Page 8 - IB December 2022

Whispers Whispers

RSE scrutiny is in order on the differences between some marriages are lasting just two
In New Zealand, a report by Equal imbibing the potent FSM and Vanuatu weeks. Minister Samiu Kuita Vaipulu
Employment Opportunities Commis- strains of kava versus Fiji’s more mellow has told Parliament that the number of
sioner, Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo brew. divorces had risen, citing court records
into the Recognised Seasonal Employer that show some couples split after their
(RSE) scheme has prompted the coun- Tonga’s lessons for science marriages were registered with the
try’s immigration minister to say he is Scientists say the eruption of the government but before receiving letters
willing to meet some workers quoted Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea of confirmation from Church ministers
in the damning document. Minister volcano off Tonga sent a massive plume who conducted the weddings. MPs have
Michael Wood says he is “very open” of water vapour into space. Presenting also raised concerns over underage or
to meeting the RSE workers, whose at the American Geophysical Union, child marriages, with 68 such weddings
allegations are detailed in the the Hu- they say it’s the first time they’ve recorded in 2020/21.
man Rights Commission investigation observed a volcano launching water
into the scheme. Saunoamaali’i said beyond the atmosphere, some 149.6km Toua’s ambitions, Coffa recognised
every worker they spoke to said weekly off earth’s surface. As much as four Papua New Guinean wonder woman,
deductions were too high, leaving some million metric tonnes of water vapour Dika Toua, is setting her sights on a sixth
with as little as NZ$35 (US$22) at the was sent into space says Larry Paxton, Olympics appearance. The weightlifter
end of each fortnight, or less than the a scientist at Johns Hopkins University. is training for the Paris 2024 Olympic
minimum wage. Others were charged A second scientist, Claire Gasque, at Games, competing in Bogota at the
for clothing and tools when they were the University of California at Berkeley, World Championships just before Christ-
employees, not contractors. Some said says the eruption also caused a current mas. If she makes it to Paris, she will
they had to buy meals from their em- known as the equatorial electrojet, be the first athlete, male or female, to
ployer and were not permitted to cook which normally runs west to east in the compete in six Olympics. Toua told local
for themselves. Inadequate housing in- ionosphere, to reverse direction. media she believes her best chance of
cluded 2-7 workers sharing a bedroom, qualifying is as Oceania’s highest placed
workers sleeping in cold, damp and Short-lived honeymoons athlete in her categories. Meanwhile,
sometimes mouldy accommodation, Tonga’s wedding season has seen the her coach, Melbourne-based Paul Coffa
and paying exorbitant rent for that country’s Minister of Justice reveal has become the first coach to be induct-
accommodation. “In one house, we
observed 18 RSE workers sharing a five-
bedroom house, each paying $150 per Tweet of the month:
week,” Saunoamaali’i observed. The
Commission’s recommendations include
allowing RSE workers to switch em-
ployers without the permission of the
employers they were leaving, clearer
employment contracts, better enforce-
ment through the labour inspectorate,
limiting the deductions employers could
take out of worker wages, and more
transparency around salary deductions
for healthcare.

Kava chaos
Pity Australian parliamentarian Mi-
chael McCormack who needed medical
assistance after downing a whole shell
of sakau (kava) during a recent official
visit to Federated States of Micronesia.
Footage showed the former deputy
prime minister with his head in his
hands after drinking the sakau at FSM’s
Congress, then being helped to a car.
He later told Australian media that he
was feeling much better and that he
had drunk the shell out of respect for
custom. Perhaps some extra briefing

8 Islands Business, December 2022