Niue Vacation

Niue’s climate is tropical, modified by southeast trade winds. Typhoons pose a natural hazard.

The Niue Constitution Act vests executive authority in Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand and the Governor-General of New Zealand. The Niue Constitution specifies that in everyday practice, sovereignty is exercised by the Niue Cabinet of Ministers of the Premier of Niue and three other ministers. The premier and ministers are members of the Niue Legislative Assembly, the nation’s parliament.

The assembly consists of twenty democratically elected members, fourteen of whom are elected by the electors of each village constituency. The remaining six are elected by all registered voters in all constituencies. Electors must be New Zealand citizens, resident for at least three months, and candidates must have been electors, and resident for twelve months. It is a requirement under law that anyone who was born in Niue must register on the electoral roll; however it is up to the elector whether to vote or not to vote on polling day. If two candidates have the same number of votes, the votes are recounted; if the number of votes is still equal following the recount, the name of the winning candidate is drawn out of a hat.

The Speaker is elected by the assembly and is the first official to be elected in the first sitting of the Legislative Assembly following an election. The new Speaker calls for nominations for the Premier; the candidate with the most votes from the twenty members is elected. The Premier then selects three other members to form the Cabinet of Ministers, the executive arm of government. The other two organs of government, following the Westminster model, are the Legislative Assembly and the Judiciary. Terms before new elections last three years, with the latest election due on 7 June 2008 as part of the Niuean general election, 2008.

Niue has been self-governing, in free association with New Zealand, since 1974. Niue is fully responsible for its internal affairs. Having no military or the resources to maintain a global diplomatic network, New Zealand retains responsibility for the foreign affairs and defence of Niue, but these obligations are only exercised at the request of the government of Niue. The island mainly interacts with the world through its diplomatic mission in Wellington, New Zealand.

Niue is also a member of the South Pacific Forum and a number of regional and international agencies. It is not a member of the United Nations, but is a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Ottawa Treaty.

Niue established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China on December 12, 2007.

Niue is also a party to the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement, and currently negotiating for the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU-PACP), and will be starting soon the negotiations on the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations with New Zealand and Australia.

Alofi is the capital city of the Pacific Ocean nation of Niue. It has a population of 614 (census of 2001). It consists of the two villages Alofi North (pop. 256) and Alofi South, where the government headquarters are located (pop. 358).

It is located at the centre of Alofi Bay on the west coast of the island, close to the only break in the coral reef that surrounds Niue. The bay stretches for 30% of the island’s length (about seven kilometres) from Halagigie Point in the south to Makapu Point in the north.

In January 2004, Niue was hit by the fierce tropical storm Cyclone Heta which killed two people and did extensive damage to the entire island. Many of Alofi’s buildings were destroyed, including the hospital. Government buildings were shifted to a less exposed site 3 km inland from the west coast, named Fonuakula, after the storm. This site is still within the village boundaries of Alofi South.

Among the few well known Niueans, there is the Tumkar family, who lived in Australia from 1998. They were the first ever doctors in the small village city.

Niue (pronounced /niːˈʔuːeɪ/, /ˈnjuːeɪ/ in English) is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the “Rock of Polynesia.” Natives of the island call it “the Rock.” Although self-governing, Niue is in free association with New Zealand, meaning that the Sovereign in Right of New Zealand is also Niue’s head of state. Most diplomatic relations are conducted by New Zealand on Niue’s behalf. Niue is located 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. The Niuean language and the English language are both taught in schools and used in day-to-day business and communications. The people are predominantly Polynesian.