Articles by Utopia Support

Muri eyed for sewerage test

Saturday 24 July 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

A meeting will be held next week with the community in Avana-Muri, which has been identified by the Cook Islands Marine Resources Institutional Strengthening (CIMRIS) report as the best site on the island to test run the upgrades of a new sewerage system. The aim of the system is to help improve lagoon water quality. […]

Another audit report bites the dust

Saturday 24 July 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Another audit report bites the dust! Fantastic result regarding the Wong ‘investigation’. Pity our police couldn’t come with those conclusions themselves, even I could’ve come up with that without burdening the NZ taxpayer with another fantasy allegation by the Audit Office. So, much more important now is that Audit immediately takes over the […]

Why not crucify them?

Saturday 24 July 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Mataauri Ruta begs us not to crucify father and son over the loans granted to two companies owned by the two MPs who created the scheme. May I ask why not? In September 2007 the fishing vessel Moana sank at sea after operating for five years without a General Safety Certificate. The principal […]

Kata - July 24, 2010

Saturday 24 July 2010 | Published in Kata

Primaries clash in rugby and netball

Saturday 24 July 2010 | Published in Netball

Avarua and Avatea Primary Schools once again dominated the inter-primary school rugby and netball tournament at the BCI Stadium on Thursday. They certainly looked the more serious teams as they warmed up and warmed down in between games while other students ran around having fun. On the rugby field, Avarua won the A and C […]

Mangaia was already civilised

Saturday 24 July 2010 | Published in Smoke Signals

“A point for clarification please,” writes a smoke signaller. “The history reference in yesterday’s smokies titled ‘Backstabbing never dies’ paints a skewed picture of the rest of ‘these fair islands’. Mangaia for instance does not share the same history of usurpers as Rarotonga does. She already had her own civilisation and system of governance before […]

Sexual addiction

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Church Talk

Originally, anecdotal speculation on Pat’s part suggested that 10% of the general population struggled with sexual addiction. It is still difficult to obtain scientific evidence on the prevalence of the problem, as studies have relied on self-reporting, mailed surveys, and subjectively filled out paper and pencil tests. We do note with interest that during the […]

Gospel Day nuku at Arorangi on Monday

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Church Talk

Monday marks the 187th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity to Rarotonga and as is traditional – the six Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) Ekalesia on the island will gather to commemorate Gospel Day. This year’s annual nuku or religious parade and drama presentations will be hosted by the Arorangi CICC Ekalesia. This year’s event […]

Asbestos problem surfaces again

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Environment

The devastation caused to Aitutaki by Cyclone Pat in February has highlighted again the problem of asbestos in the country – or more correctly what to do with the asbestos. On the last day of the National Environment Forum yesterday, Vavia Bobby, an environment officer from Aitutaki, said the cyclone had not only destroyed their […]

The fun of finding a career

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Local

Local nurses joined students at the Computer Man booth to try their luck at winning a prize during yesterday’s annual Careers Expo. 10072219

Beer stalled

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Local

Nearly two weeks after the run off, James Beer has still not been confirmed as a candidate in Murienua. The puna committee is not convinced that Beer is actually a financial member of the party. The hold up is not related to the complaint raised and then withdrawn by Angeline Tuara, which was about people […]

LA flight's future in jeopardy

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Local

Declining numbers of passengers on the direct Los Angeles flight are spurring Cook Islands Tourism to step up its North American marketing. At Wednesday night’s meeting of tourism industry operators, board member Ewan Smith informed the audience of about 100 of the steady decline in passenger numbers on the weekly flight from Los Angeles to […]

Wong will not be prosecuted

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Local

Police commissioner Maara Tetava announced yesterday that Chris Wong will not be prosecuted criminally. Wong resigned as chief executive of Cook Island Tourism in 2007, following the release of an audit report that accused him of misusing public funds, and has since been under investigation. The report charged that from 2001 to 2007, Wong charged […]

Ombudsman considers anti-corruption

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Features

Assistant ombudsman Jeannine Daniel is currently in Samoa attending a conference on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. She returns this weekend to brief ombudsman Janet Maki on what she learned and voice whether she feels that the Cook Islands can and should ratify the convention. “(Daniel) is at the conference to gather the information […]

Wong replies

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, This letter is to ‘Gutless’ Concerned Taxpayer. If you are really concerned about where the Chris Wong saga case is going, why don’t you grow some balls and put your name to your letter to the editor? Are you so dumb as to not realise that I cannot appear in court without first […]

Kata - July 23, 2010

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Kata

Backstabbing never dies

Friday 23 July 2010 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller writes: “Poor Chris Vaile, the man can’t understand why liars, arsonists and conspirators are running for Parliament. Chris, you have to look a bit further back in history than the arrival of diesel oil to these fair islands, indeed you have to look back before the arrival of the white man. If […]

Call for sewage to move

Thursday 22 July 2010 | Published in Environment

JacQUi Evans, who until recently worked for Public Health, has expressed her support for moving the regulation of sewage to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning. Speaking at the National Environmental Forum yesterday, she said that the technical nature of the rules meant that it was appropriate that people have an understanding of engineering issues. […]

Landfill management crucial

Thursday 22 July 2010 | Published in Environment

According to Waste Management manager, Tai Nooapii, the landfill in Arorangi will last around 12 more years. But whether or not it lasts that long, or whether its life is extended beyond that, depends on how well waste collection goes, as well as how well the landfill site is maintained. Noopaii said that 20 per […]

Sea life declining

Thursday 22 July 2010 | Published in Local

Dorothy Solomona, acting director of pearls at the Ministry of Marine Resources, told the National Environment Forum yesterday that the reduction in clam numbers in our lagoons was an example of the reduction in life in our waters. Solomona said that there had been a continual, rapid decline in numbers of paua since the early […]