National
Shortlist for HOMs 'being fine-tuned'
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in Local
A shortlist of new heads of ministries will be presented to the prime minister next week. Public service commissioner Russell Thomas says the report is ”still being fine-tuned“ and has yet to be presented to the prime minister as required by the Public Service Act. Prime Minister Henry Puna, upon receiving the shortlist of applicants, […]
George takes Speaker's seat
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in Local
The first was the Banking Amendment Bill, which will be read for a second time after the passing of the Appropriation Bill. Minister of Finance Mark Brown also tabled the Insurance Amendment Act. Among the other papers tabled were the Public Health Notifiable Conditions paper, Environment Application to Manihiki 2012, and a raft of Audit […]
Teariki Matenga campaigns for youth
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Teariki Matenga believes giving youth an alternative future in trades is the way to stop Titikaveka’s crime problem. The Cook Island Party (CIP) candidate is busy campaigning for the Titikaveka seat in the June 21 by-election. His campaign deals with a number of issues, including agriculture and social welfare, but youth is a focus. ”My […]
Village consultation meetings for NGOs
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Cook Islands Civil Society Organisations are inviting members of the public to attend three village consultations this week and next. Cook Islands Civil Society Organisations (CICSO) is the national umbrella body which manages all local and regional non-government organisations (NGOs). Discussions will be held on what sort of work CICSO covers, plus a wide range […]
Obituary: Rangi Moeka'a, educator
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Rangitukua Moeka’a – the first Cook Islander to hold the post of director of education – passed away in New Zealand last week after a long illness and was laid to rest on Rarotonga at the weekend. Rangitukua Moeka’a replaced former director Russell Gerard in 1972, at a time when public service positions were beginning […]
35% of expenditure on public sector salaries
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Thirty-five percent of the government’s expenditures relate to employee salaries. The public service includes ministries, outer island administrations, Crown agencies (Crown Law, Parliament, Police, Office of the Ombudsman, Audit, Business and Trade Investment Board, Ministry of Environment, Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, Head of State, Financial Intelligence Unit, Cook Islands Investment Corporation, Cook Islands National Superfund, […]
Demo MPs call for pa enua job creation
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Oneroa Member of Parliament Winton Pickering raised the dormant issue of outer islands agriculture project Te One Kura in Parliament yesterday. He asked whether government intends to increase funding for the project as a means of pa enua job creation. ”The people of Mangaia and Atiu are all leaving. I can tell you that todayWe […]
Budget all 'show' – Opposition
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen has said Budget 2012 is ”for show“ and ”about appearances only, (not) substance“. He opened the Budget debate in Parliament yesterday, framing his speech as a ”right of reply“. ”The Budget that was presented by the minister of finance last Thursday with a small surplus of $98,000 I describe as an […]
Fishing exports offset pearl slump
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Though the black pearl industry is under-performing, the Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) expects its revenue to increase by 4 percent this year due to increases in fisheries exports. Thereafter, fisheries exports are expected to increase by 5 percent per annum. For the 2010/11 financial year the marine sector was expected to make $4.9 million […]
Extra 20 fishing licences questioned
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Minister of Marine Resources Teina Bishop says no additional exploratory fishing licences have been issued to overseas interests. Budget 2012 contains a projection that 20 ”additional“ licences – to be issued this financial year – will generate $2.4 million in revenue for the country. Cook Islands News reported the fact accordingly, as marine resources regulations […]
SOEs to make $2.1m
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
State-owned enterprises are due to generate $2.1 million in dividends for this financial year. This is $1 million less than the $3.1 million that were forecasted for the last financial year. It appears as a decrease because, according to Budget Book 1, of a one-off dividend paid in by Te Aponga Uira (TAU) in 2011/12. […]
Network outages not widely advertised
Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Published in National
Planned network outages occurred around Rarotonga at the weekend, but Telecom gave only some businesses written warning. The outages, which occurred because technicians were doing maintenance work, affected mobiles in the Avarua cell site area from the Cook Islands Motor Centre to the Avarua CICC church between 2pm and 5pm on Saturday. There was also […]
Lagoon Day 'dream' rolls out from today
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Today begins a 31-day countdown to Lagoon Day – an environmental exhibition to raise public awareness through hands on, and where possible, on site education. Lagoon Day is in its fifth year and the event, on July 12 and 13, is themed ‘Dream the possible dream’. Event coodinator June Hosking says that the theme was […]
10 beautification contracts tendered
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in Local
The Department of Internal Affairs is calling for tenders for its Rarotonga community beautification programme. The scheme, sometimes referred to as the vaka maintenance programme, targets the cleaning and maintenance along the edge of public roads. It is delivered through ten separate contracts for different parts of Rarotonga. Since 2008, the contracts have been solely […]
First cultural competition for kids
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in National
Rarotonga school children tested their traditional skills at the first ever schools cultural competition organised and sponsored by Highland Paradise last week. More than 60 school children from three schools took on the challenge to make an umu, weaving, story telling, drumming and performing an ute. Tutu Teuira, co-owner of Highland Paradise, believes that the […]
Toa has a temporary licence
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in National
A story about Toa’s petrol shortage that ran in Cook Islands News last Wednesday mentioned that Toa does not have a licence to operate from its Nikao premises. In fact, Toa has a provisional licence to operate and an agreement with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to store its petrol in tanktainers temporarily, until such […]
Major water works planned
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in National
By 2015, all Rarotonga taps should be safe to drink from. This, at least, is the government’s goal, which it aims to achieve by undertaking a $43 million overhaul of Rarotonga’s water and sanitation systems. The full upgrade will rely on a blended finance arrangement, or loans and grants provided under a ‘Water Partnership’ scheme […]
Firearms expert heads new programme
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in National
The outdated firearms act may not have got its much-needed overhaul, but gun safety procedures are at the forefront of a new firearms programme run by police. The Police Department has recently lifted a ban on the importation of firearms into the country, but procedures surrounding imports have been tightened. In addition to usual applications […]
Firearm ban lifted
Monday 11 June 2012 | Published in National
The Ministry of Police has lifted a blanket ban on importing firearms, despite no changes to firearm laws. The ban, which has been in place since the start of 2011, was on police recommendation as they wanted to review outdated legislation – the 1954 Firearms Act. At police commissioner Maara Tetava’s request the ban has […]
'Nagging queen' promotes chia
Saturday 9 June 2012 | Published in National
Pa Marie Ariki is a woman on a mission, and her ultimate goal is to transform her nation into a fit and healthy one. She has been actively promoting healthful messages, emphasising the nutritional value of locally-grown fruits and vegetables – in particular the coconut – and liaising with doctors overseas about setting up a […]
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