Local
Eager on Easter
Tuesday 10 April 2012 | Published in Local
Brothers Drejun (12) and JJ Rongo (7) were among the large crowd of face-painted, lolly-eating eager kids that made the most of the Easter kids’festival at the Punanga Nui Market playground yesterday. Organised by the National Youth Council with the support of Rotaract and the Business Trade and Investment Board, the aim of the event […]
$1.8m reclamation at Punanga Nui
Tuesday 10 April 2012 | Published in Local
New land is beginning to form north of Punanga Nui market with material dredged from the Avatiu harbour expected to soon begin arriving at the site to create Rarotonga’s newest real estate. Work has now begun on the $1.8 million land extension, which will cover an area beginning at the Avatiu stream and leading to […]
Kia Orana Air delay disappoints minister
Tuesday 10 April 2012 | Published in Local
Minister Mark Brown said he was disappointed at the snail’s pace given to domestic airline Kia Orana Air’s request for space at Rarotonga Airport. At a press conference on Thursday, Brown, minister for the Business Trade Investment Board, said he was not happy that it took months for Kia Orana Air’s bid to gain space […]
Widest trade gap in region
Tuesday 10 April 2012 | Published in Local
The latest figures indicate that the Cook Islands has the widest trade gap of any Pacific Island Forum country with New Zealand. For the calendar year 2011, the Cook Islands imported a little over NZ$100 million worth of goods from New Zealand, while exporting just NZ$479,629. This makes the trade gap ratio 201:1. Much of […]
Sentence suspended in assault case
Saturday 7 April 2012 | Published in Local
David Hoeflich appeared in court this week for sentencing on a charge of assaulting a female. The charge arose from an incident in which the defendant reportedly threw a table knife at his victim, but missed. The court noted that the defendant has previously appeared before the court to face assault charges, but nonetheless police […]
Youth crimewave
Saturday 7 April 2012 | Published in Local
The Tapere of Ruatonga in Avatiu has decided to form a neighbourhood watch committee after a rash of burglaries through the area during the month of March. Cook Islands Police report they are concerned with the rise in dishonesty offences including burglaries, theft and unlawful taking of motorbikes in Vaka Te Au O Tonga – […]
Minerals workshop open
Saturday 7 April 2012 | Published in Local
A regional deep sea minerals project and its relationship with the Cook Islands will go under the microscope next week in a workshop involving project managers from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Two senior advisers from the SPC will join the workshop at Rarotonga on April 11 and anybody with an interest in the […]
Quick action
Thursday 5 April 2012 | Published in Local
Good spotting and quick action prevented a fire from spreading and causing extensive damage to the Maritime Surveillance Centre at Avatiu harbour yesterday. This fire was discovered at 5.30am after smoke was seen coming through the roof of the building by a Triad employee. “The quick action of this person in reporting it resulted in […]
Project to plug gaps in public sector
Thursday 5 April 2012 | Published in Local
A new project has been launched to identify and plug the gaps in the skills and knowledge of the public sector in order to improve its performance and service delivery, the Office of the Public Service Commissioner has announced. The initiative, called Cook Islands Public Service Capability Project, aims to identify gaps in ministry and […]
DPM gives shipping undertaking
Thursday 5 April 2012 | Published in Local
Transport minister and deputy prime minister Tom Marsters says government was not aware of the expiration of Forum Pacific’s charter until as recently as two weeks ago. Upon the expiration of the vessel’s charter, only one vessel will remain to service the Cook Islands, whereas previously the route was serviced by two different vessels operated […]
Late payments delay Samoa ship
Wednesday 4 April 2012 | Published in Local
A Samoan ship is expected to depart for the Cook Islands’ northern group today after late payments and bad weather delayed the ship last month. The vessel, part of the Samoan Shipping Company’s fleet, was originally due to set sail about March 22 but as of yesterday its first voyage to the Cook Islands as […]
Mangaian language goes digital
Wednesday 4 April 2012 | Published in Local
The Mangaian language has gone digital. At the weekend a small delegation – comprising USP Cook Islands director Rod Dixon, Auckland University of Technology (AUT) professors Tania Ka’ai and John Moorfield and AUT student Tania Smith – travelled to Mangaia to formally launch a digital dictionary of the island’s dialect. On Friday Mangaia School hosted […]
Visitor numbers up 6% for February
Tuesday 3 April 2012 | Published in Local
Australians are coming to the Cook Islands in increasing numbers, with the group spearheading an increase in visitor figures for February 2012. The number of Australians coming to Rarotonga in February this year is up by 29 percent compared to the same month last year, with the statistics office recording 771 inbound tourists from the […]
Police target speed and alcohol
Tuesday 3 April 2012 | Published in Local
Speeding and drink-driving remain as priority concerns for Cook Islands Police, as bad habits on the road continue to occupy police resources on a day to day basis. Last week there were two head-on collisions at Rarotonga, one between a truck and a car and the other between a can and a motorcycle. The occupants […]
Last island health clinic tendered
Monday 2 April 2012 | Published in Local
The proposed new Palmerston Island health clinic will have found its builders soon. Tender applications are now closed and a committee has until late April to find a suitable contractor. The clinic is expected to cost about $70,000. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning is acting as project manager for the health centre. The start […]
Children arrested for burglary
Monday 2 April 2012 | Published in Local
Police have apprehended two children aged below 10 among seven people who stand accused of committing burglaries in Rarotonga, Commissioner Maara Tetava said. Four people were arrested last week on suspicion of carrying out a string of burglaries around Rarotonga, with three others apprehended for allegedly committing a separate burglary. Two children were included in […]
Official complaints encouraged
Monday 2 April 2012 | Published in Local
People who have issue with the actions or inactions of Cook Islands police are being encouraged by Commissioner Maara Tetava to lodge an official complaint with himself or the ombudsman. People seeking to lodge a complaint against a police officer can go through the police’s internal review system or via the ombudsman’s office. Tetava encouraged […]
'Dodgy' calls bug police
Monday 2 April 2012 | Published in Local
Police are working on finding the identities of anonymous callers who last week put in false emergency reports to Cook Islands Police’s communications centre. Commissioner Maara Tetava police received numerous calls last week reporting false incidents across Rarotonga. But when police arrived at the sites, sometimes at high speed due to the nature of the […]
Carter in NZ to discuss MFAT cuts
Monday 2 April 2012 | Published in Local
New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands John Carter is leading a protest by diplomats against cuts to NZ’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. An expensive two-day meeting began yesterday as diplomats went home from around the world to discuss proposed changes at MFAT. A letter signed by 49 diplomats arguing against the […]
Poor show
Saturday 31 March 2012 | Published in Local
The Tereora College Parent Teacher Association has been left stunned and dismayed with the turnout to its annual general meeting this week. Just 20 parents turned up to the AGM on Wednesday from a student body numbering about 600. The turnout left outgoing PTA vice chairman Emile Kairua horrified at the indifference shown by the […]
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