National
Woman charged with theft as a servant
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
Justice of the Peace Tangi Taoro presided over a relatively short court hearing yesterday. A woman with name suppression appeared on a single charge of theft as a servant. Her counsel, Charles Little, asked that her case be adjourned without plea, and requested interim suppression of name so as to give her time to explain […]
Foreign worker sues for $600,000
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
Foreign worker Setareki Raiyawa – formerly employed as a human resources coordinator at The Rarotongan – is suing minister of health Nandi Glassie and attorney general Henry Puna for over $600,000. He alleges that a ‘negligent’ surgery at Rarotonga Hospital exacerbated injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident last June, and claims that because […]
Graduates honoured, scholarships granted
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
A graduation ceremony at the National Auditorium will this morning honour 146 graduates from Department of National Human Resources Development (DNHRD) courses and other programmes. Twenty-three students will receive scholarships to further their studies. Head of Hospitality and Tourism Training Centre (HTTC) Tony Tou is master of ceremonies and will open the ceremony at 11.10 […]
George could be 'kingmaker'
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
If the Democratic Party succeeds with all four petitions, it would see both major parties tied and maverick Atiu MP Norman George in the inevitable position of king-maker. Knowing this, the opposition is choosing its words carefully when talking about trustworthiness and George. Democrat president Sean Willis says the focus is on winning the petitions […]
New effort in recycling
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in Local
Waste management has become a top priority for the minister of infrastructure and planning Teariki Heather who will this weekend lead a delegation on a tour of waste facilities in New Zealand. But before the fact finding mission – improvements have been made in the rubbish collection service on Rarotonga by contractors T&M Heather. Director […]
NZ gives $3m for waste scheme
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in Local
At the end of three days of talks, a NZaid team yesterday signed a letter of intent with Minister Teariki Heather to provide $3 million of funding for a new three-year waste management and sanitation improvement project. The plan is for the money to speed up changes in septic tanks across Rarotonga and Aitutaki to […]
Good results in NZ
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
Cook Islands national sailors sailed their way to great results in the recent New Zealand Laser championships and are now preparing for the Sail Auckland regatta starting on February 3. The progression of a tropical storm provided a full range of conditions for the regatta at Torbay on Auckland’s North Shore. In the open Laser […]
Postal delays explained
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
Post Office manager Elizabeth Tiro has responded to concerns raised by members of the public over delays in mail delivery. Examples of the delays included mail sent by air mail from New Zealand on December 22 arriving on January 12, and many Christmas cards turning up well into the New Year. Tiro said, “Every year […]
Pacific Plan in focus
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva is this week hosting seven Smaller Island State and Pacific Plan Desk Officers from around the region. The aim of the week-long workshop is to discuss the Pacific Plan – a document designed to strengthen regional cooperation. The Cook Islands’ officer is Mary Anne Nixon, who replaced former […]
Flood memories 'seared' in her mind
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
Cook Islander Munokoha Patia Vainerere, who lives in Fernvale, Queensland, said the recent flooding was “devastating, heartbreaking and very traumatic” for her and her family. Fernvale sits between Toowoomba, Ipswich and the Wivenhoe Dam – a major source of water for the city of Brisbane. Vainerere said her neighbourhood had “no warning of the wall […]
New mayor's vision for Aitutaki
Friday 28 January 2011 | Published in National
John Baxter, the new mayor of Aitutaki, has praised the work being done on the cyclone recovery project. He dismissed the idea that things were not going fast enough. “Whatever the council can do to help we will do. The recovery didn’t start until four months after the cyclone, but once it started, it went […]
Earlier responses 'flawed'
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in Local
Health Minister Nandi Glassie said that last week’s HIV workshop was a real eye-opener for the cabinet ministers and MPs, and admitted that earlier responses to the first diagnosis of HIV on Rarotonga were flawed. “At one stage we were just making comments without realising the impact, but we have now been advised by the […]
Business support fund may be extended
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in Local
A government fund designed to assist existing outer islands small to medium (SME) sized businesses during the global economic downturn has proven so successful that the Business Trade Investment Board would like to see it permanently available. BTIB, which administers the fund, would also like eligibility extended to include Rarotonga-based SMEs. BTIB head Terry Rangi […]
Zumba craze rocks Raro
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
Local Zumba instructors are running two Zumba classes on Saturday to raise money to send Carlene Mapu to Auckland for her Level One Zumba Basics certification and licence. Carlene – who says she has caught the ‘Zumba fever’ – has been teaching classes on Rarotonga for the past year and she’s now ready to take […]
New rooms, desks, rules and rakes
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
Rarotonga schools came to life yesterday as children with crisp uniforms and sharpened pencils turned up ready to learn. But for most schools and kids – the first day of school was clean up day. Classrooms were swept out and rubbish raked up and after that – it was all about getting set up in […]
Free health class at Muri
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
As part of an effort to make Rarotonga healthier, Sisi Short is running a free ‘fitness group’ twice a week. The community health and fitness team’ started meeting in mid-November of last year, and continues to gather at 6am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The hour-long class, which meets in Nukupure Park in Muri, consists of […]
Short claims Pa Ariki title in wrong hands
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
Tupe Short believes the wrong person is holding the Pa Ariki title, and intends to bring his case in court to prove it. He insists that the Pa Ariki title – which now belongs to Pa Marie Ariki – was passed down through the wrong kopu line, and argues that it should have stayed within […]
Minister, qualified people are here
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
“Finance Minister Mark Brown’s plan to recruit the next financial secretary from New Zealand is saying that highly qualified and experienced Cook Islanders cannot do the job, or if they can, then pay them peanuts,” comments a smoke signaller. “If this is Government’s plan, then why not fill all top jobs from New Zealand, including […]
Tractor power to Tupapa
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
Tupapa-Maraerenga member of parliament George Maggie will be holding a meeting this evening to revive the Tupapa-Maraerenga growers association before they receive their new Chinese tractor on Friday. Maggie, along with tractor driver John Kamana and mechanic Glassie Mato, visited the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday to find out when they would receive their tractor which […]
Open up and diversify
Thursday 27 January 2011 | Published in National
Business Trade Investment CEO Terry Rangi believes if the Business Support Loan (BSL) is to continue, there should be diversification away from the tourism sector and the assistance shouldn’t be confined to just the outer islands. He says there’s no doubt that “tourism is important but we are really neglecting potential million dollar export industries […]
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