[3] Between 1981 and 1988 he lectured in economics at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji.

He later worked as Director of the Pacific Islands Development Programme at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

[3] While working at the East-West Center he developed a conflict-resolution system based on the Polynesian practice of Talanoa, which he has applied in the Cook Islands, Fiji, and Tonga.

[5] He subsequently blamed Prime Minister Feleti Sevele's "hijacking" of the report for the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots.

[8] He subsequently announced he would campaign as an independent in the 2014 election,[9] but ultimately chose not to stand.