Joses Tuhanuku
Encyclopedia
Joses Tuhanuku is a Solomon Islands
politician and former trade union
leader.
Having studied at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology
and then at the Australian National University
, he worked at various times as a secondary school
teacher and as a senior lecturer
and course coordinator at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.
In 1975, he assisted Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
in founding the Solomon Islands General Workers' Union, and replaced him as General Secretary the following year, when Ulufa'alu was elected to the country's first ever Parliament and became its first Leader of the Opposition
. By 1980, the SIGWU had 10,000 members, half the country's workforce, and renamed itself the Solomon Islands National Union of Workers.
In 1988, he was one of the founders of the Solomon Islands Labour Party
, born from the National Union of Workers. He became the party leader.
He was first elected to the National Parliament in the 1989 general election
, as MP for the Rennel-Bellona constituency
. He was subsequently re-elected in 1993, 1997 and 2001, but lost his seat in the 2006 election. During those years he was, at different times, Minister for Commerce, Employment, Labour and Industry; Minister for Forestry and Conservation; Leader of the Official Opposition; and Shadow Minister
for Finance. In the early 1990s, as Leader of the Opposition, he criticised Prime Minister Solomon Mamaloni
, "accusing [him] of failing to acknowledge the extent of the country’s financial difficulties", while the Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions
was demanding Mamaloni's resignation for the same reason.
Tuhanuku has been notably outspoken in denouncing corruption
. In 1996, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
described him as "the first ever [Solomon Islands politician] to go public about attempted corruption when he was a minister in the Sir Francis Billy Hilly
Government. He was offered $US3000 by Tony Yeong, an employee of the Berjaya Group
, one of Malaysia's biggest business empires. He refused." Exposed, Yeong resigned and left the country. As Minister for Forestry, in 1994, Tuhanuku "suspended one Malaysian company, Sylvania, from logging near Marovo Lagoon
. The reasons were illegal and highly damaging practices." Later, as an Opposition MP, he described business leaders in the logging industry in the country as "a bunch of crooks". He stated:
During the riots which followed the April 2006 general election
, Tuhanuku claimed that the election had been "corrupted by Taiwan
and business houses owned by Solomon Islanders of Chinese origin [who had] bribe[d] the new members and some of the old members to put up" Snyder Rini
as Prime Minister. Solomon Islands is one of the few countries to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Shortly before the election, in March, he had published an article in the Solomon Star
specifically accusing Taiwan of using corruption "to manipulate and influence the political processes in Solomon Islands, with the sole aim of keeping [Prime Minister] Kemakeza
in office". He added: "The issue in question here is one of national significance. And that is the use of so-called ‘aid’ funds by Republic of China
(Taiwan) to manipulate and compromise the political processes in Solomon Islands".
In 2007, having become Executive Officer of Transparency Solomon Islands (an anti-corruption watchdog affiliated to Transparency International
), Tuhanaku was particularly critical of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare
's government, saying it had not addressed the country's social and economic problems, and had instead done nothing but "waste time with the Attorney-General and the Police Commissioner", in the Julian Moti affair
. As Executive Officer of Transparency Solomon Islands, noting the organisation lacked legal means to compel or constrain the government, he stated his aim was to "educate people to understand the problems and put the pressure on the government".
By 2010, he had become chairman of the Board of Directors of South Pacific Oil, "a company 95 percent owned by the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) which is in turn owned by the workers of Solomon Islands through their NPF contributions". He sought "a full internal investigation into the company's accounts" upon being informed by the company's internal auditor that she suspected its managing director, Mike Hemmer, of misappropriating millions of dollars of funds. Hemmer struck back by accusing Tuhanuku of having sexually assaulted a female manager, drawing media interest to the controversy. Tuhanuku subsequently sacked Hemmer, with the approval of the Board of Directors.
During the 2010 general election
, he once more accused candidates of being funded by logging companies.
Tuhanuku's Australia
n-born wife, Mary-Louise O'Callaghan, is an award-winning journalist. They have four children.
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
politician and former trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader.
