Neu: 2001-12-22 Contents of this issue:
1. Relax, It's A Holiday 2. Road Tolls ======================================================================== December 22nd, 2001 1. Relax, It's A Holiday: Niue has closed down for the Christmas and New Year holiday break. Government departments will resume work in the second week of January, while the bank and most retail stores are operating on restricted hours. Hospital, prison and power board staff be on duty 24 hours a day and internet services will remain on-line. The Broadcasting Corporation will continue its tv and radio service but says there will be no local news until next year. Telecom Niue is offering cheap international calls for $1 a minute from Niue to New Zealand until the New Year. that's a reduction of 60 cents a minute and is likely to be well used. About 100 people arrive on Niue from Auckland tomorrow morning in a chartered Air NZ 737-300 flight visiting friends and relatives. The same number, including church, village and sporting groups head south for a holiday break in New Zealand. Return flights take place on January 12. Those direct flights have resulted in Royal Tongan Airlines cancelling next week's Tuesday and Thursday flights out of Nuku'alofa to Niue due to the lack of patronage. This Sunday the national council of churches sponsors carols by candlelight in the Alofi Commercial Centre. The local theatre, Kifaga Niue, says it'll continue to screen movies three nights a week and on Saturday afternoon. Local nightclubs are operating on extended hours, some will remain open until 3am during the festive break. Police are encouraging revellers not to drink and drive. The weather outlook over Christmas? Tropical depressions to the west and north west of Niue is unlikely to cause any major problems but islanders can expect high temperatures accompanied by high humidity.Christmas Day is predicted to be 33C, overcast with some showers.Police are encouraging revellers not to drink and drive. 2. Road Tolls: New Zealand motorists will be hit with a 4c a litre petrol tax rise in the New Year and toll roads further down the track, under a far-reaching transport strategy estimated to cost $740 million over three years. The Government originally planned to introduce the tax rise in Parliament's final session before Christmas but political hitches have delayed it until February. The postponement means the planned price rise of 3.6c a litre will be about 4c to reap the same amount of cash over a shorter time. Opposition from the Greens to spending priorities in the package, and fear of political damage from hitting holidaymakers over the summer break, led to the postponement. The Government takes 35c a litre, or about $800 million a year, through the petrol excise, and that will rise to more than $890 million if the tax increase does not curb consumption. The Finance Minister, Michael Cullen, refuses to confirm or deny the tax rise, although significantly he has ruled out increases to GST, personal and company taxes, but not excise. (NZPA) __END__
