National
Water bottles sent north
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in National
Thanks to the Rotary Club of Rarotonga and Air Raro, new water bottles are on their way to Omoka School on Penrhyn. Tyronne Weerasinghe, principal of the Penrhyn school, approached Rotary to provide a water bottle for each classroom. Weerasinghe’s request was based on concerns about dehydration for students and the effect this may be […]
Students unveil products at Winter Fest
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in National
Tereora College students involved in a young entrepreneurs programme launched their products at the new Winter Fest night market at Punanga Nui marketplace last night. Year 10 students involved in the young entrepreneurs programme (YEP), run by the Business Trade and Investment Board (BTIB), worked for 18 weeks to develop a viable product to sell. […]
New life for CISPCA
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in National
The Cook Islands Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CISPCA) is starting afresh this year with a new president and renovation of their property in Vaimaanga. A new committee was formed in January, with Kura Hoff-Tansley as president. Hoff-Tansley says her main concerns are for dogs and to ensure that dogs have rights. […]
House passes energy legislation
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in National
Parliament passed both the Te Aponga Uira O Tumutevarovaro Amendment Bill and its counterpart, the Energy Act Amendment Bill, yesterday. Both are legislative mechanisms by which the prime minister can legally appoint an energy commissioner, a person to coordinate all government’s renewable energy policies, whose salary is being funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme. […]
MMR logic 'not necessarily sound'
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in National
Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen is encouraging government to shift its focus from licencing foreign boats to fish in Cook Islands waters to supporting local fishermen. In speaking on a bill to amend the Territorial Seas and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977 during Parliament this week, Rasmussen took the opportunity to voice his views on government’s […]
Opposition warns govt to limit licences
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in National
Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen is warning the government to curb its issuing of fishing licences to foreign companies. Pressed to explain his actions during his tenure as minister of marine resources, Rasmussen said in Parliament this week that he regrets the ”terrible mistake“ of issuing 30 licences to foreign boats. ”If I have to say […]
Three tonnes of shark fins allegedly found
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Environment
A number of reports have come in of a large amount of shark fins being found on a foreign fishing vessel by a recent navy patrol. According to numerous reliable sources, three tonnes worth of shark fins – without the required number of shark carcasses – have allegedly been found by navy personnel onboard a […]
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 […]
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 […]
Roads closed
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
Maintenance work on the Maire Nui Drive in Avarua is expected to be completed this Friday. Before then motorists are urged to be patient and drive carefully on the one-lane road through the main town. A new chip seal is being laid on parts of the Maire Nui Drive especially on the stretch of road […]
Otago in harbour after patrol
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
The HMNZS Otago is due to berth in Avatiu Harbour at 1 o’clock this afternoon (Wednesday), after a week-long joint exercise boarding fishing vessels in Cook Islands waters. The Otago carried out the exercise in the northern part of the Cooks exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with a Cook Islands police boarding party. Boarding foreign fishing […]
Inquest may bring 'closure'
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
Five more witnesses have been heard in the inquest into the disappearance of 31-year-old handicapped woman Ngatupuna Pokotea. Pokotea, who suffered from epileptic fits and could not talk, vanished from her Turoa residence on July 11, 2006. The inquest has been held in the High Court by Coroner Nooapii Tearea last Friday and yesterday (Tuesday). […]
Penrhyn fisherman alleges torture
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
A Penrhyn fisherman says the way he was treated by police, prison and probation services amounted to torture and is a breach of the Cook Islands constitution and international law. Arumia Robert Samatua is suing the attorney-general for over $970,000 on behalf of the police, prison and probation services for treatment he alleges was a […]
Community respond to smacking comments
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
How to discipline children is always a contentious issue, and minister Teariki Heather stirred up the debate on the subject in Parliament on Tuesday. During question and answer time, Heather responded to Nikao MP Ngamau ‘Aunty Mau’ Munokoa’s query on how to deal with youth crime by saying the government needed to allow ”parents to […]
Current debt of $93.6m 'manageable'
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
Crown debt is expected to increase over the long-term. Total gross debt is estimated to reach $93.6 million by the end of this month. The figure has been reduced from last year’s balance on account of a favourable movement in the US to New Zealand dollar exchange rate. At present 80 percent of Crown debt […]
PM praises vaka crew
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
Prime Minister Henry Puna made mention of the sailors aboard Cook Islands vaka Marumaru Atua in Parliament yesterday. ”I am very proud of these young people,“ he said. ”First they went to the United States, the continent, they landed over there, came back and went to Samoa and also to Fiji. And I came on […]
Customs legislation passes easily
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in National
A 600-page bill listing goods that are imported to and exported from the Cook Islands, and their accompanying duties and preferential rates, has passed through Parliament without amendment. The Customs Tariff Bill 2012 passed without objection yesterday. The legislation replaced its 32-year-old predecessor, directly following the passage of the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Bill. […]
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