Neu: 2002-04-17 Contents of this issue:
1. Rising Rate 2. Niue Neglected? 3. What's Next ======================================================================== April 17th, 2002 1. Rising Rate: The oceans around New Zealand are warming faster than the global average and the rate at which the sea level is rising - up to 2 millimetres a year - is showing signs of increasing. Niue, 2000kms to the north is not considered to be affected by the phenomena. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research figures issued this week show that during the past 10 years water temperatures have risen about .3 degrees celsius - a level of increase not seen since the 1930s. The oceans around New Zealand warmed in the 1900s and 1930s, but cooled between 1973 and 1992 before the present sharp jump, indicating a complex warming pattern. This follows, but is not always in step with, a global trend upward. According to the institute, the average ocean temperature around New Zealand increased about 1 degree during the past century. The global average is .6C. Institute scientist Craig Stevens said the lower temperatures around New Zealand during the early 1980s were caused by stronger and more frequent El Nino climate spells. El Nino and La Nina events caused the temperature of the tropical ocean to fluctuate by as much as 4C, and the temperature around New Zealand to fluctuate by a smaller amount in the opposite way.(The Dominion). 1. Niue Neglected?: The two most overwhelming priorities for the Niuean community, both in Niue and New Zealand , are Transport and Economic Development, says a report on Sustaining Niue as a Living Community released this week. " Air link is considered as the main bottleneck that hinders the further progress of Niue. The air link issue has even become a psychological strain to Niueans aspirations and plans for development. In the eyes of the local people these two issues require addressing urgently and there are high expectations on the outcomes of these study regarding this two goals," states the report. "Besides these two goals, the New Zealand Niuean community considers it a main priority to strengthen the relationship of Niueans in Niue and New Zealand. At present there is a general feeling of neglect from the Niue and New Zealand Government." The report says the main strengths of Niue are its village communities and also its spiritual and cultural values, especially those that foster unity and connectedness in the villages. Another strength is the love for the land and the sea that enhances the economic development opportunities for these traditional . 2. What's Next: New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants Niue's Sustainable Living Community Report to go a step further. It has proposed that the second phase of the study carried out by Nina Perez and Stewart Hadfield "will involve the establishment of a group in Niue representative of all elements of society to develop, with the help of a number of constitutional, economic and social facilitators one or more 'home-grown' models of governance and economic and social development relevant to the Niue of today and designed to support the attainment of the living community goal". Niue is governed by a 20 member Legislative Assembly. The island has a dwindling population of 1400 Niueans and 300 expatriates.The first phase of the Living Community established that a constitutional review committee concluded that local people feel ".the special constitutional and political relationship between New Zealand and Niue and the way it has operated since 1974 has otherwise been successful and satisfying for those who remain in Niue". Niueans have expressed a need for action. The researchers noted that during phase one most people interviewed on the island expressed their frustration towards meetings that, in their view, only produced reports with recommendations that were never implemented. The researchers propose Niueans discuss the design of "home-grown" models of governance and take into account " the growing apathy of local people to meetings, especially for those Niueans who work outside the public sector. __END__
