Weekly Niue News http://www.niuenews.nu/ _______________________________________________ > July 9, 2004 > Reduced Hours?: Niue's Cabinet is discussing the > implications of reducing the island's 430 public servants > working hours from 40 to 32 a week. It's all part of an > economic strategy to keep government costs down and to > encourage workers to participate in growing organic nonu > and vanilla for export. The new joint venture fish > processing plant at Amanau scheduled to open September will > also require staff. There is a shortage of labour on the > island despite pleas to expatriate islanders in New Zealand > to return home. While the country's leaders are reported to > be warming to the four day week, many residents remember > the 1970's when a similar scheme was introduced. Then, the > public service hours were reduced to 7am to 2.30pm in an > attempt to boost the supply of limes, passionfruit and > coconuts for the UNDP funded > food processing factory at Fonuakula. Each family had a > plot of passionfruit planted near their homes - the flowers > had to be hand pollinated. Limes were cultivated around > homes and in small orchards on government land. The factory > closed due to the lack of consistent supply and labour > problems. A coconut cream processing division was > privatized and later moved to Rarotonga in the Cook > Islands. The government's new partner in the vanilla, nonu > and fishing ventures, Reef Group of Auckland, are confident > of success. Conservative government predictions indicate > fishing alone will bring in about $NZ9 million a year - > that's half of the island's annual budget. The government > has indicated it still wants to invest in its fluctuating > tourist industry, hit hard by Cyclone Heta. Marketing the > island as a holiday destination is underway in New Zealand > and Australia. But the focus by Cabinet at present is on > discussing the implications of reduced government working > hours and encouraging families to work vanilla plots, nonu > orchards and use canoes and aluminum dinghies to bring fish > to the factory. > *Niugro International, a Mutalau based company owned by the > family of Agriculture Minister Bill Motufoou is ready to > buy nonu fruit at 25 cents a kilo. A vanilla drying > facility has been built on the family property. The Reef > Nonu business, developing 130 hectares at the Vaiea Farm > formerly used as an alpaca international quarantine > station, wants to buy young nonu plants for 20 cents each. > > *The devastated Niue Public Library has re-opened for > business. Hundreds of books were waterlogged when the > cyclone gutted the library and archives building at > Aliluki. The library has been re-housed in the Community > Affairs complex at Halamahaga. Director of Community > Affairs Faapoi Akesi, said this week there are plans to > enlarge the room where the library is currently housed. > Boxes of new books have been donated by the Mormon Church. > > *Niue's industrial park at Fonuakula, which will house > businesses destroyed in the cyclone, is slightly behind > schedule. The government hoped to have it opened in May but > materials for the building were unloaded off the MV > Southern Express last week. Constructed of steel portals > the park will provide space for a laundry, motor vehicle > repairs, a joinery and panelbeater. Ground preparations for > water, electricity, sewage and telephone services are well > underway. The park will be administered by the Chamber of > Commerce. > > Top Cop Quits: Niue's chief of police John Satini Tohovaka > (58) has retired. His job was re-advertised last month but > officials on the island said he did not reapply. It's > understood an expatriate officer will be employed after the > job was extensively advertised in New Zealand although some > politicians are calling for another local appointment. Mr > Tohovaka recently underwent medical treatment in New > Zealand after collapsing at his home village of Makefu. Mr > Tohovaka formerly lived in Sydney Australia where he worked > as a security officer. During his four year stint on Niue > Mr Tohovaka had to investigate two separate brutal > killings. Two men were found guilty of manslaughter and > jailed for nine years. > > Moving On: TVNZ's soap Shortland Street famous Niuean > actress Stephanie Tauevihi ( who plays loser-in-love Donna > Heke) is reported to be leaving the homegrown show. > Stephanie the daughter of a government media officer Niu > Tauevihi of Hakupu has a 10-year old son and joined the > cast in 1997. She has visited Niue several times. Shortland > Street recently celebrated its 3000th episode. > > Tighter Security: Niue and the Cook Islands have introduced > new security measures at their ports.Both countries - Cook > Island ports of Rarotonga and Aitutaki and the port of > Alofi at Niue have introduced the measures in line with the > United Nations Shipping and Ports Facility Security Code. > The new laws prevent importers from collecting cargo until > the wharves are cleared of international