Local
Ships set sail
Wednesday 17 March 2010 | Published in Local
Taio Shipping’s second boat Maungaroa II has just had a new engine fitted in and will join Te Kou Maru II in servicing the outer islands. They will sail to the outer islands this month. Te Kou Maru is expected to sail for Manihiki today while Maungaroa II voyages to Aitutaki, and then onto Palmerston. […]
Mayor rejects Habitat offer
Wednesday 17 March 2010 | Published in Local
Aitutaki is opposed to Habitat For Humanity New Zeal- and’s offer to build 72 new homes, says island mayor Tai Herman. Yesterday he made this view clear to the recovery coordinator minister Wilkie Rasmussen. Herman told CI News that the island council rejects the proposal that government buy 72 basic 42 square metre, two bedroom […]
PM wants Toagate audit report made public
Tuesday 16 March 2010 | Published in Local
Prime minister Jim Marurai is taking advice on how to make the audit report on the Toagate fuel farm scandal a public document once it is completed. Marurai hopes to find a way to release the document to the public without having to follow the usual practice of tabling it in parliament because he has […]
Audit looks into claimed Chinese car 'kickbacks'
Tuesday 16 March 2010 | Published in Local
The audit office wants to know why the car on the right, kept at the residence of suspended CIIC chief executive John Tini, is in his personal use but owned by the Chinese construction company which built the new sports stadium. “/> The audit office wants to know why the car on the right, kept […]
Pasifika crowds flock to Cook Islands village
Monday 15 March 2010 | Published in Local
The sights and sounds of the Cook Islands once more returned to Auckland’s Western Springs on Saturday (NZT) at the annual Pasifika Festival. Thousands of Cook Islanders from around New Zealand made what has become an annual pilgrimage to the celebration of all things Pacific. Friends, family and fellow countrymen caught up at the small […]
Old age pension could clash with super fund
Monday 15 March 2010 | Published in Local
Collecting an old age pension in future may depend on what a retiree receives from the national superannuation fund. As part of government’s review of the social welfare system, the ministry of internal affairs is currently asking for public submissions on such questions as whether the super fund could eventually replace the old age pension. […]
Political reform conference postponed
Saturday 13 March 2010 | Published in Local
The political reform conference which prime minister Jim Marurai was to host last month has been postponed indefinitely, according to his office. OPM chief of staff Mac Mokoroa says the conference has been put off due to the office’s involvement in the Aitutaki cyclone recovery programme. He says the office will now liaise with political […]
Subsidy spent
Friday 12 March 2010 | Published in Local
Government’s water tank subsidy fund is dry. In December, government announced that it would allot $1.5 million toward the water tank subsidy project. MOIP received just $50,000 for the subsidy scheme, which ran out in the course of a few months. There are no immediate plans to top up the fund. Infrastructure minister William (Smiley) […]
McCully coming
Friday 12 March 2010 | Published in Local
NZ Foreign Affairs minister Murray McCully is leading a government delegation to attend the joint ministerial forum in Rarotonga next month. The meeting will cover issues of economics, infrastructure, and social development. McCully and two other NZ ministers, whose names have yet to be confirmed, are due to arrive on April 6. The first joint […]
Budget blowout
Friday 12 March 2010 | Published in Local
Health and education funding may suffer big budget cuts as the country faces a multimillion dollar shortfall in the next annual budget. Finance minister Wilkie Rasmussen admits a budget deficit of up to $4 million could be seen, but rumour puts the shortfall much higher – at one estimate $7 million. Rasmussen says there’s now […]
New acting MOIP head
Thursday 11 March 2010 | Published in Local
Otheniel Tangianau (above) is now the new acting secretary of the ministry of infrastructure and planning (MOIP) following the resignation of Taukea Raui last week. Minister William ‘Smiley’ Heather confirmed the appointment yesterday saying Raui had cited personal reasons for resigning. It is understood there had been some tension over the Aitutaki recovery plan, which […]
NZ funding not confirmed
Thursday 11 March 2010 | Published in Local
The New Zealand government has yet to announce funding for the Aitutaki cyclone recovery plan. While recovery work is starting, government officials are reportedly worried about when NZ will declare its financial support and it has already been noted that this is not the normal practice. Last week government announced that the plan will cost […]
Buzz off!
Thursday 11 March 2010 | Published in Local
Thirteen-year-old Lawton Tepai and his grandparents have had enough of the bees in this big hive attached to their house in Arorangi. The family is asking anyone who knows how to handle bees to come and help them remove this lot. Lawton has the misfortune of sleeping in the bedroom directly under the hive and […]
Te Puna dispute settled
Thursday 11 March 2010 | Published in Local
A landmark judgement was handed down in the Cook Islands High Court this week. Judge Kenneth Heta Kingston reversed a highly controversial decision made by the country’s first chief justice in 1908. The case that has come to be known as “Te Puna” concerns 147 acres of Takitumu land that stretches from the shore right […]
Call for seat belts
Thursday 11 March 2010 | Published in Local
In light of Tamarii Pierre’s tragic death at the weekend, police commissioner Maara Tetava says it’s time we made it a point to wear a seat belt while travelling in the car. “It would be advisable for motorists to belt up each time they get into their vehicles,” Tetava said. “Everyone needs to get into […]
Driver charged
Wednesday 10 March 2010 | Published in Local
The 18-year-old driver of the car in which Tamarii Pierre died Saturday morning was arrested on Sunday afternoon. The young man from Tupapa appeared in court on Monday morning on an initial charge of excess blood alcohol. He did not enter any plea. He was released on bail and instructed not to purchase or consume […]
New tropical disturbance
Wednesday 10 March 2010 | Published in Local
Fiji Met Services detected a tropical disturbance just south of Samoa yesterday. Tropical disturbance 14F was located at 13.5 south and 171 west at 10 am and was moving slowly in a southwest direction. The TD was not expected to develop into a tropical cyclone. Cook Islands Met Services said that 14F does not pose […]
CIP dispels talk of merger
Wednesday 10 March 2010 | Published in Local
The Cook Islands Party has not merged nor is it about to merge with the Democratic Party, says leader Henry Puna. He wrote a letter to CI News yesterday to ‘clear up any misconceptions about the true CIP position’. Demo Party president Makiuti Tongia referred to a merger with the CIP several times in his […]
'Relief funds will be short'
Wednesday 10 March 2010 | Published in Local
The $2.7 million government contribution to Aitutaki cyclone recovery efforts will fall short of what is needed, says Cook Islands Party leader Henry Puna. In a letter to the editor today (page 6), Puna says the CIP will give government the MP numbers needed in parliament to ensure the further supply of funds for the […]
Gym for health
Tuesday 9 March 2010 | Published in Local
Over 100 staff at the ministry of health plan to use their own gym so they can walk the talk in promoting healthy living. Yesterday the ministry and guests opened the gym and reopened the refurbished Tupapa community health clinic. Thanks to about US$30,000 funding from the World Health Organisation, the ministry has been able […]
« Previous 1 … 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 … 721 Next »