Letter: Punanga Nui Market

Dear Editor, This is an average rainy “week day” down at the market, where “Locals” sell produce, crafts and food every day of the week, despite there being no advertising telling tourists of the fact.

People can see what is on offer from the road, so they come in and look. The big businesses here in Rarotonga obviously don’t like the fact that local produce and crafts are available, and tourists aren’t forced to only buy knockoffs from Indonesia and China from the big businesses, so they are going to force everyone into a big building, down the back of the market so the local products can’t be seen during the week and won’t be advertised, and at the Saturday market, the big businesses will have several stalls all over the market, in the flash new building, flooded with imported knockoffs! How do we save our local identity, culture and Mana when our visitors are taking home wooden Tangaroa’s made in Indonesia, or a wooden bowl, they see a week later back in NZ for a 10th of the price in Kmart! It doesn’t help the situation! and nothing will probably change! because the same people in charge of the government bodies doing this, own the big businesses that are trying to monopolize the market. Is this the original plan for the market? To serve big businesses and to sell rubbish from China?

Faithfully,
Concerned citizen

(Name and address supplied)