National
Minister's wives share Christmas cheer
Thursday 15 December 2011 | Published in National
The Cook Islands First Lady Akaiti Puna led a group of Cook Islands Party ministers wives to Rarotongas health support clinics on Tuesday to help spread some Christmas cheer. The women visited Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre, Are Pa Metua and the Rarotonga Hospital, sharing food, presents, carols and stories with their hosts. […]
Society schedules elections for January
Thursday 15 December 2011 | Published in National
An annual general meeting of the Pukapuka Community of New Zealand Inc has been scheduled for January, at which it is expected there will be elections for the positions of president and for the executive board. The elections have been called as a matter of urgency given that the societys two opposing camps have yet […]
MMR awarded $1500 in court
Thursday 15 December 2011 | Published in Crime
The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) has been awarded costs of $1500 in respect of a civil court case involving the Northern Cook Islands Fishing Company (NCIFC). MMR has been brought into the proceedings as a third party. The case, which is essentially a dispute between NCIFC and Taiwanese fishing firm Yuh Yow Marine Ltd, […]
Climate change, disaster linked to economy
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Environment
Disaster risk management and climate change adaption are issues central to a countrys economic and social institutions, Cook Islands Party minister Mark Brown has told a disaster management conference in the Caribbean. In his address at the Sixth Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management held in Trinidad, Brown said climate change and disaster management […]
Years work finished
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Local
All outstanding government business has been dealt with in parliament. Ministers and fellow MPs adopted all existing reports on parliaments order paper yesterday afternoon, including some which date back to 2008. The session adjourned at 4.30pm and will resume at 10am on Friday, when MPs will have the opportunity to deliver their Christmas and end-of-year […]
Ngati Vaikai claiming land ahead of opening
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Local
Not everyone will be celebrating the Thursday opening of the Takitumu palace commissioned by Pa Tepaeru Teariki Upokotini Marie Ariki. A notice has been filed with the court by Tupe Takau Short on behalf of his family, who claim that Te-mata-o-te-enua section 10 A1 part and parcel of the land on which the palace has […]
Prioritising PR for spouses
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in Local
More than 50 spouses of Cook Islanders, seeking permanent resident (PR) status, are in line to receive a New Year gift from government. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters, who holds the portfolio of foreign affairs and immigration, says he hopes to stage a mass ceremony in early 2012 at which PR can be awarded to […]
Signed, sealed and delivered in town
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
Cook Islands Police have taken possession of a number of business signs that were collected up from various locations and dumped at others around Rarotonga by an unknown group overnight on Monday. Mischief-makers toured the main road on Monday night, collecting up unfastened signs left by the road. Some were found in the town area […]
Small steps to address womens plight
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
Honiara-based Cook Islands journalist Lisa Williams-Lahari, who is a founding member of the Pacific Freedom Forum and WAVE media networks, said the issues of abuse and pressure facing women journalists are not just a regional trend. I started at Cook Islands News when it was still a government paper in 1984. Up until the time […]
Pacific journalists must speak out against violence
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
As the global 16 days of activism campaign against violence against women for 2011 came to a close, Pacific journalists reporting on violence against women are called on to expose abuse of their own colleagues. Titi Gabi, chair of the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), said newsrooms are more often majority staffed by women, so violence […]
Ministry considering tenders
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) is considering tenders for all leftover materials from the Aitutaki cyclone recovery programme. Surplus building materials are on sale by tender through the ministry, which may receive a recommendation from its tender committee by the end of the week. Items include fastenings (nails, brackets, washers, bolts, galvanised wire), […]
Let someone else do the Christmas cooking
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
Christmas is a time to celebrate be it Jesus birth, the end of a busy year, the beginning of a new one or the unofficial start of summer and Rarotonga restaurants and resorts are well aware that sometimes people want to do it the stress-free way. For those who want to gather around family, friends […]
Kick-start your Christmas tonight
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
People looking to kick-start their Christmas cheer should get to the BCI Stadium tonight for the annual Christmas in the Park festival. Gates open at 4.30pm this afternoon at the stadium, giving people access to a nights worth of activities and entertainment with plenty of food stalls to tempt the hungry and Christmas atmosphere for […]
Samoan ship due in new year
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
The first voyage of a Samoan shipping service between Apia and the northern Cook Islands will take place early in the new year, Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters says. He says the Samoa Shipping Corporation (SSC) chief executive has promised to bend over backwards to ensure the voyage goes ahead as planned. Marsters responded to […]
Parliament withdraws employment bill
Wednesday 14 December 2011 | Published in National
Parliament has withdrawn from its order paper a bill regarding employment relations legislation. The bill, which is considered long outdated and redundant, will now be re-drafted by those in the Crown Law Office to reflect recommendations of a special select committee. The committee was established to review the old employment relations legislation and has made […]
Pa Ariki talks health at palace opening
Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Local
Delegations of cultural ambassadors from New Zealand and French Polynesia are trickling in this week, ahead of the highly-anticipated opening ceremony for Pa Marie Arikis Takitumu palace on Thursday. Maori king Tuheitia Paki is no longer coming to Rarotonga for the grand opening, but has sent his regards and a kapa haka team to represent […]
Trochus harvest period extended
Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in National
Aitutakis trochus harvest has been extended by a week to allow residents enough time to fill the 17 tonne quota one full shipping container. Cook Islands company Ora Moana Ltd successfully tendered for the trochus, which is the first harvested on Aitutaki since 2003. Ora Moana has the same owners and directors as fellow Rarotonga-based […]
Government plans to double pension
Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Local
Governments plan to double the elderly pension for those aged 70 years and older will start to be implemented in the next financial year. Finance minister Mark Brown says money will be allocated by government in the next fiscal years budget accordingly, although he has yet to stipulate how much. Speaking in parliament yesterday Brown […]
Tourism industry best placed to get it right
Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in National
The Cook Islands embodies the South Pacific region as a destination for tourism, but trying to brand it or a business here on the image of sun, sand and palm trees alone is not enough to stand out from the pack, according to a keynote speaker at the Kia Orana Cook Islands forum. Instead, businesses […]
Tis the season of plenty
Tuesday 13 December 2011 | Published in Local
Keikilani Rea holds a 13-petalled tiare Maori, found on the back road at Turangi by Heirani Rea. Rea was making ei for the four-year anniversary of her fathers passing and noticed the flower on the same tree from which shes plucked an 11-petal and a 10-petal tiare Maori before. Its not the first unusual flower […]
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