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Crime

Rarotonga crime stats challenged

Cook Islands Police data shows no increasing crime trend, but the Opposition leader and a road safety advocate argue understaffing and passive policing conceal actual crime and safety issues in Rarotonga.

Local

Australian High Commission accepting applications for community grants

The Australian High Commission has announced the opening of the Australia – Cook Islands Community Grants Program.

No conflict of interest in loans

Two legal opinions obtained by the Audit Office say conflict of interest cannot be substantiated against former finance minister Sir Terepai Maoate and his son, Aitutaki MP Terepai Maoate Junior for receiving business support loans last year. A new audit report tabled just last month alleges the pair had a conflict of interest in their […]

National

Tempers flare over Toa

Tempers flared when the hard questions on Toagate were put to former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Terepai Maoate in Parliament yesterday. Opposition MP Norman George asked the disgraced MP to provide evidence of his claim that the public wanted government to nationalise the fuel industry to bring fuel prices down. Acting speaker John Tangi had […]

National

Mangaia's harbour takes shape

Still, six years after the harbour was devastated in a cyclone, the harbour remains non-operational. Mangaia MP Winton Pickering said that the island’s lack of a proper harbour makes inter-island shipping a “dangerous” venture. He added that it stands in the way of his plan to “resurrect Mangaia as a centre of commercial agriculture”. “Agriculture […]

National

Pacific Resort in awards final

Pacific Resort Aitutaki & Pacific Resort Rarotonga have been named as finalists in the 2010 HM Awards for Hotel & Accommodation Excellence, with winners due to be announced in Sydney on September 3. Pacific Resort Aitutaki is a region finalist in the “South Pacific Property of the Year” category, while Pacific Resort Rarotonga is acknowledged […]

National

Dog causes bike driver to fall off

On Friday morning, a male driver struck a stray dog on Sanitorium Rd, causing him to fall off his bike. He sustained injuries to the left side of his body and a scratch on the side of his head. Police are still investigating the cause of a fallen power pole at Tepuka. They believe a […]

National

'Working' holiday for Warratahs

The Warratahs have arrived on Rarotonga and are gearing up to play two shows this week. Barry Saunders, Nik Brown and Sid Limbert flew in this weekend to reunite with their drummer, local Mo Newport, who otherwise commutes to New Zealand to play gigs. Their faithful production engineer, or ‘sound man’ Lincoln Mail, came with […]

National

24 CI graduates recognised

Crown Beach was abuzz on Sunday evening, as 24 Cook Islands students were recognised as Master’s graduates. Five local artists – Loretta Reynolds, Joan Gragg, Eruera Nia, Kay George and Andrea Eimke – accepted their Master’s degrees in Art and Design. David Teata and Michael Tavioni received postgraduate diplomas in art and design. Another 17 […]

National

Audit reports to go public

Audit reports, such as the review on the Toagate scandal, will now be available for public perusal at the Ministry of Justice and selected local shops. From tomorrow they will also be accessible online on the Audit Office website www.auditoffice.gov.ck The Audit Office aims to improve public access to this information which includes copies of […]

National

Commission of inquiry unlikely

Government is not keen on ordering a Commission of Inquiry into the Toagate scandal according to Acting Prime Minister and Finance Minister Wilkie Rasmussen. The minister was responding to Opposition MP Norman George’s enquiry on the issue in Parliament yesterday. “There’s already been an extensive and expensive audit probe conducted and we are not at […]

National

Arts conference opens in Raro

The Pacific Arts Association 10th International symposium opened yesterday morning at Crown Beach and continued into the late evening. Artists, scholars and students from across the region and all over the world flocked to the conference, which yesterday kicked off with speeches from two keynote speakers acting chief executive of Te Papa Tongarewa Michelle Hippolite […]

National

7s squad named to prepare

The two-day inaugural CITC Constitution Cup sevens tournament not only showcased the wealth of local rugby talent but also seconded as the national trials. A squad of 27 players has been selected to train and prepare for possible selection into the national team. The local squad will play the best of New Zealand and Australia […]

National

Food for thought

The Sixty Plus group has donated around a dozen bags of food to Te Kainga O Pa Taunga, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre. Two months ago the Sixty Plus group started collecting food every week from members so that they could make the donation in recognition of Constitution Week. Members have been bringing in […]

National

Aitutaki clinches Constitution Cup

The Aitutaki sevens rugby team said they were here to win the inaugural CITC Sevens Constitution Cup – and they did so in emphatic style on Saturday. The team skillfully worked their way to the grand finals and faced off against competition favourites the Avatiu Eels. The game was tit for tat as both sides […]

National

Te Fuinga o Niva drum it up again!

After a week of Cook Islands dancing and singing – it was the drummers’ turn to shine on Saturday for the final Te Maeva Nui tangi kaara (drumming) competition. Six teams in total competed in this section with the reigning 2009 tangi kaara champions Te Fuinga o Niva once again beating their way to another […]

National

Love and passion come before money

The national auditorium on Saturday was the fullest it had been all week for Te Maeva Nui as dancers, singers, drummers and supporters gathered for the tangi kaara competition and the closing ceremony of the festival. Comments had been made during the week of celebrations that the performances lacked ‘competitiveness’ and that it was a […]

National

Audit alleges Tini took Chinese 'gift'

The Audit Office alleges former Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) chief executive John Tini broke the law and used his position to obtain a benefit – a $38,000 car – from the Chinese state-owned company that built the Telecom Sports Arena. The special audit (dated April 15) of the ongoing review into Tini’s usage of […]

National

Aid budget allocations up 30%

The national aid budget for 2010–11 is $39.5 million, a huge 30 percent increase from the 2009 Budget. The increase comes from three major sources – $8 million from Japan which has been allocated to the Cook Islands for solar power and water sanitation, a $6 million dollar carry-over from last year’s NZAID allocation, increasing […]

National

Second jobs practice 'unfair'

Audit calls for consistency in pays for board members An audit report has found that a law which prevented public servants from getting paid for working for government outside of their normal hours was ‘unfair, inconsistent and heavily prejudiced against public servants.’ Public Service Commission Act of 1995-96 prohibited public servants from getting paid beyond […]

National

Health checks for men

A health clinic for working men which will be run entirely by male health care staff is set to open in September. One of the difficulties for many men, according to Mark Case, lead nurse on the project, is that they are at work when most of the health services are available. They don’t get […]

National

House in disorder

An audit into the management of the Parliament of the Cook Islands has found that the parliamentary bank account was over drawn for months at a time in 2007 – and that a lack of clear policy resulted in one employee walking out without warning. The report examined bank reconciliations between August–November 2007 and January–March […]

National

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