Results for Tonga

Distribution this week of truckloads of food supplies donated by 'Help Tonga Switzerland' has reached over 300 vulnerable and affected families on Tongatapu in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption and tsunamis.

Prolific thief Sione Katoa who is currently serving a prison sentence was sentenced to 11-months imprisonment for common assault, serious housebreaks and theft of high value electronic goods.

Tonga's future management of catastrophes and national planning for disaster risks will be strengthened by improving national information systems and data collection, particularly disaster risk finance data. This is a focus for a Stakeholder and Surveyors Training Workshop this week, under a Tonga government project to assemble a comprehensive inventory of population and properties at risk.

A third Member of Parliament, Tatafu Moeaki, will be unseated from the Legislative Assembly on 16 May. This was after the Speaker received the Supreme Court's certification that his election was void on Friday, 6 May.

Tongan-Sydney based software engineer, Finau Kaufusi won a prize in the Pacific’s first-ever Hackathon Competiton to find an ICT based solution to 'Amplify Pacific Voices', held last month in Fiji.

Tonga’s lockdown orange level restrictions will ease further with gyms, bars, and kava clubs, allowed to open, starting from Saturday May 7, confirmed Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku today during a press conference. The quarantine period has also been reduced to seven days, while essential staff who have had COVID-19 can isolate for three days.

The election of Tatafu Moeaki as the Tongatapu No. 4 People’s Representative to the Legislative Assembly was declared void by a Supreme Court judge today, who found that he committed bribery on two occasions, in the lead-up to the November 2021 General Election. Moeaki, the current Minister of Finance, is the second Cabinet Minister the court has found to have committed the offence of bribery under the Electoral Act.

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach arrived in Tonga for a short visit to show solidarity, after the devastation caused by the volcanic eruption and tsunamis on 15 January. He also expressed great appreciation for TASANOC and the Olympic team of six Tongan athletes who overcame so many obstacles to get to the Olympics last year.

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