The issue of return migration is a contentious topic for many Niueans in New Zealand and Niue. The former Premier of Niue, Young Vivian, constantly tries to attract Niueans overseas to return home. A number of employment schemes have been developed to attract them, but they have been largely unsuccessful. The Niuean government has sent a number of officials to investigate how to encourage or entice Niueans to return home. One initiative is bank loans from the Niue bank, made available for people to renovate their homes. There are other housing schemes such as renovating houses in partnership with government, which are then rented to tourists. However, to date, these schemes have had little impact on the number of Niueans returning home.

Niueans are more likely to return for a holiday, for between one and four weeks. Elderly Niueans living on superannuation often return home for periods of two to three months then go back to New Zealand. Many elderly Niueans return to Niue during the New Zealand winter months. There is also a strong sense of family connections for many Niueans who live overseas. They often visit family members back home, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period. There are also village celebrations that occur once a month, where a number of stalls are set up to sell cooked food, raw food products from plantations and handicrafts such as woven hats, mats and handbags. This is an opportunity for the whole village to showcase and display a number of products. Many Niueans affiliated to a particular village will return for this celebration. There is a strong sense of village loyalty for Niueans overseas to attend these functions. Other important events are the family cultural celebrations such as weddings, twenty-first birthday parties, hair cutting and ear piercing ceremonies, for which many Niueans make the journey home. These celebrations are an important part of many Niueans’ cultural identity and sense of belonging to Niue.

Land disputes are another major reason why there are a large number of Niueans returning from overseas, to reclaim their land. Land disputes have been a major issue for many Niueans and will continue. The economic development of land is very difficult as most Niueans are overseas and therefore there must be a consensus decision before any land is made available for development. In some cases, Niueans have returned to claim their land and some people have remained on the island to build new homes.

Despite Niue’s efforts to establish jobs and opportunities in Niue, there has been little progress in encouraging Niueans abroad to return home. There are a number of key reasons for this: many individuals find it difficult to return to Niue because of the lower standard of living there compared with that in New Zealand. The cost of food in the shops is high, as are petrol prices. Another reason is pay parity and disparity of employment opportunities. There is a large pay disparity between, say, a local Niuean school teacher and a New Zealand-trained school teacher. As mentioned earlier in this paper, the difficulty of living in a subsistence agricultural economy is due to the nature of the land. The task of cultivating plantations is very difficult because of the density of coral land. Irrigation and watering of crops is also an issue, as is the problem of pests and wild pigs destroying plantations.

Access to healthcare services is another issue where services may not be adequate, therefore patients with major health complications are sent to New Zealand for further care. In terms of the education system, students who do not get scholarships often do not get the opportunity for further education so they migrate to New Zealand. For many parents, education is an important part of their children’s educational development.

Despite the many factors discouraging return, a small number have returned home. Some Niueans have returned because of the stress of day-to-day living in New Zealand. For some, the costs of living have been quite high and they have had the added pressure of living in a demanding environment and surviving on poor pay. On a trip to Niue in 2006, many Niueans with whom I spoke were enjoying the laid-back lifestyle and stress-free environment. They had no immediate plans to return to New Zealand.

Magnall’s (2004) thesis on the portability of returning Niueans on superannuation showed that they were only getting 50 per cent of their New Zealand superannuation. Participants in the study found it very difficult to retire to Niue. The author identified a number of key reasons why many elderly Niueans do not return home. Participants who had a home to return to, money to build a house and a spouse who was keen to join them were willing to return. On the other hand, participants who were not keen to return home had no home to go to and their spouses were not keen to join them. Those who have returned comment on the good climate and relaxed lifestyle (Magnall 2004). Participants also mentioned that the difficulty in returning to Niue was the process of upgrading their houses with modern indoor facilities such as toilets and showers. They also had to consider growing plantations and working the physical environment. The subsistence farming lifestyle is very difficult for the elderly. One result is that elderly parents also took their children and grandchildren back to Niue to help them.

On a trip to Niue with the governor general of Niue in April 2007 a group of New Zealand-raised and born young Niuean professionals met with the Niue government to explain their views on returning to Niue. Many of them highlighted the fact that they would not return to Niue because of the low wages, the high costs of living and the difficulties of raising families. However, many Niueans still have strong family connections and a sense of belonging, making them want to return to Niue one day.