Articles by Utopia Support

Climate change, disaster linked to economy

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Environment

Disaster risk management and climate change adaption are issues central to a countrys economic and social institutions, Cook Islands Party minister Mark Brown has told a disaster management conference in the Caribbean. In his address at the Sixth Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management held in Trinidad, Brown said climate change and disaster management […]

Years work finished

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Local

All outstanding government business has been dealt with in parliament. Ministers and fellow MPs adopted all existing reports on parliaments order paper yesterday afternoon, including some which date back to 2008. The session adjourned at 4.30pm and will resume at 10am on Friday, when MPs will have the opportunity to deliver their Christmas and end-of-year […]

Ngati Vaikai claiming land ahead of opening

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Local

Not everyone will be celebrating the Thursday opening of the Takitumu palace commissioned by Pa Tepaeru Teariki Upokotini Marie Ariki. A notice has been filed with the court by Tupe Takau Short on behalf of his family, who claim that Te-mata-o-te-enua section 10 A1 part and parcel of the land on which the palace has […]

Prioritising PR for spouses

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Local

More than 50 spouses of Cook Islanders, seeking permanent resident (PR) status, are in line to receive a New Year gift from government. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters, who holds the portfolio of foreign affairs and immigration, says he hopes to stage a mass ceremony in early 2012 at which PR can be awarded to […]

Lower the departure tax

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Now that the departure tax has been raised again I am issuing a challenge to the present government to look into the matter and reduce the departure tax fee to at least $35. A number of our elderly people do travel overseas especially to New Zealand for medical check-ups. With the amount of […]

When the fish is gone, we have no future

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, In April 2009 I wrote a letter about restricting the issuance of fishing licenses due to a rapid decline in fishing stocks worldwide. I read in todays news (Monday December 12) that government has issued more licenses to outsiders. More alarmingly the advisors chosen to be advisories are part of a very big […]

Kata - December 14, 2011

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Kata

Signed, sealed and delivered in town

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

Cook Islands Police have taken possession of a number of business signs that were collected up from various locations and dumped at others around Rarotonga by an unknown group overnight on Monday. Mischief-makers toured the main road on Monday night, collecting up unfastened signs left by the road. Some were found in the town area […]

Small steps to address womens plight

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

Honiara-based Cook Islands journalist Lisa Williams-Lahari, who is a founding member of the Pacific Freedom Forum and WAVE media networks, said the issues of abuse and pressure facing women journalists are not just a regional trend. I started at Cook Islands News when it was still a government paper in 1984. Up until the time […]

Pacific journalists must speak out against violence

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

As the global 16 days of activism campaign against violence against women for 2011 came to a close, Pacific journalists reporting on violence against women are called on to expose abuse of their own colleagues. Titi Gabi, chair of the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), said newsrooms are more often majority staffed by women, so violence […]

Ministry considering tenders

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) is considering tenders for all leftover materials from the Aitutaki cyclone recovery programme. Surplus building materials are on sale by tender through the ministry, which may receive a recommendation from its tender committee by the end of the week. Items include fastenings (nails, brackets, washers, bolts, galvanised wire), […]

Let someone else do the Christmas cooking

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

Christmas is a time to celebrate be it Jesus birth, the end of a busy year, the beginning of a new one or the unofficial start of summer and Rarotonga restaurants and resorts are well aware that sometimes people want to do it the stress-free way. For those who want to gather around family, friends […]

Kick-start your Christmas tonight

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

People looking to kick-start their Christmas cheer should get to the BCI Stadium tonight for the annual Christmas in the Park festival. Gates open at 4.30pm this afternoon at the stadium, giving people access to a nights worth of activities and entertainment with plenty of food stalls to tempt the hungry and Christmas atmosphere for […]

Samoan ship due in new year

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

The first voyage of a Samoan shipping service between Apia and the northern Cook Islands will take place early in the new year, Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters says. He says the Samoa Shipping Corporation (SSC) chief executive has promised to bend over backwards to ensure the voyage goes ahead as planned. Marsters responded to […]

Parliament withdraws employment bill

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National

Parliament has withdrawn from its order paper a bill regarding employment relations legislation. The bill, which is considered long outdated and redundant, will now be re-drafted by those in the Crown Law Office to reflect recommendations of a special select committee. The committee was established to review the old employment relations legislation and has made […]

Fish for chips?

Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

There will undoubtedly be an enormous hue and cry over the pittance Chinese fishing vessels will be paying for the so-called three year exploratory licenses in the vast Cook Islands waters, and so there should be, a smoke signaller writes. The Ministry of Marine Resources release makes reference to the high nature of Cook Islands […]

No downsides to deep-sea mining bill

Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Environment

Harvesting of manganese nodules and rare earth minerals from the Cook Islands seabed could begin as early as 2021. Research is being undertaken at present in Korea, Japan and China the governments of which have set similar timelines for technological development and harvest commencement. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters says the Cook Islands is no […]

New cargo service

Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Local

In an effort to regularise its air freight service to the outer islands and to meet the demand for deliveries around Christmastime, Air Rarotonga is running a new cargo operation. Under the moniker JetX, the service will operate between Rarotonga and the southern group islands on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now until Christmas. The first […]

Pa Ariki talks health at palace opening

Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Local

Delegations of cultural ambassadors from New Zealand and French Polynesia are trickling in this week, ahead of the highly-anticipated opening ceremony for Pa Marie Arikis Takitumu palace on Thursday. Maori king Tuheitia Paki is no longer coming to Rarotonga for the grand opening, but has sent his regards and a kapa haka team to represent […]

Government plans to double pension

Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Local

Governments plan to double the elderly pension for those aged 70 years and older will start to be implemented in the next financial year. Finance minister Mark Brown says money will be allocated by government in the next fiscal years budget accordingly, although he has yet to stipulate how much. Speaking in parliament yesterday Brown […]