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Home > Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala closes parliament

Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala closes parliament [1]

Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - 16:09.  Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.

The closure of the 2011-2012 session of the Tongan Parliament was a historical occasion, it was Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala's first official duty, since he became Crown Prince in early April, and the occasion was the closure of the first year in office of a new government and a new parliament, under a new system to government. 

Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala was accompanied by Noble Vaha'i and Noble Nuku to parliament, to read out a message from the throne by His Majesty King Tupou VI. 

Closing parliament Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. Behind him are Lord Vaha'i, left, and Lord Nuku, right.

The king praised government for all the hard work that have been achieved during the past year, the peaceful transition to a new majority elected government, the appointment of a Lord Chancellor and an Attorney General to ascertain an independent judiciary, the stream-lining of government ministries, and the improvement of communication and transportation.
 
His Majesty was also optimistic for better result from the work of Standing Committees that parliament has elected to advance the proceeding of the House.
 
"My gratitude to the Governments of Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the European Union for their ongoing and generous assistance to Tonga," said the king.
 
King Tupou VI was also looking forward for the opening of  the 2012 parliament session next month to approve the national budget for the 2012-2013 financial year.

The soft closure of parliament took less than 15 minutes. It was a sombre occasion, befitting that the Royal Family is still grieving the death of late king, HM King George Tupou V on March 18.

The occasion was very solemn, no music or laughter, except for the Police Brass Band playing the national anthem.

In attendance were only the members of parliament, their spouses and the parliament office staff.

 
Tonga Legislative Assembly [2]
Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala [3]
Parliament [4]

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Source URL:https://matangitonga.to/2012/05/02/crown-prince-tupoutoa-ulukalala-closes-parliament

Links
[1] https://matangitonga.to/2012/05/02/crown-prince-tupoutoa-ulukalala-closes-parliament [2] https://matangitonga.to/tag/tonga-legislative-assembly?page=1 [3] https://matangitonga.to/tag/crown-prince-tupoutoa-ulukalala?page=1 [4] https://matangitonga.to/topic/parliament?page=1