Articles by Utopia Support

Night work

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in Local

Beca port engineer John Youdale couldn’t resist snapping these shots of the Kimahia dredge at work overnight last week. The dredge, which will operate 24 hours a day six days a week, began pulling up material from the harbour floor on Wednesday. There are concerns over the spilling of saltwater from trucks carting the spoil […]

Salt will damage vehicles and taro patches

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, The works involving the material being dredged from the harbour should in its present practice cease until a more satisfactory solution is agreed. Where else in the western world would a contractor be allowed to ‘pollute’ a main thoroughfare – can you imagine trucks polluting say Queen Street from a building site with […]

Please go easy on the make-up!

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, After looking at the front page photo on Saturday’s newspaper and reading the comment ‘It won’t be all about looks’, may I throw in my three dollars’ worth on something that gets up my nose regarding beauty pageants/shows/performances in the Cooks. I had to look at the names in the photocaption to realise […]

Kata - May 28, 2012

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in Kata

Rugby league world cup on tour

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in League

Rarotonga school children will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Rugby League World Cup trophy being guarded here at the BCI Stadium on Saturday by Mongoose golden oldies club members Sam Crocombe, Charles Carlson, Jeff Murray and George George. The cup, accompanied by New Zealand Rugby League development officer Dain […]

Japan embraces CI culture

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

Cook Islanders don’t realise how enthralling the rest of the world considers their culture until they travel to a place like Japan. Such was the experience of three Cook Islands dancers who spent the past two weeks performing for Japanese audiences in Tokyo and Iwaki. Tina Kae, Tearoa Kairua and Sikimi Vailoa Tuarii were blown […]

Disaster response lessons

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

Drawing on its recent experience with disaster recovery, Japan is planning to host an emergency response conference in Sendai later this year. Foreign minister Koichiro Gemba told Pacific reporters last week that his government intends to ”share the knowledge“ it has accrued in the aftermath of March 11 last year with partner Pacific nations, which […]

Water projects in Japan applicable here

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

Prime Minister Henry Puna joined Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on stage at a press conference to brief Japanese and Pacific reporters on the content of closed PALM6 discussions. Before a room of reporters and a flood of flashbulbs, Puna spoke, in his capacity as co-chair of PALM6, on behalf of the Pacific leaders who […]

Declaration applauds Pacific 'oceanscape'

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

One morning of discussion ended in the Okinawa Kizuna Declaration, a briefing document prepared to summarise the content of PALM6 deliberations conducted in Japan at the weekend. The meeting was held in Okinawa, and in the spirit of ‘kizuna’ – the bond of friendship tying Japan to its Pacific partners. The outcomes document addresses five […]

Students 'go local'

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

While many students were enjoying the sun and touch games on the last day of term one, Tereora College’s year 10 business studies students were involved in a sausage sizzle competition. Three business teams designed, marketed and sold sausage sizzles and complimentary food products during the Tereora touch day, which proved a great success as […]

Help teens build 'wall of success'

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

Parents of Tereora College students are invited to parent teacher interviews this week. The interviews are to be held on Thursday June 1 at the Princess Anne hall in Nikao, and all parents are encouraged to attend with their child. Meeting with your child’s teacher to track their progress is critical if you want to […]

Fishing meet in Noumea

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

The Cook Islands is sending government representatives to Noumea to attend a series of meetings on fisheries and aquaculture. The meetings, from June 5 to 14, will address such topics as use of fish waste, small scale fisheries, and adapting the fisheries and aquaculture industries to deal with climate change. Secretary of Marine Resources Ben […]

Tuku and Tau earn their trades tickets

Monday 28 May 2012 | Published in National

The Cook Islands Trades Training Centre last week marked a new milestone through its students from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning. Two MOIP workers received certificates as NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) certified graduates with a National Certificate in Infrastructure Works. Tuku Tereva and Tau Ngaau are the first people to receive the NZQA […]

8 Miss Cook Islands hopefuls

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Local

Eight beautiful young Cook Islands women were officially unveiled on Thursday night as the 2012 Miss Cook Islands pageant contestants. The official launch of the contestants on Thursday included them selecting their order of appearance on the pageant night scheduled for Thursday June 7 at the national auditorium. The Miss Cook Islands contestants, in their […]

Parliament sits on June 7 for Budget

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Local

THURSDAY June 7 has been confirmed as the official start-date for the next sitting of parliament. The second sitting for 2012 is expected to be dominated by the Budget appropriation bill being presented by Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mark Brown. The members of parliament could meet for up to 10 days from June […]

A mechanic job is so cool

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Features

Nikao Maori School students share their work with us this week on the Kids Page. Grade Seven and Eight students write about their dreams and ambitions for the future, and what career path they wish to follow. When I grow up I want to achieve my goal by being.a pilot so I can see the […]

New group for artists

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Features

If you have an interest or passion about art, you might want to consider joining the Cook Islands Arts Community. The main purpose of the group is to form a community of artists who love art, bring artists together to set a tone in the art world and to promote Cook Islands art nationally and […]

Manuia Beach revitalised by new owners

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Features

The Manuia Beach Hotel is beginning a transformation that will see its units refurbished and refitted in a Cook Islands and Polynesian style. Two beach-front units have already undergone a refurbishment and tourism industry members received a sneak peak at the upgrades recently. The upgrades will extend to the four other beach-front units soon and […]

Three of the best competing in NZ

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Features

The Hospitality Tourism Training Centre (HTTC) will return to the prestigious Nestle Toque d’Or student culinary and restaurant service competition this year, putting the skills of Shonita Raui, Eli Daniel and Isaia Akava up against their peers from New Zealand. It will be the second year in a row that Cook Islands-based students have competed […]

Te Tika range ready to roll

Saturday 26 May 2012 | Published in Features

Design and packaging work on the new Cook Islands-inspired range of cosmetics called ‘Te Tika’ is now complete, although people wanting to see what the line will look like will have to wait until the August launch date. The Te Tika range – named after the late Te Tika Mataiapo Dorice Reid – will be […]