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‘Slush’ discharges
Govt requests Hercules to help Penrhyn
Slush case ‘oppressive’ says lawyer
Thousands flee tsunami
Better prepared
New call for compulsory helmets
Generosity praised
Ivaiti ends with a line by Einstein
Minister due back on diverted flight
Patients airlifted
A break in warnings
Baby’s drowning draws warning
‘Slush’ discharges
Thu
25 Feb
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Chris Vaile, fully discharged on all counts.
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Norman George, discharged on seven of 14 charges.
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Vaile and Koronui discharged,
George partially discharged
Two of three defendants in the longest-running criminal trial in Cook Islands court history were fully discharged yesterday.
Justice Colin Nicholson discharged former island secretary Charles Koronui from the two corruption charges against him and businessman Christopher Vaile from the seven against him.
Lawyer Norman George was discharged from seven charges of corruption but still faces seven others.
The Operation Slush trial went to court on October 13, 2008, and the Crown called the last of its 63 witnesses on October 2, 2009. At that stage, all three defendants told the court that they intended to apply for discharge on all charges.
Koronui and George filed a joint discharge application, alleging that the charges against them were “inherently weak and vague” and that both of them had been “prejudiced both generally and specifically [because] of the delay in the investigative process”.
The application also claimed that evidence submitted by Junior Areai-Enoka and detective inspector Mark Franklin was “manifestly discredited or unreliable” and that “all evidence produced by Junior Areai...have not been corroborated”.
The application finally alleged that the conspiracy charges duplicated the substantive charges, constituting “an abuse of process”.
Vaile’s application, submitted by legal counsel Tim Arnold, cited some of the same grounds for discharge but also claimed that there had been “an abuse of process...arising out of serious shortcomings in the Police investigation”.
It alleged that “the continuation of this trial would be unreasonably burdensome on Mr Vaile”.
Under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1980-81, a judge “may in his discretion at any stage of the trial, whether before or after his verdict, direct that the defendant be discharged”.
Nicholson ruled that in regards to the conspiracy charges surrounding the purchase of crushers for Atiu, Mangaia and Aitutaki, “the circumstantial evidence relied on by the Crown, taken at its highest, amounts to only suspicion...and does not establish facts capable of supporting the relevant inferences of guilt”.
His report charges that the evidence is not “direct” and does not justify a continuation of trial.
On those grounds, Nicholson discharged Koronui and Vaile from all charges.
He discharged George from seven charges, citing that “the evidence of Mr George’s conduct is more reasonably consistent with him as Minister of MOID wanting Atiu and Mangaia to get to the most economic and suitable solutions to their aggregate problems and that he used his ministerial position along with his personality, drive and political experience in attempting to get those results”.
He did not, however, discharge him from another seven charges because the direct evidence submitted by Junior Areai-Enoka is “such as to justify continuation of the trial”. The charges were related to the purchase of a grader and a truck for Aitutaki and a roller for Atiu.
Nicholson said he has yet to make a decision about the “credibility and reliability of Mr Areai’s evidence” and will do so when he has reviewed final submissions at the end of trial.
In response to George’s allegation that delays in the investigation had “generally and specifically prejudiced” him, Nicholson said that given the nature and scope of the case there was not an unreasonable delay between the start of the investigation in December 2005 and the start of the trial in October 2008.
He said the delay should not have “seriously impaired Mr George’s ability to meet the charges brought against him” and does not warrant discharging him from the remaining seven charges.
George’s trial is adjourned to March 1 and will continue on March 19. Nicholson called a telephone conference with George, counsel for the Crown and the court registrar on March 4 at 10am to “fix a programme for resumption and completion” of Operation Slush.
Nicholson said that he will sort out court costs upon completion of the trial.
Govt requests Hercules to help Penrhyn
Thu
25 Feb
Last night government was anxiously waiting for a response to its request for NZ assistance to get urgent relief supplies to Penrhyn where homes and infrastructure has been damaged in bad weather.
