parliament

Speaker Job Pomat, in a press conference after the sitting, said he will now allow due process to take place.

“I have received it. When parliament meets on the 28^th (May), it will look at this notice, after it goes through the process of the Private Business Committee,” Pomat said.

He explained that Parliament may not necessarily vote on the 28^th but with the motion notice given yesterday afternoon, this will go for the notice paper when parliament next meets.

There have been a series of walkouts over the past fortnight as the 'Akilisi Pohiva's administration tries to get the bills through.

But the opposition, led by the nobles, say there must be consultation on bills that aim to limit the power of the King, and allow the government to appoint judges and the police commissioner.

While Mr Pohiva has previously talked of such reforms the only public consultations on these bills have been sessions on talk back radio.

There have been a series of walk outs from parliament over the past week as the government tries to push through six bills under urgency.

The opposition, mostly made up of nobles, has asked Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva to explain why the bills are urgent.

This comes after a series of petitions to King Tupou VI calling for Mr Pohiva to be removed, and Massey University's Malakai Koloamatangi, himself a Tongan, says it is a very serious situation for the country.

Parliament had been scheduled to end on 31 October but Matangi Tonga reports Speaker Lord Fakafanua has scheduled a sitting for Tuesday evening where he will announce plans to deal with the over 3,000 strong signature petition.

Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva has said the final decision on how the House will proceed with the impeachment, rests with Lord Fakafanua.

The petition calls for an urgent audit of specific expenditures over the last three years regarding seven Cabinet Ministers, including Mr Pohiva.

The company, which manages Tonga's orbital space, is at the centre of a legal case brought by Mr Pohiva over nearly $US50 million it received from China.

Last month, Tonga's Supreme Court ruled the payments were not approved by the government.

According to Matangi Tonga Mr Pohiva told parliament last week that a 2012 Auditor General's report reached the same conclusion but nothing was done.

He suggested the members take turns in twos to do prison time at the weekends and in the mornings so as not to disrupt parliament.

The mistake was in the act relating to the 2018-2019 Budget which had it set to end on 30 June 2018, instead of 30 June 2019.

Only 14 members of the 26 MPs attended the one hour session.

The Prime Minister and a majority of Cabinet Ministers were not present as they had travelled to Ha'apai for the Agricultural Show.

Photo file. Caption: Tonga Parliament     

Parliament will now meet from March 5 at the Tonga National Centre.

The centre was previously excluded as a parliamentary venue as it was located outside Nuku'alofa's boundary.

A revision has been made to include the centre within the capital's boundary so as to comply with the country's constitution which says the Legislative Assembly shall always meet in the capital except in times of war.

Initially the Fa'onelua Convention Centre was selected as the new seat of government.

The recovery effort continues in the Kingdom after Cyclone Gita tore through the Tonga on Monday.

The Speaker of the House, Lord Fakafanua, made the announcement saying in the spirit of resilience, the parliament would temporarily sit at the Nuku'alofa based convention centre.

The now destroyed parliament had been used since 1892 and was in the past also used as a judicial court house.

The next session of parliament is set to begin on March 5.

Parliament needs a place to meet so MPs can process bills and laws that are required for the government’s 2018-2019 budget.

A Parliamentary spokesperson said the Speaker’s office was working urgently to decide on a suitable venue before informing all Members of Parliament.

Tonga’s parliament house, which is more than a century old, was flattened by tropical cyclone Gita.

Tonga has submitted a proposal to the Chinese government to fund a new Parliament House.

The Chinese Ambassador to Tonga Wang Baodong was welcomed at the Legislative Assembly in June 2017.

It will be the first time parliament sits since the November snap election, triggered by King Tupou VI's dissolution of parliament.

Last week parliament opened with a message relayed from the King, calling for a closer relationship between the House and His Majesty, according to the law and Constitution.

The message from the Throne also highlighted upcoming development projects like the new domestic wharf which is to be opened soon for which the King thanked foreign partners for their assistance.