Transcript
MACKENZIE SMITH: This is a big deal for Tokelau for two reasons. One is that its High Court has never been tested in this way before. Before this case, there has only been one dispute brought before the court and it was settled before a hearing was reached. A New Zealand judge is going to have to figure out how Tokelau's law functions and ultimately carry out a decision which is almost unprecedented. Already in this case we've seen clear evidence that its court sits in Wellington, not Tokelau, which is nearly 4,000 kilometres away. Niue, for example, has a similar population but has its own courts.
The second reason this is a big deal is the case itself, which has become very high-profile in Tokelau. Basically two former public servants who were fired at the end of 2017 are taking on the government. Tokelau blamed them for blowing millions of dollars on some helicopters and land, which they say they were instructed to buy. But in a small place like Tokelau it's really become this huge ongoing controversy.
GUYON ESPINER: Who's expected to be at this hearing?
The defendants are the government and the ulu, which is the paramount leader in Tokelau. So the ulu, Afega Gaualofa, and one of the other leaders in Tokelau, Siopili Perez, are in Wellington for this, which is quite extraordinary because these are two men holding the highest positions in Tokelau who will be appearing in court. Both of the plaintiffs, Heto Puka and Jovilisi Suveinakama, will also be there and he told me he's expecting a big turnout of support from the Tokelauan community in New Zealand, which is mainly based in Porirua. The plaintiffs were actually hoping to hold the hearing in Tokelau but our chief justice, Sian Elias, threw this out last year and said it would sit in Wellington.
GE: Is New Zealand involved in the case?
New Zealand's administrator to Tokelau, Ross Ardern was a defendant in the case until last month, when his lawyers won a bid in court to order the plaintiffs to pay $10,000 in security for costs, to ensure that if the plaintiffs lost, they could pay his legal expenses. In the end, they couldn't pay so they dropped him from the case. But New Zealand is intimately involved whether it likes it or not. As New Zealand's only remaining territory, our government provides Tokelau with around $24 million each year and is responsible for its defence and security. But it was also New Zealand's Foreign Ministry which ordered Tokelau to suspend these two guys, before they were eventually dismissed. Later, a former administrator was ousted by Tokelau because New Zealand drafted documents to curtail its government in response to the controversial spending that sparked this whole case.