NUKU‘ALOFA – There will be no review of security for the Tongan Prime Minister and no investigation into revelations that ‘Akilisi Pohiva has received death threats.

During a debate in parliament between Noble Representative Lord Tu’ilakepa and Pohiva it was revealed that calls had been received of somebody threatening to shoot him.

The Police Minister Pohiva Tu’ionetoa said he immediately asked the Prime Minister if any action needed to be taken.

However Tu’ionetoa said Pohiva didn’t want to be like his predecessors, who had security follow them everywhere.

“He doesn’t want that for him and he’s also asked me not to put any special investigation into the matter or even give him the secured police force to look after him 24 hours a day.

“He said he is free for anybody to come and talk to him. He is free 24 hours a day.”

Local media have reported that ‘Akilisi Pohiva told parliament in 2011 his family had had to flee their house after being told someone was coming to shoot them. - RNZI

State offers to take asylum seekers

MELBOURNE – In Australia the outcry over the return of dozens of children of asylum seekers to the detention camp on Nauru is getting louder.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has labelled the Federal government’s plan to return 37 children and their families to offshore immigration detention as “wrong” and “needless” – calling on the prime minister to allow them to settle in his state.

In a letter addressed to Malcolm Turnbull, Andrews said the asylum seekers should remain in Australia and the prime minister had the power to make that possible.

“A sense of compassion is not only in the best interests of these children and their families. It is also in the best interests of our status as a fair and decent nation,” he wrote.

“There are infants among this group who were born in this country. Sending them to Nauru will needlessly expose them to a life of physical and emotional trauma.

“It’s wrong. Medical professionals tell us this. Humanitarian agencies tell us this. Our values tell us this, too. Sending these children and their families to Nauru is not the Australian way.”

The High Court this week threw out a challenge to the legality of the Federal Government’s immigration detention centre on Nauru.

The ruling paved the way for 267 asylum seekers, including 37 children, brought to Australia for medical treatment to be returned to the island.

Thousands of people gathered in Melbourne on Thursday to protest against the plan.

The Victorian Premier was last year among state leaders who called on the Federal Government to increase the country’s refugee intake.

In his letter on Saturday, Andrews said Victoria would accept full responsibility for the children and their families, providing them with essential services including housing and education.

He said there was “no justification for their removal”.

“Sending these children to a life of trauma on a sparse Pacific island is not a fair solution. We look forward to working with your government to find a better one,” he wrote.

Turnbull’s office has so far declined to comment on the letter.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she supported Andrews’ offer and said Turnbull must make a decision.

“Malcolm Turnbull has to decide what kind of direction he is going to take, what kind of prime minister he wants to be,” she said.

“Will he fold with the cruelty and the hard right-wingers of his party and deport these babies and their children back to Nauru, or will we stand with the Australian community and do the right thing and let them stay?” - ABC