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General News

Week ending Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Current events and entertainment in Rarotonga and the Cook Islands.

MP ‘begs’ for Pukapuka assistance
Record enrolments at USP campus
Teacup puppies a scam
Mervin Communications says ‘survival’ comment misleading
Books gifted
Information ‘void’ left
Officials trained in identity crime
Riding the storms
$400,000 worth of medical gear donated
Telecom says price changes are resulting in real savings
Regional reading development committee meets at USP
Water works go to town
Red Cross supplies bound for Penrhyn
Relief flight goes to Penrhyn
Tereora prefects, student council members and peace ambassadors inducted
Framhein: ‘I’m disgusted with Telecom’
WMO experts issue update on the impacts of climate change on tropical cyclones
Penrhyn relief flight a success
Experts don’t regret tsunami warning
‘Overnight scientists’ emerge from tsunami
Family praise local officials
Police patrol boat evacuates pregnant Pukapuka woman
Quake shakes Carlos
Mass messages sent
New home for National Council of Women
Peka wrestles in Hawaii
Fairly ‘quiet’ weekend for crime and crashes
Life insurance rates to rise
PM denies ‘fence sitting’
Raro comes out top in Google travel searches
Photo comp
UN summit told of Cooks’ gender stocktake
Tonga advocate steps up for Pacific on key issues
CI News accredited
CITC explains tsunami day problem

MP ‘begs’ for Pukapuka assistance. 09070957

Vai Peua worried about

govt assistance to north

Pukapuka MP Vai Peua is concerned the need of his people is being overlooked by government.

“Are my people not people – are they animals?” the opposition MP asks bluntly.

Peua is worried that Pukapuka will have to wait even longer than the five months they have already been without a shipment of food and fuel after hearing that the next ship to the north could divert to go to Penrhyn’s aid first following cyclone and wind damage to homes and infrastructure there.

Earlier this week Penrhyn MP Wilkie Rasmussen suggested that the ship could go to Penrhyn first – but so far the scheduled March 10 voyage has not been changed.

“I was very concerned when I heard that the boat (schedule) was changing. Cabinet already approved to help the ship go back to take cargo to Pukapuka.”

Cabinet decided to provide $20,000 towards the Taio Shipping voyage back north after the first attempt to deliver cargo failed because of dangerous swell conditions and strong winds making the approach to Pukapuka too risky.

Peua says government’s request on Tuesday for a NZ for a Hercules flight to assist Penrhyn is a better option than redirecting the ship.

“This would be the best way to help Penrhyn with what they need urgently. Government has one other option – Tapi (Taio) will allow a ship to go to Penrhyn. But I’m saying don’t interfere with the ship going to Pukapuka.”

Peua remains very concerned for the well-being of the people in Pukapuka.

“There has been no ship to the island since last September. If they (government) are saying ‘we want to help the people’ then they should assist Pukapuka/Nassau urgently as cabinet agreed to do,” says Peua.

“I’m here to ask or beg for assistance. Pukapuka has more people than any other island in the north.

There are more than 400 people in Pukapuka/Nassau. My island is in the middle of every cyclone warning. There are two patients there needing urgent referrals to Rarotonga. I’m concerned about diesel for power and transport. If there is an emergency, there is no fuel on Pukapuka for a plane to go there,” says Peua.

The MP says while his people are resilient and can survive on local crops and fishing, they now rely on staples such as sugar, rice and flour which are currently in short supply.

Peua is also worried that the fact it is election year may be influencing the way government provides extra assistance to the outer islands.

“I don’t give a damn about election year tactics. We (MPs) need to help the people. If we can’t do the job we were elected to do, then we need to resign. I’m not just here for my people, I’m here for the country as a whole. As MPs we all swear to help the people and this is what government needs to do.”

Despite his frustrations, Peua has received one piece of good news this week.

On Tuesday he met with Telecom officials to urge them to fix the telecommunications to Nassau (which he says has had no working phone lines) and is now pleased that Telecom has committed to sending a technician on the next ship north to work on fixing the problem.

- Helen Greig

Summer schools have been winding up and classes get underway this week at USP Cook Islands campus with over 440 enrolments for the semester.

This record high enrolment is in addition to the 135 students who have just completed summer schools in Accounting, Economics, Management, Education, Early Childhood Education and the well-attended first course in the Post Graduate Diploma in International Affairs.

A particular focus for 2010 is the in-country delivery of the new Bachelor of Commerce (Hotel Management) degree which will develop middle and senior level managers for the Cook Islands hotel industry.