Having studied at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology
Papua New Guinea University of Technology
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology or Unitech is based 8 km outside of Lae, in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. It has 13 teaching departments and 3 affiliated colleges....
and then at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, he worked at various times as a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
teacher and as a senior lecturer
Senior lecturer
Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. Especially in research-intensive universities, lecturers lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
and course coordinator at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.
In 1975, he assisted Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu was the fifth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 27 August 1997 to 30 June 2000....
in founding the Solomon Islands General Workers' Union, and replaced him as General Secretary the following year, when Ulufa'alu was elected to the country's first ever Parliament and became its first Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Solomon Islands)
The Leader of the Opposition in Solomon Islands is a Member of Parliament who commands a large minority of his peers, united in loyal opposition to government...
. By 1980, the SIGWU had 10,000 members, half the country's workforce, and renamed itself the Solomon Islands National Union of Workers.
In 1988, he was one of the founders of the Solomon Islands Labour Party
Solomon Islands Labour Party
The Solomon Islands Labour Party is a political party in the Solomon Islands. The party was founded in 1988 by the Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions after the leadership of the union split...
, born from the National Union of Workers. He became the party leader.
He was first elected to the National Parliament in the 1989 general election
Solomon Islands general election, 1989
General elections were held in the Solomon Islands on 22 February 1989. A total of 257 candidates contested the election, the result of which was a victory for the People's Alliance Party, which won 23 of the 38 seats.-Results:...
, as MP for the Rennel-Bellona constituency
Constituencies in Solomon Islands
There are 50 constituencies in Solomon Islands, each electing one Member of Parliament to the National Parliament. Elections are held every four years; the most recent took place on April 5, 2006...
. He was subsequently re-elected in 1993, 1997 and 2001, but lost his seat in the 2006 election. During those years he was, at different times, Minister for Commerce, Employment, Labour and Industry; Minister for Forestry and Conservation; Leader of the Official Opposition; and Shadow Minister
Shadow Cabinet of Solomon Islands
The Shadow Cabinet of Solomon Islands is the parliamentary Opposition's alternative Cabinet in Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands is a Commonwealth realm with a Westminster system of government; the Shadow Cabinet is modelled on the British institution of the same name.The Opposition is formally...
for Finance. In the early 1990s, as Leader of the Opposition, he criticised Prime Minister Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Mamaloni was the second Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands three times:* August 31, 1981 - November 19, 1984* March 28, 1989 - June 18, 1993* November 7, 1994 - August 27, 1997...
, "accusing [him] of failing to acknowledge the extent of the country’s financial difficulties", while the Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions
Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions
The Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions is a national trade union center in the Solomon Islands.It was created in the 1970s by the Solomon Islands General Workers' Union and had membership of over 90% of SI TUs...
was demanding Mamaloni's resignation for the same reason.
Tuhanuku has been notably outspoken in denouncing corruption
Corruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
. In 1996, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
described him as "the first ever [Solomon Islands politician] to go public about attempted corruption when he was a minister in the Sir Francis Billy Hilly
Francis Billy Hilly
Francis Billy Hilly CMG is a Solomon Islands politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 18 June 1993 to 7 November 1994. He represented the Ranogga/Simbo Constituency in the National Parliament from 1976 to 1984, and has represented the constituency again since 1993...
Government. He was offered $US3000 by Tony Yeong, an employee of the Berjaya Group
Berjaya Group
-Corporate Profile:The Berjaya Corporation group of companies’ history dates back to 1984 when the Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun acquired a major controlling stake in Berjaya Industrial Berhad from the founders, Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd, Australia and National Iron & Steel...
, one of Malaysia's biggest business empires. He refused." Exposed, Yeong resigned and left the country. As Minister for Forestry, in 1994, Tuhanuku "suspended one Malaysian company, Sylvania, from logging near Marovo Lagoon
Marovo Lagoon
Marovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world. It is located in the New Georgia Islands, north of Vangunu Island, at .There are many islands in the lagoon, some of which are inhabited. The people live mainly by subsistence agriculture and fishing and speak the Marovo language. The...