vessels. And all > outward-bound cargo must be delivered at the wharf 24 hours > before the estimated time of arrival of an international > vessel. Most cargo landed at Niue is in containers and > these are not opened until the cargo vessel has sailed. > Customs and quarantine officials are on hand to inspect > cargo as its de-vaned. Although there is strict police > control over who visits the wharf at Alofi, in Rarotonga > and Aitutaki, anyone visiting the international sections of > the wharves now need to carry Ports Authority issued > identification cards. Rarotonga Harbourmaster John Fallon, > says access will no longer be on a 24-hour basis, but only > during working hours between 8am and 4pm from Mondays to > Fridays. Meanwhile planning is underway to construct a > security fence around the perimeter of the Hanan > International Airport at Niue. The aid-funded project is > another move in a bid to beef-up security. > > Big Deal: Niue's fish processing plant is scheduled to open > in late August... hopefully without the drama of its > neighbouring factory in the Cook Islands. The future of a > multi-million dollar fish processing plant on Rarotonga > looked shaky three month ago until the Chinese moved in to > secure the venture in one of the Cook Islands' biggest ever > business deals. Cook Island Fish Exports, which runs the > plant in Nikao, has signed an agreement with the Shanghai > Deep Sea Fisheries that will see 10 specially built vessels > fishing in local waters. They have agreed to put all their > fresh fish through the factory in Nikao and Cook Island > Fish Exports (CIFE) will also receive a cut of the profits. > The deal comes three months after the former partners in > CIFE, Sealords and Hawkes Bay Seafoods, withdrew to > concentrate on their New Zealand operations. That left the > future of the company in doubt - but earlier this month > businessman Brett Porter, now the sole shareholder in the > firm, travelled to China to sign the agreement. Among the > delegation from the Cook Islands was lawyer Tony Manarangi > and Peter Graham from the Ministry of Marine > Resources."This deal will turn our fishery into a fishing > industry," said Porter."This company has the sort of > capital backing that will enable us to create a robust > business that will be able to handle the seasonal > fluctuations of this, or any, fishery." He says that the > agreement is one of the biggest ever business deals > involving a Cook Islands company. > > Shipping Lanes: Representatives from the Pacific Islands > Forum - which includes Niue - have ended another round of > talks with Japan, France and the United Kingdom over the > transport of radioactive materials in the Pacific region. > Several routes of shipping the toxic waste have been in > international waters between Tonga and Niue. Forum member > countries are now seeking to commit the shipping states to > a compensation and liability regime, in the event of an > accident involving radioactive materials. The liability > issue is subject to further consultation. The technical > level meeting in Nadi, Fiji was the fifth in an on-going > series, which focuses on the shipments of radioactive and > high-level wastes between Japan and Europe. At their summit > last August, Pacific Islands Forum Leaders reiterated their > continuing concerns over the shipment of radioactive > materials through the region. Leaders welcomed the recent > assurance by shipping States to take all practicable action > to assist in the management of an incident, whether or not > such an incident involved the release of radioactivity, and > to cooperate effectively with any state concerned, > particularly states close to where any accident had taken > place. Leaders called on shipping States to continue the > dialogue with Forum members and in particular, to progress > the proposals that Forum members had developed for > innovative arrangements and assurances. > > Saving Power: Niue has a public awareness program aimed at > saving power. The supply of diesel to fire the generators > at Tuila is restricted due to damage to the bulk fuel depot > at Sir Robert's wharf in Alofi. Consumers are reported to > be taking heed of the pleas to save power and there have > been no major cuts due to the shortage of generating fuel. > The Cook Islands capital faces a similar problem. Rarotonga > has been warned it could face power blackouts if > electricity consumption is not reduced during evening peak > periods. The island's sole electricity provider Te Aponga > Uira has appealed to the public to reduce consumption > between 6pm and 8:30pm on weekdays after three of its six > generators started experiencing problems last week. The > company's Chief Executive Officer, Apii Timoti, says while > the remaining generators can meet demand, they have made > the appeal as a precaution. He says they always try and > make sure they have some buffer in case they experience > major load fluctuations.
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