Over 64 students from 13 hotel properties have enrolled in the degree including 20 on the island of Aitutaki. The degree will be offered at the rate of five courses a year over five years, with all students working full time in the hotel industry and studying at nights or in summer schools.

The introductory course Dimensions of Hospitality will be tutored by Engara Gosselin and Siva Gounder and the July 2010 summer school will be taught on Aitutaki and Rarotonga by Dr Stephen Pratt.

In April around 24 teacher graduates including 12 from the outer islands will start the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (Leadership and Change) as the first step towards their Masters in Education. This initiative of MNOE, DNHRD and USP is designed to develop the next generation of education leaders for the Cook Islands.

Fifty per cent of the Masters students are graduate teachers from the outer islands, notably Atiu (5) and Mangaia (5).

Meanwhile the second group of 35 MBA students is completing the 7th of the 12 papers required for their Masters degree.

Plans are also in process for a second semester offer of a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management, in association with the Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Health.

A large group of students is also completing studies towards diplomas and degrees in Early Childhood and Primary Education, Accounting, Economics and Management to fill urgent human resource needs in the Cook Islands public and private sectors.

In response to climate change, the campus is offering the new Post Graduate Diploma in Climate Change starting with an online course on Impact, Vulnerability & Adaptation. This Post Graduate Diploma is targeted at people involved with national, community or business sector planning who are not yet familiar with climate-related issues but need to be so.

In May 2010, the campus will host a Public Dialogue on the Cook Islands Economy, examining the recent Economic Task Force Report, the model used by MFEM for outer islands funding, the state of the tourism industry and the small business sector and a number of related issues.

USP Cook Islands Campus congratulates the five students who have recently successfully completed their Masters in Art and Design through AUT University and looks forward to the presentation of their academic work at the international symposium of the Pacific Arts Association conference which Cook Islands campus will host on August 9-11, back to back with the International Conference for Festschrift for Ron Crocombe on August 12-13.

- Rod Dixon

Cook Islands News recently ran an advertisement for two free ‘teacup puppies’ that has been judged to be part of a scam.

The ad offered two Yorkshire terrier puppies for free, and listed the contact as robinpeter04@googlemail.com

The party that posted the advertisement, and paid with a credit card which was approved, refused to give the CI News advertising department a phone number.

Three people who responded to the advertisement received an identical email, explaining that the supplier and his family were going on a missionary trip to Nigeria which is not a ‘suitable’ environment for two small puppies.

The email then requests personal details like mailing address and telephone number and asks for a payment for shipping costs.

“I want you to know that you and I are paying for the shipping cost,” the email reminds the reader.

Walter Henry of Financial Intelligence Unit called the canine classified a ‘definite scam’.

Henry said that FIU has seen scammers work under the guise of a mating agency or an employment bureau or a lottery, but never has a scam involving puppies hit the Cook Islands.

“They hook you in with the story about the two puppies and then ask you to share the cost,” he said.

“This is a first for us in terms of the scammer using animals to try and get money out of people.”

He said that advertising in the newspaper was also a new twist.

“The whole idea is to give it a genuine appearance and to make it look authentic,” he said. “The public will pick up a newspaper and think that because the paper is a reputable source, the ad is real.”

Henry said that it’s important to be wary of scammers like this one, who are often very creative.

“They just send off millions of these emails and if even a small percentage of people reply, they make their money,” he said.

• Rachel Reeves

Mervin Communications director William Framhein says prime minister Jim Marurai has been misleading in his claim that he thinks the company won’t survive if it goes into competition with Telecom.

Framhein says he is ‘somewhat puzzled’ at the PM and telecommunications minister’s comment that he (Marurai) doesn’t think companies such as Mervin Communications will survive if they got into competition with Telecom because they have no infrastructure set up and the market size would also be a limiting factor.

“The simple fact is the prime minister has only seen what the Telecom Cook Islands’ pricing structure might be and furthermore the prime minister did not qualify why Mervin Communications does not have infrastructure set up,” says Framhein.

Framhein says Marurai knows very well that Mervin Communications cannot establish its network infrastructure without a licence to do so or an agreement with Telecom Cook Islands – the current monopoly.

He says it would be ludicrous to invest in infrastructure without the appropriate consents in place anyway.

“The prime minister is correct that the current local market is small. However, there is a bigger market outside of the Cook Islands that attracts termination revenue which represents a generous percentage of the Telecom revenue. There are many applications now available which have overtaken telecommunications as such and can provide growth,” says Framhein.

