January 25, 2022
Māori King gives awhi in Tonga crisis
Long-standing relationships between the Kiingitanga and the Tongan royal family are playing a part in New Zealand’s response to the disaster in the island kingdom.
Aid is starting to flow to Tonga as it cleans up from the January 15 volcanic eruption and tsunami.
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta says her cousin King Tūheitia was one of the first to respond, drawing on relationships formed in childhood with the Tongan royals.
“The first response by Kingi Tūheitia was to ensure there was a karakia for the people of Tonga and also trying to ensure the effort at a community level and particularly in Auckland could be aligned and certainly I am aware there has been some personal communications, just to pass on our regards,” she says.
Priorities include cleaning up the ash fall, restoring water supplies and assessing the impact of the saltwater on cropping land as well as restoring infrastructure like wharves.