Articles by Utopia Support

James wins tabua

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Local

Vaka Marumaru Atua crew James Pakoti shows off a tabua (whale’s tooth) during the Vaka Voyagers welcome to Fiji. Three crew members from each vaka were chosen to be part of the tabua ceremony that included the voyagers swimming to shore to search for the prized whale’s tooth among a group of Fiji women. Excerpts […]

$194,000 for Vaimaru water

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Responding to Kata’s cartoon in Monday’s Cook Islands News concerning the water situation in Arenikau, Aitutaki, it is correct that in recent times the town water supply has been consistently turned off for periods of time to domestic home uses. Sometimes the water supply had been cut off for several days at a […]

Kata - June 20, 2012

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Kata

Netballers prepare for Fiji showdown

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Netball

Netball Cook Islands officially unveiled their family of five sponsors and national netball squad members at a farewell function at the Edgewater Resort & Spa on Monday night. Netball supporters were introduced to the hardworking netball board and volunteers before accolades were showered on the sport’s generous sponsors. The Edgewater Resort & Spa has joined […]

Roads closed

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

Maintenance work on the Maire Nui Drive in Avarua is expected to be completed this Friday. Before then motorists are urged to be patient and drive carefully on the one-lane road through the main town. A new chip seal is being laid on parts of the Maire Nui Drive especially on the stretch of road […]

Otago in harbour after patrol

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

The HMNZS Otago is due to berth in Avatiu Harbour at 1 o’clock this afternoon (Wednesday), after a week-long joint exercise boarding fishing vessels in Cook Islands waters. The Otago carried out the exercise in the northern part of the Cooks exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with a Cook Islands police boarding party. Boarding foreign fishing […]

Inquest may bring 'closure'

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

Five more witnesses have been heard in the inquest into the disappearance of 31-year-old handicapped woman Ngatupuna Pokotea. Pokotea, who suffered from epileptic fits and could not talk, vanished from her Turoa residence on July 11, 2006. The inquest has been held in the High Court by Coroner Nooapii Tearea last Friday and yesterday (Tuesday). […]

Penrhyn fisherman alleges torture

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

A Penrhyn fisherman says the way he was treated by police, prison and probation services amounted to torture and is a breach of the Cook Islands constitution and international law. Arumia Robert Samatua is suing the attorney-general for over $970,000 on behalf of the police, prison and probation services for treatment he alleges was a […]

Community respond to smacking comments

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

How to discipline children is always a contentious issue, and minister Teariki Heather stirred up the debate on the subject in Parliament on Tuesday. During question and answer time, Heather responded to Nikao MP Ngamau ‘Aunty Mau’ Munokoa’s query on how to deal with youth crime by saying the government needed to allow ”parents to […]

Current debt of $93.6m 'manageable'

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

Crown debt is expected to increase over the long-term. Total gross debt is estimated to reach $93.6 million by the end of this month. The figure has been reduced from last year’s balance on account of a favourable movement in the US to New Zealand dollar exchange rate. At present 80 percent of Crown debt […]

PM praises vaka crew

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

Prime Minister Henry Puna made mention of the sailors aboard Cook Islands vaka Marumaru Atua in Parliament yesterday. ”I am very proud of these young people,“ he said. ”First they went to the United States, the continent, they landed over there, came back and went to Samoa and also to Fiji. And I came on […]

Customs legislation passes easily

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

A 600-page bill listing goods that are imported to and exported from the Cook Islands, and their accompanying duties and preferential rates, has passed through Parliament without amendment. The Customs Tariff Bill 2012 passed without objection yesterday. The legislation replaced its 32-year-old predecessor, directly following the passage of the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Bill. […]

Licences restrict by-catch: Bishop

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

Minister of marine resources Teina Bishop has said that exploratory fishing licences expressly restrict by-catch – or the accidental netting of a species not being targeted, like shark. Last week in Parliament Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen asked Bishop to confirm or deny allegations that foreign vessels licenced under the exploratory regime were finning sharks. Bishop […]

BTIB learns to help small business

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National

Two officials from the Business Trade Investment Board (BTIB) recently came back from a workshop in Fiji that taught them how to coach struggling small businesses. Melina Tuiravakai, BTIB’s business, trade and marketing manager, and Ratu Mato, the finance and administration manager, attended the week-long workshop run by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) […]

Pukapuka group in liquidation

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Pukapuka Community of NZ Inc has been forced into liquidation by New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department. The Pukapuka Community of NZ Inc employed 65 people at its peak in preschool and tertiary education, social services and at a bakery. It was described in a book published this year by the NZ Social Entrepreneur Fellowship […]

Budget enacted

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Appropriation Bill 2012 received Royal Assent yesterday. Speaker of the House Niki Rattle announced yesterday that the Budget – which was passed by Parliament on Friday after five days of debate – has been formally approved by head of state Queen’s Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin. She also noted that a delegation of seven – […]

Expat teacher numbers and pays queried

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

Expatriate teachers continue to receive higher salaries than local teachers. Education minister Teina Bishop confirmed the point yesterday in Parliament, in response to prompting from Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen. During question-and-answer time, Rasmussen raised concerns that the Ministry of Education was hiring more expatriates than locals. ”Some of our local Maori people feel that that […]

Singing Mermaids visit Apii Te Uki Ou

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

Gail Tipene, Tammy Diath and Pauline Berry of the Mermaid Dance Band gave a special performance for the kids at Apii Te Uki Ou yesterday after showing the kids’ parents a good time on Saturday night. The singing trio entertained the crowds at the Fire and Ice Ball organised to raise funds for a new […]

Art installation inspires FAITH

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Features

It was a true sensory experience at the preview of the FAITH art installation, at the Art Studio on Friday. As dusk fell the first art work, FAITH by Loretta Reynolds, was removed from the door to the studio, and guests were invited inside. Inside they were greeted by incense and candlelight, and a range […]

Southpac sued for maternity dismissal

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in National

A senior trust manager is suing her former workplace Southpac Trust after they dismissed her when she was on maternity leave. In the case, which is being heard in the High Court on June 29, Serena Hunter seeks $141,000 in damages including lost earnings and humiliation for her dismissal from Southpac in March this year. […]