Competitive pricing is still to be seen from Telecom, says Framhein.

In June last year Mervin Communications announced at its mobile phone demonstration that it would be able to slash the Telecom mobile prices of that time by 50 percent on its own network.

“Whilst Telecom made certain pricing reduction announcements in November last, my latest Telecom account does not reflect that,” adds Framhein.

- HG

Senior sergeant Nga Pouao, Annie Fisher and constable Alan Rua with the donated books. 10022305

Annie and Brent Fisher have donated 27 books to police, to be distributed among schools on Rarotonga and the outer islands.

The books are part of a drug and alcohol campaign that police are trying to promote.

Titled ‘The Great Brain Robbery’, the book, co-authored by Tom Scott and Trevor Grice, explores drugs and the damage they can cause.

It lists common drugs and explains their effects from a personal and a scientific point of view.

The book emphasises that “every human brain is a miraculous tapestry, utterly unique to the weaver. When we tear this fragile tapestry we are damaging a one-off that can’t be easily repaired”.

“It’s just something that parents can read so that they can recognise the signs in their kids,” Annie Fisher said. “It’s so important for parents to know what their kids are up to.”

Constable Alan Rua said that police really appreciate community support like this and that the books will likely be distributed to schools some time next week.

• RR

Recalling the value of

The Economic Gazette

More than a year has lapsed since the demise of The Economic Gazette, a monthly magazine detailing such information as recent loans and debts, lease applications and building permits, civil court proceedings and newly-established companies.

The Gazette, which cost $10-15 per issue, was a particularly valuable resource for creditors and lenders, as it represented another step toward financial transparency.

It’s the closest the Cook Islands has come to a credit information database, and its absence begs the question of whether launching a credit-checking service could benefit local borrowers, businesses and banks.

Originally the brainchild of the Chamber of Commerce, the Gazette in its final years was the work of Melynnda Morrisette. She was an American expatriate who assumed control over the journal in the 1990s and spent over a decade compiling and editing it.

Morrissette passed away in December 2008. Her death marked the end of The Economic Gazette, as no one else had been trained to collect and cross-check the piles of data.

In partnership with local lawyer Charles Little, Morrisette had plans to make the Gazette available electronically. The online venture was not only costly but also time-consuming, as it required the pair to cross-reference 12 years of data.

Morrisette’s death put a halt to the entire operation, as Little was busy running a law firm and simply didn’t have time to follow it through to completion.

Some Gazette subscribers feel that the magazine’s collapse left a void in the world of financial information.

Little believes that the absence of the Gazette has created an “obvious” need for some form of credit-checking system here in the Cook Islands.

Though some background data on borrowers is public information, it is not readily available to creditors who have no time to pore over public records at the courthouse.

Little suggested that making public records available and easily accessible might go a long way in correcting endemic borrowing problems that plague more than a few local financial transactions.

“What happens all too often is someone will borrow, default, go into debt and then go and borrow from someone else,” Little said. “Some people here tend to borrow from multiple sources, often too many sources. Then all of a sudden they’re spread too thin and in all sorts of financial trouble.

“You often see the same names coming up again and again, and it would be useful to check whether someone is a bad risk or not. Generally, however, the majority of borrowers in the Cook Islands meet their financial obligations.”

Still, Little said, a credit-checking service would be useful for lenders, hire-purchase providers and borrowers, both individual and commercial. It would allow creditors to assess the risks associated with a given loan-seeker and would deter borrowers from taking out too many loans and sinking too far into debt.

Whereas the New Zealand financial sector relies on Veda Advantage for credit reporting, the Cook Islands has no credit-rating bureau.

Local banks and businesses are responsible for conducting their own checks into a borrower’s credit history.

The Bankers Association of the Cook Islands, which is founded on the collaboration of ANZ, BCI and Westpac, says that its current credit-checking arrangement works, but that implementing a broader credit rating service could be useful.

Vaine Nooana-Arioka, managing director for BCI, said that all three banks exchange credit information but only with the consent of the customer.

Rob Buick, general manager of Westpac, said that the banks are managing without a credit bureau given the size of their market here in the Cook Islands.

He added, though, that their arrangement does not include other potential creditors like Telecom and vehicle dealerships and that a more institutionalised credit-checking system would be able to get everyone on board.

“If a customer has defaulted anywhere else, it’s difficult to become aware of that,” he said. “There’s no formal reporting mechanism in place that tells us whether a client has declared a default. If there was, people could be aware that if they do default, they actually will be put on record and it might affect their ability to borrow anywhere.”

