Neu: 2001-09-07 Contents of this issue: 1. Live Call 2. Medical Alert 3. No Outright Winner 4. Cooks Crackdown 5. Matavai Resort Rescue - Package Revealed 6. Switch Off 7. Tonga coach 8. Thirsty Wait 9. WEATHER WATCH 10. THIS WEEK ======================================================================== September 7th, 2001 1. Live Call: With a bit of luck Niue rugby fans will get more All Black rugby live. NZ viewers look set to see live All Black rugby on free-to-air television again with TVNZ expected to get the nod to broadcast the year-end tests in Ireland, Scotland and Argentina in November. TelstraSaturn - the Wellington-based company which offers voice, data, mobile, Internet and cable TV services and has about 25,000 subscribers - in January won the rights to the matches, including three tests, after paying an estimated $3 million. It was expected to show the rugby on a new nationwide satellite service through a deal that shared digital TV infrastructure with TVNZ. The State-owned broadcaster was given the delayed rights. However, last month TelstraSaturn put its digital plans on ice saying it would be pursuing other options. At the time TelstraSaturn chief executive Jack Matthews promised that all New Zealand viewers would still have access to see the matches - the inference being the live games would be offered to another broadcaster. TelstraSaturn spokeswoman Deanne Weir said yesterday the company would make an announcement in a few weeks. 2. Medical Alert: Drama on the high seas off Niue. An Australian yacht Bifrost is heading towards Alofi today with a sick skipper on board.The yacht is being sailed by his wife. Two young children are also on board. An attempt by the crew of a US and English yacht to board Bifrost and provide assistance to the skipper and his wife was foiled due to 25 kt winds and high seas 140 miles north east of Niue. However the rescue yachts managed to float medical supplies to the Bifrost which is due to anchor at Niue between 9pm and midnight tonight. Assistance to Bifrost was co-ordinated by Irishman Pat Murphy from his yacht Aldebaran anchored at Niue. He said a call for assistance was made by Bifrost at 7am yesterday by the skipper's wife. The yacht is en route from BoraBora and it is thought the skipper may have dengue fever which is prevalent in French Polynesia. Mr Murphy said it would have taken four hours to get a nearby ship to reach the Bifrost so two yachts anchored at Beveridge Reef offered to help. The yachts are accompanying Bifrost to Niue. Medical advice was relayed to the sick skipper through a marine radio network in New Zealand. 3. No Outright Winner: Fiji's indigenous caretaker prime minister Laisenia Qarase won the most seats in the country's post-coup elections on Friday, but fell short of an outright majority to govern the racially split nation. Qarase, who has said he is ready to form a new coalition government and is holding talks with independents and minor parties including that of coup leader George Speight, won 31 seats in the 71-seat parliament. Deposed ethnic Indian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who was toppled by Speight in the name of indigenous rights in 2000, won 27 seats. In a surprise result, Speight's extreme nationalist Conservative Alliance won six seats, leaving it a possible partner in Fiji's new coalition government. But Qarase has won enough seats to form a coalition without relying on Speight's party, which has demanded his release from prison as a condition of its support. Fiji was calm on Friday as the South Pacific nation's protracted election and vote count came to an end.(Reuters). 4. Cooks Crackdown: All new foreign investment applications in Cook Islands are being suspended. This comes while the agency responsible for processing submissions falls under the spotlight of investigation by a Cabinet-appointed review team. Government finally took the step that many had been waiting for this week by deciding to take decisive action over an increasing level of criticism about foreign businesses and the procedures of the Development Investment Board. Cabinet approved the appointment of a four-member team, the Deputy Prime Minister explained, headed by Don Beer Jr. as Chairman. The other members identified to undertake the review of all the functions are Teariki Heather, Marjorie Crocombe, and Brian Mason. At the centre of the concerns is the role and functions performed by Development Investment Board, which will now be subjected to scrutiny over the direction it has taken. Efforts will also be focused on the way Development Investment Board provides approvals to foreign businesses to develop and expand without introducing fresh resources. Tapping into local bank loans and even applying for aid funds is not classified as foreign investment, say many locals. 5. Matavai Resort Rescue - Package Revealed A Niue government rescue package which bailed out the Matavai Resort from insolvency terminated on August 3. A report from NZ Auditor-General David Macdonald said the rescue agreement waived interest charges and principal repayments on a $2.4million facility loan agreement for 12 months from August 4 2000. Included in the deal which was signed by the Government of Niue, Matavai Resort Ltd, the Niue Development Bank and two private shareholders Russell Kars and Hima Takelesi, was a clause that other Niue Government loans to Matavai would not be repayable in full or in part before August 3 2001. The Government also made an interest free advance to the extent that Matavai Resort had creditor balances owing to various government departments and a provision of comfort by the government in that it would meet $137,097 in debts owed to third party creditors that Matavai could not afford to pay. The