National
Prison team back on the rugby field
Friday 15 January 2010 | Published in National
Boredom will reduce for some Arorangi prison inmates as officials push to get young offenders into sport as part of their rehabilitation programme. A team of 12 inmates – 11 male and one female – took to the Avatiu field on Wednesday for the touch rugby mixed division muster. Arorangi prison superintendent Metuatini Tangaroa says […]
New airport terminal nears completion
Friday 15 January 2010 | Published in National
Passengers could be using the departure area in the new airport terminal by the middle of next month. Hawkins project manager Russell Smith says the toilet areas are complete, all the framework for the roof is up, and there are still some finishing touches needed on the two VIP lounges. Windows and doors are being […]
Cabinet embraces reform
Friday 15 January 2010 | Published in National
Cabinet ministers are being briefed on political reform proposals in the build-up to the newly promised referendum. On Tuesday prime minister Jim Marurai announced a referendum will be run on the issue this year and stated that he needs public to support to press ahead with changing the political system. Yesterday political reform advocates Tata […]
Smiley gets stuck in
Friday 15 January 2010 | Published in National
New cabinet minister William ‘Smiley’ Heather is vowing to tackle basic infrastructure such as water supply and roads head-on this year. As he settles into his new office in Nikao, the minister for infrastructure and planning (MOIP) has already been filling his days with briefings from the ministry’s secretary Taukea Raui and is planning a […]
Tahiti claimant seeks title
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Crime
One of the claimants for Rarotonga’s chiefly Makea Nui title says one needs to go deeper into Tahitian history to find out the real story behind the title. Oti Oti, who is of Maukean descent and has been in the country for the last three weeks, has been residing in French Polynesia since 1970. Oti […]
Chicken pieces spill mystery
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Environment
The remains of chicken pieces, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and pumpkin were scraped of the road at the Harley Street corner on Tuesday afternoon. Police, public health and the national environment service were alerted of the spill around 10am, before public health officials cleaned up the mess later that afternoon. It is understood that the equivalent […]
Dead animals found on foreshore
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Environment
First it was chicken pieces on the road at Nikao on Tuesday. Yesterday morning it was a couple of decaying dogs and a pig carcass discovered on the Matavera foreshore. National environment service compliance officer Keri Herman said they were alerted after a member of the public reported the discovery of the remains to public […]
6 arrests in police raids
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Local
Police arrested six men after a target operation this week on burglaries, theft and drug offending. An investigation which had been ongoing for the past couple of months culminated with a team of detectives executing search warrants on six homes on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. The men arrested ranged from ages 15 to 22 and […]
2 shipping companies merge
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Local
PDL (Pacific Direct Line) and PFL (Pacific Forum Line) have formed a joint venture company to provide shipping to the Cook Islands. The new venture sees the withdrawal of two vessels which will be replaced by the larger MV Forum Pacific. The withdrawn vessels are PDL’s Southern Phoenix, which will no longer operate the New […]
PM presses for reform
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Local
Prime minister Jim Marurai is taking steps to show he’s serious about a referendum on political reform. In a statement issued yesterday he said he wants the public to support him in pressing ahead with political change. The day after announcing he will put together a team to work on preparing the referendum, the PM […]
Roadside deliveries no problem for Raina
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in Local
Babies who couldn’t wait for the ambulance to get to the hospital are among the highlights of 35 years of service to the Rarotonga Hospital for 64-year-old Raina Raina. The ambulance officer, who took on a supervisory role in 2008, recalls having to pull the ambulance over to the side of the road and deliver […]
PM to release legal opinion
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
Prime minister Jim Marurai says he will soon release the six-page legal opinion received from NZ constitutional lawyer Dr Alex Frame that will prove that his cabinet is abiding by the Constitution. The legal opinion was prompted by the now rejected petition by 19 MPs to the Queen’s Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin to call parliament […]
Cyclone story was mistaken
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
Last week’s report on a cyclone in the Cook Islands was wrong, the Fiji Meteorological Service confirms. Director Rajendra Prasad said the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited (FBCL) website misquoted him as saying a tropical cyclone had developed in the southern Cooks. The mistaken report was picked up by internet search engine Google in their alerts […]
Overgrown sections a problem
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
The last round of Tutaka inspections show an improvement on last year’s figures, according to the Ministry of Health. The ministry inspected 3966 sites and found a total of 59 problems. The major problems were 23 overgrown vacant sections and 12 overgrown vacant houses. Two of the sections and one of the vacant houses were […]
Barton not on seabed authority short-list
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
New mineral and natural resources minister Robert Wigmore says he will now move swiftly to set up the seabed minerals authority but has shot down rumours that he is considering businessman Richard Barton (above) to head the new body. The deputy prime minister said the rumour may be interesting but Barton’s name had not occurred […]
Political parties hold off statement
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
A second joint statement from the Democratic Party and the Cook Islands Party has been put on hold this week as the parties take in the rejection of their request for parliament to be called to sit. It is understood the parties may now hold off on issuing any statement in regards to the recent […]
Political reform petition the best way to be heard now
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
The Mou Piri group for political reform says the promise of a referendum in no way takes away from the importance of all Cook Islands voters to sign the current petition. The new pledge by prime minister Jim Marurai for a referendum to be held before or on the date of the next election has […]
Growers study climate communications
Thursday 14 January 2010 | Published in National
Making best use of the available climate data and communicating that information properly will go a long way in assisting growers in the country. A three-day workshop, aimed at improving the communication of climate information to growers during the current weak El Nino cycle, wrapped up at the Kent Hall yesterday. Horticultural scientist Jane Adams […]
New minister sets up office
Wednesday 13 January 2010 | Published in National
Cabinet minister Apii Piho was one of the first to move into his new ministerial office yesterday. While other ministers are taking their time to move, amid office asset auditing and renovations, Piho was keen to get down to work in his office behind Public Health. Piho says while he’s kept on CEO Ken Buchanan, […]
Political situation distracting: businessman
Wednesday 13 January 2010 | Published in National
Businessman James Beer is coy about commenting on the political situation as it stands now and what impact it may have on the country. But he is quick to point out that the situation has been brought about not entirely but mostly by the events of the proposed TOA fuel farm purchase. “I don’t want […]
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