From the House, an English translation summary from the Tongan vernacular, by Pesi Fonua. Tonga Legislative Assembly, Minute No. 7, June 21, 2007.

- 'Osai Latu reported that in Ha'apai the Foa District Primary School, Kaleli, was closed down because typhoid has broken out in the area.

- The Minister of Health said that typhoid would continue to appear in various parts of the country, because there are a number of healthy carriers who are walking around the place.

- Samiu Vaipulu conveyed a concern by the people in the outer islands, who rely entirely on the radio for their news, over the gagging of radio broadcasting from the House.

- 'Isileli Pulu said it was unclear whether the $1.9 million for Shoreline was a loan or an advance, and the $2.6 million tax arrears by Shoreline remained unknown

- The Minister of Finance said that about November 17 or 18 Shoreline advised that they could not pay their fuel bill of $1.9 million and asked the government for help.

- 'Uliti Uata, who tried to argue that the effect of November 16 was "economic growth", was told by the Minister of Tourism that from November 16 to the end of December 2006 government lost $5.8 million that it could have collected from tourism.

Thursday June 21:

'OSAI Latu, the No. 2 Ha'apai People's Representative, reported that the Foa District Primary School, Kaleli had been ordered by the Ministry of Health to be closed down because Typhoid has broken out in the area.

He said that the Ha'apai Development Committee had not met but the school needs four or five flush toilets. The Kaleli PTA did not have the money to build toilets so he was wondering if the House could help.

The Speaker said he hoped that the Minister of Education heard the plea from Ha'apai and may be they could benefit from grants that were going to be handed out to schools soon.

Soap Opera

'Isileli Pulu expressed his concern over a matter that was raised on Monday about the stoppage of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission broadcast of proceedings in the House. He stressed the importance for the people to know what is going on in the House and said that TBC is one bridge from the House to the people.

The Minister for Technical Training, Youth and Sports said that the program of broadcasting from the House started when he was the Speaker, and the concept was not to do a live broadcast but to broadcast daily for an hour only the main economic and political issues that have been discussed in the House. He said that the way they are doing it now is like an American Soap Opera, and it is in complete contrast to what it was intended for.

He said that the Soap Opera approach has a negative impact on the sales of Parliamentary Minutes.

'Isileli Pulu insisted that the House must find a solution to the problem, it is important to get the information out through the airwaves.

The Speaker reminded the House that the TBC gets some of its funding from government, and their annual report comes through the House.

The Prime Minister reminded the member that he had explained the issue with TBC but if it was still not clear to him then he should contact the General Manager of TBC. The General Manager had already made a public statement and there had been a number of press releases on the issue. He suggested that they should get back to their work.

Samiu Vaipulu conveyed a concern by the people in the outer islands, who rely entirely on the radio for their news, over the gagging of radio broadcasting from the House.

The Speaker told the member that the decision of the government on TBC was an in-house decision but it would have no impact on the weekly program of the House that is broadcasted on Television Tonga and Radio Tonga on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Lepolo Taunisila reminded the House of its membership with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and the emphasis that CPA always have on Media Freedom and the importance for parliament to work together with media organisations to uphold the principals of Transparency and Accountability. She said that government has no right to interfere with the work of a news organisation, whose freedom is given under Clause 7 of the Constitution.

The Speaker told the member that parliament has no restriction on the flow of news to the public, and the work of news organisations. He repeated that the affairs of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission TBC were a matter between its board and the management.

Noble Tu'ilakepa expressed his concern with the stoppage of parliamentary radio news to the outer islands.

On a different media issue he said that he had information with regards to the coming Rugby World Cup that Sky TV was blocking the transmission of Tonfon, which is unfortunate because Tonfon is cheaper. He said that it appeared to be a contradiction with the issues of Free Speech and Media Freedom. While we are exercising Free Speech here, Sky with its might moves in and blocks Tonfon so that we can't see the rugby.

Typhoid in primary school

With regards to the closure of the primary school at Foa because of typhoid he proposed for the Speaker to make a decision before they proceeded with the budget.