Auditor General reported that the rescue agreement provided for a reviewed reassessment of Matavai Resort's financial circumstances on July 1 2001 with a view to determining the future strategy for the capital and debt structure of the company. In 1999 the Matavai Resort had a net deficit of $112,423. the Auditor General said the "causes of the company's lack of profitability are well known" and he considered they did not have to be repeated in the Audit NZ 1999 report to the Legislative Assembly. The report was tabled in the Assembly last week. 6. Switch Off: Niue is experiencing problems with its aging underground power cables. Earlier this week the northern sector of the island was wthout power for up to nine hours. Power corporation officials warn that ther could be further outages over the next two weeks as worekers attempt to trace faults in a 2.8km stretch between Liku and Lakepa. The Cook islands is also in trouble.One of Rarotonga's two power generators is literally cracking up and an extended power blackout, which would bring the island and economy to a standstill, could possibly happen. Government believes one of the generators, bought with NZ$ 14.5 million (US$ 6,275,919) borrowed from the French government in 1991, to be faulty. The French-made generators have given Te Aponga Uira problems almost from the day they were turned on in 1992. Now Te Aponga Uira is threatening to sue Wartsila, the French suppliers, if the matter can't be resolved by negotiation. Sources say water has leaked into the pistons through cracks. Each time this has happened to the generator, it has had to be turned off. If a failure in the good generator occurred at the same time as a leak in the faulty one, then both would have to be turned off leaving Rarotonga with insufficient generating capacity to meet all demands. It is likely that there would be partial shutdowns or rolling blackouts as a result. A specialized welder has had to be flown in by Te Aponga from New Zealand each time the cracks have become big enough to allow water to seep into the generators. "If both engines break down, that would mean power cuts and that it's not good for our reputation as a tourist destination," says Kevin Carr.(Cook Islands News /PIR) 7. Tonga coach: New Zealand Maori assistant coach Jim Love has been appointed Tonga's coach until the end of the 2003 rugby World Cup. His contract closely follows that of former All Black John Kirwan's, who has been contracted as Italy's assistant coach through to the cup. Another former All Black Brad Johnstone is Italy's coach. Both appointments are supported by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), who earlier approved John Boe's appointment as Samoa's coach. "Both Jim and John (Kirwan) have got a lot to offer and we've no doubts that they will prove invaluable assets to Tonga and Italy," said Steve Tew, NZRFU's general manager of rugby. (NZPA) 8. Thirsty Wait: Public bar and night-club owners on Niue can't wait for the arrival of the cargo ship MV Southern Express on Monday. The bars which have been closed for over a week are waiting for a container load of beer so they can re-open their doors.. The government bond store - sole distributor of liquor on the island - failed to receive new stocks of beer three weeks ago and beer supplies ran out. One bar owner Kendrick Viviani of Pacific Way closed his doors last week and is angry at the government's oversight. He says he has lost a lot of money due to the closure. Meanwhile. the island's only night-club closed down for several nights but at the weekend plans to open selling wine and spirits only. One bar, Sails has managed to stay open thanks to contributions to the bar from private supplies of patrons.the owners say they'll replace the patrons beer when the boat comes in. "Its a silly situation because we nearly ran out of beer last month.One would think the bond store would have a standing order with breweries in New Zealand. If the government can't cope with ordering they should privatise the bond store. "Bars lose money staff get laid off and its a bad image for visitors," said a bar manager. The Minister in charge of the Bond Store Premier Sani Lakatani told Niue TV News that he understood the bond staff had ordered supplies of beer but it never turned up on the last cargo ship.TV News reported that the bond store manager Hank Head did not want to discuss the shortage. 9. WEATHER WATCH 10. THIS WEEK a typical late winter ridge of High pressure moved slowly from E to W across Niue. As isobars began to squeeze together, SE trades increased gradually until by Thursday rough seas were being churned by near gale force wind gusts offshore. Powder dry air and mostly clear skies should have enabled warm afternoons and quite cool nights. However, a round the clock breeze from Wednesday kept the atmosphere near the ground well mixed vertically so second blankets before dawn were probably not needed. THE WEEKEND should see winds diminish as the ridge moves off to the east. However, growers are advised to use caution burning as humidity should remain low and the windsock partially stiff to the 15 knot mark on Saturday afternoon. Clouds look to gradually increase as a trough containing a weak cold front approaches from Tonga. Temperatures could climb a degree or two but a comfortable snooze still appears feasible any hour. NEXT WEEK an upper-air disturbance is forecast by NOGAPS to cross Niue from the west by Wednesday with an associated weak cold front predicted to be east of us by Thursday. Scattered showers are likely by Monday with a higher probability of rain day by day until the weekend. Mild temperatures. Generally light winds say the computer models.(Thanks to Darrell Spatz private forecaster resident on Niue). __END__
