Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s bilateral with Tongan counterpart Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua in Nuku’alofa.
Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter
New Zealand and Tonga’s prime ministers say they are united on sharing more data on transnational crime and fuel resilience, in their first official meeting together.
Christopher Luxon arrived in Nuku’alofa for the second leg of his Pacific mission, and walked straight from the plane into a bilateral meeting with Tongan Prime Minister Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua.
In a media conference afterwards, Luxon and Lord Fakafanua both said they were aligned on economic growth, better public services, and law and order.
Transnational crime has been a large focus of Luxon’s Pacific mission, with the police commissioner and chief executive of customs travelling with him.
Similar to his comments in Samoa, Luxon said all Pacific nations were wrestling with the problem, and they were all stepping up their efforts and sharing more intelligence.
“We’ve been coordinating and working with your organisations, your agencies, as well as ours, as well as Australia, as well as Samoa, as well as Fiji, in a much more regional coordination, because essentially, it’s a Pacific problem, and it’s a Pacific solution that’s needed to be designed,” he said.
NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arrives in Nuku’alofa, Tonga with his wife Amanda.
Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter
Lord Fakafanua said domestically the prices of street drugs had increased, which was an indication of scarcity of supply, but Tonga still needed more data on the consumption of drugs.
“We are now advocating for wastewater testing, which will start with public facilities such as the police stations, government facilities like the prime minister’s office, and hospitals, schools. It would give us a lot more scientific data on a level that we don’t currently have,” he said.
The two also discussed fuel resilience, amid ongoing uncertainty from the Iran war.
Luxon repeated that New Zealand was in good shape, and stood ready to share any of the intelligence or information it had with Tonga and other Pacific nations.
Air New Zealand’s chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar is travelling with the prime minister’s business delegation, and Luxon said he had received assurances that Air New Zealand was committed to doing everything it could to maintain Pacific air links.
Lord Fakafanua said Tonga’s government was managing expectations and improving information sharing.
Tongan Prime Minister Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua.
Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter
He was less concerned at the prospect of airlines reducing their flights to and from Tonga, and he would wait to hear what Air New Zealand had to say.
“My concern is about ensuring that we have enough energy for the country in the meantime and for now, we seem to be OK.”
Lord Fakafanua was also less concerned about visa waivers, a topic that has followed Luxon across the Pacific.
Luxon was encouraged extensively in Samoa by its Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Polataivao Leuatea Fosi Schmidt., community leaders, and media to allow Pacific visitors to access visa waivers, just as visitors from 60 other countries are allowed to access.
Luxon has not wanted to pre-empt a petition handed to Parliament last month, saying it will be considered by a Select Committee.
But he has been reluctant to support visa waivers, saying it had been tried previously and had led to overstayers and overrun hospitals and schools.
Luxon has instead referred to measures the government has brought in to increase the length of stay for Pacific visas, speeding up processing times, and introducing cheaper visas on a trial basis.
Speaking in Nuku’alofa following a bilateral meeting with Luxon, Tonga’s Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua said what New Zealand did with its domestic policy was up to New Zealand.
“I respect their position, however on a personal note we do acknowledge there are 100,000 Tongans in New Zealand. And there are lots of considerations that have to be made, not just by the government but also the Parliament in New Zealand,” he said.
“I support whatever move New Zealand decides to make, whether they want to liberalise the step towards facilitating and making it more affordable in terms of the current visa situation is one that’s most welcome.
“But I don’t want to preempt anything that’s happening within New Zealand’s domestic politics.”
Fakafanua said his first congratulatory call when he became prime minister was from Luxon, and considered it a “a small gesture, but perhaps one that truly reflects the closeness of our two nations.”
During the media conference, Luxon announced a $5.25 million package over five years to improve health outcomes and systems and services across Tonga, $20 million over two years in general budget support, $5 million in flexible climate funding, and $2 million to expand “resilient food programmes and systems” across Tonga.
Tonga is still paying off a significant loan from China, and continues to deal with the fallout from the volcanic eruption of 2022.
But Lord Fakafanua said he expected the loan would be paid off by 2030, and while there were other things the government wanted to spend money on, Tonga’s commitment was to pay its debts.
“We are currently in a position where we’re not taking any more loans. We’re not taking any more debt. We’re being a lot more clever with our fiscal management,” he said.
“And as a matter of principle, our budget is one of deficit, and so we have to support that with bonds, internal bonds, and also just being a lot more clever and efficient about our spending.”
Luxon’s trip to Tonga wraps up on Wednesday with a further transnational crime collaboration event with Tonga’s police, as well as education and business visits with his delegation.
He returns to New Zealand on Wednesday evening.
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