Latest news with #AisakeEke
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
NZ's Customs Minister urges cooperation to combat organised crime in the Pacific
By 'Alakihihifo Vailala , PMN Casey Costello and Tonga Prime Minister Dr 'Aisake 'Eke (far right). Photo: NZ High Commission Tonga New Zealand's Customs Minister, Casey Costello, is pushing for improved regional collaboration to tackle the increasing threat of organised crime in the Pacific. This includes focussing on human trafficking and money laundering, she says. During her first official visit to Tonga, Costello emphasised the need for collective efforts between New Zealand and Australia to prevent organised crime from infiltrating the Pacific. Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Costello says: "I think that the biggest collective coordination around the Pacific with New Zealand and Australia is that this is our backyard, this is our neighbourhood." Costello raised concerns about how to close the gap and keep organised crime at bay, saying, "When we talk about organised crime, it's not just drugs, it's tax avoidance, it's money laundering, it's scamming, it's people trafficking." Her support aims to help develop regional capabilities, share knowledge, and improve information sharing, as well as to increase New Zealand's presence in the area. Costello is the first Customs Minister to visit Tonga officially and plans to visit Fiji and Sāmoa next. During her trip, she met with the anti-corruption commission, established last year, which highlighted funding issues. But she says the commission has performed well despite its challenges. "They're trying to make that connection, looking at a sort of forum and behind the next Pacific leaders forum to kind of get those discussions moving forward. "And I think it's really important to kind of get that definition of what corruption is. "It can get blurred a wee bit to something where people aren't doing their job well, to those that are intentionally for personal gain." In her discussions with Tonga's Minister of Police, Customs and Immigration, Costello says that New Zealand is providing support to strengthen legislation that's 'more fit for purpose'. "It's not just border control, but it's also facilitating trade and ensuring that trade is welcomed, but also that the government has the ability to collect excise, gather revenue and tax from the process of trade," she says. She also highlighted improvements in enforcement capabilities through the implementation of detector dogs, with cooperation between New Zealand and Tongan authorities. Costello indicated continued support for the Pacific region, especially as Sāmoan and Tongan nationals prepare for upcoming elections. "We need to make that same investment and build that resilience across our Pacific neighbours so that we are a harder border to infiltrate for organised crime, and that's the relationships that are a key part of that programme of work." - PMN
Scoop
24-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Pacific News In Brief For 24 June
Tonga - dengue Six new cases of dengue fever have been reported in Tonga, bringing the total to 879 as of Monday. More than half of the confirmed cases are on the main island, Tongatapu. One person is in Niueiki Hospital in stable condition. A dengue outbreak was declared in Tonga in February, with three dengue-related deaths recorded. Tonga - travel proposals Tonga's Prime Minister 'Aisake Eke says he is "seriously alarmed" that the nation is reportedly included in the United States' proposed expansion of travel restrictions. Dr Eke told Matangi Tonga the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with the US Consulate in Nuku'alofa to formulate a response to the US government. Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are said to be included in an extended list of 36 extra countries that the Trump administration is considering banning on entering the US, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. West Papua - lobster Biologists have discovered seven news species of freshwater lobster in Indonesia's West Papua region. Their findings are the result of biodiversity research by Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in collaboration with independent researchers from Germany. Dr Rury Eprilurahman, one of the university's research authors, said the new species were discovered in remote freshwater ecosystems with minimal human activity. He said researchers looked at body shape and colour to confirm these were truly distinct species. Fiji - orphanages A Fijian cabinet minister says two-thirds of the children in Fiji's orphanages are from Indo-Fijian communities. The Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran told a radio show in Suva that this is a serious issue that continues to be ignored. Kiran told Radio Sargam that homelessness, drug use, violence and HIV in the indo-Fijian community is under-reported, compared to iTaukei or indigenous children.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 24 June
