More Top Stories
‘Nothing to worry about’: Prime Minister Brown on China agreement
16 February 2025
‘Serious questions’: Opposition challenges China partnership
15 February 2025
No-confidence motion against PM and his Cabinet faces delays
15 February 2025
Ruta Mave: People’s Republic of China red flag
10 February 2025
No debt in China deal
8 February 2025
Thomas Wynne: Haka with the taniwha or dance with the dragon?
8 February 2025
‘Paedophile’ gets 13 years in prison
22 January 2025
Thomas Wynne: Where were our leaders while children suffered?
25 January 2025
$541.7m tourism earnings
25 January 2025
Cook Islands passport proposal
6 January 2025
Top cop position advertised
7 December 2024
Police need numbers and bigger budget
9 December 2024
Niki Rattle: A call for stronger human rights protections
10 December 2024
Solid and Hazardous Waste Bill referred to Parliament committee
10 December 2024
DPM defends CIIC finance and travel policies
6 December 2024
Cook Islands has its first mosque
14 November 2024
CI Muslim opens up about her faith and journey
16 November 2024
RAC to address mosque legality
19 November 2024
I don’t expect much change: PM Brown on US Elections
6 November 2024
Fifth weekly Sydney flight to Rarotonga announced
23 October 2024
CIIC directors seek $350,000 in damages over defamatory claims
21 October 2024
Man found guilty of rape, burglary
24 September 2024
Tenants face water bill burden
8 October 2024
Concerns over Minister’s role in inmate work releases: PAC
5 October 2024
Tourism contribution set to surpass half-billion dollar mark
25 September 2024
Parliament Clerk sparks outrage over deep sea mining statement
23 September 2024
Deep sea dilemma: Cook Islanders weigh the cost of mineral riches
21 September 2024
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
Cook Islands deep sea mining poll sparks controversy
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Articles by Utopia Support
E tu e ara e te iti tangata Kuki Airani
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Kia Orana e te etita, E reo poroki teia na te Koutu Nui e te au arongamana e manako nei i teia au tumu tapura.
Outer islands need doctors
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, A number of decisions made by this present government over the last two terms of parliament have affected some, if not all Cook Islanders and were enacted despite serious protests from various sectors of the public.
Hotel group to the fore in award nominations
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Local
Two Pacific Resort Hotel Group properties have been nominated for five awards at tomorrow’s Air New Zealand Cook Islands Tourism Awards.
Concrete blocks bound for island project
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Outer Islands
The General Transport barge Layar Mas was loaded up with more than 100 tonnes worth of concrete blocks on Wednesday, bound for the Mangaia solar project.
Awards celebrate diversity
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Local
Cook Islands Tourism Corporation regards the biennial tourism awards as a celebration of diversity.
Bank aids group off to Mangaia
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Outer Islands
The Are Pa Metua centre were the recipients of a $1000-plus donation from the ANZ bank last week.
Cook Islands joins surveying strategy
Friday 20 April 2018 | Published in Local
The Cook Islands has become a part of the world’s first regional strategy for surveying and geospatial capacity development.
Road toll deemed 'money-grabbing'
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Letters to the Editor
In March my family were holidaying in Rarotonga. I was very surprised to find that we had to pay a $5 toll every time we drove down the road to Wigmore’s Waterfall (there is a $2 charge per walker).
Brown presents 'delusional picture'
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black, or people in glasshouses should not throw stones? And who actually qualifies for his description of “ignorant”?
Now's the time for another road check
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Smoke Signals
After all the rain and flooding, now’s the time for PM Puna to do an inspection of the roads on Rarotonga, a smoke signaller says. “But try a motorbike this time and my advice wear a helmet: it’s a pothole minefield!”
Tax on NZ pensions
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Letters to the Editor
A number of decisions have been made by this present government over the last two terms of parliament. These decisions affect some (if not all) Cook Islanders and were enacted despite serious protestations from various sectors of the public.
Local bank supports tourism awards
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Local
For the second time, Bank of the Cook Islands (BCI) has sponsored a guest speaker for the annual Air New Zealand Cook Islands Tourism Awards which will be held tonight.
Subsidised voyage off
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Local
A shortage of cargo means a Taio Shipping Services vessel scheduled to make a subsidised voyage to Pukapuka, Nassau and Palmerston today, will not now sail till next week.
Film screening marks Anzac Day countdown
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Local
War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us....a film by New Zealand film-maker Gaylene Preston, will screen at the Cook Islands RSA tonight.
Two flights called off in one week
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Local
Jetstar Airways has come under fire once again, after they were forced to cancel a flight for the second time in a week.
CIP focus on infrastructure
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Politics
The Cook Islands Party (CIP) plans to continue focusing on infrastructure heading into the June 14 election.
French Polynesia all set for elections
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Regional
FRENCH POLYNESIA – Voters in French Polynesia will go to the polls next week to elect a new 57-member territorial assembly.
Flood disaster on Hawai'i's Kauai
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Regional
Hawai‘i – Hawai‘i has declared a state of disaster for the County of Kauai after severe weekend flooding caused mass evacuations and triggered emergency relief efforts.
