Now Niue looks for T.V.

While most of the Paci fic’s television entrep reneurs and chance watchers were centring their attention on Fiji (with side-glances at Papua New Guinea), an other island was prepar ing to take the plunge.

On Niue, the prime minister, Sir Robert Rex, said during a stopover in Suva that he had been talking with an American cable television company about setting up a service in his country.

Sir Robert said he thought it might help slow the tide of migration away from Niue and to wards the brighter lights of New Zealand and other places if television were to be freely avail

able.

The Americans were offering to instal a cable service covering 13 vil lages on the island and could have the system up and running within six months.

Niue’s population is now down to about 3000, with 8000 of their fellow countrymen preferring to live in the North Island of New Zealand. The Niuean government fears that if the drainage con tinues future self-govern ment may become im possible.

Sir Robert did not name the cable company with which he had been talking, nor give any de tails of the type of prog ram they would offer.