Photo: SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Six new cases of dengue fever have been reported in Tonga, bringing the total to 879 as of Monday. More than half of the confirmed cases are on the main island, Tongatapu. One person is in Niueiki Hospital in stable condition. A dengue outbreak was declared in Tonga in February, with three dengue-related deaths recorded. Tonga's Prime Minister 'Aisake Eke says he is "seriously alarmed" that the nation is reportedly included in the United States' proposed expansion of travel restrictions. Dr Eke told Matangi Tonga the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with the US Consulate in Nuku'alofa to formulate a response to the US government. Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are said to be included in an extended list of 36 extra countries that the Trump administration is considering banning on entering the US, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. Fijian men are being urged to seek help for mental health problems after a police officer died following a dispute with his wife. reported that the officer was a member of the police boxing team and had represented the force at last year's Sukuna Bowl, an annual rugby union fixture in Suva. The rugby team's coach described him as kind, disciplined and an inspiration to many. He has reportedly called for men struggling with personal issues to contact Empower Pacific on 5626 or Lifeline Fiji on 1543. Biologists have discovered seven news species of freshwater lobster in Indonesia's West Papua region. Their findings are the result of biodiversity research by Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in collaboration with independent researchers from Germany. Dr Rury Eprilurahman, one of the university's research authors, said the new species were discovered in remote freshwater ecosystems with minimal human activity. He said researchers looked at body shape and colour to confirm these were truly distinct species. A Fijian cabinet minister says two-thirds of the children in Fiji's orphanages are from Indo-Fijian communities. The Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran told a radio show in Suva that this is a serious issue that continues to be ignored. Kiran told Radio Sargam that homelessness, drug use, violence and HIV in the indo-Fijian community is under-reported, compared to iTaukei or indigenous children.
RNZ News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 12 June
Dr 'Aisake Eke. 27 January 2025 Photo: Facebook / PM Press Tonga Prime Minister ʻAisake Eke hopes a new Tongan consulate in Fiji will ease visa processing delays. Talanoa O Tonga reported the consulate is set to be opened in January. Tongan students studying in Fiji and Vanuatu have experienced visa delays of up to four months, disrupting their education. Recent reports show Tongan students have been turned away at borders despite visa-free agreements. The consulate is expected to handle visa applications and community support directly, reducing administrative burdens. In Vanuatu, the government says it has appointed a special team to negotiate with teachers on a collective agreement. For more than a year, the government and members of the teachers' union have been embroiled in an industrial dispute. This started in June last year when teachers across the country went on strike over over what the union called long-standing pay remuneration problems. The government agency in charge of appointing teachers responded by suspending 600 teachers. The ongoing legal case is now before the Court of Appeal, after the Supreme Court found the industrial action by teachers to be lawful. The Vanuatu Daily Post reported the government formed its negotiating team this week because student's learning was being negatively affected. Pacific leaders have issued a unified call for urgent global action to protect the world's largest tuna production region from the accelerating impacts of climate change. The call was made at the 3rd UN Oceans Conference in France during an event on Tuesday. Tuvalu Prime Minister, Feleti Teo, who opened the event, said Pacific islands rely deeply on tuna resources, adding that tuna is not just food or revenue - it is sovereignty, it is development, and it is dignity. He also highlighted the Pacific's global leadership in sustainable fisheries management which has been going for decades. Pacific leaders from Niue, PNG, Palau, FSM, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati and Marshall Islands were also at the event. Australia will now begin selecting people from Tuvalu for permanent residency as part of its Falepili Union Treaty. There are 280 spots up for grabs each year, allowing people to live, work and study there. Australia's Pacific Island affairs minister, Pat Conroy, said this is the most significant agreement between Australia and a Pacific country in four decades. The last being the agreements for PNG's independence in 1975. The Falepili Union is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world that recognises Tuvalu's statehood and sovereignty will continue, even when climate change-related sea level rise swallows the land. A pay rise proposed by the Remuneration Tribunal for the police and prisons ministry, worth more than US$1 million or 3.2 million Samoan tala, has been stalled because of the budget failure. The Samoa Observer reported more than 900 law enforcement officers are impacted. The unsuccessful budget noted that the recommendation from the Remuneration Tribunal was accepted by the finance ministry. The plan was that once the increment in the salary scale is rolled out, there will be no more raises for the ministry.
