Neu: 2001-09-06 Contents of this issue: 1. Nothing Shifty 2. Airline in Trouble 3. Power Outage 4. Saying Hello 5. Hiapo Revival 6. New Gear 7. Good Going 8. Vote Rigging Claim ======================================================================== September 6th, 2001 1. Nothing Shifty: Niue Hotel lease promoters believe their fund raising scheme is an opportunity for island residents to show they do not have to rely on the New Zealand Government handouts, reports John Andrews, Pasifika Times correspondent They've invited Niueans to buy $1000 shares in a company being formed to lease the unoccupied hotel and resurrect it in time for the tiny South Pacific Island's centenary celebrations next month.Mark Cross, an interim director in the tentatively named Niue Investment Company, said it was a chance for Niueans to prove to New Zealand that "we can be self-reliant and have the ability to be masters of our own destination." He told Pasifika Times: "This is a chance for Niue to get its act together and put their money and energies where their mouth is, to prove to New Zealand that we can be self-reliant and have the ability to be the masters of our own destination. "It will take a lot of work but if the capital is there, we have something to work on. There will be natural accountability because it will not be built on handout money, but that of our friends and family." Toke Talagi, a politician, businessman and interim company chairman, said earlier that more than 40 people had expressed interest in buying some of the 100 shares his group planned to issue --- an indication to Wellington what Niueans were prepared to do."Under the most dire circumstances, Niueans are still prepared to put up their own money and invest in Niuean projects," he said. "Here they are keen to do something to help the country. We are trying to do something positive. "We are not trying to do something crooked," he said, referring to a New Zealand Herald report that in hoping to hastily revive Niue's ailing tourist infrastructure, Niuean investors were bypassing New Zealand legal requirements. "We are trying to assure people that we are not trying to take the money and run. "We are not trying to do anything shifty. I do not want to be associated with anything like that," he said. "We are not trying to circumvent any New Zealand laws. Everything is done in Niue and I believe we are within our rights to do so." Mr Talagi said funds raised would be held in trust and transferred to the company once registered in New Zealand. If the project did not proceed, then investors would get their money back. Speed was essential if the hotel was to be ready for next month's expected visitor influx. "When we apply for New Zealand company registration we will certainly comply with New Zealand company laws and we will be using New Zealand legal assistance to do that" His group's interest in taking up the Niue Government-owned hotel lease followed the apparent demise of a leasing deal with an Auckland company headed by publican Reg Newcombe who, with his wife Annette, managed the hotel for seven years in the 1990s. After interim directors of the proposed company met on Wednesday, Mr Talagi said that, while he was not prepared to reveal how many investors had expressed interest in taking up shares in the venture, he was "very satisfied with the response, given the time frames." He told Pasifika Times that interim directors would meet potential investors at the hotel late this week to present plans then the government to discuss lease options. 2. Airline in Trouble: New Caledonia's domestic airline Air Calédonie (locally known as AirCal) is on the verge of liquidation in the light of its latest losses totalling close to US3 million. The main causes for the adverse situation are said to be higher fuel prices and an unfavourable exchange rate to the US dollar, which also impacted the operating cost of airplanes. Shareholders are scheduled to hold their annual general meeting on September 3. 4. Power Outage: Niue residents in the western and north eastern parts of the island could face power cuts during the next three weeks, warns the Niue Power corporation. This week power between Makefu -Mutalau and Lakepa went down for nine hours after a cable fault blew out a transformer. Power reticulation workers are trying to trace the fault which is believed to be located in a 2.8km stretch of underground cable between Liku and Lakepa. A Power Corporation spokesperson says it could take several weeks to trace the fault.Meanwhile, households in the areas have had power resumed. Niue's underground cable laid in 1975 needs replacing and the cost could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. The government has not budgeted for cable maintenance this year - instead it relies on aid from Australia and New Zealand. 5. Saying Hello: On island this week Malaysia's High Commissioner to NZ and Niue Zato Zulkifly to present his credentials to the Niue Government.He has been holding talks with the Cabinet on bilateral assistance and co-operation. 6. Hiapo Revival: Attempts are being made to revive the ancient art of hiapo-or tapa making- on Niue. A special workshop run by Pia Tanakai, Mark and Ahi Cross has generated a lot of interest from local women who have over the past few days been treating and beating the bark of the Ata tree. Hiapo making was abandoned by Niueans after the arrival of the missionaries in the 1860's. In the past three decades small pieces of hiapo have been made by Tongans living on Niue, some of the pieces have been displayed in international museum collections. 7. New Gear: Televise Samoa has received a hi-tech boost with editing equipment, digital cameras, microphones and a computer made possible with Japanese aid. Televise Samoa chief executive Leota Uelese Petaia said the new editing facilities mean the current production deadline for assembling material for the 8 p.m. news now can be extended from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Under the aid project, a Japanese technician also was made available to install the new equipment and train staff.(PINA Nius). 8. Good Going: The number of New Zealand Internet domains - web addresses ending in the suffix ".nz" - topped 100,000 at the end of August. Not every address is attached to a working website and some sites boast more than one address, so there are fewer than 100,000 ".nz" websites. But the milestone is good news for Domainz, the non-profit organisation which manages New Zealand's cyberspace. It collects annual fees for each registered address. Continuing high demand for ".nz" addresses has allowed Domainz to cut registration fees while returning hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of contributions to its sole shareholder, InternetNZ - formerly known as the Internet Society of New Zealand (IsocNZ). 9. Vote Rigging Claim: Ousted prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry has threatened a legal challenge to Fiji's elections which are expected to deliver an indigenous Fijian coalition, including coup leader George Speight, to power. Chaudhry, whose mainly Indian Fiji Labour Party may only finish second in the election, said there had been massive vote-rigging in the poll. He blamed the party of his indigenous Fijian rival Laisenia Qarase, the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) for planting officials in polling booths to distort votes. Chaudhry said corruption may have cost his party as many as five seats, and he was considering High Court action to challenge results in some seats. Qarase and Fiji election officials rejected the accusation. Chaudhry, who lost office last year in Speight's armed uprising and was then held hostage for eight weeks, made the claims as it became clear he would be defeated in the election. ( NZPA). __END__
