Articles by Utopia Support

Ombudsman not a public defender

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I refer to the letter by Norman George headed Police Commissioners response welcomed in terms of the comments made against my office. I would be more than happy to meet with Mr George to discuss any of his concerns but I have to clarify that since I took up the role of Ombudsman, […]

Kata - June 16, 2011

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in Kata

Touch team take it to the world

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in National

The Cook Islands touch rugby world cup squad departs for Scotland tonight with 11 local players making up the open mens team the only team that will represent the Cook Islands at the world cup. Next Wednesday the squad will put into action a years worth of training and preparations for the tournament when they […]

Short vows to clear his name

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in National

Former secretary of justice Mark Short says that while he is upset about what he considers a wrongful and unjust termination, he just wants to move on. Short was a corporate attorney before he worked for government, and in the wake of his termination he is preparing to open his own private practice in Vaimaanga […]

Scientist advises on best soil

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in National

A New Zealand scientist is in Rarotonga this week helping Cook Islanders better understand the composition and nature of local soil. Agriculture and health minister Nandi Glassie says the scientist has conducted a two-day workshop on Rarotonga for those interested in learning about the different types of earth found on the island, which crops are […]

New optimism for deep sea mining

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in National

Legal advisor Paul Lynch is confident that the Cook Islands can develop a sustainable deep-sea mining industry. He recently returned from Suva, where he attended a deep sea minerals meeting, hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Communitys SOPAC division and funded by the European Union. Lynch was invited to Fiji in his capacity as […]

Hospital septic issues aired

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in National

Representatives of organisations involved in the permitting and undertaking of a septic system upgrade at Rarotongas hospital are meeting tomorrow to discuss whether the project has been allowed to occur in breach of relevant legislation. It is unclear whether those consulted on the project before it was implemented acted for the necessary permitting authorities as […]

Cultural village clocks 12,000 guests

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in National

Te Vara Nui Village celebrates its one year anniversary tomorrow. A year after the village officially opened its doors to 60 guests among them the Short family of Titikaveka and Te Tika Mataipo the village can boast visitor numbers in excess of 12,000. It operates three days a week during peak season (Tuesday, Thursday and […]

Tyre eating pothole

Thursday 16 June 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

A disgruntled smokie driver writes: It was about the sixth time that the left front wheel of my car crunched its tyre in the growing pothole outside Kiikii Motel, that I realized action men Teariki Heather and George Maggie are like the rest of the politicians who rise to glory in this country. They were […]

Giant arrowroot to last all year

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Local

Arorangi resident Margaret Matheson says she has enough maniota to last her a year. She began digging up the arrowroot plant next to her chicken coop on the weekend and 20 minutes later, she was still digging. When she was finished, Matheson pulled out the giant root system with two arrowroot stems as big as […]

Probe to take months

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Local

It is likely to be months before police commissioner Maara Tetava can determine whether criminal charges should be laid against public service commissioner Navy Epati. Tetavas serious crime unit has just started its investigation of Epati in the context of his involvement in the distribution of fishing licences to the Northern Cook Islands Fishing Company […]

Bank asked to look at private lending

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Local

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been asked to provide access to funds for concessional lending to the Cook Islands private sector. Finance minister Mark Brown made the request to members of the ADB board of governors and governors of the Pacific Developing Member Countries during the 44th annual ADB board meeting in Vietnam last […]

Free service during amnesty

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Local

Anyone with a gun is asked to take it to the Cook Islands Police headquarters in Avarua next week for it to be registered, cleaned and safety-checked by firearms expert. A month-long firearms amnesty starts on Monday June 20 and is applicable to residents throughout the country. Inspector John Strickland says it has been two […]

Police Commissioners response welcomed

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I am grateful to the Police Commissioner for his warm reaction to the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints Authority, in a letter published June 11. It has been effectively in place in New Zealand for nearly 30 years. This covers all kinds of complaints against the police which includes in the […]

Student in search of a legend

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, My name is Ngatokotoru Tomokino and I am a current second year student at a performing arts school in Auckland , New Zealand. Im in the process of making a piece of theatre based on the legend Katikati. But I seem to have hit a road block. There is limited information about her […]

Trip cost not out of taxpayers pocket

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I write in reply to the Smoke Signal article on the Tahiti agriculture trip surprises, published on June 11. The writer showed a clear misunderstanding of the facts. The initiative to travel to Tahiti came from the keen growers on Rarotonga who are more than happy to purchase their own air tickets not […]

Mineral millions still just a dream

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor At this point in time the dream about the billions of dollars we will earn from mining our manganese nodules is just that, a dream! And yet we are willing to spend big money on experts and a proposed bureaucracy that will get us no closer to realising that dream. The biggest obstacle […]

ANZ working for solution

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

We would like to respond to the letter that appeared on Tuesday June 14 titled: Give the borrowers a fair go. This is an extremely unfortunate situation for all parties involved. A company that was intended to provide a kit-set home to our customer was put into liquidation through no fault of the customer or […]

Kata - June 15, 2011

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in Kata

Vaka crew shares voyaging motivation

Wednesday 15 June 2011 | Published in National

Nick Henry has been providing regular updates on the Hawaii-bound voyage of Cook Islands vaka Marumaru Atua, and this week spent some time asking crew members to explain what motivates them to voyage. Amidst all the physical work putting in time on the oe, raising and lowering sails, cooking and cleaning and pilot whale-watching, the […]