RNZ News
04-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Deficit budget announced in Tonga; largest ever spend
St George Government Building, Nuku'alofa CBD Photo: Matangi Tonga Tonga's 'Aisake Eke Government has produced its first budget, pumping up spending by more than 10 percent compared with last year. It has some key elements that differ from previous years, such as an assistance boost for some private sector businesses. Don Wiseman spoke with RNZ Pacific's correspondent, Kalafi Moala, and began by asking where the additional money is going. KALAFI MOALA: One of the key things that this government, when they came into being, was declaring and proclaiming changes that they were going to make, compared with, say, the previous government. And one of the things that you've been saying was that they're going to, probably for the first time in Tonga history, give money to the private sector. They've been given the message of private sector development, it is the pathway to economic development, to the future and so on. So in this budget, one of the specific things they've done is assigned quite a bit to private sector development. ...But the whole budget of 992 million plus [pa'anga] - it's the biggest in Tonga's history, more than last year's budget. And also it's a deficit budget. I think, if I can remember this, about 28 million [pa'anga] in deficit. But then the government have said that they are going to pay for this deficit by issuing bonds, public bonds, so I guess they've got it all worked out. DON WISEMAN: Public bonds - has Tonga issued bonds before? KM: I can't recall when, but yeah, in the last, say, 10 years or so, they've done that. DW: In terms of this money going to the private sector. There are no details at all? KM: No details other than the fact that they think that fisheries and agriculture is going to be a major focus, particularly on businesses that have already started. For example, things like marketing and setting up pack houses for export. This is the kind of things that they think government is going to help in the development of the private sector. DW: That essentially is the only difference from the previous government, despite what they had said about the failures of the previous government. KM: That's right. The other thing too, there has been quite a bit of talk this year about kava - kava being a product that Tonga wants to focus on exporting. I mean, you've got this ban out of Fiji, out of Vanuatu, quite successfully. And so Tonga is entering the market. And this is another issue, another thing that they're going to help in the private sector development. DW: We don't know precisely what they might do in terms of that trade? KM: No. But you see, one of the problems that Tonga has been known for over the years is that Tonga has talked about marketing certain products. You remember the days when we were marketing squash, sending to Japan, and to China, and then we ran out, because the complaint has been that Tonga was not able to produce enough for the market. And we've seen that happening to cassava, we've seen it happening to other products, and there's hope that this is not the kind of thing that will happen to kava, that there's an excitement about exporting kava. People are starting to plant kava now, and there's a lot of talk about it. But then are we going to be able to stay and produce enough for the market? DW: In terms of education, subsidised loans will be available for non-government schools. What have they got in mind here? KM: Well, you see, it's been a normal thing that government's contribution to non-government schools - it's 700 [pa'anga] per head for every student. In other words, they're paying all non-government schools 700 per head per year. And this has been going on up to the last government. So they are wanting to continue this process, but to make sure that it's done and to follow up to make sure that the money goes... not just to the schools to spend on just projects that may not be necessary, but the focus on paying teachers. Because the complaint has been that a lot of teachers of non-government schools are underpaid, and some of them are leaving for greener pastures overseas, and so there's a shortage of teachers in non-government schools. So, yes, they're pledging that they're going to continue to do that. Photo: ppart/123RF DW: Work is going to go into the nursing school. KM: Yes, there's a lot of planning going with that. You know, Tonga now, of course, has what we call the Tonga National University, and so all training, tertiary-type training, is now being under the Tonga National University - teachers training, nursing training, training of seamen, that kind of thing. And so, yeah, there's a lot of funding that will go to that as well. DW: And a new hospital - I presume it's a new hospital, on Vava'u. KM: That comes under what they call the development budget. You have the recurrent budget, of course, which is part of the budget that goes into carrying the expenses, the current expenses of government. And then you've got the development budget, which goes to projects. And much of the development budget, of course, comes from aid. It goes into building wharfs and hospitals and things like that. And yeah, there's been a lot of calls for Vava'u - that they need to upgrade healthcare in Vava'u - so the hospital is a major focus.
