Niue Assembly

The Niue Assembly (Niue Fono Ekepule) is the legislature of Niue. It consists of 20 members; 14 representatives of the villages and 6 elected on a common roll. Members are directly elected by universal suffrage, and serve a three-year term. Niue follows the Westminster system of government, with the Premier elected by the Assembly and the Cabinet drawn from it.

History

The Assembly is descended from the Island Council established under the Cook Islands Act 1915. This was disbanded in 1959 and reconstituted as the Assembly, which was successively granted greater control. The Assembly assumed full law-making power within the constitution upon self-government in 1974.

The Assembly is physically located in Alofi.

Speaker of the Assembly

The Assembly is presided over by a Speaker, elected by its members from outside their ranks. If a member of the Assembly is elected Speaker, they must resign their seat. The Speaker does not vote in proceedings, and does not enjoy a casting vote.

Niue

Niue (/ˈnjuːeɪ/ NEW-ay; Niuean: Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) northeast of New Zealand within the triangle formed by Tonga to the west, Samoa to the north, and the Cook Islands to the east. Its land area is 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) and its population, predominantly Polynesian, is around 1,190. They commonly refer to the island as "The Rock", a reference to the traditional name "Rock of Polynesia".

Niue, whose capital is the village of Alofi, is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, and New Zealand conducts most of its diplomatic relations on its behalf. Niueans are New Zealand citizens, and Queen Elizabeth II is head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. 90 to 95 percent of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language.

Niue is not a member of the United Nations, but UN organisations have accepted its status as a freely-associated state as equivalent to independence for the purposes of international law. As such, Niue is a full member of some UN specialised agencies (such as UNESCO, and the WHO), and is invited, alongside the other non-UN member state, the Cook Islands, to attend United Nations conferences open to "all states".

Niue International Airport

Niue International Airport (IATA: IUE, ICAO: NIUE), also known as Hanan International Airport, is an international airport serving the island nation of Niue. It is located in the town of Alofi and currently only serves Air New Zealand flying to and from Auckland twice a week, departing Auckland on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and departing Niue on Tuesdays and Fridays.

It was opened in December 1970 at which time it was serviced by Fokker F.27 Friendship aircraft. For a period in the 1990s, Niue International Airport served as the base of Niue Airlines.

Airlines

External links