Local

Get voting, Titikaveka

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Titikaveka by-election is being held today (Thursday), with booths opening at nine o’clock this morning. The electoral office have set up two voting booths – one at Titikaveka Sunday School and the other at YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Hall. They will be open to voters until six this evening. A mobile booth for […]

Maternity leave scheme a 'great step'

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Cook Islands National Council of Women (CINCW) says government’s pledge to implement a paid maternity leave scheme for women working in the private sector is a ”small step for our women, but a great step for our nation“. CINCW president Vaine Wichman says the group has been fighting since 2007 for greater maternity leave […]

Vessel caught with shark fins

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen has asked minister of marine resources Teina Bishop to comment on allegations that a Luen Thai vessel was this week caught finning sharks. He said in Parliament yesterday, during question-and-answer time, that the HMS Otago boarded a Luen Thai vessel in the north on Tuesday night and discovered a collection of […]

Students give back to elders

Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Local

Year nine students from Titakveka College presented gifts of food – boxes of chicken and kinaki – to the elderly at Are Pa Metua yesterday. The gifts were part of a community project that the students undertook, fundraising through a school mufti day and harvesting food from their homes, to share with the mamas. The […]

From stone age to cyber age

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Cook Islands this week went from having the oldest customs legislation in the region to boasting the newest. Parliament passed the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Bill without amendment, in the process repealing and replacing a 99-year-old piece of legislation that was reportedly the oldest in the entire Pacific. In speaking on the principles […]

Luen Thai partnering with local company

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Local

Luen Thai Fishing Venture – one of the largest fishing companies in the world – is intending to set up a company in the Cook Islands and has applied for a licence from the Business Trade and Investment Board to operate alongside local partners. Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen asked minister of marine resources Teina Bishop […]

Progress in boundary dispute

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Local

Cabinet is making strides in a decade-long dispute with Kiribati, Niue and Tokelau regarding the boundaries of the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters said in Parliament yesterday that government expects to legally seal the deal at the Pacific Islands Leaders Forum in August. In the meantime, Parliament has passed a […]

James wins tabua

Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Local

Vaka Marumaru Atua crew James Pakoti shows off a tabua (whale’s tooth) during the Vaka Voyagers welcome to Fiji. Three crew members from each vaka were chosen to be part of the tabua ceremony that included the voyagers swimming to shore to search for the prized whale’s tooth among a group of Fiji women. Excerpts […]

Pukapuka group in liquidation

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Pukapuka Community of NZ Inc has been forced into liquidation by New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department. The Pukapuka Community of NZ Inc employed 65 people at its peak in preschool and tertiary education, social services and at a bakery. It was described in a book published this year by the NZ Social Entrepreneur Fellowship […]

Budget enacted

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Appropriation Bill 2012 received Royal Assent yesterday. Speaker of the House Niki Rattle announced yesterday that the Budget – which was passed by Parliament on Friday after five days of debate – has been formally approved by head of state Queen’s Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin. She also noted that a delegation of seven – […]

Expat teacher numbers and pays queried

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

Expatriate teachers continue to receive higher salaries than local teachers. Education minister Teina Bishop confirmed the point yesterday in Parliament, in response to prompting from Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen. During question-and-answer time, Rasmussen raised concerns that the Ministry of Education was hiring more expatriates than locals. ”Some of our local Maori people feel that that […]

Singing Mermaids visit Apii Te Uki Ou

Tuesday 19 June 2012 | Published in Local

Gail Tipene, Tammy Diath and Pauline Berry of the Mermaid Dance Band gave a special performance for the kids at Apii Te Uki Ou yesterday after showing the kids’ parents a good time on Saturday night. The singing trio entertained the crowds at the Fire and Ice Ball organised to raise funds for a new […]

Arrested in Bali

Monday 18 June 2012 | Published in Local

Kiwi Cook Islander Charlotte Piho been released from police custody in Indonesia, after being detained over the theft of a chocolate bar. Thirty-year-old Piho, a stand-up paddler and yoga instructor, was arrested on Tuesday at Bintang minimarket in Bali’s upmarket Seminyak. She admits putting $17 worth of chocolate in her bag as she strolled through […]

Missing woman inquest

Monday 18 June 2012 | Published in Local

An inquest into the disappearance of 31-year-old handicapped woman Ngatupuna Pokotea is currently taking place at the High Court, six years after she went missing. Pokotea, who suffered from epileptic fits and could not talk, vanished from her Turoa residence on July 11, 2006. Her body was never found and there are still no suspects […]

Deal for $1.6m

Monday 18 June 2012 | Published in Local

The Cook Islands Consulate in Auckland is moving from Newton to South Auckland. It has occupied a building on Symonds Street since 1994, which government purchased for $976,000 at the time. Last year government decided that the consulate should be located in South Auckland, which is closer to the Auckland International Airport and to the […]

Maternity leave to be paid

Monday 18 June 2012 | Published in Local

Government is aiming to fund six weeks’ paid maternity leave for women in the private sector from January 1. The paid leave scheme is in accordance with the government’s commitment to the International Convention on the Eliminating of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). ”This scheme is intended to provide protection for working mothers by requiring employers […]

Budget passed

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Local

Budget 2012 has been passed without amendment. Yesterday Speaker of the House Niki Rattle went through each schedule and appropriation, and none was opposed. Parliament dispersed quickly just after 1pm when it was announced that the Appropriation Bill 2012 had passed. The announcement was made not long after the bill was read for the third […]

Workers fear a 'grim future'

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Local

Government has been insistent that a 2 percent cut to the public service budget will not engender job losses, but the Cook Islands Workers Association (CIWA) is not convinced. CIWA president Anthony Turua says he has received a flood of feedback from CIWA executives and members, who are disappointed with the Budget and its ”impact […]

Mermaid Dance Band here to play

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Local

Cooks on brink of harnessing

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in Local

Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters has praised his government for allocating funding in this Budget toward the Cook Islands’ deep sea mining programme. ”It is the first time we’ve had allocation in the Budget for this programme,“ he said. He thanked the former Democratic Party government, in particular Sir Terepai Maoate and his son Junior, […]