6th August, 2018 TONGAN The Prime Minister, Hon Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva, said “Thank you!” to the people of the Queensland town of Mundubbera when he met with their Deputy Mayor, Cr. Faye Whelan, at the Prime Minister’s Office on 2 August 2018.
Deputy Mayor Whelan is currently in Tonga from 31 July -7 August to distribute food items, medical and school supplies and some hardware which the people of Mundubbera had raised funds for in order to help families and communities in Tonga that are struggling to recover from the destruction inflicted on their homes and livelihood by Tropical Cyclone Gita in February.
The Hon Prime Minister said, “I deeply appreciate your leadership Cr. Whelan in getting the people of Mundubbera to donate money towards the purchase of the relief and humanitarian supplies that you have brought to distribute amongst our people. Please tell the people of Mundubbera that the Government and people of Tonga really appreciate their kindness. Thank you very much!”
Mundubbera is a small town in Queensland with a population of 1,261 people in the North Bennett Region approximately 400 kilometres north-west of the state capital, Brisbane. It is the self-proclaimed “Citrus Capital” of Queensland, but according to the Deputy Mayor, they also cultivate mangoes, blueberry and table grapes.
Deputy Mayor Whelan also said that the first Tongan seasonal workers arrived in Mundubbera in 2009. There were 30 of them. Today there are 300 Tongan seasonal workers in Mundubbera in addition to the 15 or so Tongan families who live there permanently.
She also said that the people of Mundubbera are indebted to the Tongan seasonal workers because in 2013 the Bennet River overflowed its banks and flooded Mundubbera with one-third of the town under water. “It was the Tongan seasonal workers that helped evacuate the people and their belongings from their flooded homes. Without their help we would have been in big trouble”, she said.
In thanking the Hon Prime Minister for receiving her, Deputy Mayor said, “When we heard about Tropical Cyclone Gita, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we help?’ What my team and I have brought with us is but a small token of our appreciation for the contribution of the Tongan seasonal workers and local Tongans to Mundubbera. In a way it is our way of reciprocating their love for Mundubbera and its people.”
The assistance from the people of Mundubbera is being distributed to villagers in Popua, Patangata, Nukuleka and a kindergarten in Ma’ufanga on the advice of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the office of the Tonga High Commissioner in Canberra.
ENDS
Issued by the: The Prime Minister’s Office, P.O. Box 62, Nuku’alofa, Tonga. Tel: (676) 24 644 Fax: (676) 23 888; For media enquiries- Email: pressoffice@pmo.gov.to