DEAR EDITOR, quoting Radio New Zealand International – March 12, 2018 “Tonga is the first Pacific nation to have a legal aid centre providing free services for survivors of domestic violence.

“The Family Protection Legal Aid Centre opens today in Nuku’alofa and was established by the local Ministry of Justice and will operate within the Ministry’s compound.

“The Ministry’s assistant secretary, ‘Aunofo Aholelei, said the centre was a response to gaps found by key stakeholders of the Family Protection Act 2013.

“Ms Aholelei said there had been no free legal services on offer to assist victims of domestic violence and there was a lack of services available for those living in the outer islands.

“She said the centre was a way forward in addressing those gaps.

“The objective of the project is that survivors of domestic violence have increased access to justice for domestic violence and other family protection matters and the Ministry noted that this objective was direct aligned with the Ministry’s mandate,” Ms Aholelei said.

“The Tongatapu-based centre will also provide an after-hours telephone service to those living in the outer islands.

“The centre’s legal officer, Fitilagi Fa’anunu, said as well as providing the legal advice and representation, her team would also be able to make referrals for clients who may need urgent medical assistance.

“The centre is a major step forward by the government to respond to address the issue of domestic violence and this will no doubt will empower those who are most vulnerable, to have increase access to the justice system,” Ms Fa’anunu said.

“She said in order to be eligible for the free legal service, someone must be a survivor or victim of domestic violence as defined under the Family Protection Act 2013.” Copyright: RNZI   (All Rights Reserved)

Yours sincerely

Frank Short

DEAR EDITOR, quoting Radio New Zealand International – March 12, 2018, “Filtering out a portion of sunlight from entering the Earth’s atmosphere is being explored as a way of reducing some of the impacts of climate change.

“It’s a theoretical proposal known as Solar Radiation Management or SRM, and is referred to as solar geo-engineering, climate engineering and climate intervention.

“The SRM Governance Initiative is looking at its potential as a weapon in the climate change mitigation arsenal particularly for countries at the forefront of climate change.

“The initiative is a partnership between the Royal Society, The World Academy of Sciences, and the Environmental Defence Fund.

“The initiative’s project director Andy Parker says it’s a conversation climate communities in the Pacific should start having.” Copyright: RNZI   (All Rights Reserved)

The question what is Solar Radiation Management and could SRM provide a solution to global warming had me thinking and I found some of the information I needed by looking at the GeoEngineering Monitor website which said (quote)

“Solar Radiation Management describes a suite of proposed technologies that aim to reflect sunlight back into space before it warms the earth’s climate. These proposed technique would achieve this in one of a number of ways: by spraying sulphur dioxide or hydrogen sulphide into the stratosphere (the upper reaches of the atmosphere), by launching a 300 km2 barrier into heliosynchronous orbit, by making the albedo (reflectivity) of clouds, or by launching billions of reflective balloons into the stratosphere.

“As a rapidly warming world manifests heat waves, floods, droughts and hurricanes, geoengineering – large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s natural systems – is being presented as a strategy to counteract, dilute or delay climate change without disrupting energy- and resource-intensive economies. Alarmingly, current debates about this big techno-fix are limited to a small group of self-proclaimed experts reproducing undemocratic worldviews and technocratic, reductionist perspectives. Developing countries, indigenous peoples, and local communities are excluded and left voiceless.

“Proposed geoengineering technologies are claimed to threaten people and ecosystems. Holistic assessments of the technologies also show that if deployed they are highly likely to worsen rather than mitigate the impacts of global warming.”

Reading the foregoing there is clearly no easy and, perhaps, safe way yet to having the answer to mitigating the impacts of global warming.

Yours sincerely

Frank Short

DEAR EDITOR, quoting Radio New Zealand International – March 12, 2018, “Monash University’s World Mosquito Programme says wolbachia bacteria can stop mosquitoes from spreading dengue and other diseases like chikungunya and zika.

“The programme director of impact assessment, Professor Cameron Simmons, said wolbachia was a naturally occurring bacteria and once transmitted to the aedes aegypti mosquito it stopped them getting the infections and spreading them among humans.

“He said the not-for-profit agency had already proven the use of wolbachia is successful in far northern Queensland and he is confident it will eliminate the dengue threat in the Pacific.

“The experience from North Queensland is that so far, in communities where wolbachia has been established they have been dengue free for the last 6 or 7 years.

“And so our expectations are very high that once established our technology is going to provide years of protection for communities in the Western Pacific from these viral diseases.” Copyright: RNZI   (All Rights Reserved)

Yours sincerely

FRANK SHORT

IN my capacity as Chief Magistrate, I wish to formally respond, on behalf of the magistracy, to the article on the front page of Saturday March 10, 2018 edition of the Solomon Star entitled, “DPP fires back”.

The article quotes the DPP as follows “If it appears to any person that there is no control mechanism within the management of cases in the office then I am afraid, it reflects on an erroneous assumption, or perhaps inexperience or ignorance to say the least”. In this quote the DPP is referring to comments made in court by Principal Magistrate Fatima Taeburi in a case in which two police officers were acquitted of charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The Magistrates Court takes great exception to these comments which are unwarranted, unfounded, and inappropriate and way out of line.

Madame Taeburi is an experienced and accomplished Magistrate who strives to manage her cases appropriately.

I wish to point out that it is the duty of all Magistrates to take control of the management and handling of cases that come before them, in order to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays and ensure the best use of court time.

In this regard, if a magistrate has concerns about the conduct of any party or their counsel it is perfectly appropriate to voice those concerns in the court room.

Everyone must be aware what is expected of them, and that the Magistrate’s Courts in this country will no longer tolerate unnecessary adjournment, delays and the avoidable waste of its time.

I do not propose to discuss the precise details of this case and Madam Taeburi’s judgment.

I will just say that madam Taeburi was fully justified in raising her genuine concerns in court.

And if the DPP has concerns over her comments, then he is perfectly aware that such issues can be raised with either my-self or the Chief Justice, or alternatively he can make a formal referral to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission through the Registrar of the High Court.

What is totally unacceptable is to bypass all the official and transparent complaints procedures (which would allow considered deliberations on the issues and provide the Magistrate with a right to respond) in order to lambast a Magistrate’s conduct and accuse her of “inexperience” and “ignorance” through the media.

Emma Garo

Chief Magistrate