FRONTLINE. 21/05/1989

A weekly current affairs programme introduced by Neil Billington. This weeks topic is immigration from Niue to New Zealand.

“The Pacific Island of Niue is fast being abandoned, and soon a whole nation may disappear forever. The lights it seems are going out on Niue, as its people pack up their bags and leave for the bright lights of Auckland. But if the sun is setting on this former New Zealand colony, it is surely smiling on National MP Winston Peters, our guest on tonight’s programme. Last week the polls again show the MP for Tauranga to be the most popular politician in the country. Eighteen percent of those questioned would actually like Winston Peters to be Prime Minister. But what do his National Party colleagues and some of his opponents think of him? “

Neil Billington interviews Winston Peters in the studio.

“The island of Niue is facing a crisis, not a crisis of political upheaval, although there is some of that with moves to unseat the longstanding Premier Sir Robert Rex. Nor is it a crisis of a languishing economy, although there’s plenty of that too. The plight of Nuie is that it could soon quite simply cease to exist, with people leaving for a better life elsewhere. As Terence Taylor reports, Nuie is an island that Nuieans don’t seem to want”.

“Death of the Rock”. Interviewees: Hon. Russell Marshall, Min. of External Relations; Hima Douglas, Government Secretary; Morris Tafatu, Grower; Veve Jacobsen, MP; Sir Robert Rex, Premier; Sani Lakatani, immigrant; Max Lakatani, immigrant; Chris Lakatani, immigrant; Lagitafuke Viliko; Dr Arbutus, Mitikulena, Director of Health.