National
Sex offender jailed
Thursday 30 August 2012 | Published in National
Serial sex offender Japhet Manuel was sentenced yesterday to three and a half years in prison. Chief Justice Tom Weston sent him to prison for six offences committed over four days in March, including sexually assaulting a sleeping pregnant woman. Manuel’s offending spree started on March 14, when he walked onto a woman’s property and […]
The last straw
Thursday 30 August 2012 | Published in National
Aucklander Nick Diggle has had a rough few months. First his yacht, Bonny, was stolen by suspected paedophile David Peppiatt last December as he fled New Zealand before his trial. Then Diggle discovered Bonny had been found on January 4 drifting 20 nautical miles from Rarotonga, after Peppiatt mysteriously disappeared. Now he has to pay […]
Last leaders arrive
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Except for star of the show Hillary Clinton, the last of the foreign leaders to arrive for the Pacific Leaders Forum this week flew into Rarotonga yesterday. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key arrived in an RNZAF plane at around 1 yesterday afternoon. Also on-board were Kiribati President Anote Tong, Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Ham […]
Reward: $12,500
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Local businessman Bill Doherty is increasing the reward offered for the return of his safe – to $12,500. On August 4, a Saturday night, the Landholdings Ltd office at Panama was broken into and a locked safe stolen. To speed up the police investigation, Doherty offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction […]
'Same people, same nation'
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
French Polynesia president Oscar Temaru is hopeful that Rapa Nui, Hawai’i and Aotearoa Maori will be formally accepted into the Polynesian Leaders Group by week’s end. ”We fully support (them),“ Temaru said yesterday. ”Maori, Hawaiian, we are all the same people, looking for freedom.“ He attended the Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) meeting on Saturday, at […]
No asylum ban
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says there is no restriction on foreign journalists entering the country and they are free to travel there anytime. Clarifying recent media reports that a ban had been placed on foreign media by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Rimbink Pato, O’Neill said yesterday there was no […]
ADB not here to 'babysit'
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
The Asian Development Bank has opened an office in the Cooks – to make sure its development assistance does not ”fall down the cracks“. Yesterday morning, Asian Development Bank (ADB) vice-president Stephen Groff officially opened the branch development coordination office, located in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management building in Avarua. Two local staff […]
Let sharks go!
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in Local
The shark sanctuary’s message is plain and simple – let sharks go. Banning the retention of sharks on board commercial longline vessels lessens the workload for Te Kukupa and even offers the country revenue from fines. The Marshall Islands, who established their shark sanctuary in October last year, has already realised $235,000 in shark sanctuary […]
Spouses out and about Rarotonga
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
The opportunity to meet some of the women from Vaka Takitumu was just part of the spouses programme that took place yesterday. Akaiti Puna, alongside spouses of Cook Islands Members of Parliament, spent the day hosting spouses of Pacific leaders. The group travelled to various destinations across the island, including Rarotonga Hospital, the BCI Stadium […]
Fishermen support shark protection
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in Local
Terrence Nightingale, Captain of Cook Islands longline boat FV Viking Spirit, says, ”We don’t have any interest in catching sharks. We set them free.“ Terry’s testimony resonated as the Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative (PICI) proposed regulations for the creation of a shark sanctuary that would ban all retention of sharks on commercial longline vessels. In […]
Avoid that motorcade
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Rarotonga residents looking to avoid the motorcades hurtling around the island may be out of luck – motorcade co-ordinator Robert Graham said he cannot give out exact travel times due to security reasons. ”All I can say is that there will be a few more motorcades travelling around the island over the next few days.“ […]
Cook Islanders rally for shark sanctuary
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in Local
Sharks are more important to Cook Islanders than many people think. ”For a lot of us and a lot of Cook Islands people, the shark has always been in our families. A lot of our families use the shark, use the mango, as a protector, a family guardian, which makes it even more important for […]
Regal entrance by Australian PM Julia Gillard
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard sits regally as she is carried on a traditional paata into the official opening of the 43rd Pacific Leaders Forum at the National Auditorium yesterday. Each of the 16 Forum country leaders here on Rarotonga for the week-long Forum received a turou challenge from a warrior as they were carried […]
No CI products in True Pacific brand
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
A non-profit group which helps consumers choose quality Pacific products is showcasing its brand at the clean and green industry showcase at Rarotonga’s National Auditorium. Products displaying the quality mark – a stylised frangipani flower – must be of genuine Pacific origin and meet strict quality standards. True Pacific is an initiative of the New […]
Fibre optic proposed
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
The Cook Islands has until the end of the year to accept or reject an offer from New Zealand-based company Hawaiki Cable Ltd to connect to a fibre optic cable being installed from Hawai’i to Auckland and Sydney via numerous Pacific Islands. In the works for about three years, the project has been unpublicised, but […]
'Best fit' governance practices critical
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Max Everest-Phillips, director of governance and institutional development at the Commonwealth Secretariat, is attending the Pacific Leaders Forum. He maintains Pacific integration and sustainability will be achieved through good governance. Sustainable development in Pacific island countries hinges on good governance and visionary leadership. Effective, efficient and equitable governance improves the lives of citizens by advancing […]
Bachelet in gender talks
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Gender equality in the Pacific will be discussed as a Forum side event today, with a number of high-profile female United Nations members attending. Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Michele Bachelet, will take part in the panel discussions on gender equality. The head of the UN Delegation to the Pacific Island Forum was […]
'No such thing as exploratory fishing'
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Confident that the Cook Islands ”will do the right thing“, Marshall Islands politician Tony deBrum is congratulating government ”in advance“ for legislating a shark sanctuary. The member of parliament for Kwajalein has been vocal about shark protection in his country, which banned shark finning in October last year. DeBrum, who is in Rarotonga for the […]
Celebrating Moana Nui O Kiva
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Conservation International this week hosted a dinner to celebrate the Pacific Oceanscape and those who are party to it. Prime Minister Henry Puna welcomed conservationists, voyagers and regional decision-makers to a seaside function on Monday night. ”The well-known Pacific philosopher and writer Epeli Hau’ofa defined who we are as Pacific Islanders – he said, and […]
New pact opens up regional trade
Wednesday 29 August 2012 | Published in National
Following months of deliberation and seven rounds of negotiations, Pacific ACP leaders yesterday signed the PICTA trade in services protocol. ”This will be a significant step towards facilitating regional integration and unlocking potential benefits of regional trade in services,“ Forum Secretariat secretary-general Tuiloma Neroni Slade said. The agreement engenders the liberalisation of services in travel, […]
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