The Tongan law practitioner licence granted to a disgraced Auckland lawyer Christopher Harder is being reviewed by the Tongan judiciary, after his admission to the Tongan bar caused an uproar among legal profession in New Zealand.
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Results for Parliament
Thursday 8 November 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
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Tuesday 30 October 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
HM King George Tupou V will officially close the 2007 session of the Tongan Legislature on Thursday, November 1 at the Queen Salote Memorial Hall, Nuku'alofa.
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Monday 22 October 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan Legislature will resume its session on Monday October 29 after a month of adjournment due to the Pacific Island Leaders Forum Meeting held in Nuku'alofa last week.
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Monday 24 September 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan Judiciary has introduced a new court procedure, to enable disputing parties to negotiate out-of-court settlements through mediation.
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Friday 21 September 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The debate became so confusing that on the final day, Thursday, September 13, Noble Luani, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Reform Committee, pleaded with the Chairman of the Whole House Committee to call for votes, saying they had reached a "Tower of Babel" crisis, "You ask for a nail, you are given a hammer. You ask for a bucket, you are given an axe!" he complained. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Thursday 20 September 2007
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
As one of the few loyal friends of America in the world, the Kingdom of Tonga has been rewarded with nothing but empty thanks from the U.S. Government. As most recently as a couple of years ago the U.S. Consul from the Suva Embassy, in Fiji, had the guts to lecture the Tongan Government as a "human-rights violator."
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Thursday 13 September 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Seven People's Representatives, working under a misconception that the Parliamentary Committee for Political Reform has the overall authority to decide on a new political system for Tonga, were pushing for the reform to be implemented next year, or in 2009. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Monday 10 September 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
People's Representative, Samiu Vaipulu, who had just been to Vava'u, told the House that the report that MOW daily labourers walked out from their jobs was incorrect, they walked out because there was no work and no money to pay them with. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Wednesday 5 September 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The House appeared to have got off to a wrong start today and the fault lay with those at the helm, the Speaker Noble Tu'iha'angana, Chairman Noble Lasike and the Chief Clerk of the House Tevita 'Ova. The Speaker and the Chairman were not able to keep the debate on track allowing PRs to wander and get lost, while the Clerk let some questions be asked several times. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Friday 31 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The clerk told the House that the Minister of Lands and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence were away overseas. The Governor of Ha'apai and Noble Tu'ipelehake had asked for a day off. Noble Tu'ilakepa and Sunia Fili were away to the APPU meeting in Palau, and those who did not no answer when he called out their names, were probably coming late. They were the Prime Minister, the Minister of Works, the Minister for Tourism, the Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, a Noble's Representative, Lasike, and People's Representatives Clive Edwards, and 'Uliti Uata.
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Wednesday 29 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The credibility of the Tongan Parliament hangs in a balance today, after the PRs 'Akilisi Pohiva, 'Isileli Pulu and Vili Helu tabled a petition to the House that they admitted contained false signatures and jumped the gun on the decisions that have yet to be reached by their own select committees.
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Tuesday 28 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The highlight of debate was the concern by some members over the membership of the Tongan Parliament in overseas parliamentary associations, and the cost for Tongan representatives to attend some of their meetings. It raised the question: was it worth it? From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Friday 24 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The day's working agenda for the House was to debate on two committee reports, one from the Finance Committee and the other from the Law Committee. Debate by the PRs, led by 'Isileli Pulu and 'Akilisi Pohiva was very poor on both reports. They both started off well but then deteriorated into pointless arguments.
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Wednesday 22 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new political party, called the Paati Langafonua Tu'uloa or "PLT", was officially launched by its president Sione Fonua at the Basilica, Nuku'alofa, on Saturday, August 18.
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Thursday 16 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The banning of some PRs from using Television Tonga and Radio Tonga to air political programs was an issue that inspired a few verbal exchanges between some PRs and other members of the House. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.
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Monday 13 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The House plunged into a debate on the issue of the right of the people to present petitions to the House.
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Thursday 9 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The reform model proposed for the new Tongan parliament will have more Cabinet Ministers than all other Members of Parliament combined, allowing the Prime Minister and the King to appoint probably 15 or even up to 19 ministers in a 26 member House.
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Tuesday 7 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Debates on the Votes of various government ministries would have been a highlight of the budget debate in the House on June 27, but unfortunately it became just a matter of procedure to pass the votes. In the end the last three ministry votes were just lumped together and voted on at once.
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Tuesday 7 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
"We the undersigned mothers, fathers and our families acknowledge with honesty and humility: ... That we have been apathetic in relation to political issues because for 131 years the Royal House of Moheofo has provided for our families a peaceful and orderly Tonga." - Salamo Fulivai.
Monday 6 August 2007
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The approval by parliament for a Tripartite Committee to continue with Tonga's proposed political reform was an unwise decision, according to 'Inoke Hu'akau, the president of the Lo'au Research Society, who believes that using politics and economics to spearhead the reform has been the wrong approach and that a clear social objective should have been set first. By Pesi Fonua
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