Weekly Niue News http://www.niuenews.nu/ [2004-09-11: list updated for new site] _______________________________________________ > We have 4 guests online and 1 member online > April 1 2005 - Island News Just For You! > Political Wannabies Sign Up For Niue Election > Nominations for candidates in the 11th general election on > Niue have opened. Election officers said the nominations will > close on April 14 - two weeks before the election day. About > 800 Niue residents over the age of 18 are eligible to vote but > those living overseas don't qualify. There are 14 village > constituency seats to fill and six on the common roll. > > Niue's acting premier in the caretaker government, Fisa > Pihigia told Radio Australia it's still too early to tell > exactly how many candidates will nominate for these elections. > > Pre-Election Benefit Increase Across the Board > > Pension rates on Niue have been increased.Ten days after the > dissolution of the Legislative Assembly the acting premier > Fisa Pihigia has announced the benefit for those aged 55-60 > has doubled to $100 a fortnight, for those over 60 it has > increased by $25 a week to $150 a fortnight and a similar > amount will be paid to disabled residents. > > Announcing the increases on TV Niue the acting premier denied > that the increase was a political handout. > > Opposition MP Terry Coe said he was surprised the benefit > increase was announced by a caretaker Cabinet. He > considered two Cabinet Ministers and two temporary Ministers > should not be allocating unbudgetted funds because the > Assembly had been officially dissolved. > [date.gif] Friday, 01 April 2005 > > Shareholders Claim To Have Been Left In Dark Over Hotel > Investment > > Island Leaders Involved In Controversy > > Shareholders in Niue Investment Ltd, the company formed by > Finance Minister Toke Talagi to lease the government owned > Niue Hotel, have expressed concern that the business has been > struck off the Companies Register in New Zealand. > > Mr Talagi encouraged private investment from Niue and New > Zealand and was the first chairman of its board. The company > was at the centre of a shareholders row with directors after > the hotel was destroyed by Cyclone Heta in January 2004 when > it was discovered a large number of business debts remained > unpaid. Prior to the cyclone there had also been shareholder > complaints about the lack of management reporting and the > maintenance of accounting records. > > The shareholders sought legal advice from a Cook Islands > lawyer. > > One of the companys creditors, Cullings Food Products, > successfully sought judgement from the High Court for payment > of an $18,000 debt in October last year. The New Zealand > Company Registry lists Niue Investments Ltd as being struck > off on December 14, 2004. Cullings Food Products said this > week the debt remained unpaid. > > Shareholder Mr Mark Cross, who has in the past been concerned > at the lack of accounting and reporting by the hotel > management, told Niue News he was not surprised that Niue > Investment Ltd had been struck off the company register. > > "Why am I not surprised? The fact that shareholders haven't > been told is consistent with the ex-Niue Investment Company > board's policy of the stringent veil of secrecy in dealings > with shareholders during their pre-cyclone mismanagement > debacle of the hotel," he said. > > Mr David Cottingham, who is also the general manager of the > Niue Development Bank said he was surprised at the company > being struck off because he had not been informed by the > directors. > > " I am one of the leading individual shareholders in the > company and would expect to know about such a startling event > before the media revealed it," said Mr Cottingham. > > "The directors would have warned me, surely," said Mr > Cottingham. He said information in his possession indicated > there were 41 shareholders in Niue and New Zealand who > contributed $56,000 to the venture. > > "Moreover, these figures, I feel, are out of date and in > reality higher. All shareholders are entitled to have advance > warning of the strike off and what it means to us. For example > does it mean that we have lost our investment forever?" > > " Most of my fellow shareholders are Niuean residents and I > doubt if they can afford to see their hard saved money slip > away in what appears to be such an uncaring fashion. Nor can > I," said Mr Cottingham. > > "The story the Niue News carried last week implies a deal of > money lost when taking into account the large sum owed to > Cullings. The directors of Niue Investment are, according to > the latest list I have, Toke