Teilweise neu: 2002-01-31 Contents of this issue:
1. April election 2. Secret Reports 3. Kids Stuff 4. Cultural Tour 5. Gun Worries 6. Medivac Discrimination? 7. Suppression Lifted 8. Screening Now! 9. Radio Expands 10. Travel Perks 11. Dirty Deals War 12. Easy On Tourism 13. Fungus Scare ======================================================================== Old contents were: 1. Radio Expands 2. Travel Perks 3. Dirty Deals War 4. Easy On Tourism 5. Fungus Scare January 31st, 2002 1. April election: The Premier of Niue Sani Lakatani has indicated he will stall the announcement of an election date to the maximum time allowable under the Constitution. That could mean an April election on the island. After a question from Opposition MP Mrs O'Love Jacobsen the Premier referred to Article 26 of the Constitution. That states if the Assembly has not been dissolved by a request from the Premier to th Speaker any time after two years and nine months from the date of the last election, the Speaker shall then dissolve the Assembly at the expiration of three years which i March 19, 2002. The election should then be held not less than four and no more than six weeks from March 19. Opposition MP's say the Premier appears to be stalling in the hope of an announcement from Air New Zealand about a direct service from Auckland to Niue, the release of findings of a Commission of Inquiry into e mail and internet services on Niue headed by NZ judge David Ongley and some formal agreement with venture capitalists concerning the launch of a $US300 million satellite which could make Niue the IT hub of the Pacific. 2. Secret Reports: Airline reports compiled for the government of the Niue by NZ consultant Norman McFarlane are not made available to members of the Assembly because of commercial sensitivity. That's the word from Niue Premier and Civil Aviation Minister Sani Lakatani who was asked at today's Legislative Assembly why the reports were kept secret.. The Premier said only the Joint Niue/NZ Consultative Group and the government's airline committee had access to the reports. The consultant was paid by the New Zealand government. The Premier said Air NZ was still considering a request for a direct Auckland / Niue flight and that a response from the airline "was imminent." He also told the Assembly that there were no subsidies for Royal Tongan Airlines on flights from Tonga to Niue and several services had been cut in the past month because of the lack of demand. Opposition MP Mrs O'Love Jacobsen said she considered Parliamentarians had a right to know what was happening with the airline services because none of them wanted "another Coral Air." During 1999 and 2000 Premier Lakatani paid out $400,000 for seeding a national airline using two Beech 19C aircraft but the deal collapsed and the government lost its money. 3. Kids Stuff: Niue tv kids programmes are poor quality and are certainly not educational says Opposition MP Terry Coe. In today's Legislative Assembly meeting he criticised the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue for not purchasing better quality children's programmes and abandoning live sports such as cricket." It seems no businesses on th island who in the past provided sponsorship for live sports have been approache recently to help fund international events," said Mr Coe. But Broadcasting Minister Dion Taufitu said insufficient funding preventing higher quality programmes from being screened. The programmes were purchased from TVNZ on a restricted budget.Live broadcasts of sporting events via satellite were extremely costly, said the Minister. The Chinese government is reported to be funding a new 75m transmitting tower and the installation of decoders on tv's which will force viewers to pay the $65 quarterly licence fee. 4. Cultural Tour: Students from the Niue High School are off to New Zealand to take part in secondary schools cultural competitions. They will be accompanied by a teacher, a parents representative and a government official. The acting Minister of Education would not reveal to the Legislative Assembly the cost of the project but said it was partly supported by UNESCO. Two years ago a cultural team from Niue High School visited Samoa and Tonga. 5. Gun Worries: Despite pleas for tougher enforcement of gun laws on Niue three young men have been charged with firearm offences following New Year incidents on the island .Minister of Police Matua Rex said there was no clear answer to Niue's gun problems but a NZ policeman was visiting the island next month and he will be asked for advice. Opposition MP Mrs O'Love Jacobsen has expressed concern at the number of firearms on the island ( about 350 shotguns are registered) and the lack of action by Police to reduce the number. She has complained about guns being carried in cars and trucks and the lack of security in homes where ammunition is often left lying near firearms. In the past two years there have been two fatal shootings on Niue which have resulted in murder charges. 