Chris Wicks, chief operating officer at ANZ, agreed that a credit reporting system would be useful. He said that one of its most valuable features would be that it would allow creditors to see a customer’s inquiry history. In other words, if a customer requested a loan from one credit provider, and was denied, other potential providers might know how and why.

Buick raised the issue that a credit bureau would be more effective if all credit providers used its services and if subscribing weren’t too costly. If all providers of credit used it, a bureau might be a practical institution, he said. But if only the banks used its services, it would simply be too expensive an undertaking to sustain.

Whether or not the island could benefit from a credit-checking system is a question up for debate. But until the question has been duly considered, a Gazette-like journal would be a welcome and perhaps sufficient alternative for keeping banks, businesses and borrowers in the know.

Director of audit Paul Allsworth called the Gazette “very informative” and said that the Audit Office found it “very useful”.

Managers of all three banks attested to the value of the Gazette as a “worthwhile” publication, on account of its advertisement of not only credit histories but also of new legislation and company registrations.

“It was great, and I would like to see it reinstated,” Nooana-Arioka said.

Asked whether they would subscribe to the Gazette if it were re-established, all three bank managers said they “certainly” would.

- Rachel Reeves

Canada Immigration counsellor Kate O’Brien with Bank of the Cook Islands customer service officer Tangi Teau examine a passport with an ultraviolet light to ascertain its authenticity during the workshop yesterday. / 10022401

Cook Islands officials are learning more about spotting fake passports, credit cards, currency and other documents that can be used in identity crimes such as fraud.

Identity and document examination training for local officials has been carried out this week under the Immigration New Zealand Pacific Region Immigration Identity Project.

Project manager Shaun Evans, Immigration NZ business advisor for border sector engagements Hannah Malloch and Canberra-based Canadian border services counsellor Kate O’Brien have spent this week taking customs, immigration, police, airport staff, the Financial Intelligence Unit, Business Trade and Investment Board and bio health officials through the training which focuses on document examination and security features that can help prevent identity crimes. Local officials have also been shown examples of equipment fraudsters often use to create fake documents.

Yesterday a session for private sector companies such as banks and travel agents was held.

Evans says these companies are also prone to identity crimes where people use fraudulent documents.

Since the PRIIP began in 2007, NZ immigration officials have been working with five pilot countries – the Cooks, Samoa, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Palau – to keep them up to date with the latest identity crime tactics and security measures for these crimes and to help build capacity and skills locally.

Evans says the PRIIP has helped create multi-agency training teams made up of police, customs and immigration officials. Under the project, these teams then help create new teams in other Pacific Islands to build awareness and training on identity crime and reading documents.

In April the Cook Islands training team will go to Tonga to train a team of officials.

Evans says methods of identity crimes as well as measures to counter them are changing constantly so cooperation in-country and between countries in the region is important.

“We are all fighting the same battle so we are trying to increase inter-agency cooperation,” says Evans.

He says some equipment for identifying fake documents such as ultra-violet lights and magnifying glasses are being given to officials following the training this week.

The training was funded through the NZ Pacific Security Fund administered by NZ Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

• Helen Greig

Two different directions,

two challenging pathways

By Vaine Wichman

It was a different kind of festive break for some of us. Some say the political sackings that occurred before the break highlighted the season’s mood. Others say the global recession still hovering continues to restructure businesses.

Asset sales are taking place in some sectors of the economy to service loans because cashflow and consumption in some industries is low, and cost of things still on the high side.

A family friend holidaying from Australia joined us for Christmas Day lunch and told the story of shopping at one of the small local shops. He wanted to buy two sliced brown bread loaves and had $5. When he was told the price, he quickly put one loaf back and curtly advised the shopkeeper that this was a crime to sell one loaf for $5 when in Australia you could buy two for $3. Of course the shopkeeper didn’t worry too much about his explanation, because he was only a worker.

But that was the theme coming through again and again from off-shore Cook Islanders, the cost of things in the homeland. No matter how much it’s explained to them that there is a boat that brings these things in and then a business has to be rewarded for its effort here. They just don’t want to understand.

My offshore family are guilty of bringing home cooler boxes of meat, and foodstuff from New Zealand, because it’s too expensive here.

Imagine, however, what this does for our private sector, if all Cook Islanders and all visitors brought their own food and drinks with them. You hear the government talking about the private sector being the engine of growth for our economy. What does this mean?

All motor vehicles have an engine. This is what starts and operates the vehicle so that you can get from your home to a place you want to go to. So for our economy to get somewhere, we need to make sure our private sector engine can work properly.

