There are countries in the world where governments always ask their citizens’ opinion on any major issue before enacting legislation. In these countries, the government will only proceed if the public approves, writes Mitaera Ngatae Teatuakaro Michael Tavioni BEM.

As a result, the citizen and the country both prosper and develop in peace and harmony. Research for yourself if you wish to know more about these countries and their system of governing.

The Cook Islands’ relationship with New Zealand is absolutely unique when compared to other Pacific countries such as Samoa and Tonga. These two countries are independent and as such it is very difficult for their citizens to enter New Zealand to find better paying jobs, hoping for a higher standard of living.

Over the years we know that the New Zealand Police have raided homes arresting Samoan and Tongan citizens and deporting them back to their countries. This is because these people have their own respective passports which categorise them as aliens.

If the Cook Islands Government decides to create a Cook Islands passport, will our people automatically become aliens when going to New Zealand and our family members in New Zealand become alienated?

Our special constitutional relationship with New Zealand allows us to be independent in running our own country while retaining our rights as New Zealand citizens. In this relationship, as mentioned in a Cook Islands News article last week, we are reminded that our young brother New Zealand has a constitutional responsibility to assist us with foreign affairs, disasters and defence.

So let us talk about our own identity and our own Iti Tangata. What does that mean? Who are ‘we’ and who is this ‘Iti Tangata’?

In the Tahitian islands, Raromatai islands, Tuha’a Pae islands, Tuamotu islands, etc they call themselves MAOHI. ‘Ma’ refers to a clean or pure race of people and ‘Ohi’ refers to returning to stay and remain in Avaiki Nui. Those of the people who left Avaiki Nui became MAORI. ‘Ma’ refers to a clean or pure race of people and ‘Ori’ means to wander or continuing to migrate, discover and occupy new lands.

Our ancestors were scholars and scientists in their own right. When they started voyaging eastwards from Southeast Asia, they were forced to study the moods of the ocean and the wind and the cosmos.

The result of their research was that they were able to create their 32-point star compass, which enabled them to go anywhere in the biggest ocean in the world.

Our ancestors claimed this ocean as their own property by naming it ‘Te Moana Nui a Iva/Kiva/Hiva’, meaning ‘The Great Ocean of Blue’.

They used the colour blue to define the boundaries of their property. They also claimed the sky (Rangi) as their property by calling it ‘Te Rangi Nui a Iva/Kiva/Hiva’. Like the moana, they used the word kiva or blue to define the boundaries of that property of theirs.

There were no Englishmen, Frenchmen, Dutch or whoever in this ocean at that time to counter the claim of our ancestors. Our ancestors accomplished this feat while the Europeans were too afraid to sail to their own horizons.

Our ancestors voyaged on, discovering every speck of land and settling those islands which could sustain life. They discovered the so-called America, not Columbus. They also brought the kumara and distributed it all over Te Moana Nui a Kiva.

Our ancestors were great seafarers – perhaps the greatest of seafarers. This is who we are, this is our identity.

Aotearoa was discovered and settled by our Maori ancestors and the indigenous people there who own that country are our Maori blood and flesh – they and us have the same identity and we are the same Iti Tangata.

Hawaiians are Maoli, our Iti Tangata, the Rapa Nui people are Maori, our Iti Tangata, and there are more across the moana. We are one people, we are one Iti Tangata. We belong to the nation of Te Moana Nui o Kiva.

Then colonists came to our nation and as a result we the people of this moana are now fragmented and our genealogies are no longer our passport to be able to visit our cousins and families.

Some other Pacific countries such as Hawaii, the Tahitian Islands and New Caledonia are still under the yoke of being colonised by countries who have no right to be there. The colonists of these countries do what they want, whenever they wish to do so. The indigenous people have no real rights to their own indigenous nation.

In Hawaii, America imposed its rule on a sovereign nation and manipulated laws to annex those islands, allowing them and the American military to own huge parcels of land. Water sources are also owned by private companies and not the indigenous owners of Hawaii.

I was flown to the island of Kaho’olawe which has been used by the US military for target practice. The island has been ruined by all kinds of ammunition and bombs and I witnessed a great number of live bombs on the island and in the sea surrounding it. The Iti Tangata Vai’i have no say.

In the so-called French Polynesia, the French tested their nuclear bombs and the indigenous owners of that nation have no say. And in New Caledonia today, the French have their military killing indigenous people to retain their control over that nation.

For the Cook Islands, keeping and treasuring our Aotearoa New Zealand citizenship is the best option we have. Our indigenous rights are protected by our continued friendship with New Zealand and that privilege should be cherished, because many unfortunate Pacific countries have either lost their identity or are on the verge of losing it.

I wish to thank the Honourable Winston Peters for his wisdom and his voice, warning our Prime Minister and government for thinking they will create a different passport to replace the one I have and treasure.

Finally, some time ago I had acquaintances who lost their passports – one in Germany and one in America. All they had to do was contact the New Zealand consulate in those places and their problems were solved effectively. In a similar situation will there be Cook Islands consulates to help our people when they travel somewhere in the world? If the plan is to establish those consulates, how is this country going to finance those offices? Our government does not even have the ability to generate enough finance for To Tatou Vai’s annual budget.

Leave our New Zealand passport alone. It is one of the very few possessions our people are privileged to have.

• Mitaera Ngatae Teatuakaro Michael Tavioni BEM is a Cook Islands artist and writer. The views expressed in this article are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper.