General Fono Decisions January 2004

DECISIONS

GENERAL FONO

24 - 26 January 2004

Atafu

TOKELAU

CONTENTS

Subject

Public Services in Tokelau-----------------3 - 6

1. Appointment of the Chairperson ---------------3
2. Official Opening of the January 2004 General Fono---------3
3. Issue 1 Amended General Fono Rules --------------3
4. Issue 2 Administrator of Tokelau's Commission of Inquiry
5. Issue 3 Shipping----------------------6
6. Issue 4 Power Project------------------6-7
7. Issue 5 Tokelau Trust Fund
8. Issue 6 Budget----------------------7-8
9. Issue 7 Strategic Plan (Education & Health)-----------8
10. Issue 8 Council of the Ongoing Government of Tokelau------8
11. Issue 9 Stevedoring on Sunday-----------------8
12. Issue 10 Stevedoring---------------------9
13. Issue 11 Ongoing Work of the Ongoing Government of Tokelau---9
14. Condolence letter to Government and the People of Niue-----9
15. Official closing of the January 2004 General Fono-------- 10

Appointment of the Chairperson

On Saturday 24 January 1004, the General Fono appointed Kuresa Nasau to be the Chairman for 2004.

Official Opening of the January 2004 General Fono

The Chairman officially opened the January 2004 General Fono. The Ulu o te Malo o Tokelau welcomed the delegates, the Administrator of Tokelau, Tony Johns, to this General Fono siting. He also welcomed the Chairman and blessed the work that is about to begin. He also acknowledged the work that the Ongoing Government of Tokelau did in 2003 until now, and asked they must all work together for the development of Tokelau.

The Chairman presented the agenda.

Issue 1: Amended General Fono Rules

Legal Advisor, Jovilisi Suveinakama briefed the General Fono on the amendments made during the November 2003 General Fono.

Decision

General Fono noted the amendments to the General Fono Rules

Issue 2: Report of Commission of Inquiry into Tokelau's Public Services:

In introducing this topic the Administrator of Tokelau noted that in June 2003 the General Fono decided that each Taupulega should take responsibility for running all public services on all it's atoll. The target date was June 2004. The general Fono requested the Administrator to submit proposals as to how to achieve this objective.

The administrator commissioned a two-person team to do a report. The team (Tony Johns and Ake Puka) spent ten weeks consulting Tokelau's political leadership, village groups and public servants.

It's report has been circulated to all Taupulega and the General Fono.

The Administrator also noted that much of the detail in the report can be considered in the context of the proposed new Manual and Handbook. Both documents will be submitted to the three Taupulega and the General Fono for consideration and approval.

The Administrator sought guidance from the General Fono on the following main issues:

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed subject to the decisions in issue 5 (below)

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed to maintain portfolio responsibility

The General Fono:

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed

[If so:

The General Fono:

Agreed the Employment Rules 2004 be sent to Taupulega for comment and the Rules are to be referred back to the next General Fono for passing.

The General Fono:

Agreed]

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed

The General Fono:

Agreed

1. Does the General Fono agree with the recommendation 1.4(a) and (b) on:
   • The division of responsibilities between the village and the nation?
   • The allocation of public service between the village and the nation; and positions?
   • Recruitment to the new positions listed in recommendation 1.4(d)?
2. Does the General Fono agree with the proposals in recommendation 1.1 on village public service structures and the establishment of village health and education committees?
3. Does the General Fono agree with the proposals in recommendation 1.2 on support arrangements for the Council for the Ongoing Government?

   The General Fono:

   Agreed

4. Does the General Fono wish to maintain or discontinue specific portfolio responsibilities (eg: Health, Education, etc) in the Council for the Ongoing Government as per recommendation 1.2(a)
5. Does the General Fono endorse the appoinment of a General Manager, Apia on the basis outlined in recommendation 1.2(a)? (If so, applications for this position will be submitted immediately to the Council for the Ongoing Government for it's consideration and decision).
   1. Agreed to the appointment of a General Manager, Apia
   2. Agreed to refer the duties (job description) of the General Manager, Apia to the Taupulega for further comment (voted 12 to 7)
   3. Agreed that the comments from the Taupulega are to be submitted to the Council of the Ongoing Government as soon as possible but before 30 February
   4. Agreed the Council of the Ongoing Government report on their appointment to the next General Fono
6. Does the General Fono support a review of Tokelau's internet and telecommunication services as recommended in recommendation 1.2(a)?
7. Does the General Fono support recommendation 1.2(b) proposing the transfer of key functions and directors back to Tokelau?
8. Does the General Fono:
   1. endorse the proposals in recommendation 1.5 relating to public servant appointment and conditions of services; and
   2. agree that the Tokelau Employment Commission should now be disbanded?

