Per the Cook Islands News on 27-5 2024, the Cook Islands has secured $20 million in Core Sector Budget Support and an additional $10.5 million for continued public sector strengthening during the 8th Cook Islands-New Zealand Joint Ministerial Forum.

But that is just the “tip of the iceberg” on the list of benefits the Cook Islands people receive as being a Realm of New Zealand. There are 61 different types of support services available to Cook Islanders as being part of NZ.

Here is a list of some of them:

Job seeker support, Sole parent support, Living support payments, Youth payment support and young parent payment, Emergency payment benefitting superannuation, Working for families support benefit, Health referrals from the Cook Islands to NZ – you cannot put a price on how much it is worth to save a life, Working for families support benefit, Housing assistance, Child care assistance, Winter energy payments, Disability allowance, Orphan benefit and unsupported child benefits, Free health care, Education, primary, secondary school, university and other tertiary institutions, State housing, Voting rights, Access to all employment opportunities, NZ defence, army, navy, air force and their associated trades, NZ police force, and more.

NZ passport also allows access to Australia. Internationally, it is recognised as one of the most valuable passports in the world. This costs the NZ Government billions of dollars a year to provide these benefits to the Cook Islands people. Other Pacific Islands countries such as Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu do not receive these benefits because they are not a Realm of NZ.

An extensive number of security analysts have reported that PM Mark Brown’s eager embrace of Chinese influence demonstrates either catastrophic naivety or wilful disregard for the Cook Islands’ long-term sovereignty. This drastic geopolitical manoeuvre by Brown should alarm every Cook Islander and every nation invested in Pacific stability. The Cook Islands have fallen prey to China's predatory diplomacy. The recently signed Comprehensive Strategy Partnership between China and the Cook Islands represents nothing less than calculated Chinese incursion into NZ’s constitutional backyard, one that threatens to unravel decades of regional security arrangements.

Rip it up Mark!

Steve Boggs.