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General News

Week ending Wednesday, 25 August, 2010

Current events and entertainment in Rarotonga and the Cook Islands.

Early paintings on display
RNZAF stops over
Petrol shortage resolved
Two at women’s meet
Political system ‘seriously deficient’
Land ownership review
Rotary study tour a blast
Schoolboys take on UK side
Public meeting backs run-off
Quiz night for Red Cross youth
25 Chinese tractors landed
No movement
Horse care an ongoing issue
Horse owner: ‘I do my best’
‘Kite day’ at Matavera
It’s K9 9K time
‘Mess ups’ behind decision
Theresa Gattung tickets sell fast
NZ visitor numbers up by 878 for July
Playground closed for work
Close watch
Cell tower working
Divers deny harassment
Girls Brigade face future
Psychiatrist returning
‘My holiday’ moments and stories
Tupe takes action
Clarification
Run-off under microscope
Animal emergency nurse helps out
Tourism roles re-written
Audit already investigating Areai loan
Studying what rocks our world
Draft family law bill put forward
Tepaki units in receivership
Referendum questions discussed
Women’s group elects executives
Voyaging Society fundraising to buy vaka
Playground gets a makeover
Fiji telco eyes Pacific growth
TCI says Aitutaki work done
The dubious benefits of citizenship
Per diem used for bills
Call for referendum rethink
Pacific Blue happy with numbers
NZ undecided on tuna
Consumer watchdog commissioner sought
Cooper stamps his mark
New aid name
Hawaii on hold
Tall ship opens hatches

Joan Rolls-Gragg’s Kuru, 1994. From USP’s collection. 10081802

The Cook Islands National Museum is hosting a painting exhibit that closes tomorrow.

Curated by Mahiriki Tangaroa, ‘50 Years of Painting’ focuses on early modern painting in the Cook Islands and features the work of both visiting and local artists.

The exhibit includes the work of Charlie McPhee, who visited Rarotonga in 1953 – his ‘Ikurangi’ portrays the hard edges of the local landscape, which stands in opposition to the “mystical softness of his popular velvet works”, curator Mahiriki Tangaroa said.

The exhibit also features the work of Pomani Tangata, the first Cook Islands and Pacific Fine Arts graduate from Elam School of Fine Arts, who was one of the first modern-day Pacific artists to experiment with abstract art.

On display is the work of American artist Rick Welland, whose paintings revived old Cook Islands legends that had before him been largely overlooked in favour of the Christian gospel. He’s well-known for his ‘Ina and the Shark’, which government featured on the $3 note.

The exhibit features Edwin Shorter’s work, which documents the “increasingly intrusive role of Europeans in his fragile Pacific garden of Eden”, Tangaroa wrote.

It also displays the work of those artists who belonged to the first Cook Islands art collective, the ‘Akatikitiki’ Association. Nga Teariki, Mike Tavioni and Eruera Nia were instrumental in creating ‘Akatikitiki’, which formally recognised emerging art forms and up-and-coming artists, including Wilkie Rasmussen, Renee Peyroux and Joan Rolls-Gragg.

Also featured in ‘50 Years of Painting’ is the recent work of Tim Buchanan, who paints local people and local life, and Ian George, who reintroduced Tangaroa and the idea that it’s vital to perpetuate traditional values and customs.

• Rachel Reeves

The RNZAF owns two B-757s worth around $220 million. 10081813

One of the Royal New Zealand Airforce’s two Boeing 757 aircraft made a brief stopover at Rarotonga Airport yesterday.

The New Zealand High Commission told CI News the No.40 Squadron plane which landed shortly after 2pm was stopping over for just over an hour as it headed back to NZ from a ‘routine mission’ in the United States. The 757 is used for strategic and tactical air transport, support to the government, VIP air transport, disaster relief and humanitarian operations and civil defence support in the South Pacific. The NZHC said the aircraft wasn’t carrying VIP passengers this time around. The Squadron includes five C130 Hercules and 180 personnel.

• Helen Greig

Triad Pacific Petroleum’s retail fuel outlets should now have fuel after several were out of petrol earlier this week.

The company was anxiously awaiting the arrival of new stock on the cargo ship Southern Express which arrived three days later than scheduled on Tuesday evening.

Triad’s competitor Toa Petroleum even supplied some fuel to get Triad retailers through to this week. Toa manager Oki Apera said the company and its retailers have had plenty of fuel and they have also just landed more fuel off the Southern Express.

But with Triad now claiming to supply up to 80 per cent of retail petrol outlets, the shortage meant many consumers were left going from one shop to another desperate to find fuel for their vehicles.

Triad told CI News the arrival of fuel stocks on the Southern Express has put an end to the shortage. They had begun offloading their fuel tanktainers from the ship and were beginning to deliver fuel to retailers yesterday morning.

• Helen Greig

Local women Ruth Pokura and Vaine Wichman are in New Caledonia this week attending the 11th Triennial Conference for Pacific Women on behalf of the Cook Islands.

The meeting, a major forum held every three years will be hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) at its headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia from August 17 – 20.

In attendance will be 150 participants from 22 different countries.

A brief overlook of the week’s agenda includes promoting the advancements of women, women’s legal and human rights and will include the launch of the Pacific Regional Beijing +15 report, , a review of progress in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action in Pacific Island countries and territories.

According to a press release women’s issues are attracting more attention in the Pacific however progress toward gender equality is slow resulting in many women stuck struggling with poverty, poor health care and violence.

“Pacific women in leadership positions are still a rarity rather than the norm,” said conference organiser, Linda Petersen in a press release.

“Certainly there are policies and frameworks but these are not being translated into effective action, mainly because the region and countries lack strong institutional mechanisms to advance gender equality.”

• Peka Fisher/SPC

Dr Jon Jonassen. 10081201

Dr Jon Jonassen’s model for a new government, called Manava Nui. 10081707

Dr Jon Jonassen, Cook Islander and professor of political science at BYU in Hawaii, delivered a paper at last week’s Festschrift for Professor Ron Crocombe that’s particularly interesting in the months leading up to the elections.

The paper explores problems plaguing the Cook Islands – both internally and externally generated problems – and suggests a blueprint for a new government system that might help the country to manage them more effectively.

The paper calls the Cook Islands political system “seriously deficient” and proposes that at the rate the country is going, things will be much worse by 2055. If politically things don’t change, the standard of living will not improve.

Time and again the paper Jonassen defines government as an authority that exists to improve the quality of Cook Islanders’ lives.

By most accounts, he says, the quality of life in the Cooks is not “widely acceptable”, which means that Cook Islanders are migrating at an alarming rate.

They’re leaving for all the usual reasons – jobs, better health care, better education – but also because they’re dissatisfied with the way things are running locally.

He cites examples: unfair wage levels that favour foreign contract workers, an increasingly high cost of living, declining work ethic and morale among locals, failing social policies and an “inappropriate political system that allows ambiguity and decadence” on the part of country leaders.

Local students are seeing education “as a hindrance rather than as road to success” and those who do finish school are seeking work overseas.

And those are just local issues – global issues will begin to more noticeably impinge on Cook Islands society in the coming years.

Climate change means flooding of productive land, and natural resources are trending toward becoming scarcer and thus more expensive. Terrorism is a real threat, as are pandemics triggered by viruses with a resistance to antibiotics. The internet is continuing to revolutionise communication, and renewable energy alternatives are looming on the horizon.

In a rapidly changing world, the Cook Islands needs to find its footing.

Jonassen’s paper points out the flaws in the government system, which privileges individual politicians over the country’s people.

“The continuous reshuffles in Cabinet and realignments among politicians reflect a flawed system that favours individual aspirations rather than national ones,” he says.

The recent “usurping of power” by six members of parliament points to a system that just isn’t working.

“The Cook Islands has a costly structure where there is excessive MP representation, inadequate or ineffective ethical controls on elected representatives, inadequate transparency in resource usage, and a general lack of personal accountability for Ministerial action,” the paper reads.

Even well-meaning politicians find themselves “stagnated” in a system that “encourages segmental or personal servicing”.

Jonassen proposes a new government system under a new name – Manava Nui – which has built-in checks and balances, prioritises the people’s rights, and gives traditional leaders more say.

“Representation is based on population and traditional area(s) and does not alienate those who leave, whether they stay within the country or move overseas,” he suggests.

Cook Islanders should not lose their voting rights in just three months, he says. (Under that policy, a Cook Islander who moves to the United States loses rights to vote back home and has none in his new home, rendering him virtually stateless.)

Under Manava Nui, “Maori rights particularly on land are protected, and an avenue toward full citizenship for permanent residents is possible,” he says. “The government is fully transparent with independent media access and is trimmed to realistic and affordable size in all areas.”

Under Manava Nui, voters directly elect the prime minister, who then elects Cabinet based on “strict” criteria: formal or experience qualifications and ten years of citizenship among them.

The legislature (which makes the laws and approves the annual budget) has 11 members, made up of five closed and six open seats.

The House of Ariki watches over issues of land, environment and culture – 1/3 of the members of the Are Ariki are nominated by the Koutu Nui, 1/3 by the legislature and 1/3 by the administration.

The Head of State is nominated by the House of Ariki after consultations with the Koutu Nui.

The judicial branch of government consists of three judges (one presiding) nominated by the PM and approved by both the House of Ariki and the legislature.

And the whole system necessitates a name change to signal a new political era, and “to suit the changing of times and to address the many challenges”.

• Rachel Reeves

Makiuti Tongia. 10081203

Conference addresses issue

of absentee landowners

At last week’s Festschrift for Professor Ron Crocombe, former secretary of culture Makiuti Tongia presented a paper he wrote together with Prof Crocombe and Tepoave Araitia that addresses some important issues around land ownership.

The paper provides a brief history of land tenure laws in the Cook Islands and notes that traditionally, before land was slotted into a Western framework, landholders never assumed rights to land per se.

Instead, they had rights to membership of a descent group, which allocated its land among its members. These decisions were made by senior men of a family, clan or tribe.

In 1901, Britain handed the Cook Islands to New Zealand but only on the condition that there would be no sale of land and that all Cook Islanders would automatically become citizens.

The latter condition means that Cook Islanders are the most mobile people in the Pacific, and most reside overseas.

(The paper estimates that there are 130,000 Cook Islanders spread across the world, and 90 per cent live outside the Cook Islands. More than 65,000 live in New Zealand, 40,000 reside in Australia, 9000 in Tahiti and others are scattered elsewhere.)

In 1957, the courts ruled that all Cook Islanders had equal rights to the land of their ancestors, meaning every person inherited an equal share of the lands of both parents, all four grandparents, all eight great-grandparents and so on.

The ruling was delivered by visiting judges who were unfamiliar with Cook Islands culture, and who didn’t understand that no such principle had ever governed Cook Islands land ownership.

The paper notes that the 1957 decision led to fragmentation of ownership, which many people today mistakenly consider the old custom.

Fragmentation of ownership favours “the powerful, the knowledgeable and the rich”, who are able to get their hands on land by way of occupation rights, leases or lawyers.

