6 Jul 2011

Call for New Zealand to double its recurrent funding to Niue

1:08 pm on 6 July 2011

A Niue opposition MP is calling for New Zealand to double the amount of money it provides for spending on services.

Terry Coe's comment comes in the lead-up to the second reading of Niue's budget, which for the first time allocates money to investment and development.

The budget, which is largely funded by New Zealand, allocates more than 22.7 million New Zealand dollars to investment and development and almost 24 million dollars to recurrent funding.

But Mr Coe says recurrent funding is where much more money is needed in order that ex-patriate Niueans in jobs such as teaching will return.

"We should increase the wages here to double what they're getting. So if a teacher's getting 22 now they should get at least 44 or even 50. If we want to attract people back they're not going to come back on 22,000 after being paid you know 47 or 50,000 in New Zealand."

Terry Coe says funding higher wages in Niue will also benefit New Zealand.