Articles by Utopia Support

Beware of ATMs

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Last Saturday I made a transaction from the Westpac ATM machine in Avarua. At the end of the transaction no money came out and the machine note said ”funds not available try again later“. On checking my statement on Tuesday night I was very surprised to see the funds had been withdrawn from […]

Kata - July 28, 2012

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in Kata

League world cup jersey unveiled

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in League

People interested in helping support the Cook Islands Rugby League’s 2013 World Cup campaign can do so in style. The federation is selling its new international range of match-day and training gear to the public at the Punanga Nui markets today, with proceeds to go directly to the World Cup campaign next year. Made by […]

Call to save te reo Maori

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in National

Using, sharing and practising te reo Maori is one of the themes of this year’s 47th Te Maeva Nui Constitution Celebrations which were officially opened by acting Prime Minister Tom Marsters on Thursday. In his speech Marsters described the last 47 years of Cook Islands history as an era of ‘self determination’. ”This is a […]

PM's urgent meet about Clinton

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in National

Prime Minister Henry Puna got back into the country yesterday afternoon (Friday) after holding an urgent meeting with New Zealand foreign affairs minister Murray McCully on Thursday. They discussed the possible visit of Hillary Clinton to the Cooks for the forum in August, with the outcome of their meeting still under wraps. The prime minister […]

Beattie did a good job says head of industry

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in National

The president of the Tourism Industry Council says while Tourism Corporation former chief executive Carmel Beattie is ”polarizing“, she performed her job well. As of 4pm yesterday, Beattie was suddenly no longer chief executive of the Cook Islands’ largest government-run corporation. While the official line is she resigned, numerous other sources say she was in […]

Tax collection costs high?

Saturday 28 July 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

”Wherever Mark Brown [finance minister] got his figures for the withholding tax take, goodness only knows,“ a smoke signaller writes. ”I have had a Westpac Bank account open since November 2011 with an average of $200 in at any one time. Over the course of this time I have received a total of $1.12 in […]

Respect and reverence: Ra o te Ui Ariki

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Church Talk

The recent Ra o te Ui Ariki at Atupare Marae in Kavera was a special occasion which centred on many things, of which one was showing respect to the traditional leaders of the Cook Islands. It is said that over 1000 people attended. I am not in a position to single out what was the […]

Mauke magic on show at National Athletics Champs

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Local

Athletics officials could do worse than discover just what is in the Tupuna family’s water supply after two cousins, representing the small island of Mauke, took the 100m event by storm on the second day of the Cook Islands National Athletics Champs on Wednesday. Edmund Tupuna was an impressive winner of the feature sprint – […]

Mobile outages in Matavera

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Local

Telecom Cook Islands say a faulty GSM module is the cause of mobile outages in Matavera yesterday. Mobile network outages were recorded between Matavera to Ngatangiia from as early as 9am yesterday morning. Technicians found the root of the problem – a faulty module inside the GSM component – at the main workstation in Matavera. […]

Super system unfair

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I am quite amazed that being an MP would require you to be elected for only two terms before being entitled to superannuation for life. On my own calculation with the recent terms of election, these cronies need only eight years of being a Member of Parliament, 20 days’ work per year (if […]

'Pure incompetence'

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, It is incredible that on the morning of the opening of Te Maeva Nui, the BTIB is asking for sponsorship for the event. What has the previous and new Secretary of Culture been doing for the last 12 months? If they were doing their job properly, sponsorship should have been secured soon after […]

Implement a road levy on vehicles

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Yes, I do agree with people and even tourists complaining about the roads around the island. I took a ride around just recently and it is unsafe in most areas. I would have expected the road to be safer to use than before, but no, it is the other way around. I did […]

Kata - July 27, 2012

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in Kata

Tournament touch and go

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in National

The first-ever touch rugby tournament, to be held between teams from the outer islands and Rarotonga, is scheduled for Monday, August 6. The inaugural Constitution Day Touch Tournament is scheduled to take place at Victoria Park, which was chosen because it would be easy to access for outer islands students staying at accommodation near to […]

Free chiropractic services on offer

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in National

Members of the public are set to benefit yet again from the visit of a number of students from the New Zealand College of Chiropractic. Starting today, a total of 50 students from the Auckland-based institution are offering their services for free under the guise of 10 doctors, including the president of the institute, Dr […]

Cooks charter provides revenue boost

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in National

A big drop in the number of passengers travelling between Pago Pago and Samoa has forced the Samoa Shipping Corporation (SSC) to look elsewhere to boost its revenues. According to the Chief Executive Officer of SSC, Papali’i Willie Nelson, that’s why Lady Naomi II has been chartered to the Cook Islands. ”Firstly, the financial crisis […]

The gift of wheels

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in National

Papas or mamas will be able to rest easier after the donation of a wheelchair from Raromart to the Te Kainga Mental Health Centre. Raromart manager Teariki Pennycook was in attendance yesterday to hand over the prized possession to the not-for-profit organisation, which recently celebrated its eighth birthday. The group, who do not receive any […]

PAC has first meeting

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in National

Since Parliament formally approved the establishment of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last month, a lot of developments have taken place. The PAC has visited the Western Australia Parliament as part of a twin relationship that goes back some 15 years. The PAC has finalised its Perth study tour report and this will be tabled […]

Seven men on burglary charges

Friday 27 July 2012 | Published in National

Justice of the Peace Carmen Temata presided over the High Court on July 25 and the following judgements were passed relating to defendants appearing on burglary-related charges. Temotu Arioka – appeared in court on a burglary charge. The case was adjourned to August 2 without a plea and he was released on bail with the […]