Ardern arrives in ‘second home’ Niue
New Zealand will give Niue $5 million in funding to help the island nation get four fifths of its power from renewable sources by 2025.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the funding yesterday on a visit to Niue, which she called her ‘‘second home’’.
New Zealand will also contribute $750,000 towards improving Niue’s roads and water infrastructure.
A project was already under way that aimed to get Niue to using 80 per cent renewable energy by 2025.
‘‘The ongoing cost of importing for instance fossil fuels and energy generation generally has been something that has been a key goal to transition Niue over towards renewable energy sources, both for the environmental impacts but also lessening the costs of those imported goods,’’ Ardern said.
‘‘That funding will assist with grid stabilisation, batteries, solar panels, the technical equipment required to reach their renewable energy goals.’’
The Niuean Government estimates the scheme will save $1 million a year.
Niue, is part of the ‘‘Realm of New Zealand,’’ meaning all Niuean citizens have New Zealand citizenship. The New Zealand government contributes to the ongoing operational funding of the Government with tens of millions of dollars in aid: $53.7m over 2015-2018.
‘‘Niue’s remoteness and susceptibility to extreme weather make high quality and resilient infrastructure very important for visitors and the local population,’’ Ardern said.
The Prime Minister made the announcement following a bilateral meeting with Niue Premier Toke Talagi.
Talagi and Ardern expressed a preference to move past a ‘‘donorrecipient’’ relationship into one built on investment and partnership.
‘‘The trend that we have been asking for is one where aid is substituted out for investment,’’ Talagi said.
Niue has lost much of its population to New Zealand, with around 24,000 living in New Zealand compared to just under 2000 in Niue. But Talagi said this depopulation had finally turned around: people were staying.
He had raised the issue of the portability of pensions. Niueans are only eligible for New Zealand superannuation if they lived and worked in New Zealand for the last five years of their working life. Ardern said her Government was ‘‘very sympathetic’’ and deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would look into it, but did not make any immediate promises.
Niue’s tourism industry has considerably developed in recent years, especially with twice-weekly Air New Zealand flights during high season.
Ardern’s father Ross is the High Commissioner to Niue and was previously the police commissioner. It was a family reunion for Ardern as her mother Laurell, sister Louise and her niece also welcomed her ‘‘home’’.
The Prime Minister was in Niue on day two of a five-day Pacific Mission.