. The reasons were illegal and highly damaging practices." Later, as an Opposition MP, he described business leaders in the logging industry in the country as "a bunch of crooks". He stated:
- "In the logging industry bribing people is part of the industry. They have been bribing ministers of the Government. They bribe landowners. They bribe certain chiefs. They bribe our provincial ministers and so on. So bribery is actually part of the logging industry and the reason is that most of these Malaysian logging companies that operate there, probably that is how they do business. In fact the person who tried to offer me some money, he said that their company, it is a practice in the South Pacific, that they usually give some small present to government people who assist them or facilitate what they are doing in the various countries. So, actually it is a practice that is not restricted to Solomon Islands."
During the riots which followed the April 2006 general election
Solomon Islands general election, 2006
General elections were held on 5 April 2006 in the Solomon Islands. No party managed to win more than four of the fifty seats, while thirty seats went to independent candidates. A number of those subsequently formed an Association of Independent Members of Parliament, with Snyder Rini as their leader...
, Tuhanuku claimed that the election had been "corrupted by Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and business houses owned by Solomon Islanders of Chinese origin [who had] bribe[d] the new members and some of the old members to put up" Snyder Rini
Snyder Rini
Snyder Rini is a Solomon Islands politician who was briefly the eighth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from April to May 2006 and has been Minister for Finance and Treasury since December 2007...
as Prime Minister. Solomon Islands is one of the few countries to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Shortly before the election, in March, he had published an article in the Solomon Star
Solomon Star
The Solomon Star is a Solomon Islands daily, English language newspaper, launched on May 25, 1982. It is produced by the Solomon Star Company, whose publisher and director, , is John Lamani. Lamani was also one of the paper's co-founders. The newspaper's editor, , is Ofani Eremae....
specifically accusing Taiwan of using corruption "to manipulate and influence the political processes in Solomon Islands, with the sole aim of keeping [Prime Minister] Kemakeza
Allan Kemakeza
Sir Allan Kemakeza KBE was the seventh Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 2001 to 2006. He represented Savo/Russel Constituency in the National Parliament of Solomon Islands from 1989 to 2010 and was most recently Minister of Forestry December 2007 to August 2010...
in office". He added: "The issue in question here is one of national significance. And that is the use of so-called ‘aid’ funds by Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(Taiwan) to manipulate and compromise the political processes in Solomon Islands".
In 2007, having become Executive Officer of Transparency Solomon Islands (an anti-corruption watchdog affiliated to Transparency International
Transparency International
Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide...
), Tuhanaku was particularly critical of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare
Manasseh Sogavare
Manasseh Damukana Sogavare was the sixth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2007. He has served in the National Parliament as Member for East Choiseul since 1997, and he is currently the Leader of the Opposition.-Biography:Sogavare was Permanent...
's government, saying it had not addressed the country's social and economic problems, and had instead done nothing but "waste time with the Attorney-General and the Police Commissioner", in the Julian Moti affair
Julian Moti
Julian Moti QC CSI is the former Attorney General of the Solomon Islands. He was born in Fiji and educated in Australia.Moti worked as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Bond University on Australia's Gold Coast from 1992, and taught comparative constitutional law, public and private international...
. As Executive Officer of Transparency Solomon Islands, noting the organisation lacked legal means to compel or constrain the government, he stated his aim was to "educate people to understand the problems and put the pressure on the government".
By 2010, he had become chairman of the Board of Directors of South Pacific Oil, "a company 95 percent owned by the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) which is in turn owned by the workers of Solomon Islands through their NPF contributions". He sought "a full internal investigation into the company's accounts" upon being informed by the company's internal auditor that she suspected its managing director, Mike Hemmer, of misappropriating millions of dollars of funds. Hemmer struck back by accusing Tuhanuku of having sexually assaulted a female manager, drawing media interest to the controversy. Tuhanuku subsequently sacked Hemmer, with the approval of the Board of Directors.
During the 2010 general election
Solomon Islands general election, 2010
A general election was held in the Solomon Islands on 4 August 2010. In May 2010, Prime Minister Derek Sikua announced that the election would be held on 4 August, however, this announcement was deemed to be premature, as only the Governor General has the authority to announce the election date...
, he once more accused candidates of being funded by logging companies.
Tuhanuku's Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born wife, Mary-Louise O'Callaghan, is an award-winning journalist. They have four children.