Distributing land among family members calls for family meetings, which are sometimes physically impractical and sometimes postponed for fear of dispute.

“These circumstances result in land being underused, with perhaps thousands of plots of land unused,” the paper reads.

The Unit Titles Act of 2006 makes the situation even more complicated, as it allows for land to be sub-divided and leased out.

Almost all lessees of the subsequent sections are foreign nationals who can afford to pay higher rents.

“Acquiring leases is difficult, time consuming and expensive. Businesses can afford to engage lawyers and consultants to locate and lease land and pay higher fees for it,” the paper says.

That in essence means that outer islanders who could have moved to Rarotonga in search of employment find land too expensive and migrate overseas, where salaries are higher.

All of these are issues that reflect an outdated and inappropriate land tenure system, the paper suggests.

When the Land Court was established in 1902, almost all Cook Islanders lived locally. In 1957, when the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of equal inheritance, most Cook Islanders lived in their own country. Today, 90 per cent live overseas, but the land laws haven’t changed to consider that.

The paper demands that the country periodically review and revise land laws to reflect changing circumstances, and give favour to resident Cook Islanders who have a more vested interest in land than emigrants.

It further suggests that land laws discourage fragmentation of ownership, and that the country set up an administrative body to monitor land decisions.

• Rachel Reeves

Maru Mariri (front left) with some of the Pacific Island students at a traditional marae. 10081811

Every year the Rotary Club of Rarotonga sponsors a local young person to represent the country at the Rota Pacific Study tour in New Zealand.

This year 22-year-old Maru Mariri was fortunate enough to be chosen for the three week experience and she had a blast!

To be eligible for the youth event you must be nominated by a youth organisation, have the support of your workplace and be between 18-25 years of age.

Mariri has only great things to say of her experience and says she would really push for youngsters within the age allowance to apply for the opportunity.

The study tour included six Pacific students including Mariri and 100 participants from within New Zealand.

The study tour itself lasted for only a week but for the Pacific students the experience lasted for three full weeks of cultural learning and excitement.

For the first two weeks Pacific students were placed with New Zealand Rotarians to live with and were treated to a real New Zealand Maori cultural experience and were even taken to watch an All Blacks rugby game in Wellington to complete the New Zealand experience.

For the final week all participants took part in inspirational talks, mock court sessions, were taught how to profile people, lived and trained like soldiers for a few days and were taught to be good leaders – to name a few activities.

As an activity a part of the final week the participants are placed to work in a business similar to their regular workplace to do their jobs. The aim of this activity was to expand the participant’s knowledge in their respected fields so that they could take it and apply it to their regular job.

Mariri worked as a commercial officer at the New Zealand International Airport during the week.

Mariri was the only Pacific island participant who won a Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) - she was one of 10 winners.

When asked how the course helped her Mariri said, “I gained more confidence in how to lead and even public speaking. I used to be so shy, I used to be the girl in the corner but after going to this thing I’m so loud I don’t care anymore! Going to this it really brings you out of your comfort zone and I didn’t expect to gain this much!”

Mariri is full of appreciation for all who contributed in making her amazing experience possible

“I’d like to thank the Rarotonga Rotary, past President Mike Pynenbury and current president Maureen Hilyard. I would like to give my thanks to you and fellow Rotarians for your sponsorship. The Arorangi CICC youth and Ngara Katuke for nominating me. My employer Airport Authority Cook Islands, Joe Ngamata our CEO and my manager Mark Vaikai for your support”.

- Peka Fisher

The Takuvaine Happy Valley will be the place to catch action packed schoolboy rugby when visiting UK team Epsom Schools take on a local under 16 and under 19 squad.

Epsom Schools are no stranger to Rarotonga and were last on a rugby tour to the island in 2006.

The visiting team provides another opportunity for local talents to test themselves against overseas competition and assess the level of their game.

The two matches will be played this afternoon with the first match to be played at 4pm between Epsom under 16 and a combined Arorangi and Takuvaine under 16 outfit.

The second match will be played at 5pm and will see the under 18 Epsom squad take on a combined Takuvaine and Arorangi under 19 team.

The Epsom Schools tour group arrived on the island late yesterday ahead of their two games this afternoon.

Local players to watch out for in the under 16 grade are utility back Robert Heather and forwards Levi McKinley, Andrew Purua and Mia Tuteru.

In the local under 19 squad – watch for halfback Dylan Murray, loose forward Mana Samania and hooker-captain Charlie Kura.

U16 Arorangi-Takuvaine squad:  Aumata Teroa, Eaves Obeda, George Isamaela, William Bollar, Brandon Kermode, O’Neal Rongo, Dennos Rangi, Levi McKinley (Capt), Andrew Purua, Robert Heather, Henry Ariihee, Tiarn Mataora, Teariki Samuel, Tokoiva George, Calaise Mamanu, Maui Siulepa, Vaike Potoru, Mia Tuteru, Ari Arioka and Albert Arioka.

U19 Takuvaine-Arorangi:  Teinaki Williams, Vaike Poturu, John Samania, Leon Potoru, Tyson Williams, Charlie Kura (Capt.), Mana Samania, Mati Turangatira, Dylan Murray, Ngatupuna Brown, Leon Paniani, Tereapii Murare, Vate Mitiau, Ovain Teokoitu, Tuakana Maireroa, Bradley Heather.

There will be a $2 cover-charge all in support of junior development.

See you at the Takuvaine ‘Happy Valley’ Field this evening.

• Matariki Wilson

The Wednesday night meeting called by the interim committee drew at least 100 interested residents. 10081914

Wednesday’s well attended meeting of Ngatangiia Democratic party supporters is indicative of the groundswell of discontent in the village over the May nomination process of sitting MP Sir Terepai Maoate as candidate.

The three candidate hopefuls – Iaveta Short, Stephen Peyroux and Mann Short – who called the meeting to confirm dates and the process of a new run-off to nominate a Demo candidate for the village.

Just over 100 people were given the opportunity to field questions about the forthcoming run-off that has been confirmed for pm Wednesday August 25 to be held at the Ngatangiia/Matavera clubhouse in Muri.

The meeting also agreed that nominations for candidates will close at 4pm today (Friday August 20).

All candidates will be given 10 minutes to outline their polices for the electorate and country at the run-off.

Iaveta Short explained anyone can put their name forward for the run-off, providing they are properly endorsed by registered voters who are financial members of the Democratic Party. He said Sir Terepai Maoate would be welcome to put his name forward.

The three contenders have organised a new run-off in the belief that Sir Terepai’s nomination was flawed because it wasn’t publically advertised, no one was given the opportunity to challenge candidacy, the purpose of the meeting was not made known and the sitting MP had promised that 2006 would be his last term.

“Maybe that’s the way they have been doing it in the past and probably because there has been no one wishing to challenge and put their names forward. But the Ngatangiia committee clearly knew there have been people interested in standing and this was made known in the 2006 nomination meeting.”

Short said those wanting to stand had withdrawn their names in 2006 on the understanding that general election would be Sir Terepai’s last. “It’s my own fault for accepting and believing that promise.”

One of the architects of the national political reform strategy, Short said a recommendation had been made in their report to limit the time that MP’s can represent constituencies. “One of the reasons for that is, it is very difficult for constituencies to ask an elderly MP to stand down as they become father figures, it’s very hard to ask them to stand aside and make way for new candidates.”

In response to a question from the floor, Short said the central Demo executive would have “no choice but to accept the candidate that has been properly elected because it is in keeping with the (Democratic Party) constitution.”

Short added that the name of the successful nominee would be notified to the central committee telling them this is the legitimate candidate because he/she has been properly voted.

The three contenders have confirmed that whomever wins Wednesday’s run-off will be given the full support of other candidate hopefuls.

• Florence Syme-Buchanan

Do you and your friends have good general knowledge?

If so, tonight’s Cook Islands Red Cross Youth Peer Educators quiz night is the place to really test your knowledge.

The youth peer educators are holding a quiz night fundraiser at the Rarotonga Golf Club in Nikao to raise funds to get to Mangaia in October for the National Youth Peer Educators training workshop there.

Tonight’s quiz night – themed ‘round the world’ – is for teams of 6 people who will work together to answer as many quiz questions as you can over 5 rounds.

Registration is $120 per team and you will be guaranteed plenty of fun and prizes.

Around 30 Red Cross youth volunteers or youth peer educators from Manihiki, Atiu, Mitiaro, and Rarotonga are expected to join around 15 of their counterparts on the host island of Mangaia for the training workshop in October.

During the training workshop, youth peer educators will discuss disaster preparedness and management, polish up their first aid response and raise awareness on the preventative measures of HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

The quiz night is not restricted to youth and the educators are volunteers who are appealing for the support of the general public for this event.

For more information or to register a team, contact Red Cross’s Danny Vakapora on 22598.

• Matariki Wilson

A new tractor for

each electorate

The 25 new tractors provided through a $1 million People’s Republic of China grant were landed off the Southern Express this week.

Agriculture Minister Robert Wigmore was at Avatiu Harbour yesterday to announce the arrival of the tractors which should be assembled by the end of the month.

Wigmore said 24 tractors would go out and one to each electorate in the Cook Islands while one will remain with the Ministry of Agriculture.

He has asked Agriculture Secretary Anthony Brown to draft a management policy to cover the management, use and maintenance of the tractors.

The Jinma tractor brand is considered to be the best of the Chinese brands and is available all over the world including New Zealand, Australia and sold to a large extent in the United States.

Wigmore says each tractor comes with three attachments specific to the agriculture and transport needs of each electorate in Rarotonga and the outer islands.

“Some communities might want the attachments like a rotary hoe, a disc and a slasher, while others might want a trailer they can attach,” he said.

The 14 40-foot shipping containers used to transport the tractors all the way from China will be opened when the team of Chinese engineers arrives sometime over the next week.

The Chinese team will assemble and test the tractors before training a team of locals in the basic maintenance of the machines. The tractors will then be distributed to the 24 electorates.

The minister hopes communities will use them to boost their agriculture production. The tractors will be a key asset in the southern group islands where government hopes to soon begin the $3.5 million Te One Kura agriculture project to revive the sector over the next few years.

Wigmore, one of the largest growers in the country, is a ‘tractor man’ himself and is keen to try out the new machines.

The tractor proposal was first announced last December several weeks after government had sent the grant request to China.

• Helen Greig

There seems to have been no movement on the development at the old Sheraton site, for which the Auckland-based developers Mirage Group Ltd obtained a lease over two months ago.

The developers have not formally applied for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report from National Environment Services, on which the prospect of construction depends.

Earlier this year, the Business Trade Investment Board (BTIB) gave approval for them to commence with the development of the Vaimaanga property.

“We approved their registration, but the onus is on them to get things going,” BTIB chief executive Terry Rangi said.

As to whether the time delay is of concern, he said: “It’s not really a concern. For a big project like that it does take a bit of time to source your suppliers and things like that. It would be a concern if nothing happened by this time next year – then we’d have to figure out why there was a hold-up.”

