Neu: 2001-09-03 Contents of this issue: 1. Society Contributes 2. Sunshine All The Way 3. Yummy, Yummy 4. Maximum Loads 5. Medical Evacuation 6. Humanitarian Dies 7. Helping Hand 8. Looking Skywards 9. Close Call 10. Rules Skirted 11. On Notice 12. Economic Stall 13. New Business 14. Spreading Wings 15. Slash Hurts ======================================================================== September 3rd, 2001 1. Society Contributes: A last minute donation by the Internet Users Society - Niue has allowed Niue's national rugby coach to attend a coaching course with the Counties Manukau Rugby Club in South Auckland. The society and NZODA have funded Steve McCoy's visit which will provide him with an opportunity to observe the workings of the Counties Manuaku rugby academy and coaching techniques used for the club's senior teams. At one stage it appeared a lack of funding would prevent Steve's visit to New Zealand. "I am really grateful to Internet Niue for its assistance," said Steve on the eve of his departure. Steve who has been coaching Niue's inaugural national XV side which recorded its first win against Tahiti this season in the IRB eastern Oceania pool play off for the World Cup series is in New Zealand for two weeks. "We are really lucky because a Niuean, Ricky Tagelagi is manager of the academy and he's been pushing to get access to improved coaching techniques for us," said Steve a former teacher who know works in his father's petrol station at Alofi.. Mr Tagelagi visited Niue earlier this year to assist with the preparation of the Niue national XV for its international series against the Cook Islands and Tahiti. He also suggested to the Niue Rugby Union a number of ways to encourage younger players to make a commitment to the game. "I think my visit will be beneficial to the game and I am very interested to see how the club encourages younger players and how they coach and administer teams in the NPC and Super 12 tournaments," said Steve. Steve is skilled at getting his players primed for international matches. Opposing team officials have commented publicly on how surprised they were at Niue's fitness levels. Interest in sport is growing among the population of 1750. The island has won a number of medals for powerlifting and body building, has a national XV rugby team and will enter teams in this years South Pacific mini games at Norfolk Island. It has also been granted membership to the Commonwealth Games and will send a team of 11 to Manchester city next year. 2. Sunshine All The Way: Niue's TV weather girl Rossylynn Pulehetoa is predicted to be a top contender for this year's Miss South Pacific pageant title. The vivacious 21 year-old heads off to the venue, Apia Samoa, on October 18. Rossylynn is a meteorologist with the Niue weather office and with a work colleague takes turns at presenting TV Niue's nightly weather reports. Educated at Niue High School and Rotorua Girls High, she is well travelled and has a certificate in meteorology from the Melbourne Bureau of Meteorology. From the eastern village of Liku, Rossylynn works with her father Sionetasi Pulehetoa who is the island's weather office director. To keep in touch with the latest trends in weather reporting Rosslynn has attended courses in Fiji, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States. "I chose to work in meteorology because I like science," she said. "I'm really looking forward to the contest in Apia," Rossylynn said from her office near the Hanan International Airport, Alofi. Rossylynn was runner-up in the 2000 Miss Niue contest and because no pageant was staged this year she was selected to represent her island in Apia. The judges were impressed with her charm,. poise and beauty and the 1750 Niueans resident on the 260 sq km raised atoll 500 kms east of Tonga are betting she'll be up with the winners in the October pageant. This year there will be no contestants from Pacific ethnic groups living in the US, Hawaii, New Zealand or Australia. 