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Results for From the House

Sunday 9 June 2013
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga needs more time to allow its two-year-old democracy to flourish, HM King Tupou VI told the Tonga Legislative Assembly in a message on June 7.
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Friday 22 March 2013
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tonga Parliament has over-spent its budget by 7% and it could not afford to pay its staff who had worked overtime, the Speaker, Lord Fakafanua told the House before it closed its three-days special session on Tuesday evening, 12 March.
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Friday 15 March 2013
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
On Tuesday, March 12, Parliament started off with a bang when the Speaker reminded Commoners in the House that they would start with the Land (Amendment) Bill 2013, but under Clause 67 of the Constitution only nobles could debate and vote on matters relating to the entitlement of nobles. The bill was one of three relating to constitutional change regarding penalties for nobles and civil servants who are convicted of an indictable offence. Under the existing law convicted people are disabled from holding government office, voting and being elected, and includes loss of noble titles. The proposed constitutional change applies the loss of rights to only people who are sentenced to more than two years imprisonment. From the House by Pesi Fonua.
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Thursday 14 March 2013
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A three-days Special Session of the Tonga Parliament to deliberate over five Bills ended on Tuesday evening, March 12, after the House passed four Bills and deferred one Bill to the House's Standing Committee on Legislation. One of the bills that establishes the organizational structure of the Tonga Pacific Games Organizing Committee (TPGOC) as a statutory corporation with separate legal entity, allows the CEO and members of the committee to set their own salaries. From the House by Pesi Fonua
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Sunday 10 March 2013
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The 2013 session of the Tongan Legislative Assembly got off to a lively start on Thursday, 7 March, as members queried who had the right to call for this special and urgent session of the Tongan Parliament, and why? Lord Nuku expressed his astonishment over the fact that a special and urgent session of the Tongan Parliament was called for, while the leaders of the country, the King, the Prime Minister and the Speaker were all away overseas. From the House By Pesi Fonua.
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Thursday 10 January 2013
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Standing Committee on Legislation will resume its public consultations next week.
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Thursday 18 October 2012
NUku'alofa, Tonga
At the end of the Tonga Legislative Assembly's 2012 session, early today, Hon. Siosifa Tu'utafaiva, the Chairman of its Whole House Committee, was named by the Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano, as the Tongan Parliamentarian of the year. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Tuesday 16 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Bill to increase the government expenditure for the 2012-13 financial year by more than $4.1 million pa'anga was passed by the Tongan parliament this afternoon, including $305,000 to meet extra expenses of the House. From the House by Pesi Fonua.
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Sunday 14 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's government is once again trying to drastically reduce penalties for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, by reintroducing a controversial amendment bill, despite the fact that the late King George Tupou V withheld his consent in 2011 because it was considered to be "inimical to the welfare, well-being and safety of His subjects."
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Wednesday 10 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
'Akilisi Pohiva's talk of laying criminal charges against the Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano for allegedly misappropriating millions of government funds, caused a stir in Tonga's parliament this morning. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Wednesday 10 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
After the Tongan Parliament rejected a motion for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister and his Cabinet on Monday, the House opened yesterday, bubbling with emotions high and low, as members could not wait to let their feelings be heard. From the House by Pesi Fonua
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Friday 5 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
When members of parliament presented their reports of how they had spent their allocations of $117,647 each on their national tours, they became embroiled in debate over the report of 'Akilisi Pohiva, whose report called for the termination of the Lord title with noble privileges that was created by the late King George Tupou V. From the House by Pesi Fonua
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Thursday 4 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's Minister of Education in parliament is calling for 'Akilisi Pohiva to apologise to the New Zealand Government, to herself and to the Tongan people for making misleading and unfounded allegations about the donor funding received by the Ministry of Education. From the House by Pesi Fonua.
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Wednesday 3 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan parliament yesterday approved the handing over of the controversial NDC Report to a second "independent" parliamentary select committee to deal with it. From the House by Pesi Fonua.
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Tuesday 2 October 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
After spending a month arguing over the report of a parliamentary select committee on how the former government spent a $119 million loan from China on the reconstruction of Nuku'alofa, after it was destroyed in riots on 16 November 2006, Tonga's parliament now simply does not know what to do with the report. From the House by Pesi Fonua
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Sunday 30 September 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
People's Representative 'Akilisi Pohiva who is accused of swearing in the House on Wednesday, September 26, is now facing a possible suspension from parliament. From the House by Pesi Fonua.
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Wednesday 12 September 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Since Monday, September 10, the Tongan Parliament has been trying to decide what to do with a new motion by the Minister of Justice, Hon. Clive Edwards for a parliamentary select committee to go and find out why protesters burned the Nuku'alofa Central Business District on 16 November 2006. Clive's new motion riled up emotional and aggressive comments from members of the House who reminded him that there were court cases and they had got off, but if he wanted to go back to the past they might get caught this time. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Sunday 2 September 2012

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Parliamentary Select Committee that investigated the rebuilding of the Nuku'alofa CBD claims that a $119 million loan to Tonga from the Exim Bank of China was illegal, in a report released on Friday August 31, 2012. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Thursday 2 August 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan parliament was in an uproar this afternoon as members who supported a Motion for a Vote of No Confidence in the Prime Minister were given the floor to counter the written response of the Prime Minister that had been read to the parliament over the previous five days of sitting. From the House by Pesi Fonua.
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Tuesday 24 July 2012
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Motion for a Vote of No Confidence against the Prime Minister and government was unconstitutional and should be rejected by the House, the Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano stated in his response to the Tongan parliament yesterday, July 23.
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