He noted that the developers have indicated that they intend to re-develop the site in stages, so the entire complex is not likely to be remodelled in one go.

Landowner Pa Marie Ariki could not be reached for comment and Mirage Group executives have not provided any information despite repeated requests from Cook Islands News.

• Rachel Reeves

‘Is no one prepared

to make a stand?’

Former Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic director Karen Galvan has always been an outspoken advocate for the safety of animals.

During her time with the local animal clinic – Galvan fielded complaints from tourists, locals and expats on the many animal neglect issues they come across on the island.

One of the island’s ongoing animal neglect issues has been the treatment and care of the horses used by the Aroa Horse trekking business – an issue that Galvan has worked at trying to resolve during her time with Esther Honey.

Recently Cook Islands News ran a letter where a Kiwi letter writer expressed disgust and heartbreak over the lack of care of the horses at the Arorangi operation.

“It was really disappointing to read in last week’s CI News that the Aroa Horse operation is still making headlines – to the detriment of themselves and of tourism in Rarotonga,” writes Galvan from New Zealand.

“It is also disheartening to see that authorities continue to turn a blind eye to an obvious situation of neglect and abuse towards animals for pure commercial gain.

“Is no one prepared to make a stand and take these people to court, to make them accountable for their continuous disregard of the basic rights of the animals in their care?”

“During my tenure in Rarotonga I spent a good deal of time filtering complaints from upset tourists, locals and expats on many animal neglect issues including the Aroa Horses to the point where myself and a New Zealand horse breeder consulted with the owners.”

Galvan says that initially they tried to assist the horse owners with vet consultation and writing a report on the health of the horses, making suggestions for their improved care and sourced information on buying proper feed for the horses from New Zealand.

“We even investigated a horse specialist coming to Raro to treat the sick animals. For years people have been openly vocal in their distress and others have tried to help by passing on knowledge and advice so we do have to wonder why serious improvements have not been made and what, if anything, it will take for these horses to receive fair and proper care.”

“It appears years of consultation and discussion with Aroa Horse Riding owners has done nothing to help these poor horses.”

“Rarotonga is an established society where veterinary care and humane education has been active for over 15 years so to plead ignorance and continue to say you ‘do not know’ so therefore ‘do not care’ is a slap in the face to those of you that ‘do know’ and ‘do care’ and an even worse miscarriage of justice to the animals who serve you so well.”

Galvan is the founder of South Pacific Animal Welfare (SPAW) which aims to provide suitable community based animal management programmes that benefit island communities’ animal welfare.

• Matariki Wilson

Aroa Horse Trek owner Tiki Daniel says he has always tried to do the right thing for his horses but it has been no easy task.

The tourism business has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons almost since the operation began some 10 years ago.

Recently, upset visitors to the island have, through letters to the editor, called for action by authorities to shut down the operation and put down the horses.

Daniel is not going to shut his business down but says that two of the oldest horses (among six) are due to be put down.

And it’s these two horses, tethered across the road from the Rarotonga Beach Resort and Spa in Aroa, that have been attracting unwanted attention.

Daniel says that he is organising for the horses to be humanely put down but first he has to find a place where he can get a digger to dig a hole to bury the horse after they have been put down.

Daniel says that it has been a very frustrating process trying to keep his horses in good health and he has faced countless challenges in his endeavours.

Among the challenges he says has been the unavailability of proper horse feed.

He himself is unable to import the feed and has to go through stock feed importers to ask for supplies which they have to bulk buy.

Apart from the difficulty of getting proper feed, landowners around the Arorangi area where the business operates are not willing to let Daniel tether the horses on their vacant properties to feed.

Daniel is grateful to Telecom Cook Islands for allowing him to use their small land on the Arorangi back road to keep his horses.

Another difficulty for Daniel has been access to medicines for his horses – namely worming tablets.

He acknowledges that the local animal clinic is very good in maintaining stocks of worming pills for domestic animals, but not for animals such as pigs, cows and horses.

However, he says that he has just received a pallet of worming tablets for his horses which he says is why they are looking skinny – and not from mistreatment.

Daniel says he is aware of all the negative publicity his horses have attracted but assures critics that he is doing all that he can to make sure they are being taken care of.

• Matariki Wilson

Kiwi visitor Malcolm Hubbert flies kites for the sheer joy and pleasure it brings him and people that are drawn in by the colourful displays.

The Waitakere kite enthusiast is a member of the Kite Flying Association and a ‘good old Westie!’

Hubbert says he’s been flying kites his whole life and is part of a global community of people who love to fly kites as a hobby.

In fact, Hubbert attended a kite show in France earlier this year where over 600,000 people gathered to fly kites and watch the spectacle.

So why kite flying and not bungee jumping?

“It’s just so much fun and they are portable,” says Hubbert.

“I fly kites for sheer pleasure and joy and you get a real connection with things like the wind and they are great people magnets, especially children.”

And just as he made the comment – local parents and their children, tourists and curious passerby’s stopped at the Matavera beach to check out the kites.

At one stage, Hubbert had up to 10 different kites flying at the same time with his big bright orange and yellow cuttlefish kite spanning some four or so metres being most people’s favourite.

The kites were either weighed down with a reusable shopping bag full of sand or as Hubbert discovered, dead coral heads on the beach made perfect anchors for his kites.

He explains that the kites he was flying are known as soft kites as they don’t have support sticks inside them but rather depend on wind to fill and lift them up – just like a sail.

Hubbert says his kites are actually made of the same material that spinnaker sails are made of because soft kites such as his cuttlefish kite need to inflate in order to fly.

The kites are then guided and kept in the air by a smaller kite known as a pilot kite.

Hubbert says that he’s had some trouble trying to find a good spot to fly his kite.

He reckons the island doesn’t have good ‘open space’ but he did hit the jackpot when he discovered the beach next to the Dearlove homestead in Matavera the perfect location for his hobby.

One onlooker mentioned that Rarotonga had a ‘kite day’ some 15 years ago organised by Lynsay Francis and perhaps the sight of Hubbert’s kites would inspire someone to organise another kite day.

• Matariki Wilson

To celebrate 15 years of providing services to animals in the Cook Islands – the Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic will join forces with the Hash House Harriers for a K9 9K run next month.

And as the event name suggests – bring your canines for this special event on September 13.

This is the second time this event has been organised, doubling as a promotional day for the island’s only animal clinic.

This is a great opportunity for dog lovers to bring their pooches out for a walk or run. It will start from the Punanga Nui Market. Also bring along a can of dog food to donate to the clinic.

Hash House Harriers will hold a barbeque on the day plus there will some other exciting activities on the card – but we won’t let the cat out of the bag just yet!

The animal clinic would like to thank the community for continued support over the 15 years that the clinic has been operating on the island.

Watch this space for your next K9 9K run-walk update.

• Matariki Wilson

Sir Geoffrey Henry. .tiff 09031805

CISNOC president Sir Geoffrey Henry says that CISNOC came into possession of the per diems from the mini games after back pedalling and mess ups by the organising committee and government.

He stated that an agreement was signed in September 2008 by the president of the Pacific Games Council (PGC), CISNOCs previous president Tiki Matapo, and PMG’s previous CEO David Lobb, and Wilkie Rasmussen on behalf of government. The signatories agreed that PMC would be paid US$100,000 to the PGC for marketing and broadcasting rights of the mini games – but according to Sir Geoffrey, the government didn’t hold up their end of deal. He said that half the money was to be paid before the start of the games – which was paid. But the government then tried to renegotiate on the other $50,000, wanting to pay in NZ, rather than US dollars.

The PGC were also concerned about problems around the broadcasting of the games.

“The broadcasting arrangement was not being attended to properly. The government decided that they did not want the Australian company to do the broadcasting – which was contrary to what was signed. There were real doubts in the minds of the PGC that their rights under the host contract would not be observed and that payments would not be made.”

These issues left the PGC unconvinced that the government and PMG would honour the responsibilities they had signed up to – which lead PGC to ask CISNOC to step in.

Sir Henry said that the problems of the games stemmed from the status of the organising committee. “The committee was like a government department and was drip-fed money controlled by treasury. It was bound by MFEM rules rather than commercial business principles long found to be good practice.”

• Nerys Case

Half of the 110 tickets on sale for Theresa Gattung’s appearance at Crown Beach have already been sold. Gattung is the ex-CEO of Telecom New Zealand and was once listed as one of the world’s 50 most powerful women.

Te Vaerua Community Rehabilitation Service has arranged the event as a fundraiser.

Nadine Newnham, who is on the board of Te Vaerua, said, “We have been blown away by the uptake of the tickets and about being able to bringing someone of Theresa’s calibre here. It’s for an awesome cause too – we are changing people’s lives with this service.”

The tickets are on sale from ANZ bank and from Tina Mitchell on 21080. They are $100 each, and include a drink on arrival and dinner. To find out more, go to www.tevaerua.com.

• Nerys Case

Tourist numbers were up by over 1600 last month year on year. 10081913

While the Australian visitor numbers featured strongly in the July visitor arrivals, numbers from New Zealand were also healthy.

Their numbers went up from 7676 in July last year to 8554 last month – an increase of 878.

Cook Islands Tourism chief executive Carmel Beattie said they have had a very strong season with New Zealand and have done some tactical offers.

“A lot of it is about Fiji, people have been there and done that, and are finding that they like the different cultural experience they get from the Cook Islands.”

There is also a push towards Asia and there are reports coming back from Shanghai that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Cook Islands and China.

Beattie said that the memorandum indicates a promise to work together to promote tourism in the future, as countries need approved destination status from China before citizens are able to travel there – something the Cook Islands doesn’t yet have.

To get approved status will involve negotiations with New Zealand, as all travellers from China will have to go via NZ.

In November Beattie is going to a meeting of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation in Shanghai, and will be talking with the Chinese Government and tourism outlets while she is there.

“We are mainly focused on our major and traditional markets at the moment, but we keep a weather eye out for what is going on in other markets,” Beattie said.

“The Cook Islands have received such tremendous feedback during the World Expo that we really want to leverage that profile while we can.”

While other visitor groups have remained largely unchanged, there was a significant rise in the number of visitors listed as coming from Asia – a rise from just 52 in July 2009, to 213 in July 2010. This rise is likely to be linked to increase in visitors which descended on the Cook Islands – and particularly on Mangaia – to witness the solar eclipse on the morning of July 11.

While the figures look good, Beattie is looking into better ways of assessing the value of tourism to the Cook Islands.

“I have been talking with Immigration and Customs. We are looking at ways of gathering information to pinpoint more accurately the value of tourism. We are trying to work out what people spend when they are here overall. It’s a long term goal but it will be a much more scientific way of measuring success than just by number of people alone.”

Total visitor numbers for July were up 1605 year on year from 10,223 last year to 11,828 last month.

• NC/MT

The playground gates are locked and a sign has been put up saying that repairs are underway. 10082017

Concern this week was rife among parents over the dilapidated state of the Punanga Nui market playground, but the Cook Islands Investment Corporation assures the community that it’s taking steps to fix the problem.