3. Yummy, Yummy: Hands up those who like oysters? Most folk in the South Seas would paddle a canoe for miles to get some... preferably fresh from Bluff in New Zealand. A 31-year-old Briton swallowed his way into the record books today by opening and eating 97 oysters in three minutes to claim the title of world champion. "The trick was to swallow straight away, don't chew t hem and don't put too many at once in your mouth," carpenter John Wright from Chertsey, in the southern English county of Surrey, told Reuters after the event. "Once it was all over I had to have a Mars bar," he added, admitting to having started the day with a burger breakfast. The Guinness Book of Records confirmed he would receive his certificate once his feat had been double-checked. The previous record holder was James Arney, of north London, who ate 64 in three minutes last year. The Scottish oysters came from Loch Fyne, in Argyll, and each weighed between 79g and 90g. 4. Maximum Loads: Royal Tongan Airlines twice weekly flights in and out of Niue are now loaded to maximum capacity. Around 50 passengers are week are reported to be moving in and out of Niue resulting in a build up of mail and freight in Tonga. Royal Tongan Airlines operates its Shorts 360 from Tonga to Niue return on Tuesdays and Fridays and is pleased with the full flights.However because of limited baggage capacity the Shorts is unable to carry additional mail and airfreight. Niue's contractual arrangements with Royal Tongan Airlines will be up for renewal next month. 5. Medical Evacuation: A woman Peace Corp worker on Niue has been evacated to Hawai'i after becoming sick on the isolated island. She was flown to Tonga and then to Honolulu. Peace Corp officials in Tonga arranged for the evacuation. The woman is reported to be in a stable condition. 6. Humanitarian Dies: Lloyd Morgan, the only New Zealander to have led the 1.4 million-strong Lions Clubs International, has died in Tauranga New Zealand, aged 7. Mr Morgan was International President of Lions Club International in 1979-80 and was actively involved in the club and in community work for more than 40 years. As patron of the Lloyd Morgan Lions Charitable Trust - set up in his honour in 1980 - he helped raise millions of dollars for charitable causes in New Zealand and the South Pacific. The trust has supported hundreds of projects, from being a major funder for New Zealand's liver transplant unit, through to providing a wheelchair for a paraplegic in Tuvalu. Between 1962 and 1967 he held almost every top position in the organisation in New Zealand, from club president to chairman of Lions in New Zealand and the South Pacific. 8. Helping Hand: Nauruans are a caring people and this is why they are helping asylum-seekers stranded aboard a Norwegian ship, Nauru's President Rene Harris said yesterday. "Nauru has put its hand up to assist the people on the Tampa," said President Harris. He was explaining Nauru's decision to temporarily house people now aboard the container ship off Australia's Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean and the centre of an international diplomatic row. Nauru has agreed in principle to assist Australia out of the crisis by providing temporary accommodation for the processing of around 300 of the 460 mainly Afghani refugees. Australia is covering the cost of the operation and is also believed providing the cash-strapped Nauru Government some compensation.(PINA Nius). 9. Looking Skywards: Niuean weather forecasters are participating in a Japanese funded five-year project to train regional meteorologists, with annual courses at the Fiji Meteorological Service. The first of the month-long courses is at Nadi International Airport in western Fiji and will be official opened tomorrow by Japan's Ambassador Hisato Murayama. Governments of nine Pacific Islands countries have been invited to send participants to Fiji - Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The course will upgrade techniques in meteorological observations, instrumentation, communication and cyclone forecasting and warning. (PINA Nius). 10. Close Call: An Air New Zealand jet with 176 passengers and crew came within 10 seconds of landing in the sea off Samoa - about 3500m short of the runway. The Civil Aviation Authority has launched a major investigation into the incident in which disaster was averted by the pilots who pulled up the plane about 200-300m from the ocean. The Boeing 767 was being guided into Apia's Faleolo Airport by a faulty signal from the ground-based instrument landing system. The flight crew realised their peril with the help of other navigation systems and when they saw the ocean looming out the cockpit windows. "At the lowest point of the approach the aircraft was 10 seconds from hitting the sea," said CAA spokesman Martyn Gosling. The incident - details of which have been uncovered by the Sunday Star-Times - happened last year but has been cited in a push for new equipment on New Zealand aircraft to avoid disasters such as the Mt Erebus DC10 crash in 1979 and the Dash-8 accident near Palmerston North in 1995. The CAA cautioned all pilots after the incident and said its yet-to-be-completed investigation would have major implications internationally. 