Police “illegally” imposed incomplete regulation

By Tevita Motulalo

It seemed that Tonga Police hastily put in place regulations that had not passed through the full legal process, and so were “illegal”.

The Cabinet had recently revoked an earlier decision to increase firearms licensing fees on the basis that not only was it illegal, but also it was ineffective in realising visions of a safer community.

Ministry of Finance will now refund holders who registered their guns under the increased fees. The total cost of the refund is estimated to be more than $30,000 pa’angas.

Police Commissioner Christopher Kelley apologises for the error.

“I take full responsibility,” he said.

Police helped draft a new guns regulations, increasing licensing fees for firearms and ammunitions last year.

The draft was approved by Cabinet, but had not been approved by Privy Council and had not been gazetted by Crown Law.

But rather then checking it had, according to Kelley, Police assumed Cabinet approval was enough and began the (subsequently shown to be illegal) implementation on January 1.

The new fees imposed in January increased re-registration costs from $28 to $150. The overall cost of the registration process increased by about 1500% according to Minister of Police, Hon. Viliami Latu.

It resulted with less then a third of known firearms not being registered. By the registration deadline last year, more than 600 firearms were registered by private gun-holders, although there is perceived to be always more out in the public.

But by the end of the deadline this year, just over 180 had turned up.

Latu says the underlying interest of a safe community cannot be achieved when firearms remain unaccounted for and unmonitored in public hands.

“We simply cannot monitor the use of firearms, because now we’re not sure who has those unregistered firearms or where they are,” said Latu.

“It does not assist government’s overall visions of a safer community, due to the increased number of weapons left unregistered or not re-registered,” he said to Tonga Chronicle.

Kelley says a more costly process of owning a firearm will deter people from doing so, and thus rendering a community safer because there are fewer guns around.

But Minister of Police Viliami Latu says a gun-free community is “absurd” and risks instability.

The key point, to him, “is to make sure that firearms are in reliable hands,” he said.

Latu said petitions from communities all over Tonga were submitted, and even MP’s like ‘Akilisi Pohiva call on him to protest the new regulations.

Cabinet also decided that only Tonga Police would be allowed to import ammunition, something that was recently done by several private companies.