The Speaker said that with regards to the television it is a matter of business competition, and money is the key factor on that issue. With regards to the typhoid at Ha'apai he called on the Minister of Health to make a comment.

The Minister of Health said that typhoid would continue to appear in various parts of the country, because there are a number of healthy carriers who are walking around the place. He said that the closure of the Primary School at Foa was the right thing to do to avoid others from being infected while they treat those who have been infected. He said that if children would do the proper hygienic thing by washing their hands after going to the bathroom and before they eat, then they would not be affected.

The Speaker said that the plea from the Ha'apai PR was for flush toilets at the schools. He wondered if the Minister of Education had something to say about that.

The Minister of Education said next week they would distribute $1 million to all government primary schools. There was $500 for every primary school, and $30 for each pupil, and then another $500 for every primary school in remote islands.

He said that Form 1 and 2 in all church schools will also benefit from this government cash grants but it will be given to them under a different formula. He told the PR from Ha'apai that the primary school at Foa would get their grant next week.

Shoreline questions

The Legislature dissolved into committee and the Chairman, Noble Tu'ilakepa took his chair.

The Chairman told the House that they had only three more working days. He wondered if the Minister of Finance had provided the information that was requested by 'Isileli Pulu.

'Isileli Pulu expressed his disappointment with the information given because there appeared to be a misuse of funds, and there was no proper accounting. The $1.9 million for Shoreline was still not clear whether it was a loan or an advance, and the $2.6 million tax arrears by Shoreline remained unknown.

Samiu Vaipulu said that on Saturday morning November 18 2006 he went and try to get the power supply for Vava'u and Ha'apai reconnected, but he was told a fuel bill of $1.9 million needed to be paid before the power could be reconnected. He said that what was primary important at that time was for the power to be connected, to restore confidence and a sense of security. The $1.9 million they could talk about it later.

'Isileli said that the outcome of the exercise was fine but the method of paying out the money was not right. He said that the $3-5 million for clean up was legally spent on other things, and now there was a surplus.

He asked the Minister to clarify the money that was given to Shoreline.

The Minister of Finance said that about November 17 or 18 Shoreline advised that they could not pay their fuel bill of $1.9 million, which they normally paid on the 20th of every month. They said that their office has been gutted and they had lost their records, so they wondered if government could help. He said that government responded by paying that month's bill of $1.9 million straight to the British Petroleum. He said that the payment was an advance, which will be taken into account when government buys back Shoreline.

With regards to the Shoreline's $2.6 million tax arrears he said that the company disputed the calculation of the depreciation rate of their generators.

'Akilisi Pohiva said that the response from government on the 20th to a request that was made on 17-18 was too soon. He said that the bill was not for that month but it was an old bill. He said that sensible people would be suspicious of what took place. He said that Shoreline is a national problem. He asked for government to find a way on how to deal with Shoreline.

The Minister of Justice said that they were trying to deal with some of the concerns expressed in the proper legal way, any other ways will be unacceptable.

'Akilisi was waving a piece of paper, which he said had the signature of one of the Crown Law lawyers, 'Aminiasi Kefu, and he was saying that he was going to read it out.

The Minister of Justice called on the Chairman to stop the member from being silly, and to get him to respect the proceedings of the House.

'Akilisi said that Soane and Sosefo Ramanlal requested $20 million from government on 17 November and it was accepted by government on 18 November.

The Minister of Justice queried what they were debating about, and on what page.

The Chairman suggested that maybe they should vote on the budget.

$10 million deficit

'Uliti Uata queried the Minister of Finance on the redundancy program, which was intended to save money, and yet he was still talking about deficit.

The Minister of Finance explained that in their estimation they would save $15 milliion with the redundancy. If they did not go ahead with it they would have required $15 million more, and therefore the deficit would be worst. He was pleased that they did the redundancy, and that there will be a balanced budget in the coming financial year.