Ake Hosea Winterflood, whose Lazy Diner Cafe looks out on to the playground, went on television earlier this week beseeching government to do something about the run-down park.

She has watched children gouge themselves on exposed nails playing at the park beside her cafe and tumble into patches of hard, bare ground. She noted that the slide is cracked and the ground beneath the swing set and the see-saw is hard and rocky, covered only by a thin veneer of dirt.

She said that Thursday she was immediately inundated with phone calls from parents who had seen her on television thanking her for publicising the issue.

Parents approached her at CITC and stopped by her hut to chat, and all echoed the same feeling: “It’s about time someone did something”.

“Parents are concerned,” she said. “They’ve brought their kids and seen the damage without knowing who’s responsible for maintaining it and without knowing who to ask for help.”

CIIC is responsible for maintaining the marketplace playground. Rotary funded the park’s construction but in 1994 handed the responsibility of maintenance to government.

CIIC chief executive Lloyd Miles said that he has inspected the playground and shares parents’ concerns over its condition, and said he’s committed to making the park safer.

This week he engaged with Conrad Hunter of Rarotonga Welding to remove unsafe pipe fixtures from the park grounds.

Andy Olah of Arorangi Timberland Ltd has offered to provide timber necessary to repair woodwork, and Colin Burn from Cook Islands Printing Services and Noo Baker from Baker Tree Services have also pledged to assist in the renovation effort.

Rotary president Maureen Hilyard and past president Mike Pynenburg have arranged a working bee for this afternoon from 1pm onwards.

Miles said that CIIC is grateful for the cooperation and support from members of the community, and ensures that government is committed to the ongoing maintenance of the playground. But Winterflood and concerned parents like her pledge, say that they won’t rest until the playground is safe.

“Someone has to get out there and put the pressure on. I’m going to make sure it gets fixed. I won’t give up,” Winterflood said.

The playground has since been closed, with a sign at the gates stating “playground is closed to the public until structural repairs are completed.”

• Rachel Reeves

The appointment process for the new chief executive of the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) is now being managed independently by the office of the Public Service Commissioner (PSC).

CIIC Minister and DPM Robert Wigmore says he is paying close attention to the appointment process following a new Audit finding that the 2007 appointment of John Tini was political and biased.

The audit office review, dated August 3, has yet to be made public by government officials.

However, CI News obtained a copy of the report which says despite the appearance that Tini got the job on merit, it looked like his appointment was ‘predetermined and political’. Tini, who is embroiled in controversy over his management of the corporation, had not even been on the shortlist recommended by two independent panels when the board appointed him.

Wigmore responded to CI News questions about the current hunt for a new chief executive saying the selection process is being managed independently by the PSC to identify the best possible applicant to manage this important agency.

“I am paying close attention to the selection process and will be kept informed of the outcomes from the selection panel and will be advised of the final selection prior to appointment of the CEO by the CIIC board.

“It is the legislated responsibility of the CIIC board to appoint the CEO, not the Minister’s, however, I remain committed to ensuring the best applicant gets the job and trust that this will be effected in this case,” he said.

Tini was suspended last September but government has only recently advertised the position. PSC Navy Epati says 11 people have applied for the job. The selection panel is headed by Epati with two other members – Ewan Smith and Julian Dashwood. Epati says they will soon make a recommendation for the successful applicant to the board of CIIC.

• Helen Greig

The newly built 30ft cell tower at Takapora, Aitutaki, is now fully operational.

Telecom Cook Islands (TCI) said yesterday customers should notice improved coverage and signal strength in the surrounding area.

TCI cellular manager Donald Munro said the new cell tower was fired up on Wednesday night and initial tests conducted show great improvement in signal coverage.

“On Thursday we began optimising the antenna positions to get the best possible coverage out of the site. We will basically be adjusting antenna angles and doing further drive tests to ensure that everything is working. Other than that we have been working hard to get the Maunga Pu cell site up and running properly,” Munro said. TCI is now working with the Aitutaki Power Authority to restore mains power to the Maunga Pu cell site which should be completed by the weekend or early next week.

TCI chief executive Jules Maher said they had bought power cable and landed it in Aitutaki.

“We cleared the bush where the cable is to be. We are aware that the Aitutaki Power Authority has other urgent work at the moment so we have offered the services of our people currently on the island,” Maher said.

“That should allow us to get that job done so that Aitutaki mobile phone service areas are functioning as well as they can be. The final step is to identify the best place to build another cell-phone tower to improve coverage in areas currently not served by our existing towers.”

Telecom said Aitutaki customers should notice immediate improvements in mobile phone service, with further improvements in the next couple of months.

• TCI

A Pacific Divers boat allegedly harassing whales (the whale spouts can be seen top right from the boat) yesterday in Tupapa, but the skipper fiercely denies the claim. 10082014

Whale harassment is not a major issue on Rarotonga but land based whale watchers have been concerned at the sight of boats apparently harassing the migrating humpback whales over the past few weeks.

Last Saturday local whale researcher Nan Hauser was on the water filming and collecting samples when she saw a small yellow boat in the middle of a pod of whales.

As well as the boat, a jet ski zoomed in close around the whales and a helicopter buzzed overhead.

Hauser says it was possibly the worst case of harassment she has encountered, though she believes the incident was due mainly to ignorance of the whale watching rules and regulations.

Hauser has been raising awareness of the rules and regulations and is grateful to the support of the community.

However, a lot of complaints have been fielded about dive company Pacific Divers who have been seen to be breaking the whale watching rules including chasing, cutting the whales off their path and dropping divers in the water around whales.

Complaints have been made to Hauser of the company’s conduct around whales recently.

Hauser herself has seen the company breaking several of the whale watching rules and regulation and in fact she and the company owner Steven Lyons have had heated arguments over the company’s conduct.

But Lyons is adamant that neither he nor his staff chase, harass or drop their divers in or close to whales as has been claimed.

He says he and his staff are very aware of the rules and regulations and do not purposely head out diving where there are whales and nor do they advertise whale watching.

But just yesterday morning, the company’s dive boat was seen chasing whales off the coast in Tupapa where Graham Bull photographed the scene.

He reported to Hauser that divers were in the water and the skipper of the boat was following the whales who seemed to be trying to get away.

The skipper, Tom Fone, fiercely denied the accusations saying that he had headed out to a known dive spot in Tupapa where the whales approached them.

The finger pointing raged on but the point is – everyone should adhere to the rules and regulations which have been highlighted in today’s weekend feature.

• Matariki Wilson

The Girls Brigade of the Cook Islands recently sent two youth representatives – Marcienne Maurangi and Jane Tou – and national secretary Tangi Taoro to Malaysia for the 10th International Conference of the Girls Brigade.

The theme of the conference was ‘Cross Over and Move On’, which refers to the way that progress and change (ie technological advancement) might distract young people from the Girls Brigade vision.

The theme suggests that it’s time to move past those distractions and closer in fellowship.

Workshops highlighted issues facing Girls Brigade troops all over the world and

Maurangi and Tou were the first young people to ever represent the Cook Islands at the conference, and wore their head eis proudly alongside 250 participants from 26 countries around the world.

They said that people were intrigued by the Cook Islands, and that they spent half an hour blocking a doorway while people snapped their photo and asked to wear their flowers.

The girls wore their head eis even when they were asked to don the Malaysian national costume, the Sarawak sarong.

On culture night, they represented the Pacific Islands onstage and performed a Cook Islands dancing number.

“The other participants asked us to teach them the Cook Islands dance but we told them to come to the Cook Islands if they are willing to learn, in a joking way,” Maurangi said.

Maurangi and Tou paid their own way to Malaysia after strenuous fundraising efforts, and said the trip was worth every penny. They especially enjoyed watching African dance, meeting people from different cultures and growing in fellowship.

They want to thank the Cook Islands Girls Brigade executives, officers and members, their family and friends, Avarua CICC Ekalesia, Matavera Girls Brigade, Tim and Roi Boyd and the Malaysia and Singapore Girls Brigades.

The next international Girls Brigade conference will be held in four years in Australia.

• Rachel Reeves

The psychiatrist who helped Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre win an international award is returning to the Cook Islands.

Dr Deva, who sits on the board of the World Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, helped the centre’s founder Mereana Taikoko design training in mental health, alcoholism and counselling to help people help those with mental health problems. In recognition of this work, Te Kainga O Pa Taunga won the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations Award for Excellence in Developing Community Mental Health Services.

Skills training in counselling was given to people in three of the outer islands, and was also taken to staff on Rarotonga including police, teachers, staff, NGOs, churches and the rest of the community through workshops.

Now Dr Deva is returning to Rarotonga as part of an NZAID funded project to train more frontline staff in mental health issues

Mereana Taikoko, founder of Te Kainga, said, “We are excited that he is coming back as we have worked with him for many years and learnt so much from him.”

• Nerys Case

Rarotonga school children who took part in the Red Cross programme during the school holidays are pictured here on a mini field trip at the Trade Day in Avarua. 10080503

Rarotonga school kids have been back at school for two weeks and some are still raving over the fantastic adventures they had during the two-week break.

Today we share ‘my holiday’ stories from Avarua Primary School grade five students.

My Holiday

On my holiday I had a great time because me and my family went to the auditorium.

I was so excited because my brother Ben was dancing for Atiu.

When its break time I always ask my dad for a money.

When he gives me the money I go and buy me a chips and hot dog.

The food and drinks I liked at the auditorium is chips, hot dogs, slushi, candy floss and other things.

When it was the 2nd half I ran upstairs then I walked inside to where my mum was.

When Atiu came on stage I was happy because my brother was dancing.

On Thursday when it was the last day of the holidays I woke up to have my shower.

When I finish having my shower I had my change and combed my hair.

When it was dark I had my shower, hand my change and combed my hair again.

When I got to the auditorium I went inside with tickets.

At the second half when Pukapuka came on stage with their ura pau.

It was funny and cool.

I got home and fell asleep.

By Caroline Metua (grade 5)

My Holiday

On my holiday last week I went to the Red Cross programme.

And when I got there on Monday I saw only a few so I took my bag to the table then I sat down.

I was talking to my friends.

Soon my other friends came.

His name was Michael.

The leader said her name was Mata and we introduced ourselves.

Then we went outside to learn how to save people’s lives.

After that we had lunch and then we did climate change then we had free time.

Then we learnt a new song then I went home and got ready to go to Te Maeva Nui.

When I was ready I went to my nena and we went.

By Joshua Caffery

Tupe Short with the green waste mulcher he showed to his fellow pig farmers at a meeting last week. 10081609

Tupe Short was so incensed by the damage being done to the lagoon by pig farming and other sewage treatment problems that he joined the Muri Environment Care Group.

“Now that we know what the problems are, and that we are the cause, we need to work together to fix it,” Short said. “We are the one’s who polluted it, and we now know what we did was wrong. There are people advising us, but it is down to all of us to fix it.”