On Tuesday national disaster controller and police commissioner Maara Tetava requested an Air Force Hercules flight with relief supplies from the NZ government.
Late yesterday Tetava said that they were expecting a response at any time. He said if the request was granted then urgent relief supplies such as food, water, tarpaulins and tents could be sent to the island.
“They (Penrhyn) need assistance. Put into context, Penrhyn has been feeling the impact during all the cyclones that have passed through the Cook Islands – they have had bad weather there for about a month. They are also slowly running out of food and fuel supplies,” he said.
On Sunday night Penrhyn sustained more roof and structural damage to homes from strong winds caused by a tropical depression passing over the atoll where it is believed the population is about 340 people.
Penrhyn MP and finance minister Wilkie Rasmussen has been looking at heading a government team to go the island to assess the damage – reports of 31 homes having roof damage and flooding of the low-lying villages are an immediate concern.
Cabinet had approved for a $20,000 Air Rarotonga charter flight to go up on Tuesday but bad weather initially delayed this option. Yesterday Rasmussen said the charter flight was on hold pending the response from the NZ government to the latest request for assistance.
He had been hoping a Hercules would be arriving last night, but by late afternoon nothing had been confirmed.
Tetava said his disaster response team was working with the New Zealand High Commission here on the request for assistance.
“They (NZ High Comm) have been very helpful and we appreciate that. There is also a team in Wellington looking at the request. They could call back with a response at any time.”
MP ‘begs’ for Pukapuka assistance – page 7.
Slush case ‘oppressive’ says lawyer
Fri
26 Feb
Lawyer Tim Arnold said yesterday that Judge Nicholson’s discharge rulings mark the end of a long, “oppressive” and “burdensome” trial for his client Chris Vaile and for Charles Koronui.
“It’s a wonderful result,” he said. “This means effectively that he (Vaile) and Charlie Koronui can get on with their lives with their reputations untainted by the allegations that were made against them.”
Arnold said that Vaile was relieved by Nicholson’s decision but not surprised.
“Both he and I did not believe that the charges were appropriately brought,” he said. “A very large amount of time was spent defeating allegations made by the Crown that were simply unjustified.”
Arnold said that he and his client intend to go back to court at the end of trial to submit a formal application for compensation of court costs. He said that he is aware that it is unusual for a defendant in a criminal case to be awarded costs and he anticipates resistance from the Crown.
“But there is no doubt that this exercise has cost both Chris Vaile and Charles Koronui a large amount of money,” he said. “Both of them have sustained rather extensive losses.”
Arnold said that the trial was expensive and exhausting. Operation Slush was scheduled to span 15 hearing dates, but the Crown case did not close until after 40. The trial cost thousands of dollars in legal fees alone and filled 2714 pages of transcript.
“We say that was simply oppressive and burdensome in terms of Chris Vaile having to refute unfounded allegations,” Arnold said.
“I think it would be fair to say that the judge, counsel, the accused and the entire public of the Cook Islands know a great deal more about crushing machinery now than would ever have been necessary had the police prosecution been conducted properly.”
Arnold did say that though he and his client were disappointed that so much time and money was spent defending “unjustified” allegations, they respect the way the prosecution handled its case.
“[Vaile] did find the whole trial oppressive and burdensome. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that the prosecution counsel team approached their job professionally and objectively and nothing that we might say should be taken as detracting from our appreciation of the way in which they approached the trial,” Arnold said.
Norman George, who was not fully discharged, will face seven corruption charges in court on March 1. Arnold said that it’s up to the Crown to prove that the allegations against George are true beyond a reasonable doubt.
He said that judge Nicholson had ruled that there was “nothing inherently incredible” about the accusations against George.
“They might be right and they might be wrong,” he said. “At this stage of the trial the judge is not entitled to make a finding as to Junior Areai’s credibility. He’s not entitled to do that until the end of the trial.”
Vaile said that he is not prepared to issue a personal statement at this time.
