Local

Parliament to sit on February 20

Thursday 9 February 2012 | Published in Local

Parliament has confirmed it will be sitting on Monday, February 20, at 10am. Notices are currently being issued to Members of Parliament. Parliament’s priority agenda item is the supplementary budget, which is expected to be finalised before the sitting begins. The Office of the Prime Minister says parliament will sit for as long as it […]

Local

Heroes and heroines greeted warmly

Thursday 9 February 2012 | Published in Local

Christchurch volunteers enjoying island hospitality as part of the Heroes and Heroines initiative were told yesterday that because Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens – the Cooks was their country too. The first group of Christchurch Heroes and Heroines volunteers arrived on the island at the weekend and met with Prime Minister Henry Puna yesterday […]

Local

Ambitious $15.5m plan for Aitutaki

Thursday 9 February 2012 | Published in Local

Aitutaki Island Council is confident it will be able to find funding for an ambitious redevelopment project that is expected to cost about $15.5 million. The project is being planned to help beautify the main town area surrounding the wharf while also improving facilities in the area. The wharf, too, will benefit under the plan […]

Local

PM to greet 'heroes'

Wednesday 8 February 2012 | Published in Local

Prime Minister Henry Puna will personally welcome in the first of 100 Christchurch heroes at a morning tea to be held at his office today. Minister of Tourism Teina Bishop will also be joining Puna at the morning tea to welcome the small group, who are the first to reach the Cook Islands under the […]

Local

'He deserves a bravery award'

Wednesday 8 February 2012 | Published in Local

Two builders are being praised for their quick thinking and selfless actions after they saved an American tourist who was at risk of drowning in rough seas. Joe Kaveao and Daniel Maoate came to the aid of a man who got himself into trouble while swimming in the lagoon at Crown Beach Resort and Spa. […]

Local

ADB jobs 'an insult' to CIWA

Wednesday 8 February 2012 | Published in Local

The Cook Islands Workers Association (CIWA) is calling advertised vacancies for consultancy positions at the Office of the Public Service Commissioner “an insult” and a “total waste of resources”. The positions are for five technical assistants, who will be employed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and on its payroll. They will be based at […]

Local

5 new consultancy jobs at PSC

Tuesday 7 February 2012 | Published in Local

Five new consultancy positions have been created at the Office of the Public Service Commissioner, in keeping with a report put together by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reviewing the functionality of the public service. They are for technical assistants whose job it will be to oversee implementation of recommendations outlined in the functional review […]

Local

4 new Kiwis naturalised

Tuesday 7 February 2012 | Published in Local

Four people in the Cook Islands were granted New Zealand citizenship yesterday, becoming perhaps the last people in the world to undergo the naturalisation ceremony on Waitangi Day. Three Samoans and a French Polynesian were the lucky four to receive their citizenship at New Zealand High Commissioner John Carter’s Ngatipa residence. In a short ceremony, […]

Local

Hangi party in Raro

Monday 6 February 2012 | Published in Local

The Cook Islands Aotearoa Society gathered at their Marae in Tupapa to celebrate Waitangi Day with a hangi and chats over a cuppa tea. While today, February 6, is officially Waitangi Day – the society members decided to celebrate the day yesterday in line with New Zealand. To celebrate the day, which commemorates the the […]

Local

Quake heroes take time out in the Cooks

Monday 6 February 2012 | Published in Local

The first group of Christchurch heroes and heroines arrived on the island over the weekend for a break from the ongoing recovery and rebuilding of Christchurch city after the devastating February 2011 earthquakes. Close to 100 heroes, heroines and their partners will retreat to Rarotonga over the next few months in small groups of 6 […]

Local

Online laws need overhaul: advocate

Monday 6 February 2012 | Published in Local

The recent spate of emails from a man who is intent on bringing down the Cook Islands tourism industry though an insidious online campaign has sparked an internet advocate to call for more comprehensive laws governing the use and abuse of the web. Maureen Hilyard, the Rarotonga-based chair of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the […]

Local

'It's time to talk about it'

Saturday 4 February 2012 | Published in Local

It’s time to talk about the issue of suicide, says minister of youth Mark Brown. Brown, like the community at large, was devastated to hear of another Cook Islands youth who had committed suicide at the weekend. “It was just devastating to hear the news,” says Brown who had personally known the young man who […]

Local

Rain and high seas forecast

Saturday 4 February 2012 | Published in Local

A series of low-pressure systems developing around the Cook Islands means a probable continuation of rain and rough seas through the weekend. Unusually large surf drew crowds to Avatiu and the Avarau waterfront yesterday morning and Thursday evening. Waves were even crashing over the sea wall at Nikao and rising above the Boiler in front […]

Local

Yacht owner talks

Friday 3 February 2012 | Published in Local

The owner of the yacht Bonny says he reacted in disbelief when he found out about the fate of his boat, which had gone missing from New Zealand with an accused sex offender late last year. Six weeks later, it turned up in the Cook Islands unannounced with its skipper, who is wanted on 26 […]

Local

MMR looking for Pago Pago office

Friday 3 February 2012 | Published in Local

The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) is currently searching for office space in American Samoa with plans to establish a long-term presence there. A team of workers from the ministry has been in the US territory’s capital Pago Pago since last week. They were due to return to the Cook Islands yesterday. There they have […]

Local

'Nothing severe'

Thursday 2 February 2012 | Published in Local

The newest storm brewing near New Caledonia and Vanuatu does not pose a threat to the Cook Islands, says Meteorological Services operations manager Maara Vaiimene. This week a few new weather systems have developed within the region – a tropical depression near Vanuatu and New Caledonia (which actually falls under Fiji’s area of responsibility), a […]

Local

Major road works underway

Thursday 2 February 2012 | Published in Local

A $2.9 million roads project has begun in Rarotonga after more than four years of planning and waiting. The job, officially known as the Rarotonga Road Network Improvement project, is bringing three parties together for its completion, coupling the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) with contractors T&M Heather and Triad Petroleum. MOIP secretary Donye […]

Local

'We must tackle suicide as a nation'

Thursday 2 February 2012 | Published in Local

More needs to be done at a governmental level and in the home to tackle suicide among Cook Islands youth, according to Minister of Health Nandi Glassie. Glassie said the Cook Islands must tackle suicide as a nation, by bringing in better legislation for mental health, introducing more funding for psychological and mental health care, […]

Local

Pork trotter not cricket

Wednesday 1 February 2012 | Published in Local

Four Aitutaki men have landed themselves in hot water over the theft of a pig carcass from a cricket team, with all set to be sentenced next month over the heist. A 17-year-old youth and a 19-year-old man both pleaded guilty to the thefts at Aitutaki court this week over the January incident. The two […]

Local

US$300,000 for elderly and disabled

Wednesday 1 February 2012 | Published in Local

Funding amounting to US$300,000 has been made available for home and nursing care services for the elderly and disabled people of the Cook Islands. The money will enable three national pilot schemes to go ahead. All non-government and community-based organisations with experience in delivering programmes for the elderly and disabled are being invited to submit […]

Local

« Previous  1    614  615  616  617  618  619  620  621  622    722  Next »