Tokelau votes on self government

Tokelau starts voting today on whether to become self-governing in free association with New Zealand or remain a dependent territory of New Zealand.

The referendum has been welcomed by Prime Minister Helen Clark.

"For just on 80 years Tokelau has been a dependent territory of New Zealand. Prior to that it was administered for some 50 years by Britain, " Miss Clark said today.

"Over the past three decades it has progressively developed its institutions and capability to the point where it now wishes to determine its future constitutional status."

All Tokelauans aged 18 and over who are normally resident in Tokelau are eligible to vote in the referendum undertaken in the presence of the United Nations.

Voting closes on Wednesday and the result is expected late on Thursday.

Although Tokelau has a population of about 1600 Miss Clark said it had been exercising the responsibilities of self government for many years.

"It has its own distinctive system of government based on the traditional authority of its village councils, supplemented by a national assembly elected each three years."

She said Tokelau had its own judicial system and public service.

Since the national assembly voted in 2003 to explore the option of self government in free association with New Zealand, Tokelau and New Zealand had developed a draft constitution and treaty of free association as the basis for the referendum.

Miss Clark said because of Tokelau's smallness and isolation it would always look to New Zealand for economic and technical assistance.

The draft treaty guaranteed such help and the continued right of Tokelauans to New Zealand citizenship.

She said if Tokelau moved to self government it would be assured of financial and technical support from a range of other countries and organisations as well as New Zealand. " Already its International Trust Fund stands at over $25 million."

Tokelau is the last of New Zealand's dependent territories to vote on self determination.

- NZPA