Talagi , Atapana Siakimotu, > Mahetoe Hekau , David Poihega and Noeline Pasisi." > > " They are all citizens of prominence here on Niue. Indeed > Toke Talagi is the Minister of Finance and Atapana Siakimaotu > is the Speaker of the House. > > " Their responsibilities under the company legislation is > considerable and so are the sanctions for neglect of them. The > directors are aware of what is required and, I feel , not so > foolhardy as to flout them. The impression that I draw from > the Niue News article is that they have neglected to advise > the shareholders of important events concerning the company. I > shall write to them and ask if this is true," said Mr > Cottingham. > > Premier Negotiates Air Deal With Fiji - Reef Cleared To Fly To > Nadi > > Niues Premier Young Vivian has successfully negotiated a > bilateral agreement with Fiji that allows the countries to use > each other's airspace. > > In Suva the Premier formalized the agreement with Fiji Foreign > Affairs Minister Kaliopate Tavola. It takes effect in June and > will be of benefit to Niue, which has been ignored by major > airlines because of its remoteness. > > The agreement is primarily for the use of Fiji's airspace to > transport tuna from Niue to markets in Japan. Initially, a > 39-seat Chathams Air leased Convair aircraft to Reef Air will > be used to transport the fish and some passengers between the > two countries. During most of the week the plane will be > sub-leased to Tongas private airline and will fly between > Nukualofa and Vavau. No agreement with Tonga has been signed > to date. > > Premier Vivian said the Fiji agreement would ease the > frustrations the people of Niue face especially in the > exporting their commodities to overseas markets. He said now > that Fiji has agreed, it means that their tuna will reach > Japan much earlier at reduced freight cost. > > While in Suva Premier Vivian met with Niue students studying > at the University of the South Pacific. > > Renewed Support For Local Business Hopefuls > > Budding business entrepreneurs from Niue are getting a second > chance to entice international investors. Their first attempt > at a Profit Partnership workshop in Fiji two months ago failed > to attract any positive investment. Five proposals totaling > $3.2 m included a tourist resort at Kaimiti, a tourist lodge > at Makefu, a cultural centre at Hakupu an internet cafe/store > at Alofi and an extension to Pelenis guesthouse. The workshop > sponsored by EU and ACP agencies gave 350 Pacific tourism > entrepreneurs a chance to meet potential investors. The event > drew criticism from several attendees who claimed it was a > talk-shop in the swanky Sheraton Denerau Resort Nadi. They > expressed concern that investors were not present. > > Erik Holm-Petersen, a representative from Carl Bro > International, a consultancy firm contracted to oversee the > organization of the meeting said: "Investors don't attend > conferences." > > Holm-Petersen continued: "Do you expect investors to come here > with a bucket of money to hand out to you? It doesn't work > like that in the real world." > > Now the EU is keen to provide $50,000 to local entrepreneurs > most of them public servants to draw up detailed submissions > for investors. Difficulties confronting overseas investment on > Niue include the customary land tenure, lack of insurance and > the lack of air services to support a tourist industry. > > The EU is also investigating providing funds for village based > economically sustainable projects on Niue and it has recently > given the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) $730,000 > to promote and facilitate sustainable tourism development in > the Pacific region. > > The grant is part of the $1.5 million funding the EU has > earmarked for this purpose. > > [The Suva, Fiji-based tourism organization represents the > Pacific Island nations of the Cook Islands Fiji, Kiribati, New > Caledonia, Niue, Samoa, Solomons, French Polynesia, Tonga, > Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. China is also a country > member of SPTO]. > > The aim of the funding is to increase the ability of the > Pacific countries to monitor sustainable tourism indicators > and data, develop sustainable tourism standards and guidelines > as well promote and facilitate environmentally sustainable > tourism. > > The projects aim to increase investment in the tourism sector > as well as provide tourism training on small micro > enterprises. > > The funds would cover a number of Regional Tourism Development > activities over a period of two years, which have been > identified as priorities under the regional