Lord Tu‘ilakepa, new Chairman of Whole House Committee [1]
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 - 19:59
Lord Tu’ilakepa is the new Chairman of the Whole House Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga.
The appointment of the Vava’u Noble No. 2 People's Representative is to replace the former Chair Lord Vaea [Tongatapu No.1 Noble’s Representative] who was recently appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs.
Parliament stated on 25 October, that Ha’apai 13 People's Representative Veivosa Taka nominated Lord Tu’ilakepa, and all of the 13 MPs who were present at the time voted for him.
Lord Tu'ilakepa who was first elected into Parliament in 1993, had served as Chairman of the Whole House Committee from 2005-2007.
In 2008, he was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and had served as a Member of the Legislation Committee and Chair the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Retirement Fund Board.
Amendment Bills
Meanwhile, the Whole House Committee resumed on 24 October and passed six Government Bills tabled in Parliament, including the Bail (Amendment) Bill 2022.
Parliament stated that the main purpose of this proposed amendment is to ensure that a person who has been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment will not be granted bail pending the hearing of their appeal. This is unless the conditions in section 4B(2) in the Principal Act outlined below are satisfied.
The four elements the Court should consider whether a bail may not be granted.
- the nature or seriousness of the offence (and the probable method of dealing with the defendant for it);
- the character, antecedents, associations and community ties of the defendant;
- the defendants' record in respect of the fulfilment of obligations under previous grants of bail;
- the strength of the evidence of his having committed the offence.