‘Come back to Niue’: Minister calls on expatriates to help build the island

There have been calls for Niuean expatriates in New Zealand to return to the island and help develop it.

Niue, which has a population of about 1,600, has struggled like other Pacific nations to retain its population.

The island is governed in “free association” with New Zealand, and the government faces a deficit of more than $15 million.

It’s called “The Rock” and this year is celebrating 50 years of free association with New Zealand.

Niueans, or tagata Niue, hold New Zealand passports – meaning they can work and move freely between Niue and Aotearoa.

But Niue’s Education Minister Sonya Talagi called on expatriates to return home.

Taraji told New Zealand’s Pacific Radio that people were leaving New Zealand for education or employment and not coming back.

“We are delighted for the people of New Zealand who are succeeding and building a good life,” she said.

“But at the same time, we need people to come back to Niue, to recognise and appreciate the value of Niue, and to help us Niueans build it.”

According to the 2018 Census data from Statistics New Zealand, More than 30,000 people who identify as Niuean live in New Zealand.

She said Niue could not compete with New Zealand’s high wages and argued New Zealand should help by raising wages in Niue.

Avi Rubin has lived in Niue for 32 years as a business owner and Chamber of Commerce director.

He has four children and said the biggest challenge was convincing them to stay.

“A lot of it has to start at home, just explaining to kids that there are other chances and opportunities out there. But the quality of life and safety is here.”

In June, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited the island on his first trip abroad to the Pacific. “concentrate” In the area.

Luxon met with Governor Dalton Tagelagi and announced $20 million Niue renewable energy project to reduce the island’s reliance on diesel.

Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters also travelled there and announced Public sector provides $13 million in support to Niue government In the next five years.

Peters said the more self-reliant Niue became, the more its population would grow, and he identified tourism as an obvious growth area.

Tagraj told New Zealand’s Pacific Radio that his focus was on the environment first and the economy second.

He said he was not too worried about the government deficit.

“You can’t just focus on the economy and ignore the environment because the reason we are here is because of the environment, the reason we are here is because of the ocean,” he said.

“There are endless possibilities for how to get the most economic return from the environment.

“Every country in the world has a deficit. That’s not a problem for me.”

Like the governor, Rubin isn’t too worried about economic growth, saying how much it grows is up to the people.

“Most of us live here because of the quality of life. I could run the same business anywhere in the world and make five times the money, and I did, having run other businesses when I was very young before I came here.

“We live here because the balance between work and family is so good.”

‘Students are disadvantaged’

However, despite the Government’s priorities, for Niue’s high school principals, it is students struggling to pass the National Certificate of Education Achievement (NCEA) exams that are the real challenge.

Charles Ione said isolation had made it difficult for students to achieve good results in pilot tests of the New Zealand secondary school curriculum.

Literacy and numeracy tests are likely to become a compulsory part of NCEA in 2026, and students will have to pass them to gain NCEA qualifications.

Last June, of the 242 Cook Islands and Niuean students, only 18 per cent passed the reading test, 45 per cent passed the writing test and 23 per cent passed the numeracy test.

Ione said his school was finding it difficult to incorporate teaching of the new curriculum.

“We are in isolation and the more help we can get, the better it will be for our students,” he said.

“We are a kingdom country, we are implementing the New Zealand curriculum and sometimes it feels like students are being disadvantaged because of that isolation.”