Let’s say our private sector engine has been working very well for a few years but in recent years its been a bit makimaki. Why? Maybe it hasn’t had an oil change for some time, or the fuel being poured in to operate the engine is not clean. Sometimes some of the parts on the engine need a replacement and/or the engine itself needs an overhaul. Good owners generally make sure their engines are serviced regularly and professionally.

So the private sector is important for our economy because they make investment decisions. Their decision to make investments is driven by the levels of interest rates and taxes, availability of capital (this is financial wealth that’s used to start or maintain a business), and the opportunities out there in the economy.

Lately, the opportunities out there have shrunk abit due to the global recession. This has made some of the operators in our frontline sector tourism readjust the way they sell their rooms and packages.

We hear about last year’s tourism numbers reaching the 100,000 visitor mark. This is good, and some of it may have been because of the focused marketing plan put in place, some of it too is from the wholesaling of our destination to be able to entice the visitors from around the world.

The availability of capital in the business sector has been eroded a bit as our businesses hold back on their capital spending from their coffers because of slow pickups and cashflows. Commercial capital from the banks may be available but the price of it hasn’t really been reduced enough to entice the current stock of businesses who are already flush with borrowings anyway.

So today there is a pause in investment spending because there are more unforeseens than foreseens.

In other words, the engine is idling, not sure whether to shift into gear. This is why we have slow growth in the economy today. Even if government hits in with a few good public works projects, this is only a stopgap arrangement, and doesn’t shift the engine’s gears to another level of growth, but rather sustains a bump for a short while.

Some of you may have heard about the idea to build a large government building to provide economic stimulus. This is not necessarily a good investment compared to supporting the cutting of interest rates at the banks by at least 2 percent.

It would be a situation like the Pacific Mini Games – there would be a lot of construction and then there would be a slump again once the construction is finished, and the rental government agencies use to pay for the building has really just come from the private sector tax revenue streams, if a bit recessed.

If we dropped interest rates, you will see the business sector pick themselves up, take some risks and expand or diversify, drop prices for goods and services because the cost of doing business has become a little cheaper, and generally rev the engine up, change gear and get on with it.

I wrote this before Cyclone Pat hit Aitutaki. So now everything above takes on a different light as we shift gears to look after our sister island and the recovery programme that’s needed there.

Riding the storms, whether they be economic or natural, requires some strong decisions to be made, buffering up and protecting, and opening up and investing. Two different directions, two challenging pathways.

Aitutaki has buffered up and unfortunately is devastated, but the spirit of the people continues to work towards opening up for business again and wise investing. Something we need to keep all our businesses doing if we want to be able to ride this economic storm.

Kia mau te selenga, kia mau!

Auckland biomedical engineer Ivan Batisich, director of hospital health services Heather Webber-Aitu, pharmacist Neville Puckey and his wife and pharmacy dispensary technician Jenni, and director of clinical services Dr Zaw Aung with two of the new anaesthesia machines donated to the ministry of health by NZ hospitals. 10022536

New Zealand hospitals have donated $400,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment to the ministry of health including lifesaving anaesthetic and ventilator machines.

Yesterday director of hospital health services Heather Webber-Aitu and the local team of health officials responsible for making the donation possible were unpacking the container load of much needed items which arrived by ship this week.

The large donation began with an empty shipping container at Waitakere Hospital and talks between hospital pharmacist Neville Puckey and Auckland-based specialist anaesthetist in pain management and Cook Islander Dr Ted Hughes and emergency specialist Dr Bernard Fouke.

Webber-Aitu says following the 2008 NZ defence force medical team’s visit and Hughes’ visit with a medical team, some hospital equipment was identified as being very old and in need of replacement.

Puckey says Hughes and Fouke helped set up a network in NZ that the ministry of health can now expand on to ask for equipment it needs.

Hughes rallied the support of the NZ society of anaesthetists, which collectively located seven anaesthesia machines that were decommissioned but still met NZ standards. Two of them were converted to double as ventilators. Fouke helped get more equipment and supplies – among the many items in the container are wheelchairs, walking frames, crutches, surgical and nurses uniforms, IV drips, and baby bassinets.

Biomedical engineer Ivan Batisich from Auckland has come to Rarotonga to ensure that all the new machines are set up.

Director of clinical services Dr Zaw Aung is very pleased that the hospital now has more than one ventilator machine.

