a fishing vessel off the coast of Nicaragua with 766kg of cocaine on board.

In the other direction, labs in South-east Asia are also using Pacific islands such as Palau or Papua New Guinea as transit points to ship opium-based and methamphetamines to the US market.

Former PM rejects Lawyer Nalesoni Tupou’s claims his government owes China and ADB TOP$1 billion

By
Kalino Latu
-

The outgoing Prime Minister, Hon Hu’akavameiliku, denied that his government had received more than “a billion-dollar loan” from China and the ADB.

Hon Hu’akavameiliku (L) and Lawyer Nalesoni Tupou

He was responding after Lawyer Nalesoni Tupou blasted his terms in government labelling Hu‘akavameiliku’s leadership as performing poorly.  

Mr Tupou claimed the Hu’akavameiliku administration owed US$380 to China and US$120 million to the ADB.

He converted the total US$500 into Tongan pa’anga as over TOP$1 billion.

Mr Tupou used the term “mo’ua”, meaning debts or money owed to lenders, to describe the debts in Tongan.

It was unclear whether he was referring to the previous government’s existing debts, for which the outgoing government was responsible for payment, or if he was specifically indicating that these were new loans taken on by the Hu’akavameiliku government.

He advocated appointing a new Prime Minister with financial and governmental affairs expertise.

He alleged that Hon Hu’akavameiliku had stepped down because he knew he was no longer fit for the job.

Mr Tupou said Hu‘akavameiliku’s resignation was justified because of all these.  

However, Hon Hu‘akavameiliku said in Tongan that he wanted to enlighten the lawyer.  

He said: “Ne teeki no e Puleanga neu kau ai mei adb pe Siaina he tau 3 mau Puleanga ai”, saying his government did not secure loans from China and the ADB while he was the leader in the last three years.   

He said Mr Tupou was referring to loans made by previous governments, and his government was only paying them back.  

The Chnina loan balance was TOP$197.2 million, and the payments so far have brought it down to TOP$157 million or US$75 million, while the balance of the ADB loan was TOP$49 million or US$23, the Prime Minister said.

Hon Hu’akavameiliku blasted Mr Tupou and told him to stop what he had described as misleading the public.  

‘Brazen’ burglars strike while Tongatapu family sleep 

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A family in Touliki whose verandah was burgled while they were sleeping in the living room said the crime shows how “brazen and opportunistic” some thieves are. 

Man retrieving their laundry after being discarded by the thieves.

The burglar, or burglars, took a washing machine with laundry inside and a bicycle. 

The woman, who streamed the incident and shared it on Facebook, said that they had to follow the apparent trail of the burglars through nearby bushes. 

They managed to retrieve some of the discarded laundry the thieves left behind. 

There were no signs of the washing machine or the bicycle.  

She said the laundry was their children’s clothing.  

The video showed the woman and a man walking on what had been described as the burglars’ apparent trail.

It led them to a nearby public road, where they believed a waiting vehicle was parked.  

“People are that brazen and opportunistic, that they steal the stuff while we were sleeping close by,” she said.   

Former gov’t uses Australian $2m fund to purchase Lulutai aircraft saying it was the ‘grant’s intended purpose’, High Commissioner’s letter says otherwise 

By
Kalino Latu
-

The new government had been urged to hold the previous administration responsible by conducting an audit of its services.  

Dr Taniela Fusimālohi. Photo/Fale Alea o Tonga

MP Dr Taniela Fusimālohi, a staunch supporter of the Prime Minister Designate, Dr ‘Aisake Eke, recently said in the House that the audit will ensure transparency and accountability in managing public funds.

He mentioned the former government’s annual budgets as an area of focus for the auditor.

The former Hu’akavameiliku government’s involvement in the national airlines was accused of “secrecy” surrounding its decision-making.

This criticism persisted despite the former Prime Minister providing responses and clarifications to most allegations against him in Parliament, the media, and during his two Motions of Confidence Vote.

However, one of the issues he appeared to have failed to provide a satisfactory response pertains to the Australian $2 million grant his government had allocated to buy the Lulutai’s Twin Otter aircraft last year. 

