National
'Working' holiday for Warratahs
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in National
The Warratahs have arrived on Rarotonga and are gearing up to play two shows this week. Barry Saunders, Nik Brown and Sid Limbert flew in this weekend to reunite with their drummer, local Mo Newport, who otherwise commutes to New Zealand to play gigs. Their faithful production engineer, or ‘sound man’ Lincoln Mail, came with […]
24 CI graduates recognised
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in National
Crown Beach was abuzz on Sunday evening, as 24 Cook Islands students were recognised as Master’s graduates. Five local artists – Loretta Reynolds, Joan Gragg, Eruera Nia, Kay George and Andrea Eimke – accepted their Master’s degrees in Art and Design. David Teata and Michael Tavioni received postgraduate diplomas in art and design. Another 17 […]
Audit reports to go public
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in National
Audit reports, such as the review on the Toagate scandal, will now be available for public perusal at the Ministry of Justice and selected local shops. From tomorrow they will also be accessible online on the Audit Office website www.auditoffice.gov.ck The Audit Office aims to improve public access to this information which includes copies of […]
Commission of inquiry unlikely
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in National
Government is not keen on ordering a Commission of Inquiry into the Toagate scandal according to Acting Prime Minister and Finance Minister Wilkie Rasmussen. The minister was responding to Opposition MP Norman George’s enquiry on the issue in Parliament yesterday. “There’s already been an extensive and expensive audit probe conducted and we are not at […]
Arts conference opens in Raro
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in National
The Pacific Arts Association 10th International symposium opened yesterday morning at Crown Beach and continued into the late evening. Artists, scholars and students from across the region and all over the world flocked to the conference, which yesterday kicked off with speeches from two keynote speakers acting chief executive of Te Papa Tongarewa Michelle Hippolite […]
Major arts symposium starts
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in Local
The Pacific Arts Association (PAA) 10th International symposium opened yesterday at Rarotonga’s Crown Beach and brought together artists, scholars and students from across the region and all over the world Although the three day symposium is not open to the public, anyone is free to attend related exhibitions and functions Tonight, NZ-based media artist Janet […]
Maoate plays down Toagate
Tuesday 10 August 2010 | Published in Local
Former finance minister Sir Terepai Maoate downplayed the Toagate scandal when he spoke on the supplementary bill in Parliament yesterday. It is one of the first times the disgraced MP has spoken publicly about his involvement in the failed attempt to nationalise the fuel industry. Sir Terepai was critical of the Audit Office review of […]
'Better systems and processes must be followed'
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in Environment
The recruitment process for a new chief executive of the Cook Islands Investment Corporation started professionally. This is the process described in the new audit report on the background to how John Tini got the job as chief executive. In 2007 when the then CEO Taukea Raui resigned, the job was advertised and he recommended […]
Manihiki's main man on the drum
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in Local
Papa Teokotai Ioapa and his Manihiki drummers Te Fuinga o Niva successfully defended their drumming champion’s title at the last day of Te Maeva Nui competitions on Saturday. Report and photos, pages 10-12 today. 10080826
Tini's appointment 'political' and 'biased'
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in Local
A new audit report reveals former Cook Islands Investment Corporation chief executive John Tini was actually a political appointment despite the appearance that he got the job on merit. The Audit Office review, dated August 3, has yet to be made public but has been sent to key government officials. The report warns that with […]
Top three cutbacks
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in Local
Finance Minister Wilkie Rasmussen has delivered on his promises to cut the allocations to MPs and Parliament. In the 2010-11 Budget, parliamentary services have been slashed by 24.4 per cent – the largest drop in funding for all the ministries. The cut represents a saving of $178,497. In the budget for 2009-10, parliamentary services received […]
Food for thought
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
The Sixty Plus group has donated around a dozen bags of food to Te Kainga O Pa Taunga, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre. Two months ago the Sixty Plus group started collecting food every week from members so that they could make the donation in recognition of Constitution Week. Members have been bringing in […]
Aitutaki clinches Constitution Cup
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
The Aitutaki sevens rugby team said they were here to win the inaugural CITC Sevens Constitution Cup – and they did so in emphatic style on Saturday. The team skillfully worked their way to the grand finals and faced off against competition favourites the Avatiu Eels. The game was tit for tat as both sides […]
Te Fuinga o Niva drum it up again!
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
After a week of Cook Islands dancing and singing – it was the drummers’ turn to shine on Saturday for the final Te Maeva Nui tangi kaara (drumming) competition. Six teams in total competed in this section with the reigning 2009 tangi kaara champions Te Fuinga o Niva once again beating their way to another […]
Love and passion come before money
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
The national auditorium on Saturday was the fullest it had been all week for Te Maeva Nui as dancers, singers, drummers and supporters gathered for the tangi kaara competition and the closing ceremony of the festival. Comments had been made during the week of celebrations that the performances lacked ‘competitiveness’ and that it was a […]
Audit alleges Tini took Chinese 'gift'
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
The Audit Office alleges former Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) chief executive John Tini broke the law and used his position to obtain a benefit – a $38,000 car – from the Chinese state-owned company that built the Telecom Sports Arena. The special audit (dated April 15) of the ongoing review into Tini’s usage of […]
Aid budget allocations up 30%
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
The national aid budget for 2010–11 is $39.5 million, a huge 30 percent increase from the 2009 Budget. The increase comes from three major sources – $8 million from Japan which has been allocated to the Cook Islands for solar power and water sanitation, a $6 million dollar carry-over from last year’s NZAID allocation, increasing […]
Second jobs practice 'unfair'
Monday 9 August 2010 | Published in National
Audit calls for consistency in pays for board members An audit report has found that a law which prevented public servants from getting paid for working for government outside of their normal hours was ‘unfair, inconsistent and heavily prejudiced against public servants.’ Public Service Commission Act of 1995-96 prohibited public servants from getting paid beyond […]
Slow tsunami response noted
Saturday 7 August 2010 | Published in National
An audit into the way the tsunami of September 29, 2009, was handled was prompted due to the “inadequate and disorganised response from national government agencies”. The report raised 13 points – the most significant findings were that there was a delayed response to the initial warnings which meant that information and essential warnings didn’t […]
Cassey carries QR role
Saturday 7 August 2010 | Published in National
The office of minister of culture Cassey Eggelton has clarified the minister’s ‘lateness’ at last Saturday’s Te Maeva Nui opening saying that she was carrying out the duties of Queen’s Representative after Sir Frederick Goodwin’s warrant as QR had expired. The expiry of the QR’s warrant was kept hush-hush and it was no wonder then […]
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