Shipping industry sets tough target
Thursday 19 April 2018 | Published in Regional
Pacific – The shipping industry says there needs to be more research into new technology before emissions targets set by the International Maritime Organisation can be reached.
PACIFIC BRIEFS - 18/08/2018
Wednesday 18 April 2018 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office says more than 800 homes on the island of Kadavu have sustained damage from this month’s Cyclone Keni. The NDMO Director Anare Leweniqila says 804 houses have been damaged, 201 of which were fully destroyed. Mr Leweniqila said 104 evacuation centers remain active with 803 evacuees. He said the relief and recovery phase continued in Kadavu with assessment teams to work through the 75 villages in the area by the end of the week. FBC News reported the collective cost of damage for the Western and Northern Divisions was expected to be finalised by Friday. Leweniqila said the assessment for the West and North would cover the combined disasters in relation to Cyclone Josie, Tropical Depression 13F and Cyclone Keni. BOUGAINVILLE MP URGES 100% TURNOUT BOUGAINVILLE – An MP in Bougainville’s autonomous regional parliament says it’s important that there is a strong, emphatic vote by Bougainvilleans in next year’s independence referendum. The Papua New Guinea autonomous region is to hold a referendum in June next year under the terms of the Bougainville Peace Agreement. PNG’s national parliament has been tasked with the final say on the referendum outcome. Rodney Osioco from Kokoda constituency said a strong majority vote would ensure Bougainvilleans’ self-determination aspirations are ultimately approved by PNG’s national parliament. “That is why the members are doing more awareness to the people that we must all fully vote one hundred percent to our aspirations so that that outcome can be rectified in the parliament, because parliament is the only legitimate authority who makes laws in the country.” PETITION CALLS FOR ELECTION DEFERRAL FRENCH POLYNESIA – A petition has been launched in French Polynesia in a bid to defer this month’s territorial election to remedy irregularities in the registration process. The newly-formed group Our Movement said within three days, its online petition had been signed by 2000 people. It was launched in response to obstruction by administration officials who allegedly refused to certify documents needed for candidates to stand. The new party’s leader Tevai Haumani said some of his candidates withdrew after being threatened with job losses. He said because of this interference his party couldn’t lodge its list of 73 candidates on time. Haumani had also written to the French president Emmanuel Macron asking for protection of aspiring politicians for there to be a democratic choice. Leaders of another new party list, A Ti’a Mai, also said it faced obstruction and therefore couldn’t meet the nominations deadline for the election April 22. - IN SAMOA 59 sailors preparing to leave for work on board cargo and cruise ships in Europe have been warned not to drink alcohol. During a farewell ceremony the acting Prime Minister, Papalii Niko Lee Hang said this is the main challenge faced by local seamen now working overseas. Papalii said that the government’s zero tolerance on alcohol consumption remained and if the new group misbehaved overseas they would be sent home and no longer be considered for further service on foreign ships. Anti-plastics initiative VANUATU – Britain and Vanuatu are leading a new Commonwealth initiative to fight plastic pollution in the Pacific and other oceans. The British government has committed US$88 million dollars to the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance. The funding package is billed at helping to boost global research and assist Commonwealth countries stop plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first place. Speaking ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London next week, PM Theresa May annnounced that New Zealand, Ghana and Sri Lanka had joined the Alliance. Together with Vanuatu as joint chair, Britain called on other countries to pledge action on plastics. This can include a ban on microbeads, cutting down on single-use plastic bags, or other steps to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. Developing countries who sign up to the Alliance are eligible to bid for partnership support to improve waste management systems and implement other initiatives to reduce the plastic waste reaching oceans. Aid spending unpopular PACIFIC – Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells says the vast majority of Australians do not want increases in aid spending. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 80 per cent of Australians do not support any further spending on foreign aid. Fierravanti-Wells called for Britain to partner on infrastructure development in the Pacific. Speaking to aid agencies on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, she said the Australian aid budget will be kept at US$3 billion and would not increase until the economy was back on a sustainable footing. Fierravanti-Wells said the government polling had exposed a “big schism” between the community and those working in the aid sector. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the opposition Labor Party’s belief that the government’s cuts to foreign aid have allowed China to move into Australia’s backyard by showering poorer Pacific Island nations with aid and cheap development loans. Island evacuation pending VANUATU – A patrol boat loaded with police and mobile force personnel is being deployed to the Vanuatu island of Ambae this afternoon to help with an intended mass evacuation. A state of emergency has been declared on the island, with the volcano at the island’s centre continuing to erupt, blanketing much of the island in ash. A spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Office, Presley Tari, said the mass evacuation will begin once the forces arrive and establish themselves which is likely to be later on this week. The government announced last week that a mass evacuation would again take place, with people from the islands north, west and south being moved to the far east coast or nearby smaller islands. Ambae is in Penama Province and the provincial government has secured land on the island’s east side for victims of the ongoing eruption. This comes as the central government’s ministerial task force is still yet to complete negotiations to acquire land for resettlement on either Maewo or Pentecost.
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