Niue opens door to New Zealanders

By JOHN ANDREWS

Niue Premier Young Vivian wants New Zealanders to migrate to his tiny South Pacific Island.

"We should be generous with New Zealanders," Mr Vivian said yesterday. "They have been good to us. We want them to come and live here and be allowed to have land on very generous [lease] terms."

He was so impressed with the work of New Zealanders who helped the island to recover from January's Cyclone Heta that he wants more of them to live there - permanently.

Mr Vivian, who will host Prime Minister Helen Clark during her two-day stay on the island in a fortnight, plans to have Niue legislation amended to make it easier for New Zealanders to live and work there.

Faced with a dwindling population, the 260sq km island east of Tonga has struggled to survive as an independent nation in recent years. The latest official count put the number of residents at 1550.

About 70 New Zealand-based Niueans will travel to their homeland with Helen Clark on an RNZAF aircraft on October 28. Mr Vivian wants Helen Clark to see what Niueans have achieved since Cyclone Heta and how aid money has been spent.