tourism strategy > prepared by the SPTO. > > "The funding would be channeled into activities addressing > economic, social and environmentally sustainable tourism," > SPTO chief executive, Lisiate Akolo said. "The funding > provided by the EU under this program reflects the priority > which the Pacific region places on the tourism sector as a > development tool." > > Regional Pacific Plan Criticized > > New Zealand and Australia risk looking hypocritical by > repeating their calls for regionalism in the Pacific while > making no moves to free up the labour market in the region, > says the Pacific Cooperation Foundation (PCF), writes Angela > Gregory in the New Zealand Herald. > The foundation, a part-Government funded trust, has expressed > its concerns in a submission to the Ministry of Foreign > Affairs and Trade on the draft Pacific Plan being promoted by > the Pacific Forum. > The forum, representing 16 Pacific countries including New > Zealand and Australia, wants to promote greater regional > integration and cooperation. > The working plan is open for submissions and explores areas > like trade, transport, tourism, health, environment, sports > and human rights. > The Pacific Cooperation Foundation said the movement of > labour, while raised in the plan, should be a priority item. > The forum needed to establish a process by which the freer > movement of people could be debated and positive steps forward > considered. > "PCF considers that the point has been reached that repeated > Australia/New Zealand calls for increased regionalism, and > also integration, will begin to look hypocritical if the two > developed countries show no sign of being prepared to move at > least incrementally on an issue regarded as important by a > large number of Pacific people." > The foundation said the labour market was one of the more > difficult items on the Pacific agenda. > "But if we are making it easier for people to come from Europe > to assist with a temporary labour shortage we should be > prepared to give equal consideration to the Pacific. > The foundation's executive director Vince McBride told the > Herald there was too much focus on previous work schemes where > Pacific people had come for temporary scrub-cutting jobs and > then overstayed. > Mr McBride said it was not beyond officials to design a scheme > with sufficient safeguards to ensure people went back home. > That could include guarantees the Pacific workers could freely > return to New Zealand as other work opportunities arose, he > said. > A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said the comments about > New Zealand were surprising given the open entry for people > from the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, the long-standing > permanent residence quota for Samoa, and the permanent > residents quotas for Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati and Tuvalu. > The New Zealand Government preferred making provision for > permanent migration to real jobs rather than having short-term > migrant worker schemes, she said. > The foundation raised other concerns, including the need for > urgent action on HIV/Aids, a regional approach to airline > services, Pacific rugby issues and engagement at a grassroots > level. > There also needed to be broad recognition of the extent of > corruption in several Pacific countries and until that was > "got to grips with" progress would be illusory and donors > would remain wary. > In another submission Oxfam New Zealand said the the reduction > of poverty should be the over-reaching aim, and the plan > should ensure countries were not pressured into inappropriate > and damaging agreements for the liberalisation of trade. > > Victory For Niue In Polyfest > > Edgewater Colleges Niuean group beat competition from 12 other > schools to win this years Polyfest at the Auckland Secondary > Schools Maori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival. > The group of 47 students was placed in the top three of every > category, and first overall on the Niue stage. > Against competition from schools such as Kelston Boys, Kelston > Girls and Tangaroa College, the group was also first in the > individual categories of entrance, tame (action song), takalo > (war dance), uniform and boy leader (Allenzo Tamatoa). > The group was second in the meke (actions to the beat of > drums), the ending of the piece. > Susi Lo was third in the girl leader category. > Freight Rate Increase On Horizon > > Niue is unlikely to escape increases in shipping freight > rates. The Cook Islands shipping company EXCIL - Express Cook > Islands Line - has advised the Cook Islands Chamber of > Commerce that it has applied for a 14% hike in shipping fees. > EXCIL said its cargo ship the MV Southern Express is due for > refurbishment and that the current market price to hire a > replacement vessel of similar capability was in excess of > $7,5000 a day. Some members expressed concerns at the level of > costs that would flow on to the customer. One member had > calculated the increase at 3 to 4 %. EXCIL board member Mr > Brett Porter, however, said that the cost would amount to > about the equivalent of 2 cents on a can of baked beans. Mr > Porter said that when EXCIL became operational in late 2000, > it set its rates at 16% below the then market rate. the MV > Southern Express unloaded general cargo, fuel,building > materials and vehicles during the week before heading back to > Auckland. > > Asbestos Becomes A Pacific Issue > > Niue's not the only place with asbestos worries. When Cyclone > Nancy hit Rarotonga a month ago asbestos material was torn > from the roof of the famous Portofino Restaurant in > Maraerenga. Its still lying around and the Cook Island News > reports q estions are being posed to government organisations > as to why the material has not been removed. Nothing has been > done despite pleas to government officials from the restaurant > owner and the residents living next door that the materials be > removed. > Bruce McCartney says there are three piles of asbestos > material located around his restaurant. He has tried to get > the materials moved but pleas for help have remained > unanswered. McCartney has moved on with work without the > assistance of government to get his restaurant back up and > running. > But while a new roof has been put up and work has started on > the front of the restaurant, the piles of asbestos have > remained. Asbestos has to be removed carefully and those > conducting the removals must wear safety gear, and follow > guidelines for wrapping up the asbestos, burying the asbestos > and finally covering the asbestos with at least a metre deep > of soil. > > More than 100 homes of Niue have yet to have asbestos cleared > from their roofs and the Niue government is still considering > what do with tonnes of the material stored near the airport > runway. > > Lighthearted Look At Pacific Mums > > A first time playwright says support for Polynesian performers > is growing but more Pacific Islanders need to stand up and > tell their stories. > > Arnette Arapai, of Niuean heritage, says only Pacific > Islanders can tell their stories. > > "We need to stand up, but we have to be prepared for the flak > because its not for the fainthearted man", she says. "I want > to create work for Pacific actors". > > Arnettes first play is a lighthearted look at how Polynesian > mothers control the lives o their children, even in adulthood. > > The Freemans Bay resident says Love Handles wont offend anyone > but might raise a few eyebrows in the Pacific Island > > "Every Island boy and girl loves their parents. Whenever you > hear Tana Umaga or David Tua speak, they always talk > affectionately about their mums. > > "But Island mums dictate everything. They tell their > 40-year-old children what to do, what to wear and who to > marry". > > Moving the story from the written page to the stage has been > hard work for the mother of five. > > With no formal training, Arnette got serious about writing > after attending a Creative NZ workshop. > > Four years and 20 drafts later, her labour of love will > finally be seen by an audience (in Auckland). > > "Im really nervous. Your writing is your inner dialogue and > private thoughts and now its a play open to criticism". > > Love Handles > is showing at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. > > IN A NUTSHELL: > > Appointments:The Niue Cabinet has re-appointed Mrs Malua > Jackson (Hakupu) as chairperson of the powerful Niue Public > Service Commission, the employing authority of the government. > The Commissioners include the Rev. Matagi Vilitama (Avatele) a > former president of Ekalesia Niue and Mrs Wennie Salatielu ( > Mutalau) a former public servant. The Commission has come > under fire from many quarters and its shaky relationship with > the Cabinet was revealed in a draft Whole of Government Report > authored by Don Hunn of Wellington. > > A long-time member of the Commission Tau Pasisi and Togia > Pihigia were not re-appointed. > > Funding: Niue has yet to apply for additional funding from New > Zealand for changes to the foundation and flooring of the new > hospital valued at $500,000. A spokesperson in Wellington said > the Niue government and a technical advisor are currently > working through