National

The case for Reusables versus Disposables

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Environment

Since 2008 when Lagoon Day was first held, June Hosking and other presenters advocated for reusable nappies over disposables. However the topic, without ready suppliers and information on island, has crawled along. So earlier this year Hosking, now the coordinator of Lagoon Day, decided it was time to follow her dream with a good plan […]

Call for super fund 'repatriation'

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in National

Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen asked finance minister Mark Brown to explain in Parliament whether his government intends to repatriate $20 million in superannuation funds, as the former Democratic Party government intended. ”As I understand the plan was to bring back $20 million into our finance system here for the use of government in times like […]

Shark conservation under consultation

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Environment

A two-day meeting was held this week by the Ministry of Marine Resources to discuss an updated national plan of action for sharks. Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) secretary Ben Ponia organised the consultation to talk about the problem of shark over-fishing and the possibility of creating a shark sanctuary in the Cooks. Ponia flew […]

'Don't ignore Fiji's boom times'

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in National

A smoke signaller writes from Fiji ”where the economy is booming, the resorts are full, new island cruise ships are operating to capacity, the people are happy, cargo ships berth daily with transshipments from around the world, and airlines deposit tourists from Asia and Eastern countries. Supermarkets sell jam from Poland and Denmark and goods […]

Budget passed

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Local

Budget 2012 has been passed without amendment. Yesterday Speaker of the House Niki Rattle went through each schedule and appropriation, and none was opposed. Parliament dispersed quickly just after 1pm when it was announced that the Appropriation Bill 2012 had passed. The announcement was made not long after the bill was read for the third […]

Norman George 'not scared of little boys'

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in National

Atiu MP Norman George called Taoro Brown’s mayoralty ”highly unsatisfactory“ in Parliament yesterday. During question-and-answer time he asked the prime minister to comment on the situation of the Atiu mayoralty. ”You’re now the minister of the outer islands. I want to ask you: are you aware of the problem in Atiu where the mayor resigned […]

Workers fear a 'grim future'

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Local

Government has been insistent that a 2 percent cut to the public service budget will not engender job losses, but the Cook Islands Workers Association (CIWA) is not convinced. CIWA president Anthony Turua says he has received a flood of feedback from CIWA executives and members, who are disappointed with the Budget and its ”impact […]

Budget debate 'guillotined'

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in National

One hour into yesterday’s Parliamentary sitting, Norman George made a noisy exit, protesting what he called ”a dark day“ in the history of the Cook Islands Parliament. ”I depart from the chambers in protest,“ he said at about 11am. ”People of the Cook Islands, I’m leaving chambers in protest of this horrific move of the […]

Mermaid Dance Band here to play

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in Local

Coco Lounge returns by Vaka

Saturday 16 June 2012 | Published in National

The popular 88 Coco Lounge music video show makes a comeback this Sunday on Vaka TV – live! The island’s favourite coco cousin and 88FM DJ George ‘G-Dub’ Williams along with fellow DJ and musician Mii Taukia will for two hours present music videos, international and local, as well as share their wealth of musical […]

PM praises Budget 'transparency'

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

Prime Minister Henry Puna spoke for close to an hour in Parliament yesterday, covering a range of issues, from suicide to Budget 2012. He addressed his constituency, the people of Manihiki, advising them that government has made it a point to maintain the level of funding available for the pa enua. He said government feels […]

Four NZ navy ships in Cooks

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

Four of the 12 Royal New Zealand Navy vessels are in the Cooks over the coming week. The HMNZS Canterbury, which is anchored off Avarua Harbour until Saturday morning, will be supporting patrol efforts around the region and reporting on its findings. Canterbury’s captain Commander Sean Stewart says they are part of a planning contingency […]

HMNZS Canterbury here to support maritime patrols

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

New Zealand naval vessel HMNZS Canterbury is in the Cooks until Saturday morning, when it will head to Tonga. Commander Sean Stewart says they are here supporting patrol efforts around the region. The Canterbury, at 131 metres long, is too big to fit into the Avarua Harbour. She has a crew of 130, of which […]

New x-ray unit for pets

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

Diagnosing problems with local pets has become a whole lot easier at the island’s only animal clinic thanks to the generous donation of an x-ray machine. The Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic in Nikao received an x-ray machine last week sponsored by the Barton family and The Bond Store. And in its short time on […]

Work about to start on new jetty

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

The Cook Islands is set to become a more frequent stopover destination for visiting cruise ships, with funding confirmed for the construction of the alternative ocean access jetty at Arorangi. The $2 million project to build the new jetty will be funded by the New Zealand/Australia Harmonised Aid Programme. New Zealand High Commissioner John Carter […]

Pa enua funding 'a waste'

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

Oneroa MP Winton Pickering commends the government for maintaining the appropriation levels for the pa enua, but says it was the ”wrong move“. ”I encourage government in terms of support for the outer islands (but) I can see from this Budget there is a substantial amount of money that this government is going to throw […]

Demo caucus budget boycott 'disappointing'

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

Finance minister Mark Brown says it is ”disappointing“ that the Opposition chose to boycott a presentation his team hosted for members of Parliament last week to explain the nuts and bolts of the Budget. ”As I read in the newspaper the words of the leader of the Opposition that ‘we will deliberately boycott this presentation […]

Cooks on brink of harnessing

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in Local

Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters has praised his government for allocating funding in this Budget toward the Cook Islands’ deep sea mining programme. ”It is the first time we’ve had allocation in the Budget for this programme,“ he said. He thanked the former Democratic Party government, in particular Sir Terepai Maoate and his son Junior, […]

'Missing out' on fish

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in National

Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters has indicated that he supports the Cook Islands’ association with ”those who have the capacity to harvest“ the country’s fishing resources. He addressed the issue of overfishing in Parliament yesterday. ”One (issue I’d like to discuss) is the question of overfishing or the fear of overfishing and also the possibility […]

Undersea cable on drawing board

Friday 15 June 2012 | Published in Local

The possibility of installing an undersea fibre-optic cable to enhance telecommunications services is ”on government’s agenda“, says finance minister Mark Brown. He told a group of about 80 businesspeople at a ‘Budget breakfast’ last Friday that government was considering improving broadband speed by installing an undersea cable. A baseline survey to determine how improved broadband […]