6. Medivac Discrimination?: Do New Zealand nationals living on Niue get better medivac services than locals? That was the question posed by a former Minister of Health Mrs O'Love Jacobsen in the Legislative Assembly today. Minister of Health Matua Rex says no. He told Mrs Jacobsen that all medivac services out of Niue to New Zealand were arranged through the New Zealand High Commission. Most flights were carried out by Pacific Air Ambulance in a specially equipped plane. The evacuations were paid for from NZODA funds. If the air ambulance was unavailable the RNZAF provided an Orion with specialist air ambulance medical staff. Mrs Jacobsen said large military aircraft were able to fly quicker to Niue from Auckland whereas smaller air ambulance planes often had to refuel at Tonga increasing the time a patient had to spend in the plane. The NZ High Commissioner on Niue John Bryan confirmed to Niue News Online that in the event of a New Zealand national on holiday in the Pacific requiring emergency medical care the Defence Department were asked to provide an Orion. He said there was no difference in aircraft services provided for NZ nationals permanently residing on Niue and local residents. 7. Suppression Lifted: The two men charged with a triple killing at the Mt Wellington-Panmure RSA club in Auckland NZ have made their second appearance i the Auckland District Court. Darnell Kere Tupe, aged 22, unemployed of Mangere, faces three charges of murder, one of attempted murder and one of aggravated robbery. Judge Stanley Thorburn lifted suppression of Tupe's name but a 23-year-old man facing the same charges has continued name suppression pending an application by the man's lawyer, Ian Tucker. Judge Thorburn indicated name suppression would not continue based on the information before him and said he was "concerned that this is a matter of huge public interest". The two men appeared separately in the dock. They did not plead and were both remanded in custody to reappear on March 1. The charges cover attacks on four people at the RSA club in suburban Auckland early on December 8. RSA club president William Absolum, 63, cleaner Mary Hobson, 44, and club member Wayne Johnson, 56, were found dead at the club. One had been shot. A fourth person, the club's part-time accountant Susan Couch, 37, was still alive but had suffered repeated blows to her head and arms. She has been released from Auckland Hospital and is recovering at a rehabilitation unit. 8. Screening Now!: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will be on television any day, and it's already out on video - that's if you're in the Cook Islands, where the film is available on pirated video before the movie has made it to the local cinema, reports Eleanor Black in the NZ Herald. That thriving business in pirated videos and DVDs in the South Pacific means the 600 inhabitants of Atiu, a volcanic island half the size of Rarotonga, will soon get a lounge-room showing of the first film in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy. Former policeman Piho Rua, owner of four video rental shops in Rarotonga, is reportedly considering selling copies of The Fellowship of the Ring to Atiu Television and two other television stations on the outer islands. He already rents out LOTR videos for $5 a night. Locals say he owns 100 pirated copies of the film which are in constant rotation. Roadshow Films, the New Zealand distributors of LOTR, are considering taking legal action but said it was too early to comment further. Because of antiquated copyright laws in the Cook Islands, pirating videos is not illegal. Before films even make it to the cinema they are usually available on video and often shown by the island nation's six television stations, some of which are nothing more than a basic monitor, transmitter and antenna serving as few as 200 people. The Herald was unable to contact Mr Rua but he told the Cook Islands Herald he was not the only businessman making money from pirated films, just the only one who admitted to it. Cook Islands Copyright Committee chairman Geoffrey Bergin, who leads a lonely campaign to protect intellectual property, described the 1962 Copyright Act as a "toothless tiger" because it did not safeguard new technology, such as DVDs, CDs and videos. A new act was drafted five years ago but has yet to be made law. New Zealand Motion Picture Association spokesman Kevin Holland said if the Cook Islands Government passed legislation in line with copyright law in New Zealand and Australia, they would provide support for the police and customs officials. But until that happens there is little that can be done to punish those who