Results for Australia

After the challenges we have experienced to connectivity as a result of COVID-19, I am delighted the physical links between Australia and Tonga are building back. We are looking forward to greater flight connectivity between Tonga and Australia beginning this June, and I thank the Government of Tonga for taking the initiative to increase the frequency of passenger flights between our countries. While our physical links were temporarily less frequent, the link of friendship has always been strong. As members of the Pacific family, Australia and Tonga share a close relationship, built over more than fifty years of diplomatic relations. - Rachael Moore, Australian High Commissioner to Tonga

The Government of Tonga today thanked members of a joint military 'Tonga Assist Operation' for their assistance over the past six-weeks, in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption and tsunamis on January 15.

A total of 203 people were repatriated from Australia and New Zealand, arriving in Tonga yesterday, March 8.

Essential COVID-19 supplies and oxygen equipment was donated to the Ministry of Health from the Government of Australia, after the cargo arrived on November 30 at Fua'amotu International Airport.

New York Times News Analysis: When Scott Morrison became Australia’s prime minister three years ago, he insisted that the country could maintain close ties with China, its largest trading partner, while working with the United States, its main security ally. “Australia doesn’t have to choose,” he said in one of his first foreign policy speeches. On Thursday, Australia effectively chose. Following years of sharply deteriorating relations with Beijing, Australia announced a new defense agreement in which the United States and Britain would help it deploy nuclear-powered submarines, a major advance in Australian military strength.

A container of 200,000 N95 masks donated from Australia has been welcomed by the Ministry of Health today, 31 August 2021.

A delivery of 9,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, manufactured in Australia, arrived at Fua’amotu International Airport today, July 20. These doses will be used for vulnerable groups on the outer island of Vava'u.

HM King Tupou VI today commissioned the Fangatā Military Camp of His Majesty's Armed Forces in 'Eua, constructed under a Defence Cooperation Program between the governments of Tonga and Australia.

New York Times reporting: When Australian officials announced last week that the country was unlikely to fully reopen its borders until mid-2022 because of the coronavirus, the backlash immediately began building. Critics warned that Australia risked becoming a “hermit nation.” Members of the Australian diaspora who had been struggling to return home for months saw it as another blow. The announcement drew dire warnings from business, legal and academic leaders. But polls show that keeping the borders shut is a popular idea.