MP hits out at failing Pacific states

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National MP John Hayes believes several Pacific nations' experiments in self government have gone wrong.

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A government politician has spoken out about New Zealand's Pacific neighbours, saying their people are fleeing after experiments in self government have gone wrong.

National Party MP John Hayes - a former diplomat - said in a speech that self-government had failed in the Cook Islands and Niue and was failing in the New Zealand colony of Tokelau, north of Samoa.

He said over 90 percent of Cook Islanders and 98 percent of Niueans had left their islands for New Zealand.

"I think the actions of the majority tell us what they think about governance at home and show us the relevance of sovereignty to them," Mr Hayes said.

The Cook Islands and Niue are constitutionally "self governing in free association" with New Zealand but the model had failed to deliver New Zealand levels of income and social services "though it does work for the political and bureaucratic elite".

He was critical of the high numbers of politicians the islands had.

"If Auckland was populated with Cook Islands' ratio of MP's then Auckland would have 2,400 members of parliament," he said.

Self governance had created inefficient, uneconomic and wasteful governance.

The Cook Islands had passed a law making it a crime to report how much MPs spent on travel.

"I understand it is around $5 million, ie five percent of the national budget. The model has encouraged Niue to employ around 90 percent of its total population from 18 and 60 years of age in the public service.

"The island of Aitutaki, a community of 2000 has three members of parliament, a mayor, three police and a full time harbour master who copes with a once a month ship visit."

He said New Zealand provided almost $40 million a year to less than 3000 people living in Tokelau and Niue which is absorbed by dysfunctional systems.

Mr Hayes said some of the leaders of the Pacific countries were acting on the edge of corruption while travelling under New Zealand diplomatic passports.

"Communities in Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau are choking on the trappings of pseudo sovereignty which benefit a very few."

Before becoming an MP Mr Hayes was a senior diplomat and head of the Pacific deck at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a key negotiator in ending the Bougainville war in Papua New Guinea.

- © Fairfax NZ News