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11 November 2022

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Resort leads the way for Earth Hour

Several businesses and households across Rarotonga participated in Earth Hour on Saturday by turning off their lights for an hour.

Court

Repeat offender gets probation sentence for stealing lemons

A repeat offender received a 12-month probation sentence with community service for stealing lemons and failing to report to the police station.

Police too busy to return money

Police Commissioner Maara Tetava says the investigation into the theft of $20,000 from police custody by police officers is still ongoing. He apologised yesterday for not providing more information, saying he was ”very busy“ with the Forum security operations. The commissioner, along with Minister of Police Teariki Heather, flew to a week-long conference in the […]

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'We don't speed'

Motorcade coordinator Robert Graham claims the motorcade carrying foreign leaders around the Forum does not speed – despite the public alleging otherwise. Volunteer drivers, who practised for weeks, were trained to observe strict traffic regulations and all speed limits. ”We don’t speed,“ says Graham, before saying he has been ”sacking guys every day“ for that […]

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Reward: $12,500

Local businessman Bill Doherty is increasing the reward offered for the return of his safe – to $12,500. On August 4, a Saturday night, the Landholdings Ltd office at Panama was broken into and a locked safe stolen. To speed up the police investigation, Doherty offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction […]

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'Same people, same nation'

French Polynesia president Oscar Temaru is hopeful that Rapa Nui, Hawai’i and Aotearoa Maori will be formally accepted into the Polynesian Leaders Group by week’s end. ”We fully support (them),“ Temaru said yesterday. ”Maori, Hawaiian, we are all the same people, looking for freedom.“ He attended the Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) meeting on Saturday, at […]

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No asylum ban

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says there is no restriction on foreign journalists entering the country and they are free to travel there anytime. Clarifying recent media reports that a ban had been placed on foreign media by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Rimbink Pato, O’Neill said yesterday there was no […]

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ADB not here to 'babysit'

The Asian Development Bank has opened an office in the Cooks – to make sure its development assistance does not ”fall down the cracks“. Yesterday morning, Asian Development Bank (ADB) vice-president Stephen Groff officially opened the branch development coordination office, located in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management building in Avarua. Two local staff […]

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Spouses out and about Rarotonga

The opportunity to meet some of the women from Vaka Takitumu was just part of the spouses programme that took place yesterday. Akaiti Puna, alongside spouses of Cook Islands Members of Parliament, spent the day hosting spouses of Pacific leaders. The group travelled to various destinations across the island, including Rarotonga Hospital, the BCI Stadium […]

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Avoid that motorcade

Rarotonga residents looking to avoid the motorcades hurtling around the island may be out of luck – motorcade co-ordinator Robert Graham said he cannot give out exact travel times due to security reasons. ”All I can say is that there will be a few more motorcades travelling around the island over the next few days.“ […]

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Regal entrance by Australian PM Julia Gillard

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard sits regally as she is carried on a traditional paata into the official opening of the 43rd Pacific Leaders Forum at the National Auditorium yesterday. Each of the 16 Forum country leaders here on Rarotonga for the week-long Forum received a turou challenge from a warrior as they were carried […]

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No CI products in True Pacific brand

A non-profit group which helps consumers choose quality Pacific products is showcasing its brand at the clean and green industry showcase at Rarotonga’s National Auditorium. Products displaying the quality mark – a stylised frangipani flower – must be of genuine Pacific origin and meet strict quality standards. True Pacific is an initiative of the New […]

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Fibre optic proposed

The Cook Islands has until the end of the year to accept or reject an offer from New Zealand-based company Hawaiki Cable Ltd to connect to a fibre optic cable being installed from Hawai’i to Auckland and Sydney via numerous Pacific Islands. In the works for about three years, the project has been unpublicised, but […]

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'Best fit' governance practices critical

Max Everest-Phillips, director of governance and institutional development at the Commonwealth Secretariat, is attending the Pacific Leaders Forum. He maintains Pacific integration and sustainability will be achieved through good governance. Sustainable development in Pacific island countries hinges on good governance and visionary leadership. Effective, efficient and equitable governance improves the lives of citizens by advancing […]

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Bachelet in gender talks

Gender equality in the Pacific will be discussed as a Forum side event today, with a number of high-profile female United Nations members attending. Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Michele Bachelet, will take part in the panel discussions on gender equality. The head of the UN Delegation to the Pacific Island Forum was […]

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'No such thing as exploratory fishing'

Confident that the Cook Islands ”will do the right thing“, Marshall Islands politician Tony deBrum is congratulating government ”in advance“ for legislating a shark sanctuary. The member of parliament for Kwajalein has been vocal about shark protection in his country, which banned shark finning in October last year. DeBrum, who is in Rarotonga for the […]

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Celebrating Moana Nui O Kiva

Conservation International this week hosted a dinner to celebrate the Pacific Oceanscape and those who are party to it. Prime Minister Henry Puna welcomed conservationists, voyagers and regional decision-makers to a seaside function on Monday night. ”The well-known Pacific philosopher and writer Epeli Hau’ofa defined who we are as Pacific Islanders – he said, and […]

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New pact opens up regional trade

Following months of deliberation and seven rounds of negotiations, Pacific ACP leaders yesterday signed the PICTA trade in services protocol. ”This will be a significant step towards facilitating regional integration and unlocking potential benefits of regional trade in services,“ Forum Secretariat secretary-general Tuiloma Neroni Slade said. The agreement engenders the liberalisation of services in travel, […]

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PNG accepts deep sea mining talks

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says his government’s options are open and he welcomes an open and transparent discussion on the sea bed mining amidst opposition by international, regional and national NGOs, environmental groupings and other stakeholders. Speaking in Rarotonga, O’Neill said, ”We welcome any contributions the Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and other […]

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Deep sea mining framework unveiled

A regional legislative and regulatory framework for deep-sea minerals exploration and exploitation was unveiled yesterday, and some non-government organisations are highly concerned about its impact. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters, whose portfolios include deep-sea minerals, spoke at the launch yesterday, noting that Pacific leaders endorsed the framework in Cairns in 2009. He said the framework […]

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Last leaders arrive

Except for star of the show Hillary Clinton, the last of the foreign leaders to arrive for the Pacific Leaders Forum this week flew into Rarotonga yesterday. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key arrived in an RNZAF plane at around 1 yesterday afternoon. Also on-board were Kiribati President Anote Tong, Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Ham […]

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Cosmo magazine shoots in the Cooks

If anyone was wondering who the beautiful people being followed around by a camera crew were last week, we can assure you it wasn’t some early Forum delegates. A group from women’s magazine Cosmopolitan came on a direct flight from Sydney on August 18 and left just under a week later. The crew of nine […]

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