the design changes to the $6.5 million project > but to date the island government has not formally asked New > Zealand to consider any assistance with design changes. > > Sports: Work has started on a lawn bowls green at Fonuakula on > the former tennis club site. The facility will allow Niue to > enter a team in the 2006 Commonwealth Games at Melbourne. > Niues bowls team had to withdraw from the Manchester Games > because it did not have a bowling green on the island. > > Poll: A suggestion that the whole population of Niue gets a > chance to carry the Queens Baton around Niue before it heads > off to the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 gets the > thumbs up.83.3% favoured the suggestion, 16.7% voted in favour > of local athletes carrying the Baton. > > Police: Niues expatriate chief of police is expected to be > officially named next week. He will replace former police > chief John Satini Tohovaka. About 13 New Zealand police > officers applied for the job. The appointment has to be > confirmed by the Niue Public Service Commission. > > Reply: Former Premier Sani Lakatani is still waiting for a > response from the Niue Government over a $15,000 back pay > claim. He claimed he was not advised his pay would be stopped > after he moved from Niue to Auckland to care for his sick > wife. > > Training: The World Health Organisations Pacific > representative says it will conduct more training for medical > laboratory staff to improve the detection of tuberculosis.Dr > Ken Chen says health workers in the Pacific still struggle to > diagnose suspected cases of TB. During the past five years > there have been several reported cases of immigrants with TB > but all have been successfully treated. > > Praise: The Chair of the New South Wales Community Relations > Commission has lavished praise on young people, working for > the benefit of Pacific communities. The comments by Stepan > Kerkyasharian follow recent concerns with youth crime in > Pacific islander communities in the Australian city of Sydney. > In a bid to address the problem, the New South Wales > government established a so-called Youth Partnership with > Pacific communities in the city. That led to the creation of a > dynamic voluntary community group known as PYNC - the Pacific > Youth Network Committee. Its members are aged between 12 and > 25 and come from a wide range of Pacific Island communities > from all over Sydney. > Aussie With A Passion For The Pacific > > by Janet McAllister > An Aussie diplomat. Surely that's a contradiction in terms? > Greg Urwin would hasten to correct you: for a start, although > he spent more than 30 years in Australia's foreign service, he > is now the Pacific Forum's Secretary-General and is > emphatically no longer Canberra's man. > Second, he would dismiss the jibe as he has always got > irritated by the tendency of New Zealand and Australia to > snipe at one another. > So we won't be mentioning the cricket, then. Urwin's eyes > crinkle up as he bursts into chuckles. > "Your choice, not mine. I'm a cricket nut!" He has proudly > passed the mania on to his stepsons - all three were in the > Samoan cricket team for the latest Pacific Games. > "I don't think that's happened since the Chappells," he says, > eyes twinkling. As for the transtasman series, "that Gilchrist > bloke" is as good a cricketer as he's ever seen in his 58 > years, and the Black Caps are "cruelly struck with injuries". > He says he remembers all too well when New Zealand regularly > beat Australia in the 1980s. > Very generous. Very diplomatic. Urwin has the slight > bureaucrat tendency to speak in pre-rehearsed paragraphs and > generalities, but you can see why he's well-liked in his job, > to-ing and fro-ing between 16 Pacific states, cajoling the > governments into working together. > Even when the niceties are put aside, Urwin has a reputation > for actually caring. The respect was hard-earned; his > appointment to the Pacific Forum 18 months ago was > controversial, to say the least ("you noticed?" he asks in > mock surprise). > By convention, since the forum was established in 1971, the > secretary-general had never come from Australia or New > Zealand. > There were worries that an Australian would be a "Trojan > horse" for Australian interests in the Pacific. And Australian > Prime Minister John Howard's tactics to lobby for Urwin's > appointment - gatecrashing a meeting of smaller island states, > for example - were seen to be heavy-handed. It took a > "considerably drawn out" five rounds of voting before Urwin > was confirmed in the post. > But, says Urwin: "I never had any sense of animosity towards > me