Niue News Update
Mon, 24 Sep 2001 12:40:30 -0700
Neu: 2001-09-24 Contents of this issue: 1. Insolvent Island 2. Judge Sits 3. Horror Fall 4. Straight To The Point 5. Hospital Update ======================================================================== September 24th, 2001 1. Insolvent Island: Nauru is about to try and slide off the end of its financial lifeline, according to a brigade of angry reformers. After 30 years of wild spending, waste, terrible management and being diddled by shoals of foreign sharks, the country is on the verge of losing the last of its solid assets, predict the authors of The Visionary. This is a publication brought out by a group of young worried businesspeople and civil servants. They have formed Naoero Amo, a political party, Nauru's first. It intends to fight a general election next year with the aim of salvaging what remains of the 21-square-kilometre country's near exhausted phosphate wealth. Nauru's finances are a mystery even to the government, which probably doesn't really understand what is owed and what has been lost, according to a senior politician. According to the Asian Development Bank, in 2000 there was a budget deficit of over A$10 million, or around 18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The level of external government debt is estimated at A$280 million. External debt service totalled A$13.3 million in 2000, or around 13 percent of exports of goods and services. However, the government has big loans outstanding with government-owned corporations These also have significant levels of external debt, so the real foreign debt is far higher. Where has all Nauru's money gone? Years of losses by Air Nauru certainly total a nine-digit figure. A report some years ago mentioned a A$50 million loss. There was a bad investment in a big phosphate plant in India, shipping company and fishing boat flops, millions lost with a flopped London musical show Nauru was inveigled to invest in and $60 million swindled from the coffers by a conman working with a gambling-addicted Australian lawyer. According to The Visionary investment losses may be as great as A$2100 million. - (PINA Nius Online). 2. Judge Sits: New Zealand Judge Heta Hingston visits Niue this week to hear civil, criminal and land appeal cases. Two men will appear before the Judge on separate charges of murder - one relating to the death of a woman in Alofi last October, the other involving the fatal shooting of a prisoner at the Fonuakula jail last month. Next month New Zealand Judge David Ongley will visit Niue to preside over a Commission of Inquiry into internet services on the island. 3. Horror Fall: Air New Zealand shares plunged into the "penny dreadful" class today as worries about the future of the airline mounted. Air NZ's unrestricted B shares dropped 10 cents to 16 cents in the first hour of trading today while the New Zealand resident-only A shares fell 12 cents to 17 cents. That values the airline at just $125 million. Speculation mounts that Air New Zealand will be placed in statutory management in the next few days. The company's acting chairman Jim Farmer put out a statement at midnight desperately seeking to reassure stakeholders of the stricken company. After a crisis board meeting at the weekend was adjourned, he said good progress had been made on recapitalisation and bringing forward the $850 million rescue package. Air NZ just two years ago was capitalised at $2.5 billion.(NZPA). 4. Straight To The Point: Keep up with news from Niue - the Pacific's top independent news site. Daily articles on the social, economic and political state of the world's smallest self governing nation used extensively by reputable news agencies around the world. Coming up - we'll have details of Niue's 100 year anniversary of political association with New Zealand and full coverage of the lead up to next year's March general election. Will party politics sink into oblivion? Who will lead the next government? All this and more to keep you informed. 5. Hospital Update: Work begins this week on construction of a new operating theatre and recovery room at Niue's Liverpool Hospital at Tufukia. It is part of stage one of a $NZ 2.4m nine month rebuilding project supported by NZODA, AusAid, and WHO. The work is being carried out by Arrow International, Wellington, New Zealand. To date four wards have been upgraded to include en suite showers and toilets and the nurses station has been relocated. Administration offices have been re located and completed with additional work now underway on X ray facilities and outpatients consulting rooms. A geriatric ward has been moved to the south end of the hospital property. Phase two of the project includes re-roofing the main block and providing a new home for the health department's dental clinic. Local labour is being used on the project along with New Zealand tradespersons supervising carpentry, plumbing, electrical and air conditioning work. __END__