The Prime Minister Elect, Dr Eke and MP Dr Fusimālohi believed the money should not have been used to buy the aircraft.

They previously quizzed the Prime Minister in Parliament about the grant.

At one stage, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Seventeen Toumo’ua intervened and claimed that the fund was specifically granted to assist in purchasing the Lulutai’s Twin Otter aircraft.  

According to Hansard number 29 of 2023 the Minister said in Tongan:

“ko e 2 miliona ko eni na’e ‘omai ‘e ‘Asitelēlia ko e ‘omai hangatonu ia ki he vakapuna”.   

In English, he said: “The 2 million fund was directly granted by Australia for the aircraft”.   

However, the information later provided by the former Australian High Commissioner to Tonga, Rachel Moore, about the grant didn’t seem to be the case.  

Kaniva News recently obtained a copy of a letter purported to provide Moore’s responses to MP Fusimālohi after he sought clarification on the grant.   

Ms Moore said:   

“In 2023 Australia provided elevated levels of direct budget support to the Government of Tonga to support economic recovery following the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami and COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Tonga allocates Australian general budget support at its discretion”.  

Ms Moore’s response did not mention that the grant of $2 million was specifically intended to support the purchase of the Twin Otter.  

She also clarified other assistance the Australian government had provided to Tonga.     

She said: “We appreciate the Government of Tonga’s assessment of the importance of reliable domestic aviation connectivity to economic recovery as well as service delivery. Australia has provided support to Tonga’s aviation sector since mid-2022, including through the wet- lease arrangement between Lulutai Airlines and Fiji Airways to operate regular domestic flights from January to May 2023. Australia has also funded training for Lulutai pilots and engineers and for air traffic controllers from Tonga Airports Limited. Australia continues to work with Lulutai to develop a long-term sustainable business plan and to improve corporate functions and the airline’s reservations and sales systems.” 

The question remains: will Dr Eke’s government review Lulutai Airlines and the use of the Australian grant?  

The opposition had brought up the grant issue in Parliament in the 2023 Motion of No Confidence against Hu’akavameiliku. They had been concerned at the government’s apparent misleading the House that it was intended for the Lulutai’s Twin Otter purchase. The former Prime Minister had no response.

Fire reduces house on Tongatapu to ashes two days before New Year 

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A fire has completely burned down a house in Tofoa, occurring just two days before the New Year celebrations.  

A house fire in Tofoa

Firefighters attended the scene on Sunday morning.  

The event has left the community in shock. 

Reports indicated that the owner and their family were attending a service at a local church at the time the incident occurred.  

Conversations overheard on streamed videos taken at the scene showed onlookers speculating that power may have been a contributing factor.  

Footage of Tongan kids spotted in DIY pool trailer while being towed on busy road divides community

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A group of young children have been spotted enjoying and cooling themselves off in a DIY pool placed on a moving trailer in Tonga.  

A group of young children has been observed enjoying themselves while cooling off in a mobile pool on a moving trailer in Tonga.

The unusual scene has caught the attention of locals and travellers alike, sparking conversations on social media about the creativity.  

The makeshift pool was being towed along a busy road on Tongatapu, with the young children under 10 left unsupervised in the trailer.  

It appeared that an inflatable pool was positioned inside the fenced trailer before it was filled with water.  

Kaniva News could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.

The operator of the trailer could not be reached for comment.

Those who shared the footage with some Facebook users poked fun at the unusual scene and couldn’t help but make light of it, posting humorous comments and playful jabs at what they saw. 

However, some commenters expressed concerns about the potential danger for the children if something went wrong along the road. 

In Tongan, a commenter wrote: “Pe ‘oku fēfē fakakaukau ‘a e faka’uli?”, asking what the driver would think of any danger that could happen. 

One commenter said they had seen several incidents where trailers flipped during towing, especially on busy motorways.

It is summertime in Tonga, making it a popular time for festivals and gatherings, while many seek refuge under palm trees or enjoy refreshing coconut water to stay cool.  

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