      The General Fono

      Agreed (voted 16:5)

   1. the attached amendments will be required to General Fono rules;
   2. negotiations should be held with the Commissioners on an appropriate compensation package
9. Does the General Fono agree that the Administrator should take the steps outlined in recommendation 1.7 to improve NZ's support for Tokelau?
10. Does the General Fono agree with recommendation 1.8 to improveFinancial management?
11. Does the General Fono agree with recommendation 1.9 on the implementation of changes?

Issue 3 Shipping

Decisions:

1. The General Fono agreed to the proposal to build a petrol tank in Tokelau;
2. The General Fono agreed to the proposal for bigger ships e.g. M.V. Lady Naomi or M.V. Nivanga to make alternate trips with the M.V. Tokelau, between Samoa and Tokelau every fortnight;
3. The Fono noted that the implementation of (ii) would allow the M.V. Tokelau more time to do interatoll trips;
4. The Fono noted that Zak Patelesio, Director of Transport shall be travelling to New Zealand to look for a suitable ship for Tokelau and her needs;
5. The Fono noted that the Administrator shall be asked to provide the funds for the new ship once Mr. Patelesio finds one;
6. The Fono noted that the Administrator shall work on this issue and report to the Taupulega on the progress.

Issue 4 Power Project

The Administrator informed the General Fono that this project has been going on for

too long. He proposed that Tomasi Tafia (Project General Manager) and Andrea Fairbairn do an inquiry into the project in order to identify what needs to be done to complete the project and any unpaid bills that Tokelau has with DB Power. Once that is identified, than the governments of Tokelau and New Zealand take up the project until completion. He suggested that when the New Zealand Prime Minister makes her trip to Tokelau later on this year, she can be asked to commission the completion of the project.

Decision: The General Fono supported to the proposal

Issue 5 Tokelau Trust Fund

The Administrator said that there had been proposals to cover all aspects of the Trust Fund. He said that the suggestions of the Fono will be considered when the laws for the Trust Fund are written, and that the proposed laws will be provided for the General Fono's endorsement. He also informed the Fono that the proposals are based on previous decisions of the General Fono.

Na fakatu e he hui ke i loto na Faipule i te pulepulega o te teugatupe, ma na takua ai e te Ulufakatonu, ko na hui o Niuhila, ko te Ulufakatonu ma te Fakatonu o te NZAID.

Decision: The Fono agreed to support the proposal

Issue 6 Budget

The Minister of Finance informed the General Fono that the revenue target of $1.6m was not reached due to the shortfall of the estimated revenue from the fishing zone and the funds from the Administrator.

Cuts were as follows:

Nukunonu	$102,000 (10%)
Fakaofo	$102,000 (10.01%)
Atafu	$102,500 (10.39%)
Support Services	$45,000 (5.87%)
Finance	$5,000 (83%)
Education	$179,000 (11.06%)
Health	$123,500 (8.60%)
Transport	$134,000 (8.83%)
OCOF	$212,000 (14.60%)
TEC	$9,000 (8.18%)
NATRESEN	$4,000 (6.92%)
Power	$45,000 (10.08%)
	____________
Total	$1,095,000

Decision:

The General Fono accepted the proposals from the Department on how to reimburse the balance of shortfall in order to reach the $1.6m target.

Issue 7 Strategic Plans for Education and Health

The Administrator informed the Fono that he has developed action plans for these two services based on discussions with the directors of these respective Departments. He said that their office will work on what New Zealand need to do to assist and refer that to the Taupulega for their information. Should the General Fono agree to this proposal, then the message to the New Zealand government shall be that the Health and Education services are still priorities to the Government of Tokelau.

Decision:

The General Fono agreed to the proposal

Issues 8 Council of the Ongoing Government

Decision:

The Fono agreed that officials and the Ongoing Government of Tokelau continue to work together on the agenda.

