Tialavea Tionisio Hunt

Tialavea Fea Leniu Tionisio Hunt is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister. He represents the electorate of Vaa o Fonoti and is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.

Tialavea Tionisio Hunt
Minister of Police
Assumed office
26 March 2020
Prime MinisterTuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
Preceded byTuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
Minister of Prisons
Assumed office
30 June 2016
Preceded bySala Fata Pinati
Minister of Customs & Revenue
Assumed office
18 March 2016
Preceded byTuiloma Pule Lameko
Member of the Samoa Parliament
for Vaa o Fonoti
Assumed office
4 March 2011
Preceded byTuitama Talalelei Tuitama
Personal details
Political partyHuman Rights Protection Party

Hunt was educated at St. Peters school in Falefa, Marist Brothers Mulivai and St Josephs College, Lotopa.[1] he worked in printing and construction before becoming a member of the board of the Samoa Shipping Corporation and the Development Bank of Samoa.[1] He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa at the 2011 Samoan general election, and appointed Associate Minister of Finance and Associate Minister of Police and Prisons.[1]

Following the 2016 election Hunt was appointed as Minister of Revenue.[2] A cabinet reshuffle in June 2016 saw him gain the prisons and corrections portfolio.[3] In June 2017 he was responsible for a controversial policy to tax church ministers.[4] When churches refused to pay, he threatened to seize their assets.[5] Ministers were subsequently prosecuted for failing to pay tax,[6] and taxes were deducted from bank accounts.[7]

In September 2017 he advocated for the deportation of foreigners convicted of crimes in Samoa.[8] later that year he opposed the repatriation of Samoans convicted in American Samoa.[9] In early 2018 he faced calls to resign after he released a prisoner to attend a matai ceremony.[10][11]

In March 2020 Hunt was given responsibility for the Police as well as his existing Corrections portfolio.[12] In July 2020 he called for judicial corporal punishment for rapists.[13] In August 2020 he defended using prison inmates as unpaid labour for "personal projects" such as clearing land belonging to his family.[14]

References
  1. "Honourable Tialavea Fea Leniu Tionisio Hunt". Government of Samoa. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. "Former Samoa deputy PM left out of cabinet". RNZ. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  3. "Samoa PM reshuffles his cabinet". RNZ. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. "Samoa to tax head of state and church ministers". RNZ. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  5. "Pay up or assets will be seized - Samoa govt to church ministers". RNZ. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. "More Samoa church ministers face charges over tax". RNZ. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  7. "Samoa ministers' tax arrears deducted from back accounts". RNZ. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  8. "Samoa push to deport foreign convicts". RNZ. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  9. "Samoa opposes American Samoa prisoner repatriation". RNZ. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  10. "Samoan prisoner released to attend matai ceremony". RNZ. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  11. "Call for Samoa's Minister of Prisons to resign". RNZ. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  12. "Samoa police and prison portfolio now under one Minister". RNZ. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  13. "Samoan minister calls for corporal punishment". RNZ. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  14. Joyetter Feagaimaali'i (5 August 2020). "Police Minister defends use of prisoners". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 24 November 2020.


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