“If we have more ventilators now, we can cater for more than one person who needs to be ventilated (helped to breathe). People with serious head injuries or severe respiratory problems have to be ventilated but our problem was what if we have more than one person who needs the machine?”

Aung says the machines can be used in cases of pandemics such as H1N1.

“Now that winter is coming we have to be even more prepared.”

Webber-Aitu says the donation means that spending on capital items for the year will be less than required, helping to save government funding in this area.

Much of the new supplies and equipment will go to the outer islands – one anaesthetic machine will go to Aitutaki’s operating theatre.

Puckey and his wife and pharmacy dispensary technician Jenni created an asset register for the outer island’s health centres and hospitals last year when they joined a government delegation that voyaged by ship to the north.

Jenni says after being in the outer islands and working with the people there, it’s rewarding to be able to send them things that will make a real difference.

Webber-Aitu says with the new NZ network the ministry is able to service the whole of the Cook Islands with proper medical equipment.

“People might say we are getting old, second hand machines. They are not that old, but what we are getting are the older mechanical machines that are far better suited to our conditions here than the electronic machines,” she says.

The health officials are wrapt with how well they are working with the network of medical professionals in NZ and already have more donations being made. Next to arrive is a donation of a baby warmer which is a version of the incubator.

• Helen Greig

Telecom Cook Islands is hitting back at criticism of its price changes by would-be competitor Mervin Communications.

Yesterday CI News reported Mervin Communication director William Framhein’s comment that his Telecom account was not reflecting Telecom’s price reductions announced late last year.

Telecom CEO Jules Maher says he was concerned that somehow Framhein may have missed out on the savings and so checked his bills since October to compare prices.

“Despite all the criticism he levels at Telecom, we don’t treat him differently to our other customers,” says Maher.

“What I found was that William has made savings of $153.84 since November through till today.”

Maher says this saving was made up of internet savings of $55 in November, $48.40 in January and $19.69 in February so far – plus savings of mobile charges (free calls) of  $8.55 in December when mobile price changes were introduced, $14.87 in January, and $7.33 so far this month.

“William could have saved even more if he had used the internet right up to the new increased cap, and by using more free minutes on his post-paid mobile.”

“Even if he continues on his current average level of internet and mobile use, his savings for a full year could be around $700! And if he takes full advantage of our new charges, his savings could be even higher,” exclaims Maher.

From November 1 last year all Oyster broadband plans have had a 50 percent increase in volume limits. Customers on the monthly residential plan of $59.00/1000MB are now allowed 1500MB – an additional 500MB per month. The Business Standard plan of $119.00/2000MB increased to 3000MB per month.

Mobile pricing was also slashed in December when Telecom introduced free minutes on two of its post-paid plans for mobile to mobile or mobile to local calls.

Calling rates were also cut for prepaid customers. Telecom lowered the peak rate from $1.19 to 99 cents a minute and the off peak rate of 99 cents per minute was slashed by 50 percent to 49 cents per minute. Peak rates apply between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday and off-peak between 6pm and 7am weekdays, all day Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

No changes were made to text messaging which is pay for the first 50 texts and get the next 450 free.

• Helen Greig

Members of a regional committee under the International Reading Association are meeting in Rarotonga at the University of the South Pacific Centre this week.

The International Development in Oceania Committee (IDOC) has two local members – the chair Maureen Goodwin and Cook Islands member and ministry of education literacy advisor Kathy George who are hosing the other members from New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Today the committee will visit Apii Te Uki Ou to congratulate them on the set of books they have created on life in the Cook Islands.

A teacher’s workshop is also being held at the USP on Saturday called ‘enhancing classroom literacy’ hosted by Goodwin, Dr Beryl Exley from Australia and Janet Tasmania of Niue.

• Helen Greig

Traffic hold-ups and a muddy roadway are all part of the water mains replacement work taking place in Tupapa this week. The final stage of mains replacement is scheduled for central Avarua later this year, at an estimated cost of about $1 million. Work to date has cost $2.79 million. 10022311

The re-piping of water mains around Rarotonga arrived in Tupapa this week, causing road works and traffic delays.

Motorists are asked to show patience as the $2.79 million project is in its last stages and will be completed in about eight weeks.

Pipe laying is being done by S&T Contractors and restoration of the road by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning.

Otheniel Tangianau of the MOIP water department says the two-stage project is 90 percent complete. It includes replacing 40-year-old galvanised steel mains which have been leaking, and installing flushout valves, cross connections and water meters.

