Argumentative Vava'u PR ordered out of the House [1]
Friday, September 12, 2008 - 20:32. Updated on Monday, May 12, 2014 - 23:37.
From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
An argumentative People's Representative 'Etuate Lavulavu was ordered out of the House to cool off, after he refused to sit down during debate on a shipping bill, on Monday September 8.
'Etuate, the Vava'u no. 1 People's Representative, was ordered to be removed from the House by the Chairman of the Whole House Committee, Samiu Vaipulu, who is the Vava'u No. 2 People's Representative.
The punitive decision was made because 'Etuate did not sit down after the Chairman called on him three times to sit down. The Chairman also said that the PR used "unacceptable language".
Cargo
The order for 'Etuate to leave the House climaxed the debate on a Bill relating to the transhipment of cargo on international waters and on Tongan waters.
The Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Hon. Paul Karalus, in response to repeated calls by 'Etuate Lavulavu and 'Akilisi Pohiva for the House to reject the Bill, told the House that the Bill was similar to the Law of Contract, a contract between the owner of the cargo and the ship owner. He stressed that it was imperative for Tonga to pass the Bill to put into effect its commitment to the Brussels Convention, which Tonga is a signatory to.
'Etuate argued that the government would not be able to honour its commitment to the Convention because it does not have the required facilities at the wharf such as a weighing scale and the ferries that service the Tongan waters and the outer islands would not be able to comply with the convention.
The Minister of Transport, the Deputy Prime Minister and the chairman kept reminding the member that his concerns were addressed in other legislations but the Bill they were debating, specifically dealt with the shipping of cargo.
Brussels Convention
'Akilisi said that the Brussels Convention was another convention, similar to the WTO, that government signed without fully knowing its implications, and he believed that the international convention could not be introduced into our current system of government.
Hon. Paul Karalus told the House that it was prudent for Tonga to be a signatory to the Brussels Convention, and to pass the bill, because in a few years time cargo ships may not call into Tonga if we do not have legislation to back up our signature to the Brussels Convention.
'Etuate stuck to his guns and insisted that it did not make any sense for Tonga to pass a legislation to enforce a Convention when its ferry service was not up to standard. He pointed out what he thought was a poor service when the government ferry MV Olovaha broke down before it got to Niuatoputapu, and the fact that on some inter-island ferries drums of benzene, livestock and passengers were all on the same deck of the ferry.
Committee member
The debate got really heated up when the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Dr Viliami Tangi, told both 'Akilisi and 'Etuate that they should read and understand the Bill. He said that 'Etuate should know better because he was a member of the House's Law Committee where they had analysed and studied the Bill before it was presented to the House. He said that 'Etuate was unnecessarily prolonging the debate on the Bill.
There was then a verbal ping pong between 'Etuate and Dr Tangi , with 'Etuate insisting that the break down of the MV Olovaha was a clear indication of a lack of concern by government over the welfare of the people.
The Chairman called for the two members to sit down, 'Etuate did not sit down so he was ordered out.
Returned
Later, 'Etuate returned to the House and took part in the debate, but when he was asked by the chairman who allowed him to return, nothing was said [or recorded in the Minutes] and 'Etuate took part in the voting on the bill
Later in the afternoon when the Chairman called for votes on Bill No. 7. It was passed 16-3. Against were 'Etuate Lavulavu, 'Akilisi Pohiva and 'Isileli Pulu.