Thousands flee tsunami
Mon
1 Mar
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10 o’clock on Saturday morning is usually the busiest time at the Punanga Nui Markets, but the tsunami warning made it a late start and slow day.
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Police praise public for response to warnings
Police commissioner Maara Tetava is praising the people of the Cook Islands for their quick response to tsunami warnings on Saturday morning.
“It was an awesome response by the people here on Rarotonga and the outer islands,” said Tetava.
“It was a quick response by everyone who headed to higher ground.”
Tetava said that one of the main reasons the tsunami warning was spread so quickly was because there were still three officials monitoring cyclone Sarah at the Police Operations Emergency Centre.
He said that when he was notified in the early hours of Saturday morning of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile and the pending tsunami waves, he authorised mass notification of the tsunami warning.
He then convened a meeting between local police, Emergency Management Cook Islands and the Cook Islands Meteorological Service to discuss their next cause of action.
Tetava said that based on their reports and the tsunami warning, he recalled all police officers to return to duty and began alerting local residents of the tsunami warning at around 3.30 in the morning.
“We then began door knocking and alerting people along the coastlines to move to higher ground.”
“People headed to the Sanatorium, Takuvaine and Avatiu valley and people around Ngatangiia and Titikaveka also headed to the valleys.”
Four police officers were sent to the monitor the traffic flow on hospital hill and to maintain a clear passage for the ambulance.
“We had to make sure that our emergency response people and the ambulance could freely move if there was an emergency.”
Tetava said that by 6am he was satisfied that all had been done to prepare the nation for the tsunami which was predicted to hit Rarotonga at 14 minutes past 8 on Saturday morning.
Tetava made an address after 6am on behalf of prime minister Jim Marurai on the pending tsunami and urged people to stay away from the coast.
Reports of no damage or effects were received from regional island countries and the Nga Pu Toru islands of Atiu, Mauke and Mitiaro. The tsunami warning for Rarotonga was cancelled at 10am.
“Overall it was an awesome effort by all our people who responded quickly to the warnings,” said Tetava.
Better prepared
Mon
1 Mar
Disaster management officials in the Pacific say they were better prepared for Saturday’s tsunami alert after last year’s devastating tsunami off Samoa, which claimed more than 180 lives.
This was the universal comment by disaster officials in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands.
People on the flat island
of Tuvalu sought refuge in the few double-storeyed build-
ings there.
On Auckland’s North Shore, oe vaka paddlers from Tahiti, Rarotonga and Australia competing for the Takapuna Beach cup were told that a 24km relay event was canned.
However, individuals still headed out. Mariana Hodges, a New Zealand champion, went out for a quick 2km paddle and said the water was like a baby’s bath. “You kind of can’t resist it when it’s right there.”
New call for compulsory helmets
Mon
1 Mar
A spate of serious driving accidents is set to crack open the helmets issue again.
In the last couple of weeks, a man died in a motorbike accident, a young boy was airlifted to New Zealand for severe head injuries after he fell off his motorbike and a young woman was injured when a driver crashed into her and her partner at Matavera.
Last weekend alone, police reported seven motor vehicle accidents.
Road safety council chairman Colin Burn said that in light of all this, it’s time to reinstate a compulsory helmet law.
“If we don’t do something, are we prepared to accept 10-12 deaths on the road in Rarotonga this year?” he asked. “Is that what we really want? Sorry, but I don’t like that. We’ve got to do something.”
Burn plans to give parliament a documentary titled ‘Turning Point: A Journey on the World’s Killer Roads’, which according to its website reveals the “terrible true scale of the hidden epidemic of road traffic deaths and injuries in the developing world”.
Burn is also pushing to get the documentary aired on TV some time in the coming weeks.
“Roads are currently the biggest killer in the world – bigger than malaria, bigger than HIV, and people do not take them seriously, from kids all the way up to politicians,” he said.
Burn said that the issue is no longer about protecting a person’s right to choose whether to wear a helmet; it’s just about protecting people.