Short has volunteered his time to the group, and last week demonstrated to other farmers how mulched green waste can be used to prevent pig waste getting into the streams. Short says he is keen to question the authorities on their actions as well.

“All of the authorities know that our lagoon is polluted. Now there is a two-storey building going up opposite Pacific Resort. Why did they allow this to happen? How can they issue a permit for a building which will add to the problem?”

Short said that he understands that the politicians want the money to keep coming in – but they should stop allowing building to continue until work has been done to stop the damage to the lagoon.

“We can look at it again in a year or two once we have cleaned up this mess.”

He also pointed out that local politician – Sir Terepai Maoate – had a big pig farm and inadequate treatment of waste. Sir Terepai did not attend the meeting called for local pig farmers last week – along with many other local farmers who did not take up the invite.

“He has a little sewage pond, but when it rains it will go straight down the stream and into the harbour. His pig farm in Turangi is bad.”

“If the tourists find out about the pollution, the damage will be to the whole nation not just Muri. The tourists won’t keep coming back if they get sick from swimming in the lagoon. And they are the back bone or our economy. Where will the money come from if that stops?”

• Nerys Case

The Edgewater Resort & Spa has no association with Aroa Horse Treks, the horse riding operator.

Cook Islands News wishes to make this clear following last Friday’s publication of a photo of Aroa Horse Treks owner Tiki Daniel, wearing an Edgewater polo shirt. Daniel also works in the Edgewater’s activities department.

Resort management wanted it known they in no way condone the mistreatment of animals and there is no business association between Aroa Horse Treks and the resort company.

Tangata Vainerere. 09112009

The legitimacy and fairness of the run-off process for political candidates in the country has come under close scrutiny in recent months.

Both major parties have had their problems, with questions asked about how democratic some of the selections have been.

CI News put the question of the legitimacy and fairness of the run-off process in this country to Tangata Vainerere, the coordinator of the Pacific Legislature for Population and Governance (PLPG) – a regional organisation with its headquarters in Rarotonga.

Vainerere, a Cook Islander, has worked with political and legislative organisations for many years. He expressed his personal opinions on the matter.

“There is no dispute that run-offs are a normal part of the democratic election process and are practised in many Pacific countries,” Vainerere said.

“I support the concept as it gives all potential candidates the same ‘fair and impartial’ opportunity for possible selection and the voters their opportunity to make their choice of the preferred candidate. In my view, all aspiring candidates have a duty to uphold democratic processes put in place by their respective parties to govern the selection of candidates.”

He said that people disregard the rules put in place by their own parties to keep themselves in positions of power, but that parties use the rules in their own interests too, disregarding them to stop candidates they don’t like from standing.

“There’s no other reasonable and valid explanation for it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, politics is a power and numbers game and those who wish to engage in it need to have that understanding from the start as the consequences may not be the ones desired by them.”

When asked what could be done to prevent the irregularities from happening again and again, Vainerere agreed with so many other commentators and pointed towards reform. But he pointed out – as many others have – that political players are unlikely to support it in their efforts to retain power.

• Nerys Case

Returning vet Alexander Elson and Emergency Animal Nurse Kirstin Pietack with a cat and a dog who have both been suffering from fish poisoning. 10082018

Esther Honey’s first ever animal emergency nurse is on the island for the next four months. Alongside all the vets who come and go, giving up anywhere between two weeks and three months of their time, the clinic usually has two nurses. But Kirstin Pietack is the first one who has specialist experience in emergencies.

Originally from Germany, Pietack trained as an animal emergency nurse in Sydney, Australia. She had been working in the field for seven years before deciding to specialise in emergency nursing.

The team in Sydney often attended road accidents where female kangaroos had been hit by cars. Pietack regularly had to nurse baby kangaroos through babyhood by keeping them in a sock and feeding them every four hours. She also spent time working at a vet in the Kimberlies in north Western Australia.

It was so remote that the nearest animal X-ray machine was 600km away – so the vets had an arrangement with the hospital, where kind-hearted doctors would let them sneak in and check animals for broken bones using their machine.

It wasn’t just road accidents in the outback either. “Out there, people send their dogs in first wherever they go so alot get bitten by snakes,” Pietack said. “Or they send them into the lagoon first to check for crocodiles.”

Pietack says that she is impressed by how much people on Rarotonga care for their animals. “The people here are so nice I think it gets passed on to the animals. That’s why all the animals are so nice – except at night!”

Pietack hasn’t seen as many emergencies in Rarotonga as she did in Australia, saying there is about one a week. But she says the clinic would benefit from some more equipment specially designed for animals that have been involved in accidents or have suddenly become very ill.

Although the clinic is well set up and has a lot more than many clinics of its size, Pietack says they could do with some more specialist animal equipment. “It would be good to have an ECG reader, a blood pressure machine, and an infusion pump,” she said.

Another rare addition to the Esther Honey staff is a returning vet Alexander Elson. Due to the remoteness of the island, most vets just pass through. But Elson, who has retired from work in New Zealand, is now on her second visit.

“It’s really rewarding to come out and help the animal community in Rarotonga,” she said. “And it’s good to pass on some of my knowledge to the student vets passing through.”

All the vets and nurses at Esther Honey foundation work voluntarily and pay their own fare to Rarotonga too.

• Nerys Case

All of the roles at Cook Islands Tourism (CIT) are being re-written, apart from those of the newly appointed director of marketing and the chief executive, and staff will have to reapply for their old jobs.

According to chief executive Carmel Beattie, the 10 roles in the organisation have had to be re-written “to make sure that the roles are right from a human resources position. We also want the staff to feel happy that the roles match what they do”.

Beattie said that some of the staff did not have written role descriptions, and that some of the roles were being rewritten as jobs become “chunkier”.

“I have spoken to all the staff and told them that they are all doing a great job. But there are new aspects to many of the roles.”

Nane Teokotai Vaine Potopapa, accreditation officer at CIT, said that although she couldn’t speak for everyone, the move to rewrite her role was a good thing as it would be a step up for her.

“If you have been doing things for a long time, it can be hard to embrace change,” she said. “But you need to be open minded about it.”

In the redesign of staffing at CIT, three new roles are being created within the Rarotonga office – details of which will be released as soon as they have been agreed by the board.

The recruitment process for the New Zealand manager was stalled when the stand-out candidate for the post was offered another position and moved to Australia to take it up. The board has now gone back to the remaining applicants.

After sending in their CVs, applicants who scored seven or eight out of 10 then responded to a set of 12 questions as well as undergoing a psychometric test.

Wayne Borland, who was employed on a short term contract to market the Cook Islands in Australia, will be replaced at the beginning of October by an agency. Borland decided not to apply for his post on a full-time basis.

• Nerys Case

The Audit Office is now digging deeper into why government gave a $30,000 soft loan to Junior Areai’s Rarotonga-based business.

Early last week Atiu MP and solicitor Norman George wrote to the Audit Office to lodge a complaint over the soft loan granted last year under a business support loan stimulus package for struggling outer islands businesses.

George wants to know whether the loan was obtained by fraud.

Audit Director Paul Allsworth has confirmed that audit is already looking into the loan to Areai and is likely to produce a special report on its investigation.

The loan was mentioned in the audit report tabled last month that condemned the loans received by MPs Sir Terepai Maoate and Terepai Maoate Jnr as a conflict of interest. The report says the loan to Areai’s business should not have been granted because it was not an outer islands business.

George recently questioned the loan in parliament asking if it was a reward to Areai for being the Crown’s star witness in the Operation Slush case which was lost by government earlier this year. George was one of the co-defendants who were cleared.

George points out that Areai’s DJ Agency was the only Rarotonga based business to receive a soft loan under the business support loans fund distributed late last year.

The Audit Office will now question the Business Trade Investment Board members further on the loan. DJ Agency reportedly provides some services to Mangaia but audit has not yet looked into what those services are and how long the business has been operating.

• Helen Greig

Researcher Peter Day of the University of Maryland, PhD student Rita Cabral and professor Matt Jackson of Boston University. 10081625

A trio of geologists from American universities have a hunch that some islands in the Cooks are made of rocks that have literally been to the bottom of the earth and back, and they’re here to find out.

Matt Jackson, professor of earth sciences at Boston University and researcher Peter Day of Maryland University are here with Rita Cabral, a student in her first week of a PhD programme.

They’re on Rarotonga until Wednesday and then head for Mangaia, Atiu and Aitutaki to collect and analyse rock and element samples from each island.

A more thorough explanation of their hunch goes as follows:

The earth is made up of major and minor tectonic plates that are always moving and shifting (at about the rate your fingernails grow). When two plates collide one moves beneath the other and keeps moving down toward the earth’s mantel.

The three geologists have a theory: that though these subducted plates are pushed downward to the mantel and sit on top of the earth’s core for a time, eventually the materials in those plates heat up and rise again.

“Imagine a lava lamp – you have a boundary layer at the bottom and your blob of materials that rises thermally,” Jackson said. “That’s what we think is happening with these materials.”

When those ascending materials approach the surface of the earth, they melt and produce magmas that rise and erupt into volcanoes.

And that, the geologists theorise, is why volcanoes and hence certain islands exist.

“The goal is to understand what these materials represent and ultimately why these islands are here, which is a big question,” Jackson explained.

The trio plan to chemically test a number of rock samples for traces of isotopes that have decayed over time but are still detectable. Certain isotopes denote the presence of materials that have been into the earth and back.

“All the black rocks we know and love we think could be ancient plates that have been recycled and brought back up,” Jackson said. “The amazing thing is we can tell all of this from the rocks that exist beneath your feet right now.”

Jackson added that studies like this raise other, bigger questions. For example, oceanic crust contains high levels of water and carbon dioxide, but if that’s sinking into the mantel and never re-emerging, the oceans are shrinking.

He reckons that Mangaia is an “extreme example” of recycled oceanic crust, and he intends to test rock samples there to determine whether water and carbon dioxide sank into the mantel or whether it came right back up again.

“These islands (the Cooks) are very special because they actually have some of the most extreme signatures of this behaviour,” Day said.

The trio learned much of what they know about the geological composition of the Cooks from archaeological reports.

Archaeologists have tracked the movement of material between islands in order to trace the movement of people, so there’s a surprising wealth of information available to geologists in their reports.

Day, whose trip is being funded by the National Geographic, does most of his work in the Canary Islands but is excited to be in the Cooks. Jackson, who’s familiar with working in Samoa, and Cabral are first-time visitors as well.

The trio is on a tight time schedule – they’ve got just two weeks in-country to seek answers to these big questions. But if they find something, a return trip could be in the wings.

“We’ll have an initial (look) and if things get going maybe we’ll be back,” Day said.

• Rachel Reeves

Vaine Wichman (left) and Ruth Pokura at the 11th Triennial of Pacific Women in Noumea. 10082001

A draft family law bill that better protects the rights of women, children, and family members in the Cook Islands was discussed at the 11th Triennial of Pacific Women in Noumea on Thursday.

