Results for Government

Tonga's Prime Minister has resigned his defence portfolio. Two Tongan cabinet ministers had resigned effective 28 March, the Prime Minister, Hon. Hu'akavameiliku told the Legislative Assembly of Tonga, this morning, 4 April, when it resumed its session after a month-long adjournment.

In a continued effort to strengthen relations between the government of Tonga and China, the Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku, held a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Director-General of the Department of North American and Oceania Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Tang Zhiwen, on 13 March, at the Cabinet Chamber, in Nuku'alofa.

Tonga is establishing diplomatic relations with Austria, through its Canberra mission. The Ambassador of Austria to Australia, HE Elisabeth Kögler was this week welcomed to Tonga's diplomatic office in Australia.

The Prime Minister Hon. Hu'akavameiliku officially launched the Tapanekale Housing Project, a government project to build safe houses for families in Tongatapu. A fund of $1 million pa'anga has been allocated to initiate the project, starting with nine families, out of a total of 270 households identified in the extremely poor category.

Tongans in Australia have improved understanding of lands processes and procedures in Tonga, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) says in a report that concludes its 'Toe Talatalanoa Overseas Program’. The program was initiated by the ministry to address the concerns of Tongan communities overseas regarding land in Tonga.

While Tonga’s Civil Aviation Division (CAD) and investigators from Australia are still investigating the cause of the A3PUA aircraft accident, at Fua’amotu Domestic Airport a month ago, Lulutai Airlines, so far, has been unable to find a replacement aircraft to service high demand on the domestic inter-island routes during the holiday season.

Lulutai Airline's 19-seater DHC-6 Twin Otter will service the Vava'u and Ha'apai routes over the Christmas holidays, while the other two aircraft in its domestic fleet are out of service. The PM Hon. Hu'akavameiliku said today, that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Ministry of Infrastructure is investigating the incident with the Saab 340 aircraft at Fua'amotu Airport last Friday 8 December.

Summing up the Pacific Leaders meeting earlier this month in Rarotonga, Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku said the meeting reassured the Pacific leaders commitment to its 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific continent, and also allowed leaders to be in one mind, especially for the upcoming COP28.

The Tonga government is planning to convert seawater into drinking water for the outer islands during the current drought caused by El Niño conditions across the southern region of the Pacific. "The government's main concern is to provide sufficient water resources for the outer islands," he told a media briefing at St George Government building in Nuku'alofa.