By Michael Morrah
The former Transport Minister who resigned just days after the sinking of the Tongan ferry, Princess Ashika, has accepted that he made mistakes but had tried to carry out his duties to the best of his ability.
It's the first time Paul Karalus, originally from Taranaki, has made such a concession.
He has lived in Tonga for 44 years. He has a background in managing airlines in the Pacific and was the Transport Minister for the former Tongan Government.
He quit just days after the Ashika sank almost two years ago, saying he wanted to be seen as not influencing any investigations.
"There is no way that politicians should in any way influence the decisions of technical people,” he says.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster criticised Karalus, who told ministers due diligence had been carried out on the Ashika, and that the ship "met seaworthiness and mechanical requirements".
That was never the case, but he never accepted he made errors.
At his home this afternoon, he changed his tune.
“I think in the hustle and bustle....yes. I think one would have to say certainly in hindsight," he says.
He says there was pressure to find a replacement for the previous ferry, the MV Olavaha, and the Princess Ashika was seen as the solution.
"In the circumstances, given the equipment and personnel one had, one did what one thought was his very best," he says.
Karalus maintains he never knew the Ashika was unseaworthy because he was relying on the judgements of other experts.
Police didn't charge Karalus, but his close acquaintance and the boss of the shipping company, fellow Kiwi John Jonesse, will be sentenced for manslaughter by negligence tomorrow.
Karalus says he isn't about to return to politics and is currently focussing on rebuilding Nuku'alofa after the 2006 riots.
But it's clear the events of August 5 2009 are never far from his thoughts.
But while he has regrets about the disaster, he can work through them in freedom, unlike Jonesse and three others who will find out their fates tomorrow.
3 News
source: newshub archive
