Tokelau progress

Press, 2 June 1982, Page 16

Tokelau progress

NZPA staff correspondent Woashington New Zealand is committed to assisting Tokelau towards a greater degree of selfgovernment, and the relationship is now, more than ever, one of partnership, a New Zealand representative has told a United Nations sub-committee. The representative, Miss Yvonne Lucas, a second secretary with New Zealand’s mission to the United

Nations, told the United Nations committee on decolonisation’s sub-committee on small territories that the 45member General Fono had become-the primary organ of Tokelau’s political life and was now firmly established as the principal decisionmaker for Tokelau’s future. This had come at a General Fono meeting in March where the New Zealandbased Administrator, Mr Frank Corner, a former Secretary for Foreign Affairs, had been “very much an observer.” Miss Lucas quoted a section of Mr Comer's report, which said that New Zea-’ land’s intention was to be guided by the wishes of the Tokelauan people and to introduce greater self-govern-ment at the pace they desired. - ’ The General Fono s budget advisory committee had drawn up the territory’s Budget for 1982-83, the first time that it had assumed full control of the Budget from the beginning. The Budget had been approved by the General Fono, Revenue in Tokelau was now derived from a 15 per cent export tax on handicrafts, from shipping and freight charges, from radio and telegraph services, from Customs duties, and from the sale of Stamps and coins. Locally raised revenue had increased ' for the year to March' 31,- 1982, from $NZ219,750 in 1981, to $NZ612,000, with New Zealand aid having risen by 14 per cent to $NZ1,822,(W0.

Revenue from other sources had brought total revenue to $NZ2,747,000, a 44 per cent increase over the 1981 figure of $NZ1,907.000,