make use of the loophole, especially as Cook Islanders, who rely on pirate films and television shows for much of their entertainment, do not complain. Years of watching incomplete films with barely audible dialogue - often recorded off cinema screens with handycams - has taught residents not to expect too much. Cook Islands Television owner George Pitt, who does not air films until the cinema and video shops have had first crack at them, says there is no political will to clamp down on dodgy DVD screenings of Hollywood's latest offerings because voters like watching TV. "What else is there to do on the outer islands?" On Niue pirated copies of Harry Potter are reported to be circulating along with DVD films often recorded off cinema screens with handycams. The New Zealand Copyright Act 1962 is in force on the island. 1. Radio Expands: The Auckland based FM radio station 531 PI is likely to be a favourite bidder for the new network licences to broadcast NZ wide. The government has made an FM frequency available for a Pacific Island station and the successful operator will be able to transmit from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. 531 PI has been operating in Auckland for almost a decade. The inaugural chairman of the board was Niuean Hunukitama Hunuki who is now a member of the Legislative Assembly on Niue. Pacific Island groups in Auckland have access to the station for weekly talkbalk programmes and news bulletins from their home countries. 2. Travel Perks: American Samoa Fono leaders have been told that the two legislative chambers spent the travel budget for Fiscal Year 2002 during the year's first quarter, which ended December 31. During the session opening, Governor Tauese Sunia reported in his "State of the Territory" Address that "approximately 47% of government overspending" in Fiscal Year 2001 was attributed to the Fono alone. The financial report from Legislative Financial Officer Velega Savali, Jr., said "all Fono accounts reflect an overrun in travel of $111,374" for the first quarter of FY 2002. "This overrun used up the Fono's entire approved travel budget for fiscal year 2002 by $18,874." ( Samoa News/PINA Nius Online). 3. Dirty Deals War: Papua New Guinea Media Council members have declared an all-out-war against corruption in society. The joint-media initiative was announced in Port Moresby at the launch of a campaign: "Say no to corruption and to corrupt people." At the launch were Media Council president and PNG FM general manager Peter Aitsi who said: "We are saying to all sitting members, intending candidates, department heads, statutory heads, business leaders, if you cross the line of corruption we will pursue you and expose you to the people of Papua New Guinea." Mr Aitsi said these people were stealing money, were responsible for the closure of hospitals and schools and the continued deteriorating condition of roads and bridges throughout PNG. Mr Aitsi said the country had to turn the tide of corruption because "if we did not then we might as well kiss our future and the future for our children goodbye". The council called on police and the public prosecutors office to move quickly with their paperwork so that changes could be laid against those named in major national scandals. (PINA Nius Online.) 4. Easy On Tourism: Three consultants from the UNDP are on Niue reviewing funded projects and talking of future support for the tiny island which faces a diminishing population and a long standing stagnant economy. A spokesperson for the consultants told TV Niue that there is likely to be less focus on tourism because of the air services, which is a problem for the government to resolve. UNDP has funded a series of reports on tourism since 1995 and has supported tourism office personnel for community development and training. Assistance has also been given for primary production - youth training in market gardening and long line fishing, according to the review spokesperson. From next year UNDP will assist with funding projects on how to get Niueans living overseas to return home, review the island's land tenure and develop HIV/AIDS education promotion . UN volunteers will be recruited to participate in information technology and demography in the statistics department. 5. Fungus Scare: Agriculture officers on Niue are concerned about a fungus found this week on taro plants. Samples have been sent to SPC for analysis.Quarantine officials say it seems the fungus is in the soil and affects the roots and leaves of young plants. Taro plantation owners are being advised to spray their crops but government cannot assist with funding. Officials say there's a $10 fee for the cost of chemicals. The fungus, which has been discovered in several neighbouring plantations, could restrict exports to New Zealand if it spreads to other areas. __END__
