Articles by Utopia Support

Opening up shop at Nikao

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in Local

Business savvy Nikao Maori preschool students (from left) Tarani Omao, Georgia Marsters, Pati Estall, Paige Aunguna and Teokotai Tuaivi will be opening their own grocery shop today at the school in Nikao. The students learned all about making and spending money this week a before deciding to set up a shop of their own.

Departure tax built into ticket

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in Local

Parliament has legislated to incorporate the cost of departure tax into the price of an airline ticket. The Departure Tax Act of 2005 did not require international airlines to collect departure tax at the point of the ticket sale, but as of yesterday all tickets for travel after December 1 will include the $55 departure […]

Bishop denies shark finning claims

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in Local

Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen has refused to accept minister of marine resources Teina Bishop’s denial of allegations that three tonnes of shark fins were found aboard a Luen Thai vessel in Cook Islands waters. He called Bishop’s dismissal of shark finning claims a ”cover up“. Rasmussen asked Bishop in Parliament on Wednesday to comment on […]

MMR refutes shark fin finds

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in Local

To prevent targeted finning taking place the Ministry of Marine Resources has drafted a shark policy that allows certain species of sharks to be caught as long as their fins are attached to the carcass. The current Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) licencing conditions allow fishing vessels to retain non-endangered species of shark but that […]

Kata - June 22, 2012

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in Kata

The mouths of babes

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Mata Maxwell is very familiar with the mouths of Cook Island children. She has been working as a dental therapist for years. Dental therapists, or dental nurses as they were previously known, are the first face of free dental care for Cook Islands children. It is often from this first visit to the school dental […]

Titikaveka goes to the polls

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

The people of Titikaveka were busy casting their votes yesterday to choose who will represent their community in Parliament. Voting was held between 9 am and 6 pm at Titikaveka Sunday School and YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Hall. A mobile booth for pre-registered special care was also operating. Electoral office staff running the booths […]

Tradesmen upskilling at workshops

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Rarotonga tradesmen had the opportunity to upskill this week at a series of workshops run through the Cook Islands Trades Training Centre. Eighteen participants were invited to take part in the workshops that were organised by the Trades Training Centre and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP). These included 10 staff from MOIP and […]

Food festival fundraiser

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Tereora College is holding a food festival at the Punanga Nui marketplace this Friday to fundraise for new school equipment. Students from all form classes will cook the food, which includes a barbeque, umu food, curried chicken and home baking. They are also manning the stalls, with help from parents and teachers. Proceeds from the […]

Follow the flags for food, craft

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Food and craft markets across Rarotonga have been given a marketing boost by the Business Trade and Investment Board (BTIB) who this week provided brightly coloured flags and banners for the various market initiatives. BITB minister Mark Brown enthusiastically presented the flags to the various market organisers saying that the promotional equipment was a fantastic […]

Jewellery class inspiring participants

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Follow the sounds of hammering and laughter at Tereora College on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening, and you will find the community education jewellery class in session. The class has been meeting for some weeks now, with the group of seven budding artists having already produced a number of pieces. They began with simple black […]

Lady Naomi doing Te Maeva Nui run

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Samoan ship Lady Naomi is likely to transport northern group islanders to Rarotonga for Te Maeva Nui. Next week a representative from a Samoan shipping company arrives in the Cook Islands to discuss with government the logistics of hiring the vessel to transport dance teams from the north to Rarotonga for the Constitution celebrations. Culture […]

PICI asks: Whose side is Ponia on?

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

The Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative is concerned that Ministry of Marine Resources secretary Ben Ponia seems to support the interests of foreign fishing vessels over local ones. During last week’s consultation on the draft National Plan of Action (NPOA) for sharks, Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative (PICI) became concerned that Ponia was supporting the right of […]

Shark action plan criticised

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

The Ministry of Marine Resources’ (MMR) proposed changes to the National Plan of Action for sharks, the key policy document for shark conservation and management in the Cooks, have been met with a skeptical response from conservationists. A two-day public consultation last week on revising the National Plan of Action (NPOA) for sharks was attended […]

'Reluctance' to progress marine park

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen said in Parliament this week he feels there has been ”reluctance“ on behalf of government to progress the marine park initiative. ”It appears to me there’s been some reluctance to progress with this idea. Maybe because it conflicts with two other things happening in our waters – one of them is […]

TIS calls for wire trace ban

Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in National

Te Ipukarea Society is disappointed the Ministry of Marine Resources ignored calls for a ban on wire trace fishing at a public consultation last week on the draft national plan of action for sharks. Members of Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) said there was ”very strong support“ at the consultation, held on Thursday and Friday last […]

Three tonnes of shark fins allegedly found

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Environment

A number of reports have come in of a large amount of shark fins being found on a foreign fishing vessel by a recent navy patrol. According to numerous reliable sources, three tonnes worth of shark fins – without the required number of shark carcasses – have allegedly been found by navy personnel onboard a […]

Get voting, Titikaveka

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Titikaveka by-election is being held today (Thursday), with booths opening at nine o’clock this morning. The electoral office have set up two voting booths – one at Titikaveka Sunday School and the other at YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Hall. They will be open to voters until six this evening. A mobile booth for […]

Maternity leave scheme a 'great step'

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Cook Islands National Council of Women (CINCW) says government’s pledge to implement a paid maternity leave scheme for women working in the private sector is a ”small step for our women, but a great step for our nation“. CINCW president Vaine Wichman says the group has been fighting since 2007 for greater maternity leave […]

Vessel caught with shark fins

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen has asked minister of marine resources Teina Bishop to comment on allegations that a Luen Thai vessel was this week caught finning sharks. He said in Parliament yesterday, during question-and-answer time, that the HMS Otago boarded a Luen Thai vessel in the north on Tuesday night and discovered a collection of […]