Issue 9 Stevedoring on Sunday Taupulega Nukunonu

Proposal

It is proposed that the Fono:

1. note thepaper;
2. agree to sections 1.4.2 - 1.4.6 of the proposal;
3. agree to the proposal

Decision:

The General Fono agreed to sections 1.4.2 - 1.4.6 of the proposal which is:

• that passengers be allowed to disembark or embark;
• if there's a need to do stevedoring, nuks have the right to delay the boat until the next day (Monday) to do the work;
• there's a need for all three atolls to understand should the situation in dot point two above occur;
• it is noted that it is very costly for the boat to stay overnight on one atoll, but the department concern must plan to avoid this happening;
• should a boat arrive on a Sunday no work is done until the next day unless there's an emergency.

Issue 10 Stevedoring Taupulega Nukunonu

Proposal

It is proposed that the General Fono:

• note the paper;
• note that stevedoring is sometimes done at night;
• agree to an additional payment for night stevedoring.

The Director of the Department of Transport, Zak Patelesio, informed the General Fono that the Pulenuku has the right to consult with the Master of the ship if it happens that the ship arrived late, or if there's bad weather, and the stevedoring work cannot be carried out, to change the programme.

Decision:

The General Fono agreed to an additional payment for night stevedoring, this doesn't include the disembark and embarkation of passengers.

Issue 11 Ongoing work of the Ongoing Government of Tokelau and Ministers: Report of the first 6 months of this financial year (June - Decembar 2003)

The Administrator's response to the question: "How to implement the decision of the General Fono on a new relationship between Tokelau and New Zealand?" was, 4 steps:

1. the officials of the two governments need to identify what each respective government need to do in a free association arrangement;
2. the Ulu visit New York to report to the C24 in June;
3. New Zealand Prime Minister might visit Tokelau around August 2004;
4. Ongoing Government of Tokelau to visit New Zealand in November 2004 for high-level discussions.

Decision:

The General Fono agreed to the proposals.

Issue 12 Condolences to the Government and People of Niue

Decision:

The General Fono agreed to the letter of condolence to the Government and people of Niue on the devastation caused by Cyclone Heta.

In his last statement the Adminsitrator of Tokelau said: quote

"First, I notice that you have worked hard during this General Fono, the issues discussed and deliberated were not easy ones to make decisions on. I shall return to Wellington with a better understanding of your thoughts on the political developments especially on the resolutions of the November 2003 General Fono. Secondly, your efforts and endeavours in finding ways to improve the services in Tokelau and identifying what needs to be done to restructure the public service to suit your needs. Thirdly, the development of the transport, fourth, improvement of the education system, fifth, improvement of health services, sixth the establishment of the Tokelau Trust Fund, and seventh improvements to the power project. It is good to see Tokelau come together and work for a better Tokelau. I know that there will always be differences in opinion especially during heavy debates. I personally apologise due to my efforts to make things clearer, I unknowingly said something which hurt anyone's feelings. The most important thing is the important partnership and special relationship between each atoll and the nation, the special relationship between Tokelau and New Zealand, the relationship between each atoll and its public servants. Let me therefore be, on behalf of the party from New Zealand thank the Ulu o te Malo o Tokelau, te Taupulega and appointed leaders of Atafu for the hospitality given to us, thanks to the chairperson for chairing the General Fono, to the delegates for the support given to me. I am always happy to work for Tokelau. Fakafetai".

unquote

The Chairperson allowed a representative each from Fakaofo and Nukunonu to say a few words of thanks and farewell, and the Ulu o te Malo o Tokelau to officially close the January 2004 General Fono.

The Ulu o te Malo o Tokelau in his closing words, said: quote

"Te Kauhauatea, members of the three Taupulegas, nukus, delegates. Thank you for being patience. We now officially close the January 2004 General Fono. Thank you for your deliberations and the discussions we had during these past three days, I believe and I'm sure you do too, that God is with us and he guided our work. As a way forward, we need to work together, support each other, and be united and the load will be lighter. To the Administrator, please convey our good wishes and gratitude to the government and people of New Zealand. Let us walk the walk together. All the best with our work, and hope to meet again sometimes soon. Fakafetai."