personally, there was just a range of views on my parents' > wisdom in conceiving me in New South Wales ... Perhaps I'm > being a little big-headed about it but I thought there were > some potential distinctions to make between my identity as an > Australian and my identity as me." > Translation: he was already known and trusted by a lot of the > people he was going to be working with. It probably helped > that at the time of his appointment he was, by choice, living > in Samoa rather than Australia, with his Samoan wife Penny and > his collection of Hawaiian shirts. > "You have to have Hawaiian shirts, though I do not look good > in them," he sighs. Actually, being short and stout, > white-haired and button-nosed, he'd probably look like a > tropical, beardless garden gnome. > He first set foot on a Pacific Island in 1977, after turning > down a post in Washington DC, because the chance to run his > own show at age 31 as Australia's first High Commissioner to > Samoa was irresistible. > He says he felt no pangs of culture shock but fell in "love at > first sight" with the country. Are we really talking about the > country here? Urwin insists so, even though his eyes first met > Penny's across cocktails at a party thrown for him by the > Samoan Government. > She was a member of the prominent Samoan-German Keil clan, and > a widow with three young boys, who Urwin subsequently raised > as his own. > Over the next two decades, he was an Australian representative > in Vanuatu, New Zealand and Fiji, chief of every mission he > went on, apart from Wellington, where he was deputy. It was > hard there, he admits, to get used to being number two again, > although the size of the operation saved him from chafing too > much. > Not that his style of leadership is autocratic. Forum staff > are pleased that he reads the newspapers to stay in touch with > what's happening around him - a small thing perhaps, but not > something all his predecessors were known to do. He's busy > making the forum more relevant to its member states via a > Pacific version of shuttle diplomacy. > "There is simply no substitute for talking to people > face-to-face," he says, even if irregular flight schedules > mean he gets stuck in backwaters on the odd weekend (not that > he'd ever talk about any of the Pacific states so > dismissively). > He doesn't spend as much time at home as his wife would like, > but as he has "enough air points to go to the moon" she > sometimes travels with him. Until this weekend, he'd been on > the road - or rather, in the air - solidly for four weeks: > Japan, Australia, Samoa, American Samoa and finally New > Zealand, for the annual Pacific Forum meeting. > That's long enough to make his gravelly, lightly accented > voice rather tired. > Other people travel to Pacific Islands for holidays; Urwin's > idea of bliss is to stay put. But in case he's mistaken for a > complainer, he hastens to add that "it's a fascinating job - > you can get stuck into all sorts of things". > At least the flights give the history graduate a chance to > read - and it's mainly histories. He's thinking of writing a > history of Australia's relations with the Pacific when he > retires. He'll have to do something; he tried "not doing very > much" in Samoa for a few months before getting the forum job, > and felt he "had turned into a geriatric very quickly and was > vegetating". > His one story of diplomatic danger happened at the unlikely > venue of the 1973 United Nations General Assembly. > Late one night, Urwin was listening to Cuba addressing the > half-empty hall when an argument broke out among some of the > Latino countries, including Honduras, sitting right behind > him. > "In the end, one of them pulled a gun. So the very brave > Australian delegation hit the floor." > He and Penny are based in Suva, but home is still Apia. Though > his understanding of the Samoan language is limited to knowing > when he's being made fun of by friends and family, Urwin has > picked up some of the habits. He eats kina, which most palagi > avoid, and admits to wearing a lavalava in bed. > "I think I'm a natural Southern Hemisphere person. Every time > I go into the Northern Hemisphere I sort of have a feeling of > not wanting to spend too much time up there." > "Down here, people still care about one another in a way I > think has been lost in large parts of the world." > And that's about as undiplomatic as he gets. [NZ Herald] > Last Updated ( Friday, 01 April 2005 ) > Do you think Niue gets too much advice from too many > consultants? > (_) Yes > (_) No > (_) Maybe > 37663 Visitors
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