“We need to save young people,” he said. “They are the most vulnerable. They are the future of this country.”
Schoolteacher Nga Puna, who led the anti-helmet protests last year, said that a compulsory helmet law is not an appropriate solution to the problem of deaths and injuries on the road.
“A helmet law won’t actually fix anything,” Puna said. “The problem is our overall attitude toward driving.”
Puna said that speeding, drunk driving and a loose driving licence testing system are bigger threats to road safety than the lack of a compulsory helmet law.
“There are so many contributing factors to these accidents, and compulsory helmets are not going to fix the problem,” he said. “It’s not just one problem. We have an overall problem.”
Puna said that sober drivers and more stringent rules around drinking at nightclubs are more practical solutions.
He said that speed cameras will keep people accountable and honest, and will cause “people to follow the rules because they just know the cameras are always there”.
Puna suggested that young drivers be required to take more rigorous driving tests.
“Don’t get me wrong, these accidents are sad,” he said. “But we need to tighten up other areas. I’m not against helmets – I just think it’s wrong to make them compulsory.”
Burn countered that helmets are “fundamental” to road safety.
“It’s a sensible, long-term approach to road safety,” he said. “The police are doing what they can, but if there were some changes in the law they could do a lot better.
Generosity praised
Tue
2 Mar
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Vehicles crammed in like sardines at the Rarotonga hospital on Saturday morning.
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How people were alerted to the tsunami warning and where they fled for safety has been the talk of the island since the early morning tsunami warnings on Saturday.
Hospital hill, valleys and back roads were choked with people evacuating from the coast.
In Arorangi, Mariia and William Heather opened their home to people who headed up to the Highland Paradise complex.
Local resident Iriti Maoate and her family were among those taken in by the Peras.
“They were just awesome,” says Iriti. “Mariia and William not only opened their home to people, they fed them, gave them coffee and invited all the kids to the ground floor of their home to watch DVDs and have breakfast.”
“It was choka block up the road and there must have been around 20 vehicles in Mariia’s yard.”
Iriti says that when the all clear was given, William called a prayer service for everyone on the hill and Mariia reiterated that her home is always open to anyone seeking shelter in times of an emergency.
Director of hospital health services Heather Webber-Aitu has also been praised by emergency officials for her organisation of people who evacuated to the hospital.
Police commissioner Maara Tetava commended Webber-Aitu for maintaining order at the hospital and for her diligence in disseminating updates on the tsunami to 1500 or so people gathered at the hospital and along the road to the hospital.
Emergency Management Cook Islands would like families to set better plans for future tsunami evacuations and say that the back road is far enough inland for people to go.
Ivaiti ends with a line by Einstein
Tue
2 Mar
Former financial secretary Sholan Ivaiti ended his three-year term in the country’s top job with words from the late scientist Albert Einstein.
In an email to a group of government officials, Ivaiti wrote, “I wish to leave with the following two quotes from Einstein: ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow’ and ‘The only source of knowledge is experience’.”
Despite ongoing public criticism of his performance as financial secretary and his role in the $2 million Toagate scandal, Ivaiti seems to be moving on without ‘regrets’.
“I have had no regrets and leave today a much more experienced and knowledgeable Cook Islander,” he wrote in his parting memo.
Ivaiti thanked those he sent the email to for the interaction they had over the past three years ‘be it positive or negative.’
“It has been a great journey coupled with challenges, excitement, laughter, and for me some late nights glaring into my computer pixels,” wrote Ivaiti.
Government has appointed former financial secretary Kevin Carr as acting Finsec as it goes about advertising and filling the position.
It is not yet known what Ivaiti will pursue next but former colleagues believe he is ‘taking a breather’ for now.
Meanwhile, CI News understands Ivaiti has yet to be interviewed by the audit probe into government’s fuel farm scheme and the resulting Toagate scandal.
