Sesimani Lokotui. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Teuila Fuatai. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Teuila Fuatai
The Civil Society Forum of Tonga is calling on the new government to listen to the voices of those opposed to deep sea mining.
It also warns drastic measures are being considered to stop the country's involvement in the developing industry.
Sesimani Lokotui, the NGO's national director, said previous governments had dismissed opposition to deep sea mining.
Now, the organisation was looking at involving the country's monarch over the issue, she said.
Tonga, alongside Nauru, Kiribati and Cook Islands, are among countries which have special rights in a deep sea mining area of international waters known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ).
Since 2021, Tonga has contracted Canadian mining group The Metals Company (TMC), to explore its block in the CCZ for mining potential.
The contract was renewed last year, with provisions for commercial mining to occur under US legislation, outside the framework of the world's deep sea mining authority, added in.
It was then signed off by the country's previous government administration.
The new government, led by prime minister Lord Fakafanua, was due to have its inaugural parliamentary session on Thursday, 22 January.
Lokotui urged it to address significant concerns among Tongans about the country's arrangement with TMC.
She believed the contract was disadvantageous to Tonga and pointed to how little the arrangement - now four years in - had benefitted the country.
To date, no commercial mining has occurred. Only exploration of areas of the CCZ for research and mining potential by companies like TMC has taken place.
"It has been many years - where is the economic gain?" Lokotui said.
"The chapter office for the mining company in Tonga will tell you many other things about the economic benefits to Tonga, but if they're giving communities grant sizes of say $2000 to $15,000 Tongan Pa'anga, every two to three years, that is peanuts to any profit-making company."
TMC declined to comment when contacted by RNZ Pacific. The minister overseeing deep sea mining in the new government, Dr Taniela Fusimalohi, did not respond to interview requests.
Lokotui said the potential impacts of commercial ocean mining on other aspects of Tonga's economy, like its tuna industry, needed to be considered by the government in any business case around the practice.
She said discussions were being held around potentially petitioning King Tupou VI to intervene as previous governments had simply ignored significant opposition from civil society to against deep sea mining.
"The bottom line for all of us is to petition the King.
"That is a privilege that Tongan people have, that the rest of the Pacific do not.
"We are hoping that we do not have to go there. We're hoping that we do not have to go as far as suing our own government for hindering our liberties that was provided to us by George Tupou I."
