Milestone Bill Last of 2025 Legislative session, First Victim of 2025 Election Drama
What should have been celebrated as a milestone, run-of-the-mill piece of legislation intended to clean up the legal confusion and executive corruption of the foreign service, has turned into national drama as fanatic “full democracy” reformers and aspiring election candidates latch on to the issue for maximum media and public attention.
The new “His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services Bill 2025” is a short, simple piece of legislation, credit to the Crown Prince Tupoutoa Ulukalala, who is currently the Foreign Minister and who is himself an accomplished scholar in foreign policy with a double Masters holder in diplomatic and military studies from the Australian National University.
The bill consolidates to one coherent piece of legislation, powers regarding the country’s foreign but scattered in dierent clauses of the Constitution, onto His Majesty, who, by virtue of being Head of State, is also the country’s Chief Diplomat.
There are no changes to the essence of the law, except clarity and accountability. In fact, some parts are enhanced according to recent Court decisions that must be respected, as they establish case law anyway. For example, the bill arms that the Foreign Secretary is appointed by His
Majesty, and not by the Public Service Commission (as opposed to the various attempts by Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni and his Chief Secretary Paula Ma‘u. (I’ll note this here).
Ministerial, and therefore Parliamentary oversight is established (Parliament already has a Foreign Relations Sub-Committee anyway), and policy-based management of the foreign service is emphasised and that’s critically important.
Essentially as well, the change in clarity is similar to the reforms and standards established with the other two branches of the security security services: Police and Military. This is also vitally important for national security, and domestic stability: Administration and Parliamentary Oversight lies with the Minister, while Operations still rests with His Majesty.
That is a royal prerogative, and from time to time if the Monarch feels his or her intervention is critical and needed, then it is welcome. After all, it is His Majesty’s Government and no Owner or CEO randomly disrupts his/her company irrationally.
This last part is crucial to keep a professional, apolitical service and any corruption in the ranks in check. Same as in military, same as in Police- political democratic oversight rests with Minister, but the violent coercive and intrusive powers cannot and must not be politicised, and are checked  by oath of loyalty to His Majesty alone.
Parliament still controls the Purse, through the Cabinet and through the Budget.
Being renamed “His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service” is a privilege and a pretty smart and competently diplomatic idea, banking smartly on Polynesian soft power as Pacic cultural appeal goes global on social media and the silver screens.
Finally, in a rare show of personal accountability (for a Cabinet Minister), the Crown Prince and Minister of Foreign Affairs signed his own name to his bill, thereby claiming any responsibility.
Therefore, kudos to him! Credit where credit is due!
THE ELECTION AND THE NOISE
There are two problems: one- understanding the special circumstances of the business of state, as opposed to the routine business of government. This, as Professor Dr. Malakai Koloamatangi stated in this year’s National Convention at the Fa‘onelua Center, is a shortfall in basic civics education.
Of course, currently, there is public drama and noise being buildup as ‘full democracy’ fanatics and election candidates claim the bill is a royal conspiracy for regress of the 2010 reforms.
It is needless to say that this is the nature of the beast, but it is interesting that some so-called security scholars like Lopeti Senituli is urging opponents of the bill publicly on social media, to oppose the bill and petition the King not to assent to it. Which the followers have done, led by Teisa Pohiva and Samiuela Akilisi Pohiva Jr, younger children of late democracy champion and late Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva.
Are regional security think tanks coopting lawyers as security contractors in the Pacic? Are they their new agent provocateurs now?
The petitioners know the docket of bills have not left the premises of the Parliament, but they made this an issue with His Majesty. Not only that, it’s not very democratic to allow a bill to go through the Parliament where the people’s representatives are heard, and you go around to tell the king to undermine the parliament’s decision. Guess the ght for democracy can be done with some very undemocratic means.
The Pohiva legacy has been completely tarnished, as the Pohiva children clash with each other over inheriting their father’s mantle and name, and has resulted in some serious exodus of supporters who have claimed the democracy movement has “devolved into a family business.”
Meanwhile, notable legal practitioners like Senituli, and one other Tongan lawyer who is teaching at Auckland University, have also been inducted into the ‘security’ scholar ranks of New Zealand
and Australian security research institutions.
The level of amnesia is funny if it wasn’t serious, as they seem surprised with what’s going on, when they were literally the same political advisors that were in the mix that gave us the Constitution we are now frazzled over. Interestingly, they simultaneously defend the Constitution and decry it as full of conspiracies that denied full democracy.