Minister due back on diverted flight
Tue
2 Mar
Finance minister Wilkie Rasmussen is due back in Rarotonga tomorrow after government paid to divert an Air Rarotonga flight yesterday to go to Penrhyn with the intention of bringing back patients for medical care.
The plane will overnight on the island so that about nine people can undergo medical assessments.
Health minister Apii Piho says Rarotonga hospital’s director of clinical services Dr Zaw Aung will be sent on the flight to assess about nine people including one child in Penrhyn to see whether they need to be brought back to Rarotonga.
Government decided to divert yesterday’s Air Rarotonga flight to Manihiki to carry out the medical mission. Piho says the cost to divert the flight is a few thousand dollars.
Rasmussen will use the flight to return to Rarotonga – government’s Civil List fund will pay for his airfare.
The minister and MP for the island has been in Penrhyn since Friday when he went there with the RNZAF Hercules relief flight.
He had planned to return to Rarotonga on the return leg of a second relief flight to the northern group atoll but those plans were cancelled on Saturday when New Zealand decided against another flight.
Piho insists the flight diversion today is necessary and that government had been planning to use the second Hercules flight to bring back a small group of people from Penrhyn who need medical attention.
The minister says two of the people awaiting medical assessments are referrals and one of them is a person with a heart condition.
As for the others, Piho says he’s not sure what their medical conditions are but believes among them are pregnant women and people who are possibly suffering ‘trauma’ from the cyclones and tropical depression that have caused damaged homes and infrastructure there over the past month.
Piho says the flight back from Penrhyn will include one passenger from Manihiki, Dr Aung, Rasmussen and up to five more people as passengers.
Patients airlifted
Wed
3 Mar
Health minister Apii Piho confirmed five Penrhyn people needing medical attention were on their way to Rarotonga last night.
After diverting the Manihiki Air Rarotonga flight yesterday to continue on to Penrhyn, the decision was made to make the return flight the same day instead of staying overnight there as planned.
The flight was also due to return finance minister and Penrhyn MP Wilkie Rasmussen to Rarotonga after he stayed behind on Friday after the Hercules relief flight to the island.
Piho said Dr Zaw Aung, who government sent on the flight, managed to quickly complete his assessment of people hoping to get to Rarotonga for medical treatment, and so the flight returned last night, bringing five patients with it.
The minister said two of the people have heart conditions, one is a pregnant woman, one had experienced chest pain and the other was a ‘general’ referral.
A break in warnings
Wed
3 Mar
Last weekend was full of weather warnings, but for now the Cook Islands can enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.
Cyclone Sarah fizzled out by Monday and caused no real damage, but did rile up the seas and send heavy showers to the Cook Islands.
Met services cancelled a strong wind warning for the Southern Cooks yesterday afternoon, but said that a ‘trough of low pressure’ remained, moving slowly over the Northern Cooks.
Met services anticipates some rain and cloudy periods for the Southern Cooks and heavier rain and squally thunderstorms for the northern group in the coming week. The weekend is expected to bring sunny skies to Rarotonga.
Baby’s drowning draws warning
Wed
3 Mar
In a tragic accident on Sunday night, 33-month-old Ezra Jim drowned in the swimming pool at his home in Matavera.
He was transported to hospital by ambulance at 7.35 pm and doctors pronounced him dead two hours later.
Senior sergeant Nga Pouao offers condolences to Jim’s family on behalf of police and encourages parents with private swimming pools to please fence them off in order to prevent an accident like this one from recurring.
MOIP senior building inspector Louie Teiti said that though parents are not legally obligated to install a fence around a swimming pool, they are strongly advised to do so when they request a building permit.
He said that MOIP issues a verbal warning but hopes to re-work the building codes so as to legally ensure that families with children fence off their swimming pools.
“The [swimming pool building] code was designed 30 years ago and it was designed for Cook Islanders who didn’t put pools in because they couldn’t afford it. Thirty years later, some can afford it so we are looking at reviewing and rebuilding the code,” Teiti said.
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