Results for 2000

‘Eseta Fusitu‘a, a key government spokesperson on Tongan affairs denies a claim that there is no accountability in the Tongan political system. She says that Tongans must find their own way and not be herded into accepting a foreign system. ‘Eseta is Deputy Chief Secretary and Deputy Secretary to Cabinet, and heads the Government Information Unit. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

The swinging sixties came to life with the visiting Tuggerah Lakes Show Band from Australia, at the ‘Apifo’ou College Hall in, Nuku‘alofa, on June 14. Austin Powers look-alike, Paul Boden, and his bird, Kate Cosgrove, won two bottles of wine and t-shirts for the best dressed couple from the ‘60s era. Second prize went to “Easy Riders” ‘Otenili and Barbara Tu‘ipulotu. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES 2000. "It seems to me that the whole approach to life in the Pacific Islands forever sails very closely to what we refer to as ethnicity, which is the way anthropologists and paternalistic aid donors forgive our basic racism....Another example nearer home was the racially motivated and cowardly violence, which young jobless, and dare I say it, hopeless Tongans, visited on our Chinese owned shops last year; an act of such barbarity that it shamed and disgusted me and every other Tongan of my generation...." Crown Prince Tupouto‘a comments in an interview with Pesi Fonua. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

Brian and Joan Hemburn, the organisers of the 2000 Island Cruising Rally, received a trophy and a certificate of recognition from Dr Masaso Paunga, Tonga’s Minister responsible for Tourism, during their Tongan stopover. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

Neil Dalgety, the president of the Tonga International Game Fishing Association, and other members of TIGFA were celebrating the opening of their new Clubhouse on the evening of May 17, at the Faua breakwater. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

An office to deal with all public complaints will be established at the beginning of the government’s next financial year on July 1. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

While Tongans are being told that their economy is growing at a record pace, at the same time they are faced with the hard reality of the declining value of their currency and the erosion of the foreign reserve. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

A second television station for Tonga is expected to begin broadcasting on July 4 this year, once a conflict over channels allocation is resolved. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 1, March 2000.

The relationship between the Tongan Rugby Union and South Africa will be further consolidated this year as more Tongans have been invited to study and to play rugby in South Africa. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 1, March 2000.