11. Rules Skirted: Niuean investors hope to hastily revive the tiny South Pacific island's ailing tourist infrastructure by taking up a lease of the unoccupied Niue Hotel - bypassing New Zealand legal requirements in the process. John Andrews, a Pacific correspondent reports in the New Zealabnd Herald that their move came after an Auckland company's agreement to lease the Government-owned hotel appeared to have fallen through. A group led by Niue politician and businessman Toke Talagi wants to raise $100,000 to resurrect the hotel. Talagi said speed was essential if the hotel was to be ready in time for visitors attending the island's centenary celebrations in mid-October. The group had formed a tentatively named "Niue Investment Company", hoping to register it in Niue this week. By issuing 100 $1000 shares, the "company" planned to raise enough funds to get the project under way. At least 40 Niueans had expressed interest in investing in the share issue before its Wednesday deadline. "The issue of shares is common in the Western world but this is the first time this has been done on Niue," said Talagi. He agreed that the group's "share issue" bypassed the New Zealand legal framework in meeting company establishment requirements. "We have gone ahead with the issue because we have a deadline to meet if we are going to get the hotel up and running by October, as the Premier [Sani Lakatani] has asked," he said. "We are using Niue's legal jurisdiction and will place all shares in trust. In the meantime, we will proceed with finalising the lease with the Niue Government. "Legally, under New Zealand [law], we cannot do what we are doing." Talagi said: "I have been extremely careful with what we are doing because it could jeopardise registration in New Zealand. I am sure we can overcome it." The "company" plans to advertise for a hotel manager in the next few days. Tourism on Niue, a self-governing island in free association with New Zealand, has been in the doldrums since mid-March, when Royal Tongan Airlines withdrew its weekly, direct Auckland-Niue service. However, Auckland publican Reg Newcombe is confident that a direct air service will resume before Christmas, and believes island tourism could be revived. Through his company, South Pacific Hotel Management, he wants to establish a tandem accommodation venture by leasing the hotel and Niue's only resort, the Matavai. Negotiations seemingly sputtered to an end on Friday. Newcombe and fellow company directors had sought a loan of $100,000 from the bank, but baulked at the bank's requirement for mortgages on shareholders' properties in New Zealand. Newcombe said he had not received official word from the bank on the sticking point. "Obviously the Premier thinks it [the company's signed, conditional lease] has fallen through. My word to him was that the bank was not prepared to bend and, if that is right, we will turn it down." He believes Lakatani had taken his comment as fact, called the bank and said the deal was off. Newcombe said his company still had a deal with the Niue Government to take up the lease of the Matavai within six months. (NZ Herald). 12. On Notice: New Zealand's growing community of Internet users has been put on notice of good behaviour with a landmark court judgement awarding $42,000 against a website contributor for defamation. The penalty, for statements placed on an electronic newsgroup and e-mail list, has raised immediate complaints by Internet users that their freedom of speech in website newsgroups could be affected. In a reserved judgement in Palmerston North District Court, finding Manawatu Internet Service director Alan Brown guilty of defamation, Judge Gregory Ross issued a strong warning to Internet users to be wary of their language - or face the legal consequences. "I know of no forum in which an individual citizen has the freedom to say what he likes and in any manner he wishes about another individual citizen with immunity from suit for all consequences," Judge Ross said. "Merely because the publication is being made to cyberspace does not alter this. I am not aware of any precedent for Internet-type material deriving protections from action in the tort of defamation. "There can be no question that publication on the Internet counts as publication for defamation purposes." The action was taken by Patrick O'Brien, formerly chief executive of the New Zealand Internet Registry, trading as Domainz, a company providing the central domain name registry service for the code "nz". Mr Brown's company was an Internet service provider, acting as an agent in submitting registration details through Domainz. The judgment said the defamation took place after a third party posted a criticism of Domainz procedures. Mr O'Brien had taken umbrage