National
New farmers market will be regular
Friday 20 April 2012 | Published in National
Produce from across the southern group islands will feature at a farmers market in Rarotonga next month that will be the first of a regular feature on the markert calendar. The farmers market will be held on Wednesday, May 2, at Punanga Nui markets and organisers say it will return regularly thereafter. There are hopes […]
Free website offer for accommodators
Friday 20 April 2012 | Published in National
Members of the Cook Islands tourism industry who don’t yet have an online presence are receiving a leg-up on to the web this month thanks to a collaboration between Pacific Islands Trade and Invest and South Pacific Tourism Organisation. The two bodies have come together, with organisational help from the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, to […]
Rarotonga trochus potential highlighted
Friday 20 April 2012 | Published in Local
The Ministry of Marine Resources is concerned that a valuable export, trochus shell, is not being used wisely on Rarotonga, with people missing out on the opportunity to earn additional income. Trochus were originally introduced into the Cook Islands in 1956, with a view to developing an income generating opportunity and small export industry for […]
Fines possible for dangerous operators
Friday 20 April 2012 | Published in Local
Fuel suppliers in the Cook Islands are being gently pushed into making reforms that will improve the safety and standards of the handling of dangerous goods, but authorities have the option to penalise or remove the licences of any operators that don’t show improvements. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the body tasked with issuing and […]
Blackout for 3 hours
Friday 20 April 2012 | Published in National
A mechanical fault at the Avatiu Valley power station is responsible for a three-hour blackout in Rarotonga’s northeast on Wednesday evening that affected homes and businesses from Ngatipa to Turangi. Motorists driving though the area from 3.30pm to about 7pm passed by shops and stores operating by candlelight as the sun set that evening, with […]
Red flags raised
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in Environment
A 2010 audit raises some major red flags in relation to the state of dangerous goods facilities on Rarotonga and Aitutaki. Released on Tuesday, the audit report is revealing in its assessment of fuel and power suppliers and retailers in the Cook Islands. It addresses issues around the proximity of fuel storage facilities to the […]
Service stations mostly improper
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in Environment
Most service stations that the New Zealand Department of Labour’s Kim Comben inspected in 2010 were being improperly maintained and operated. The most shocking issue was environmental contamination, which seemed to be prevalent at filling points. “It appears that the suppliers are nozzle filling the underground tanks and not using liquid tight and vapour tight […]
Aitutaki power station a 'model' installation
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in Environment
Dangerous goods inspector Kim Comben also did site inspections in Aitutaki, where he found some of the same problems plaguing Rarotonga facilities – among them, lack of emergency preparedness and inappropriate site positioning. At the time of Comben’s inspection, Aquila Storage Tanks’ facility had no security and its tanks had no bunding. The audit concluded […]
TAU compliance 'a work in progress'
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in Environment
Te Aponga Uira (TAU) has acted “constructively and responsibly” to safety upgrades recommended to its Avatiu valley power station, but the complexity of some problems remain as a major hurdle to upgrades, according to chief executive officer Apii Timoti. Timoti said that TAU had taken steps to address the specific problems highlighted by New Zealand […]
Takitimu land case heard in London
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in Local
The Cook Islands made its first appearance at the Privy Council, thousands of kilometres away in London, this week. A dispute over 53 acres of Takitumu land came before the Supreme Court judges of the United Kingdom – the highest judicial authority throughout the Commonwealth. Popular UK newspaper The Independent published the story about the […]
Power station posed 'dire' threat
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in Local
“Unacceptable” levels of leaking diesel at the Te Aponga Uira (TAU) Avatiu valley power station have the potential to ignite and cause “dire consequences” for the power station and Rarotonga as a whole, according to a report released to the media this week. The report, conducted by New Zealand Department of Labour inspector Kim Comben […]
Century-old battle goes to Britain
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in National
Popular UK newspaper The Independent published this story about a Cook Islands land dispute currently before the Privy Council. Following a Court of Appeal decision in 2009, June Baudinet is taking her case to the top and battling it out with Ellena Tavioni and the Macquarie family before Supreme Court justices in London. A decision […]
Bonny storage must be paid for
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in National
The owner of a yacht that was found abandoned at sea in January with its skipper missing will be pursued for charges relating to its mooring and storage at Avatiu harbour, Cook Islands Police Inspector John Strickland said. The yacht Bonny has been stored at the harbour since January 3 when police patrol boat Te […]
Elderly advise priorities
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in National
Rarotonga’s population aged 60 and over have identified access to healthcare, financial security and being able to live with dignity as points worth protecting for the elderly people of the Cook Islands. The government is currently developing an official policy to help guide the future coordination and delivery of services to the elderly in the […]
Final call for Miss Cook Islands entrants
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in National
The Miss Cook Islands Pageant Association is issuing a final call to aspiring Miss Cook Islands contestants. All Cook Islands women between 18 and 26 years of age are invited to register for the June 7 pageant before April 27. “We are looking for our newest role model to represent our young women and our […]
'Star Wars moment' in health
Thursday 19 April 2012 | Published in National
Health services in the Cook Islands have had a ‘Star Wars moment’ with the addition of online, telecommunication equipment to its arsenal, according to secretary of health Tupou Faireka. The Rarotonga Hospital officially launched the new system at a special meeting on Wednesday, linking officials in Rarotonga with hospital trainers and medical professionals 3000 kilometres […]
Majority in breach of the law
Wednesday 18 April 2012 | Published in National
A contentious report drafted by New Zealand dangerous goods inspector Kim Comben in 2010 has been made available for public viewing. Responding to advice from Chief Justice Tom Weston and a subsequent Cook Islands News request for information under the Official Information Act, the Ministry of Internal Affairs yesterday released the document. The report represents […]
Report damns Te Aponga Uira
Wednesday 18 April 2012 | Published in National
An independent report reviewing the dangerous goods handling procedures of Cook Islands facilities calls state-owned enterprise Te Aponga Uira a “disappointment”. As a state-owned entity, Te Aponga Uira (TAU) is not subject to the same standards under the Dangerous Goods Act as independent operators. It has no dangerous goods licence, though it does not need […]
Local arguments taken to London
Wednesday 18 April 2012 | Published in Crime
This morning the London Privy Council will hear its first-ever Cook Islands land case. Two Cook Islands land disputes come before the council this week, each having been allocated a one-day hearing. The first case involves 58 acres of Takitumu land – Tuarea Nui section 40. June Baudinet for Ngati Raina is contesting a decision […]
New police minister 'impressed'
Wednesday 18 April 2012 | Published in Local
Minister of Police Teariki Heather says community involvement is key to police work and he will use his new role to encourage Cook Islands Police to meet as often and as regularly as they can with the people of each vaka. Heather officially took over the police portfolio from Prime Minister Henry Puna at a […]
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