Akilisi Pohiva died on September 12, 2019. This tribute was originally published in The Spinoff.
Tongan prime minister ’Akilisi Pohiva will be mainly remembered as the country’s leading democrat.
For four decades he campaigned to reduce the powers of the Tongan King and institute a democratically elected parliament.
The monarchy didn’t take kindly...
Keith's storyThe life path Keith Locke ended up taking was largely mapped out at birth. He was born into a family in which it was natural to be politically active. His parents were Elsie Locke - peace campaigner, environmentalist, novelist and historian - and Jack Locke, a leading member...
Most New Zealanders want us to have an independent foreign policy. They think we are already independent to some degree. If pressed they would cite our nuclear-free status, or the fact that we don’t always go along with the US or Australia at the United Nations. Last month’s vote...
Defence Chief Tim Keating and the Prime Minister exhibit the “colonial” reflex in completely ignoring the villagers as a source of information. Bill English looked at a few American videos of the battle and considered that to be enough to reject any inquiry. Keating didn’t consider evidence from the locals as relevant enough to mention.
An investigation by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recommended a “hybrid special court” of international and local judges to bring to justice those guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka.
The extra attention our Courts are now giving to Bill of Rights matters can help slow the erosion of our civil liberties which occurs when MPs play excessive attention to the “law and order” lobby.