at the criticism, but the matter appeared to be resolved after an apology. But then Mr Brown posted a statement on the same site. In receipt of a lawyer's letter seeking costs, an apology and a correction, he then posted another statement. Mr Brown made two further postings, drawing attention to his stance and version of events. He claimed defences of truth, honest opinion and qualified privilege. But Judge Ross said Mr Brown was "grossly mistaken" if he believed he was entitled to greater freedom of expression on the Internet than in other publications. Not only had Mr Brown used a site where the comments were far more likely to be seen by the plaintiff's colleagues and customers - with World Wide Web accessibility - but he had failed to stop when notice of the proceedings was served on him. Awarding Mr O'Brien general damages of $30,000, Judge Ross said he had been injured "but perhaps not greatly so". But he found that Mr Brown had shown a "reckless audacity" and an "outrageous" conduct toward Mr O'Brien, which warranted further punitive damages of $12,000. 13. Economic Stall: Information about Guam's economy has been hampered by political fighting and an exodus of government employees, according to a bank economist. "It has interrupted the flow of public information that is critical to the evolution of a dynamic market and to the territory's capacity to attract private capital and skills," a report prepared by Bank of Hawaii economist Wali Osman states. Osman said the availability of economic information has been disrupted by staff shortages due to early retirements in the government of Guam and because of disagreements between government officials about what is critical information. As an example, Osman said, the Department of Commerce no longer has an economist on its payroll. "When he left, that function was discontinued," Osman said during a news conference yesterday. "When that person left, there was nobody else to compile the information that used to be compiled... The conflict here in the last couple of years -- or the last couple of elections -- has generated some problems with information." A mass exodus of government of Guam employees took place in late 1999 and early 2000 after lawmakers offered early retirement and early out incentives in order to reduce government payroll. A hiring freeze implemented by lawmakers in fiscal 2000 prevented the administration from hiring anyone but teachers, police officers, nurses and certain positions at mental health and at the attorney general's office.(PIR) 14. New Business: Avatele Village at the south of Niue has a new shop. Resident Avi Reuben has opened an ice cream palour and video rental shop next to his new home. It brings the number of video shops on the island to three.Mr Reuben says he'll be importing dvd's and players in the near future. 15. Spreading Wings: American Samoa's Samoa Air should be adding a third 19-passenger Twin Otter to its fleet by early October in time for the White Sunday weekend. This is a heavily-travelled period which tends to triple the number of flights between the two Samoas. Samoa Air currently has two Twin-Otter aircraft and serves the Manu'a Island group, Samoa (Fagali'i and Faleolo Airports on Upolu and Maota Airport in services to Niue from American Samoa using a King Air and a Twin Otter.PINA Nius Online). 16. Slash Hurts: Niue's tourism marketing dollars have been cut this year and the Cook Islands government has followed suit.The Cooks government has effectively cut the marketing dollars to 25 percent below what it promised to allocate when elected. Outgoing chairman of the Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council, Robert Skews, says the council has expressed "considerable disappointment" that the government and the MFEM budgetary advisers have failed to recognize the role the industry plays in the Cook Islands economy. "The industry is disappointed but realizes that there is little they can do to change the budget," said Skews who heads the well established highly successful Island Hopper Vacations inbound tour operation in Rarotonga.. "It is evident that our politicians need a lot more convincing of the real benefits that tourism brings to this country and that the shopkeeper in Arorangi, the grower in Titikaveka, the local fisherman, the taxi driver or the hotel cleaner are all benefiting from the boom in the industry. "The tax take from the stronger economy brought about by tourism growth is financing the allocations made to health, education, culture and so on. "It is unfortunate that the machine driving the economy is not being given the fuel to sustain growth," said Skews.(PIR) __END__
