STORY:
New Zealand Gov't Wants First Light Rights

According New Zealand's The Press, New Zealand's government is trying to buy the exclusive television rights to the "first light" dawn next new year in the Chatham Islands.

Ken Lanauze is a Pitt Island farmer who owns the land involved but he says the government had failed to offer enough money to acquire the exclusive rights it wanted to the site, and to other facilities on the island.

The most recent offer, two weeks ago, was about $150,000, he said. More than $2 million has been committed by the Government to support national projects to mark millennium celebrations, including those in the Chatham Islands, and other national projects.

But Lanauze said the Government had also been trying to acquire the right to broadcast from Pitt Island. The Press quotes Lanauze as saying "They've been trying to . . . but we haven't accepted their offer," he said. "Things are at a stalemate. They wanted complete rights to the jetty, our airstrip, our roads, and everything. We're holding out for a better deal."

The 55 people on Pitt Island have set up a trust to spend any proceeds of their millennium marketing for the benefit of the island and its residents.

Source: The Press

DATE: 5/05/99

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