The discussions which were part of a side event on “Advocating and Campaigning for Gender Equality Laws: Lessons Learnt” focused on the features of the proposed Family Law Bill as well as the consultative processes employed.

Ruth Pokura from the women’s division of the Cook Islands Ministry of Internal Affairs, highlighted that her government had approached the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop a policy paper on reforming domestic legislation to align it with international human rights instruments.

The request was made to the UNDP Pacific Centre following the publication of a report reviewing the compliance of Cook Islands domestic law with the Convention on the Elimination of all form of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  The report, which was jointly produced by UNIFEM Pacific and UNDP Pacific Centre was launched in Rarotonga, Cook Islands in 2008.

The preparation for the new Family Law Bill included some initial research and the production of a policy paper that drew on both Pacific and global experience. The paper was subsequently discussed in Rarotonga in February this year where 22 local participants considered the issues and recommended the best approach for the Cook Islands.

Presenting at the triennial, Christine Forster, who has been working on the policy paper said that the February consultation provided an opportunity for participants to make a number of very progressive and CEDAW compliant recommendations that have been captured in the draft Bill.

“The consultation decided which areas should be covered in the new Family Law Bill and identified local context issues for consideration and discussion,” Ms Forster said.

The consultations focused particular attention on marriage, divorce, the care of children, spousal and child support, domestic violence, property division upon relationship breakdown as well as Uipaanga Koputangata or Family Group Conferencing.

Recognising the impact of domestic violence on families and the broader society, the draft Bill includes a comprehensive definition of domestic violence.

Protection from domestic violence was extended to cover many contexts and a range of personal relationships where there are power imbalances.

Civil law aspects of domestic violence protection are included in the draft Family Law Bill while it is proposed that domestic violence be separately incorporated into the criminal law.

The draft legislation is being reviewed by the Cook Islands Law Reform.

• UNDP

NZ’s PricewaterhouseCoopers, the receiver for Strategic Finance, have put assets owned by three of developer Tim Tepaki’s local companies into receivership.

The assets affected are all the unit titles of Manuia Beach Resort, and some of the units at Castaway Beach Villas and Lagoon Lodges.

Accountant Michael Innes-Jones has been appointed receiver as of August 18 of the group of companies Tepaki 5 Holdings Ltd, Tepaki 6 Holdings Ltd and Tepaki 7 Holdings Ltd which owns the unit titles.

The assets are believed to be worth several million dollars – the 25-unit Manuia Beach was reportedly purchased for about $4.5 million in 2007.

The three resorts are managed by Rarotonga Resorts Ltd – an independent third party company that is not in receivership.

Innes-Jones, a long term Rarotonga resident, said, “The receivership should not affect the on-going operation of the resorts and does not include those units at Castaway Villas and Lagoon Lodges that are owned by other parties.”

He said he had spoken to the resort management representatives and stated his intention to work with them.

“The receivership should cause no disruption to the on-going operation of the resorts – it’s business as usual.”

Strategic Finance and its subsidiary companies went into receivership on March 12, and accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed the receiver, ending a moratorium which had been in place since December 2008.

Strategic Finance was put into receivership after announcing earlier this year that it would be unable to meet its milestone payment in January. Its trustee company concluded that it was in the best interest of debenture holders that a receiver be appointed to the companies.

It owned about $368 million to around 10,000 debenture holders.

The Tepaki Holdings assets could be put into liquidation at some stage but the receiver has to assess the best way to recover loan funds owed to Strategic Finance.

Tepaki’s unit titles were the first to be created under his failed redevelopment plan for the derelict Sheraton in Vaimaanga. The Unit Titles Act 2005 allows landowners and lessees to sell unit titles, so investors can hold titles to portions of buildings without leasing the land it sits on.

• Helen Greig

Talks are underway on the make-up of a possible referendum on political reform and how many questions it might pose to voters at the November 17 election.

It is understood the referendum will have a maximum of two questions.

A smaller number of questions is thought to encourage more voters to respond to the referendum.

One of the main points of contention during recent talks between cabinet ministers is whether voters should be asked if they want the Constitution changed to allow the direct election of the Prime Minister by the voting population.

Currently the leader of the majority party or a majority coalition usually becomes prime minister.

Some members of cabinet are reportedly opposed to the referendum asking about the direct election of the PM even though they supported the 12 point political reform proposal announced earlier this year.

Another key recommendation for political reform is for the reduction of parliamentary seats.

Public interest in this reform measure is increasing as more attention has been drawn to the vast differences in size of each electorate.

Frustrated by the slow progress of political reform, locals formed Mou Piri last year and launched a petition calling for a reduction in parliamentary seats from 24 to 19 and the introduction of the direct election of PM.

Political reform has been an ongoing promise by both of the main political parties for years.

The last three election referendums have focused mainly on reducing the term of parliament. In 2004 the term of parliament was reduced from five to four years following the election referendum which resulted in 82.3 percent of voters opting in favour of shortening the term.

The 1999 election referendum posed the same question but at the time there was not enough support for changing the term.

In 1994 election voters were faced with a referendum on five issues – the term of parliament, the national flag, national anthem, abolishing the overseas constituency and whether the country should have a Maori name.

Afterwards the number of referendum questions was criticised based on the lower than expected response rate.

Current referendum talks come after increased pressure on the government to address political reform.

• Helen Greig

The Pan Pacific South East Asia Women’s Association (PPSEAWA) Cook Islands Inc had its annual general meeting at the Crown Beach Resort last week to elect its executives for 2010/2011.

The new executive is a mix of the former and new members. The new bring in youth, a different perspective and energy to pursue PPSEAWA’s goals for 2010 /2011.

They are: president and peace council chair Mathilda Miria-Tairea, vice president Teina Mackenzie, literacy council chair Sr Margaret O’Dwyer, secretary Caroline Tiria, treasurer Alouise Kado, gender chair Ulamila Kurai-Wragg and committee members Heather Webber-Aitu and Tauturu Jones.

PPSEAWA’s motto is “Peace begins with me” and it undertakes its tasks or activities through three councils which are: Gender, Literacy and Peace.

Miria-Tairea says that all three councils are actively involved in the community from reading programmes for children and inmates to working on putting more women into decision-making positions and emphasising students as peace ambassadors.

So far the Gender Council has been supporting the gender division (GADD) of Internal Affairs, International Women’s Day by participating in activities organised by the Cook Islands National Council of Women, contributions to reform in respect of the maternity leave provisions of the Employment Relations Bill currently under review, consultations in respect of ‘Advancing Women’s Representation’ in decision making processes, in particular in parliamentary positions.

Miria-Tairea emphasises that PPSEAWA is the only non-government organisation with a policy on Temporary Special Measures and have also prepared gender-focused calendars highlighting CEDAW (Convention to Eliminate all Forms of Discriminations Against Women) articles. The Literacy Council has been involved with reading programmes in Titikaveka and Tupapa with books being donated to various schools plus reading programmes around the island and supporting world literacy day.

The council also prepared ‘Pepe Packs’ for newborns with a book for the mother to read to her newborn.

They have ongoing reading programmes with inmates at the prison and supporting trade skills for inmates. Peace Council has been partnering with Ministry of Education in the Peace Ambassadors Schools Programme, training for the Peace Ambassadors, celebrating International Day of Peace and restoring the Peace Garden at the Library and Museum and any help in donations of time or resources for the Peace Garden would be greatly appreciated. Miria-Tairea, says that as always, PPSEAWA proposes to forge closer links with non-governmental organisations such as Rotary, CIANGO, NCW, etc that share a common purpose or goal and develop those partnerships.

• PPSEAWA Media

The Cook Islands Voyaging Society is fundraising to buy the Marumaru Atua. 10052102

Marumaru Atua, the Cook Islands vaka recently returned from a voyage across the Pacific, will cost the Cook Islands Voyaging Society (CIVS) $200,000.

Proceeds from the upcoming Shapeshifter concert, scheduled for September 2 at Club Raro, will go toward helping CIVS to purchase it.

At the moment, ownership rights to the vaka belong to German philanthropic group Okeanos Foundation, which last year commissioned and funded the construction of seven vaka, including Marumaru Atua.

Each vaka is worth $1 million, but Okenoa has agreed to sell each to its corresponding island nation for $200,000.

The reduced price for Marumaru Atua rests on two conditions: that CIVS pays it by the end of 2012 and that the Cook Islands contingent embarks on the voyage to Hawaii scheduled for next year.

All crew must agree to be filmed and featured in a documentary entitled ‘Ocean Noise’ that the Okeanos Foundation is putting together. Filming commenced last year when the vaka were being built, and cameramen documented crewmember training the voyage from New Zealand in late May.

The above stipulations are outlined in a contract between CIVS and the Okeanos Foundation.

The Shapeshifter show, which has generated massive interest around the island, is expected to quickly sell out of its 400 tickets.

If so, it will raise at least $8,000 for CIVS. The fundraiser follows on the heels of a fundraising voyage to Mangaia last month, which took paying customers to see the solar eclipse.

CIVS general secretary Eva Nepia-Clamp said that the voyaging society plans to start marketing day trips and overnight weekend trips on Marumaru Atua to raise money for its purchase. Air Raro will handle the advertising campaign.

She added that CIVS is “over the moon” about the reduced price for Marumaru Atua and “very confident” that it will be able to raise $200,000 before the end of 2012.

• Rachel Reeves

Ian Ibbetson, George George and Andy Olah at the Punanganui playground working bee. Photo Ronnie Si’ulepa 10082325

Mousie Skews, Ake Hosea Winterflood and Matilda Aukino take a break in the shade. Photo Ronnie Si’ulepa 10082327

Last week’s hype about the worn-down condition of the Punanganui marketplace playground is winding down, as parents see that something is being done about it.

On Saturday, over 30 helpers from Rotary and Mongoose, together with a few local builders, rolled up their sleeves and painted and swept and repaired damaged playground equipment.

“It was really great teamwork,” Rotary president Maureen Hilyard said. “I was just thrilled. It was great to be able to work with people who really care about what’s going on in the community.”

Andy Olah supervised the working bee, which Hilyard said was hugely productive.

Volunteers installed new poles on the fence line, as some had been apparently knocked over by careless drivers. They carried sand to the playground, with which they padded areas of hard, exposed ground.

Hilyard said that Nooroa Baker has volunteered to provide sawdust and wood chips the next time he trims trees, to coat the ground and make it a bit softer.

Olah and his team are working on constructing new platforms and volunteers plan to paint this week.

Hilyard said that the roundabout is quite dangerous and unstable, and she plans to talk to Conrad Hunter of Raro Welding about making it sturdier.

“It will be a couple more weeks before we get it completely done,” Hilyard said. “But we’d really like to get it done as soon as possible. We’d like the kids to be able to get back out there.”

She said that if the playground looks nice, people are likely to treat it with respect and to look after it.

“It’s nothing more than just little bits of regular maintenance to keep it up to scratch,” she said.

• Rachel Reeves

Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Limited (ATH) plans to venture into the Pacific region believing its future growth can be achieved there.