Major works were completed last year when 25km of mains were replaced in Arorangi all the way from Betela to the golf club, on both the front and back roads. A total of 27km of mains were laid in the Runway stage from the golf club through Tereora and Rangiura to Avatiu, Takuvaine and Takamoa.

The last stage affects the front and back roads of Tupapa, and this involves trenching for mains and laying cross connections to properties on the opposite sides of the roads from the mains. This is why the tar sealing has been carved up with numerous cross cuts.

Tangianau says the works were funded by government from appropriations that were first made three years ago. The total budget was $1.55 million for materials and $1.24 million for the civil works.

Part of the works programme includes creating maps of mains and connections, as there are no records of the original mains locations. This is being done by GPS plotting of the course followed.

Installing of meters will enable water works to measure volumes, and this will enable leaks to be pinpointed.

To complete the overall mains replacement scheme, water works is now planning the town stage, which is expected to be the most difficult and disruptive. This will run from Taputapuatea through central Avarua to Panama (ending near CI Steel).

Tangianau says the estimated total cost is about $1 million, and this is due for inclusion and approval in MOIP’s budget bid for appropriation in the 2010-11 financial year.

• John Woods

Cook Islands Red Cross is hoping to get another half a tonne of food to Penrhyn on a second Hercules relief flight planned for today.

Yesterday a Hercules relief flight with emergency supplies and food went to the island which has suffered from recent bad weather and damage to homes and buildings on Sunday night from tropical depression 11F.

Red Cross in New Zealand sent a large pallet of supplies on the flight from Auckland to Rarotonga and then on to Penrhyn.

CI Red Cross finance officer Rai Tupa says these supplies were made up of 100 large tarpaulins, 50 small tarpaulins, 200 20-litre collapsible water containers, 50 kitchen kits, and 100 boxes of candles.

CI Red Cross managed to get four big boxes of bread, donated by Turoa Bakery, on the flight, along with 12 cartons of instant noodles.

Tupa says they had an extra 500 kilogrammes of food ready to go on the relief flight yesterday, but due to space and weight factors it did not make it on.

Also due to go on the possible second relief flight is roofing iron and timber purchased by government for Penrhyn to enable some repairs to be made to homes there.

This week it was reported that 31 homes in Penrhyn had sustained roof damage last weekend – most of them in the village of Omoka.

When the Hercules arrived from Auckland on Thursday night, CI Red Cross emergency supplies in Rarotonga were also restocked.

Tupa says they now have on hand 100 large and 100 small tarpaulins, 140 kitchen kits, and 13 boxes of collapsible water containers to help in the case of future emergencies.

- Helen Greig

A roof torn from a home in Penryhn P1121075 P1121075

Second flight likely today

with emergency supplies

Finance minister and Penrhyn MP Wilkie Rasmussen said his people in Penrhyn were looking forward to the arrival of the RNZAF Hercules relief flight yesterday.

“It will provide moral support to the people there as they are looking forward to the arrival of the plane. The food on board should see them through until the next ship arrives,” said the minister.

Rasmussen was aboard the flight that left Rarotonga at midday and was due to take three hours to get to the island where it would take an hour to offload and then begin its return trip.

The relief supplies included fuel, diesel generators, chainsaws, and foodstuffs. Red Cross contributed standard relief supplies including tarpaulins and food.

The minister said he had spent $5000 out of his own pocket to buy additional foodstuffs for Penrhyn and it went on the flight.

NZ airforce media advisor Kaveriri Tamariki said a second relief flight was scheduled to depart Rarotonga today but would be dependent on the weather situation.

“Our goal is to try and get a second flight up,” he said yesterday.

Tamariki said altogether about 17 tonnes of relief supplies would be taken to Penrhyn on the two relief flights.

There are government-purchased building supplies such as roofing iron and timber as well as about half a tonne of food from CI Red Cross waiting to get on the second flight.

Also on the relief flight yesterday was police commissioner and national disaster controller Maara Tetava, New Zealand High Commission first secretary Julie Affleck, Emergency Management Cook Islands/Red Cross officer Reboama Samuel, infrastructure and planning engineer Chris Manu, CIIC officer Eusenio Fatialofa, two Telecom technicians, the two school principals from the island (returning to Penrhyn), a CITV cameraman, a Fairfax reporter and photographer, and Radio New Zealand’s Richard Tanatatau.

The Hercules had nine crew members – four personnel stayed in Rarotonga to prepare for the second relief flight.

Rasmussen said if NZ could confirm a second relief flight yesterday, then he would likely stay with his people on the island until it arrived.

