Teilweise neu: 2002-01-27 Contents of this issue:
1. Paradise? Yeah, But Only For The Few 2. Internet Booking Focus 3. Birds Disappear ======================================================================== Old contents were: 1. Internet Booking Focus 2. Birds Disappear January 27th, 2002 1. Paradise? Yeah, But Only For The Few : The following is an article by NZ writer and commentator Gordon McLaughlan published last week in the NZ Herald.- A King of the Island Paradise of Tonga ... (A word of explanation: journalists throughout the world are obliged by some Law of Platitudes to refer to any South Sea island as a paradise, even though some have been hell-holes and many are still difficult places in which to live. I believe it has something to do with climate and the promiscuity, by European standards, of women during the first days of European contact.) Right, where was I ... A King of the I.P. of Tonga once decided to give democracy a shot; so he arranged for his throne, symbol of the monarchy, to be stowed out of sight on the second storey of his grass hut. He ordered the cessation of the pernicious practice of subjects having to approach the King down on their elbows, dragging their bellies along the floor like snakes. He held elections. However, one day, during a cabinet meeting in the hall on the ground floor, the enormous throne toppled over, fell through the ceiling and crushed the Prime Minister. The ambitious former Crown Prince, who was much smarter than the incumbent - which means, however, that he could still be pretty stupid - stood up, wagged his fat feudal finagling finger at the King and said: "This is an act of God. He is telling us that people who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones." The King, whose family has long intimately known that particular God who is a Methodist, agreed and the royal line was restored to its old authoritarian status. The ruler, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, nicknamed King Fat the Fourth, seems a genial enough man not grievously psychologically damaged by the vanity that inevitably results from the slithering approach of subjects. But the future looks troublesome not only for Tongans but for all of us who live in this region. Sitting in the sun at the beach the other day, talking to real people not confused by the sophistry of diplomacy, I was asked why it was that New Zealand taxpayers were giving aid regularly to Tonga while Crown Prince Tippytoes and his sister, Princess Pilolevu, were not only ripping off the local commoners but don't pay tax. "Pass," I said. "Let's not be mean-minded about it," said one mate. "When Cyclone Waka struck, why didn't Phil Goff offer a dollar-for-dollar subsidy as relief, that is a dollar for every dollar that multimillionaire Princess Pilolevu coughed up?" "Pass, "I said again. That's the trouble with common sense - it's unanswerable. The trouble with countries run hands-on by monarchs is the King or Queen might be a bit dim as King Fat the Fourth clearly is and might oppress the people socially or economically. The Tongan Crown Prince is obviously a vain bore but the news that upset my mates was that Big Daddy gave the princess the sole duty-free franchise and other perks, including 80 per cent of Tongasat, a company which has exclusive rights to lease orbital satellite slots. The company takes half the profits and the Government the other half. When asked how much money she makes from Tongasat - as much as the $US25 million Forbes magazine claimed, perhaps? - she refused to answer, on the grounds that certain politicians would take advantage of it. So she shows that, like her father, she has contempt not only for democracy but for the Tongan people. He said Tongans did not want democracy because of the example of Fiji with its coups. He did not mention the stable democracies of the region so he clearly thinks inhabitants of South Sea Island paradises are not up to controlling their own destiny. Self-contempt is always sad. The New Zealand Government will give about $5.6 million in official development assistance to Tonga this year, happily almost half of it in the cause of education. A better-educated community and pressure from the more than 30,000 Tongans who live in New Zealand may lead eventually to modification of the ridiculous, anachronistic and grossly unfair system of government in that country. New Zealand also recently provided essential transmission equipment to the Tonga Broadcasting Commission to help to set up a local television service, allowing Tongans to gain access to a greater diversity of media and educative services. The greedy princess' arm should have been twisted to pay for that. We as a nation quite rightly feel an obligation to help our less affluent and developed neighbours but I think most Kiwis would want some form of moral pressure applied to end economic and social corruption and to encourage moves towards fairer societies. Perhaps withdrawal of funds for private sector development and for the Judiciary would be a hint. Such pressure would not be to demonstrate our moral superiority but to underline the real danger of the nepotism now rampant in Tonga - that pustules will erupt on the social fabric and lead to unrest and violence, exactly as it has in Indonesia. We should dissuade Tonga from making this region more unstable than it is. It's time for King Fat the Fourth to stow his throne in a museum with concrete floors. 2. Internet Booking Focus: Air New Zealand aims to lift Internet ticket sales to up to 15 per cent of its business and is boosting its Internet service by offering discounts of up to 12 per cent on some domestic fares, writes James Weir in today's Wellington Dominion. But the new cut-price fares announced on Friday, may end up a bone of contention with travel agents because they will be cheaper than agents can offer. Agents will not earn any commission on the new discount Internet tickets, even if they do sell them. The new low-price fares on the main domestic routes between Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, come just a fortnight after Air New Zealand lifted domestic fares by 5 per cent. Trans-Tasman fares also rose earlier this month, the second rise in three months. Air New Zealand's new low fares can only be booked through the Internet. A return flight from Wellington to Auckland would cost $178, (plus levies), about $21 less than the traditional lowest fare - a 10.5 per cent discount. The discount on an Auckland to Christchurch flight is even bigger, about 12.5 per cent, with a $218 Internet fare. If the "embryo stage" Internet booking system proves popular with customers Air New Zealand said it "will look at extending it" to other domestic routes. Air New Zealand aims to increase Internet sales to as much as 15 per cent of its business within 18 months, from present levels of "a few per cent". 3. Birds Disappear: While biological conservationists are warning Niueans about the dangers of overhunting flying fox fruit bats (pteropus tonganus), two more Pacific islands bird species appear to be extinct, says the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in Honolulu. The quack of the Marianas mallard and the whistling call of the Guam broadbill have not been heard on Guam since the 1980s and biologists have concluded that both species are extinct. "It's unfortunate," said Robert Beck, acting chief of the Guam Department of Agriculture's aquatic and wildlife resources division. "We've lost something that evolved in the Marianas," he said, referring to the large duck. The mallard once inhabited Guam, Tinian, Rota, Saipan and other islands of the Marianas island chain. The bird was listed as endangered by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1977. This was due to excessive hunting and loss of wetland habitat said Anne Badgley, regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region. The broadbill, a small fly catcher, was put on the endangered list in 1984, after pesticide use, disease and predators reduced its population. The brown tree snake, which arrived in Guam in the 1940s, is probably the major factor contributing to the extinction of the broadbill, which was last seen in 1984, Beck said. Efforts are ongoing to re-establish other bird species, including the Guam rail and the Marianas crow. ( Various/ PINA Nius Online). __END__