Amalgamated Telecom Holding Limited is a Fiji-based telecommunications holding company that provides a range of telecommunications and related services throughout Fiji. The ATH Group of Companies include ATH, Telecom Fiji Limited, Vodafone Fiji Limited, Fiji Directories Limited, Internet Services Fiji Limited (trading as Connect), Transtel Limited, Xceed Pasifika Limited and ATH Technology Park Limited.

In the last two weeks, officials from Tonga and Vanuatu were in Fiji holding discussions with Fintel on the possibility of cables linking the two countries to Fiji and on to the Southern Cross cable.

The World Bank is expected to fund the construction of cables between Tonga and Fiji, Samoa and Tonga and then linked to Fiji through the Tonga cable or a cable between Fiji and Samoa on its own and a cable between Vanuatu and Fiji.

The first cables is expected to be between Tonga and Fiji costing no less than NZ$56.4 million [US$39.7 million], Vakatora said.

Mr Vakatora said the move would make Fiji a telecommunications hub and ATH could utilise some of its telecommunication expertise and services to penetrate the markets in these islands.

The other Pacific countries use the satellite, which is susceptible to weather conditions and not as reliable as the Southern Cross Cable, Mr Vakatora added.

ATH already has subsidiary Pacific Emerging Technologies Limited offering electronic payment facilities for telecommunications services and bills for water and electricity.

PET has installed terminals in Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and discussions are in place for establishing services in Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Cook Islands and Samoa.

“The Fiji hub concept is of central importance to the regional submarine cable initiative supported by the World Bank,” Mr Vakatora said.

“Telecom Fiji’s plan for its own broadband gateway to the South Pacific and the global market is also a positive factor for us.”

• Samoa Observer

Telecom Cook Islands (TCI) said yesterday that they have completed the restoration of mains power to the Maunga Pu cell site on Aitutaki, and the migration of the cellsite to the cellsite cabinet at the hospital over the weekend.

The new cabinet is more efficient and has a built in air conditioner which will provide for a more reliable service.

TCI’s chief technology officer Robert McFadzien is overseeing the project.

“Yesterday we got started on shifting the Maunga Pu cellsite to the previous hospital cellsite cabinet. The migration went very well, once we had the new cabinet in place and powered up, we moved the cellsite equipment into it which allowed us to work on stripping down the old cabinet and moving the replacement which we knew would take a lot of time as the new one is much heavier than the old,” McFadzien said.

“This job is now complete, which means better overall cellular coverage” he said

Coverage tests are to be conducted this afternoon.

Telecom chief executive Jules Maher said their cellular team completed this job about 5pm on Sunday and they are very happy it’s finished.

“Our Mobile Network team has invested a huge amount of time and effort into getting Aitutaki’s cellular service effectively up and operational. We have also invested $150,000 into getting this done; this should go a long way into helping the struggling economy of Aitutaki.

“We realise good business can’t be conducted without good communications,” Maher said.

With the installation of the cellsites, upgrades, and manpower, Aitutaki cellular service is now on par with Rarotonga’s.

TCI said Aitutaki customers can now enjoy mobile data services such as checking emails on their mobiles or accessing the internet. All they need is a data capable handset, pay a $25 installation fee and $20 per month. Contact 123 or call in at our office in Amuri”.

• TCI

At the outbreak of the Second World War Apirana Ngata - he’s the guy with his picture on our $50 note – persuaded the government to form a Maori battalion. The 28th Battalion was formed on tribal lines and the different iwi kept up the numbers to maintain the fighting unit. Men from the Pacific also served in the 28th.

Ngata did this because he believed it was part of the ‘price of citizenship’, Maori should not only enjoy the benefits of New Zealand society, but should also share the hardships – like fighting in a world war.

History tells us that the 28th (Maori) Battalion served with great distinction winning every decoration for bravery that it was possible to win; but the cost too was enormous. Two thirds of the men were either killed, wounded – sometimes up to three times – or taken prisoner.

The price was indeed high.

That’s why I’ve found three snippets of news in recent days very interesting.

As I write Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is challenging Maori to take ownership of the fact that about half of the children abused in this country are allegedly Maori and Maori should put their hands in their pockets and pay to fix this situation.

Also this week the Race Relations Commissioner – Joris de Bris – has expressed his concerns about the high numbers of Maori unemployed – double the Pakeha numbers – and worse still the very very high number of unemployment amongst Maori youth.

The third piece was a study of life expectancy taken from the official statistics. It compares how long we live to how we earn and what race we spring from; you’ll be surprised to learn that Maori have the shortest life expectancy – even high earning Maori live shorter lives than low earning Pakeha.

Well so what, I can hear some of you saying, well here’s what.

The reason Paula Bennett is in a government in this country is because of the Treaty of Waitangi – not because Maori were conquered but because they were persuaded to sign a treaty.

Paula has probably read the Treaty – but I continually come across people with very strong opinions on it – who haven’t.

Basically there are three articles and this is roughly what they say:

Article one signs governance over to the Crown – our governments like that part.

Article two guarantees Maori undisturbed possession of their land forests etc – successive governments have violated or ignored that part.

Article three guarantees Maori the rights of British citizens – those were the ‘benefits’ that Ngata saw – good health, employment, housing, an education, justice and so on.

So where are they, why is it that Maori must now pay for their own social services; and next week will Paula Bennett be telling whoever owns the other children who are being abused that they will have to pay too, or will the taxpayer do that – along with Maori taxpayers?

In fact all governments including this one have failed to provide the rights guaranteed under article three and that failure is the root cause behind the social ills that plague Maori including unemployment and child abuse.

Each year we’re told how Maori children are failing at school – but who’s really failing? Maori children aren’t paid tens of thousands of dollars to educate themselves – an army of civil servants is.

Will the next step be that Maori need to pay for their own education, and health services and so on? What then will the role of the government be, and if two of the three premises on which the Treaty was signed are no longer valid – then should the treaty itself be null and void and should we revert to the ownership and other arrangements that preceded it. That’s what happens if a contract fails.

There can be no doubt whatsoever that Maori are not getting the same level of service as Pakeha under article three. Poorly educated people end up in poorly paid employment if they get work at all. They live in poor housing and suffer poor health, to survive they may resort to crime which will see them locked up which will leave their families without a breadwinner, they will not be able to afford health care so simple and easily avoided illnesses will go untreated they will die earlier and the cycle will start all over again. You might be interested to know that Apirana Ngata was a contemporary of Ernest Rutherford – he’s the guy on our $100 bill. They were mates at Canterbury University and graduated at the same time – both were high achievers.

Rutherford wanted the two chums to head off to Europe –where he went on to win fame by splitting the atom a precursor to the atom bomb.

Ngata turned down the trip and instead went home to serve his people on the east coast, later exhorting them to go to war to pay the price of citizenship.

I reckon we paid too much, and I’m picking today he’d agree with me.

A new weekly opinion column by Maori journalist and broadcaster Derek Fox.

Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) president Sir Geoffrey Henry has stated that CISNOC is not in possession of the full $300,000 paid to them in per diems for the Pacific Mini Games.

The comments were emailed to CI News before he departed on his doomed mission to attend the Pacific Games Association’s annual general meeting.

The dispute between CISNOC and Pacific Mini Games Ltd (PMG) is over $300,000 paid to CISNOC by competing nations to cover the costs of bed and board for athletes has been going on for many months.

These have not been given to PMG to cover costs – despite the fact that Sir Geoffrey said that PMG was responsible for paying to look after the athletes.

Sir Geoffrey says that the organisation is not holding on to money which should be given to the PMG, but waiting for financial people from both organisations and government to match all the invoices with receipts.

The PMG have instructed a lawyer to act on their behalf in the dispute.

CI news asked Sir Geoffrey if CISNOC still had the $300,000 in their account. His reply was less than illuminating:

“Again you are looking for a simple answer which cannot tell the full story. I told you that the diversion of the payment of the per diems to a CISNOC controlled account arose out of the concern of the Pacific Games Council (PGC) that legitimate payments pursuant to the Host Contract would not be paid by the Organising Committee.”

Sir Geoffrey went into detail about the reason for the per diems going to CISNOC rather than Pacific Mini Games Ltd.

“This began with the refusal by Mac (Mokoroa) and supported by Sir Terepai to settle in full the agreed $100,000 (US) for PGC property rights. The unpaid balance was paid from the per diems paid into the CISNOC controlled account together with the payment of a whole lot of other costs as instructed by the PGC – a recent one being the hireage of the flags of the nations which attended the games and their refreighting to Noumea and the payment of the printing of 250 copies of the final report of the Pacific Mini Games.

“The short answer, therefore, is – no. Further, to the best of my knowledge, we never did.”

• Nerys Case

Norman George. 10022409

Cook Islands Party MP Norman George is calling on Prime Minister Jim Marurai to back down from plans to hold an election referendum on political reform.

The party’s spokesman for finance and economics, George says government should not rush into holding a referendum on November 17.

“The present government of six should adopt a more cautious approach to what they do now until the general election. The fact that they behave like a fully representative government with a clear mandate is a matter of concern. Despite claims that there are 15 MPs in support of the divided and weakened Demo government, in reality this is not so. They are as united as the Ngatangiia electorate!” he said yesterday.

George said he believes government is not justified in adding the referendum to the procedures of the general election.

“There has not been enough ground work done to explain the referendum subject to our people. It will only add to the complication and confusion that blurs the general elections.

“Why should the reason (to hold the referendum) be that PM Marurai gave his word on it?

He had no mandate to give his word. He should be encouraged to back down and prepare for a happy retirement.”

George is adamant that more time is needed to consider political reform options.

“I recommend such a referendum be held separately between this election and the next.”

He suggests a parliamentary select committee could be set up to discuss political reform and a referendum with the people –including those in the outer islands – before holding a referendum.

“The political parties should adopt a separate procedure on the holding of a referendum on political changes. To do it now is ill-informed and unfair. I appeal to the government of six not to cave into the heightened ego of one or two of their cabinet colleagues.”

George is also hitting out at Finance Minister Wilkie Rasmussen this week, saying he is concerned at his approach to the agreement to top up Toa Petroleum’s profits for the next eight years. He said apart from the referendum, the profit guarantee payment that has already been allocated is a major concern to the public.

“I am also concerned about the role that the minister of finance Wilkie Rasmussen is taking in approaching this problem. My message to him is ‘slow down and wait until after the election’.”

George said the speed in which the payment of $900,000 for Toa’s profit guarantee for last year has been made is a worry.

“Is it a ‘fait accompli’already done? Clearly something is wrong here - Toa does not deserve another dollar from the taxpayer of this country. They have already received and costed us $3.5 million. Despite a court decision, the present government should wait until after the general election before taking further action.”

“Let the new government with a new mandate sort it out,” he added.

• Helen Greig

Pacific Blue chief executive Mark Pitt says the airline is looking to increase services to Rarotonga depending on how well its new fourth weekly flight performs.