'Isileli Pulu commented on the $8-$10 million tax arrears owed to government. He pointed out that the Squash Council borrowed $7.9 million in 2003 and that loan had not been repaid. He reminded the House that the Chairman of the Squash Council at the time was the Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele.

The Minister repeated his explanation of how he reached the figures of $8 -10 million. With regards to the Squash Council's loan, he said that the loan has been processed just like any normal loan from the bank, but at the moment they were negotiating because the squash industry has plummeted. He reminded the member that the loan was further extended after the Prime Minister had left the council.

'Uliti Uata said that during the past four years they have been working toward reducing tax, in order to give people a better life, but to this day things were just getting worse. He wondered if it was possible for government to slash all salaries from the king downward by 25%.

He asked the Minister if the event of 16 November was good or bad for the economy.

The Minister said that following 16 November there were cancellations in hotel bookings, and retailing was down. People lost their jobs and could not pay their power bills or buy goods. So even though there was a loss in business, people did not have the buying power so there was no need for businesses to import and therefore the foreign reserve did not go down.

Economic impact of November 16

'Uliti said there was a growth in the Foreign Reserve following November 16 so he preferred to call it an economic growth.

The Minister of Tourism said that from November 16 to the end of December 2006 government lost $5.8 million that it could have collected from tourism.

The Minister of Finance went back and repeated his comment on the state of the economy that he made when he tabled his Budget Statement, because 'Uliti insisted that 16/11 benefited the economy.

'Akilisi said that for the economy to recover they must prepare to suffer for the next five years. He called for a cut of public servants' salaries, including that of CEOs and Cabinet Ministers. He suggested for the vote of the House to be cut by $1 million.

Noble Tu'i Ha'angana told the member that it was very easy for him to say cut this and that but the $1 million that he wanted cut from the House's vote, would be only the salary rise that they made last year.

'Akilisi said to cut on the travelling allocation. He said there was no need for the annual national tour and to attend CPA meetings.

He suggested for a TV program to explain to the public why we have to suffer during the coming five years in order to revive the economy. He said that something must be done about those who are just wandering around, not wanting to do any work.

He said that people from Vava'u and Ha'apai are hard workers, but most of the people who are just lazing around are Tongatapu people.

The Deputy Prime Minister called on the member to stay with the Budget, instead of drifting into politics, because that was what happened last year.

The Minister for Public Enterprises said that it is unacceptable and there was no need for the country to suffer for five years. If the member stayed with the budget its intention was to get the economy back on its feet soon. Five years is a very long time.

New loans

The Minister of Finance said he was preparing papers on the two loans from China and from the ADB to be presented to the House soon.

'Akilisi said that the loans should have been presented to the House for comments before they go ahead and negotiate.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that what the member was talking about was exactly the same with when government was negotiating the $10 million loan to build the new hospital. Which was pointless because nobody in the House has the technical expertise about hospital and equipment. It was pointless for parliament to get involved in negotiating loans. "To rebuild Nuku'alofa we need technical experts who know what they are talking about."

'Akilisi said that he was not referring to the technical side but to comment if money was used to buy back the power generation.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the problem was because while they are talking about rebuilding Nuku'aofa, the member's line of thinking lies somewhere else, and there it will remain.

'Akilisi said that on page 5 of the Budget Statement it referred to a look at the Constitution and political reform.

Sunia Fili on a different issue commented on the low prices of produce in the market, and even according to a report presented to the House, the price index was 3.9%.

'Akilisi said that the report presented was unreliable, but they all had been to the shops and they knew the prices of goods.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the problem was because Sunia is an economist, and he knew what he was talking about, but he did not know what was 'Akilisi.

'Akilisi said he was talking about multiple effect, and for the minister not to look down on him.

Later 'Akilisi wanted to make a final comment. He said that if government does not allow the people to elect their leaders it would be very difficult for the economy to bounce back.

Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the problem with the member was because he wanted to talk about a different issue while the House wanted to talk about the budget. He suggested for the House to talk about politics and the reason of 16 November at other time.

The Speaker called for the House to close until 9.30am Monday morning.