The opening of the Tongan Legislative Assembly on June 1 will not stop the work of the National Committee for Political Reform, according to the NCPR Chairman, Prince Tu'ipelehake.

Since the committee was established by parliament he presumed they would be allowed by the Speaker of the House to continue with their talanoa and complete their report and recommendation, which is scheduled to be presented to the king in August and to parliament later.

He told a press conference on May 5 that the committee was scheduled to travel to New Zealand, Australia and the USA in June, while the House will be debating one of its most important working agendas of the year, the Budget. Five of the nine-member NCPR are members of parliament, Prince Tu'ipelehake, Fioneasi Funaki, Clive Edwards, Noble Tangipa, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Tu'a Taumoepeau Tupou.

Reactions

A week after they started having talanoa in Tongatapu, Prince Tu'ipelehake and the vice chairman Dr Sitiveni Halapua, commented on a different reactions from the people of Tongatapu, comparing to what they experienced in the outer islands.

Prince Tu'ipelehake said that people on Tongatapu came to the meeting better prepared, "some even had their ideas written down on a piece of paper properly."

Expressing views freely

When the prince was asked about the possibility of the people being not very forthcoming with their views because of his presence, Dr Halapua told how in one meeting, a man told Prince Tu'ipelehake, point blank, that in the Tongan parliament "we should do away with the king's table (the Cabinet Ministers) and your table (the Noble's Representatives)." Dr Halapua said that at these gatherings the people are made to feel at ease to express their views.

Prince Tu'ipelehake emphasised the fact that this talanoa approach that they were taking to the people was completely different from the traditional mode of communication between chiefs, government officials and the people. "In a Fono, all I have to do is to tell them what to do, and all they have to say is, 'how many pigs do you need and when do you need them' and that is it. But not so with our talanoa approach when they are allowed to freely express their views."

Final recommendations

With regards to the outcome of the committee's final report and recommendations, Prince Tu'ipelehake said that the life of his committee ended once their report and recommendations are presented to the House. "To implement our recommendations a separate committee may be formed," he said.

Prince Tu'ipelehake also pointed out that to draw some kind of a conclusion on their recommendations it was within their mandate for an opinion poll to be conducted, "and that is different from a referendum." He did not think that a referendum could be carried out at the moment until legislation was in place to legalise such an exercise.