Already the airline is pleased with the performance of the Auckland-Rarotonga Monday flight started in the first week of July which will add over 9000 extra seats to the route each year.

“We are very happy with the way the additional service is performing. Rarotonga was very much in demand last year as people focused their travel closer to home and this demand has continued to grow in the current year,” says Pitt.

“Many New Zealanders go back to Rarotonga every year or couple of years if they can.”

The airline, now in its fifth year of flying to Rarotonga, trialled a fourth flight from December to January after seeing increased demand for family travel to the Cooks during the summer.

“We are keeping a close eye on demand and will look to further increase services in the future if we feel the support is there,” Pitt says.

Pitt said the extra flight should help increase tourist numbers from Australia as well because of the availability of connecting flights into Auckland.

The airline’s other three Auckland-Rarotonga services are on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

Pitt said Pacific Blue is also proud to support the special charity concert by New Zealand band Shapeshifter in Rarotonga next week.

Pacific Blue has sponsored the concert by operating a special flight to Rarotonga hosted by the Shapeshifter musicians that departs Auckland on Monday.

“Pacific Blue is happy to be supporting New Zealand music, as it’s an integral part of our brand,” said Pitt.

“We’re pleased to be able to support the Cook Islands community and offer Shapeshifter fans the unique experience to enjoy their music in this picturesque location.”

The band will bring its unique sounds to Rarotonga for a special charity concert at Club Raro Resort next Thursday.

Proceeds from the concert will go to the Cook Islands Voyaging Society and towards projects to help communities affected by Cyclone Pat.

More information on the special August 30 fight to Rarotonga is available at www.flypacificblue.com

• Helen Greig

The head of New Zealand’s delegation to the regional Tuna Commission meeting later this year says this country has an open mind about the best way to halt the decline in Pacific tuna stocks.

Greenpeace is calling for the New Zealand government to support plans to close all four areas of international waters in the Pacific to all fishing.

The head of New Zealand’s delegation, Matthew Hooper, said he was not sure that the proposal for total closure is supported by all Pacific nations and Australia

“I know that some of the Pacific Island countries that neighbour those pockets do have fishing interests, be it long line fishing or whatever in those areas and also development aspirations in respect to them. It is important with proposals like this that everyone is clear about what actually is being put forward, is it a complete ban to all fishing, or is it just certain fishing methods and also to then be able to discuss whether there are other alternatives that might be more effective.”

The research presented to a scientific meeting in Tonga last week indicates an ongoing decline of the large tuna species such as Bigeye and Yellowfin.

The technical meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission also heard that stock of the smaller skipjack tuna is now under pressure.

Meanwhile, 10 young men in Vanuatu, dubbed ’eyes of the government’, have began a month-long training to become observers on foreign fishing vessels fishing in Vanuatu waters.

The Director of Fisheries, Moses Amos, who opened a workshop on the issue, said each student will be certified as an observer on a fishing vessel on behalf of the government.

Mr Amos encourages the observers to be committed and not be swayed from their task.

The training is coordinated by Siosifa Fukofuka who is an observer and sampling trainer from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

• RNZI

Government aims to improve consumer protection by completing the set up of a Consumer Commission this year.

The allocation of $80,000 in the new annual budget means the Ministry of Internal Affairs can finally launch the consumer watchdog body – almost two years on from the introduction of the Fair Trading Act and Consumer Guarantees Act. The Fair Trading Act 2008 promotes fair competition and prohibits unfair trading practices such as false advertising and false representations and the Consumer Guarantees Act covers the guarantees relating to the supply of goods and services.

The role of Consumer Commissioner is now being advertised as part of plans to create a two person Consumer Affairs division team at the ministry.

The Commerce Commission will promote and protect consumer rights through the two new acts and the existing 1966 Control of Prices Act which is used to regulate the price of basic commodities.

Ministry of Internal Affairs secretary Bredina Drollet said the functions of the commission already existed prior to this year’s budget but no funding had been allocated towards its set up until now.

She said the price control function has also been inadequately resourced within the ministry’s Labour and Consumer division which is also responsible for administering the employment and labour legislation, workers’ compensation and employers’ liability insurance ordinances, and occupational health and safety and dangerous goods licensing. This has been carried out with very limited staff -- two in Rarotonga and one in Aitutaki.

Drollet said it is hoped once a Commissioner or director of Consumer Affairs is appointed the operations of the Commission will begin soon after.

“There is a lot of work to be done in this area including reviewing competition legislation and whether a small claims tribunal is warranted.”

“I am hopeful that the successful applicant appointed to the position will be someone with strong commerce background or demonstrated litigation skills to ensure that the office becomes an effective consumer watchdog,” she said.

Drollet said the budget allocation is modest so an effective first year of operation will demonstrate whether the investment by government provides value for money.

• Helen Greig

John Cooper with a page from his Cook Islands stamp collection. 10082311

Long-time stamp enthusiast John Cooper has amassed an impressive collection of postage stamps issued by the Cook Islands government before 1935.

His most valuable Cook Islands-issued stamp, which he purchased from a family estate, boasts a price of around $300.

Some of Cooper’s stamps were issued before 1900. He has New Zealand stamps bearing the word ‘Aitutaki’ in overlaid print and a series of stamps which came later, the word ‘Aitutaki’ inlaid.

He has Penrhyn stamps issued when the northern group merged under the umbrella of the Cook Islands administration in 1901.

Cooper collects only old stamps, as he said in recent time countries all over the world are printing too many stamps, flooding the market with cheap stamps.

“So many stamps in the last 20 years have been issued by so many crazy countries,” he said. “They issue these stamps with crazy values so now I only collect old stamps.”

He noted that the Cook Islands government was also guilty of over-printing stamps in recent history, causing them to depreciate in value.

The philatelic bureau under Finbar Kenny was lucrative but “just printed too many stamps”, Cooper said.

“There were too many – they don’t have much value. Up until 1935 they were valuable but after that there were just too many stamps.”

He had a large collection of stamps from the 1980s and 90s appraised, only to discover that they weren’t worth much and he might as well be using them to send letters.

So that he did – and he’s quick to point out that stamp enthusiasts tend to cover their envelopes and parcels to fellow philatelists with stamps.

Cooper’s Cook Islands stamp collection is vast and includes old, very hard-to-find stamps. He goes to great lengths to protect his stamps from the tropical heat and humidity that could quickly ruin them.

“You have to keep them in a box, a bit like cigars,” he said. “Especially mint stamps – you need to keep them at certain temperatures or they get rust marks and people don’t realise that.”

He’s keen to know whether there are any philatelists in the Cooks with Cook Islands-issued stamps. He’s put two advertisements in CI News asking local collectors to contact him but so far has had no response.

A philatelist for over 60 years, Cooper is carrying on the tradition of stamp-collecting established by his father. He belongs to the International Philatelic Golfing Society, an exclusive club of people who collect golf-themed stamps. Cooper has 300.

The sport of golf is often-depicted on postage stamps – Cooper said that sometimes even countries that don’t yet have golf courses print golf stamps.

The Cook Islands government has issued two stamps depicting golf, one during the South Pacific Mini Games years ago and one in the 1950s.

• Rachel Reeves

New Zealand Aid has changed its name to the New Zealand Aid Programme.

The organisation has changed its name and logo because it is no longer a separate organisation functioning outside the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is now part of the ministry. The new logo is a silver fern on a black background.

• Nerys Case

Chloe Wragg (right) with new friend Hawaiian exchange student Makana Kane who has returned home. 10072330

Chloe Wragg the 2010-2011Cook Islands exchange student to Hawaii surprised her school mates by showing up to school on Wednesday, August 18.

Wragg, who is supposed to be starting her first semester at Hawaii’s Kamehameha Schools, was denied a student visa into Hawaii because of her age.

According to the US Department of State visa website to be eligible for a secondary student visa the student must be between the ages of 15 and 18.5 by the first day of school.

Unfortunately for Wragg she is only 14 years old and was therefore denied a student visa.

However ,Wragg will still be attending Kamehameha Schools.

According to Wragg she will be leaving somewhere between the end of this year and early January next year however it is still to be confirmed. The experience will definitely be worth the wait!

• Peka Fisher

Picton Castle will be in port until next week, when it leaves for Palmerston and Pukapuka. 10082403

One Avatea student peers through a telescope on the deck of Picton Castle. 10082406

The crew of the tall ship the Picton Castle are taking advantage of their time here, docked this week in the ship’s home port at Avatiu.

Captain Daniel Moreland and 52 crew members from all over the world – from Norway to Bermuda – are a quarter of the way into a journey around the world that starts and ends in Nova Scotia, Canada.

In the last decade, Picton Castle has circumnavigated the world four times under Moreland’s watch.

Thirty-eight crew members are trainees – they aren’t sailors by profession and some have little to no sailing experience, but all are adventure-seekers and willing to spend more than a year onboard a ship.

“You’ve just got to have a good attitude, be willing to live together in a small space and be open to new things,” trainee Nadia Vassos said.

Among the professional crew members are a cook from Grenada, a doctor, a full-time engineer and a cat called Chibley who’s spent a decade of her life sailing with Picton Castle.

The professional crew members are paid, but trainees pay a hefty sum to be a part of Picton Castle’s round-the-world voyage. All those onboard yesterday agreed that sailing around the world with 50 other adventure-seekers is fun and worth every penny of the price.

The crew works tirelessly to maintain the ship, even when she’s in port.

When they’re not painting or rigging or swabbing decks, crew members are fishing or perfecting their sailing technique in smaller boats onboard Picton Castle.

They’ve even got an in-house newspaper, the International Head Herald, full of fishing reports and tongue-in-cheek ship gossip.

Before signing on to voyage with Picton Castle, potential crew members must undergo an interview process -- “just to make sure they know what they’re getting themselves into”, second mate Paul Bracken said.

Crew must be fit and healthy, but there’s no age requirement otherwise. Bracken said that on a past voyage, a 75-year-old man joined the ship’s crew.

This week, the crew is hosting students from Avatea School, Avarua School and Nikao Maori School onboard the 180-foot ship, giving them tours and letting them grab the wheel. They’ve also baked 300 cookies for the kids.

Picton Castle brought school supplies – notebooks, pencils and pens – from Canada and the crew are this week distributing them to schools around the island.

Today and tomorrow, some crew members will sail on Marumaru Atua, which will dock alongside Picton Castle in time for a Cook Islands Voyaging Society function onboard the tall ship tomorrow evening.

Friday night, government, Maritime Cook Islands and Ariki have been invited to a second function onboard Picton Castle, in honour of the 12-year relationship between the country and the tall ship.

Long-time showman Piri Puruto has organised a performance for the ship’s crew on Sunday afternoon.

Picton Castle leaves Avatiu early next week and heads for Palmerston. Because the ship can’t anchor at Palmerston, crew members will stay two nights in the homes of local families.

After Palmerston is the island of Pukapuka, to which the ship is delivering provisions and over ten homebound locals.

Picton Castle will be giving tours to the public on Saturday afternoon.

• RacheR

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