• Helen Greig

Tereora College’s 2010 prefects, student council members and peace ambassadors were inducted and ei’d in a ceremony at Princess Anne Hall.

The head boy this year is Jone Ave and the head girl is Teamita Akama. Deputy head boy is Bradley Heather and deputy head girl is Tu-maiata Numanga.

Art prefects: Raukura Ellison and Mata Ezekiela.

Culture prefects: Xenia Kae and Terrence Maruariki.

Sport prefects: Helen Patia and Pearse Numanga.

Outer islands prefects: Rikana Toroma and Jordan Robati.

Service prefects: Ravea Samuel, Tereau Terai Boaza, Natanaela Mouauri and Tamatoa Emile.

Student council chairperson is Tutavake Thompson, treasurer is Vaine Napa and secretary is Norman Tangi. Joanne Rani is also a year 13 student council member.

Year 12 student council members: Daniel Tererui, Nicholle Ama, Tuai Rangi, Angarei Kavana, John Ngaeruaiti and Kevin Mataio.

Year 11 student council members: Iaveta Karika, Tearoa Kairua, Maruia Willie, Junior Tipoki, Iva Vakalalabure and Pare Wichman.

Year 10 student council members: Nooroa Heather, Richard Ben, Ambrose Mana,Enua Vakapora.

Year 9 student council members: Ella Hoff, Aaron Ivaiti, Lloyd Murare and Niroa Kamana.

Peace ambassadors for 2010: Clifton Tokoara, Maxine Nubono, Rangimarie William, Tuaine Unuia, Lindsay Graham and Liana Ezekiela. Johanna Gifford is the teacher peace ambassador.

• RR

Mervin Communications director William Framhein remains adamant that his January Telecom account does not reflect certain price reductions announced by the company last November.

Framhein says he’s absolutely disgusted that Telecom has decided to publicly comment on his account and also suggest publicly how he should use his internet and mobile phones.

“These are private matters and should remain confidential,” said Framhein.

On Thursday Telecom Cook Islands hit back at the criticism of its price changes by the would-be competitor.

“Despite all the criticism he levels at Telecom, we don’t treat him differently to our other customers,” said Telecom CEO Jules Maher.

Maher then revealed what Telecom believes is $153.84 in savings on Framhein’s account since November.

“In my view Telecom has invaded my privacy and breached the confidentiality it is entrusted with and furthermore, if I wanted to illustrate my Telecom account I would have done so – but for Telecom to do this, they did not seek my permission,” says Framhein.

He says this is the second time Telecom has divulged information on his private affairs.

“This certainly would not have happened in New Zealand – this would’ve led to litigation.”

Telecom said because of their new pricing changes, Framhein could save around $700 a year if he continues on his current level of internet and mobile use.

Framhein says he stands by his statement earlier last week that Telecom’s price reductions are not reflected in his account.

• Helen Greig

GENEVA, February 23 – The World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) Expert Team on Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Cyclones (i.e. hurricanes, typhoons) concluded that, if 21st century warming occurs as projected, there will likely be an increase, on average worldwide, in the maximum wind speed of tropical cyclones of +2 to +11 % and in rainfall rates of approximately 20% within 100km of the storm centre.

The experts concluded that the total number of tropical cyclones worldwide will likely either decrease or remain unchanged.

However, a likely increase in tropical cyclone intensity means that the frequency of the strongest tropical cyclones will more likely than not increase under the projected warming scenarios.

Substantial scientific progress has led the expert team to raise their confidence levels on several aspects of how tropical cyclone activity may change under projected climate scenarios.

An update of possible consequences of climate change on tropical cyclones has been completed and published in the March 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience by the WMO Expert Team on Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Cyclones.

The expert team is composed of leading international researchers, from five WMO member countries, in the field of tropical cyclones.

Significant uncertainty still exists in the projected changes in tropical cyclone characteristics for any single ocean basin.

Therefore, given the societal and economic impacts of tropical cyclones, additional research and observations is strongly recommended to further reduce the uncertainties in detection of changes and projections of tropical cyclone characteristics in relation to climate change.

The team concluded that it remains uncertain whether any past changes in tropical cyclone characteristics exceed the natural variability.

• WMO

An Air Force Hercules circles the island of Rarotonga during Saturday’s tsunami warning. In the cockpit is captain Gareth Russell (flight lieutenant). FAIRFAX PHOTO 10022817

MP Rasmussen stays behind

Finance minister and Penrhyn MP Wilkie Rasmussen remains in Penrhyn following Friday’s RNZAF Hercules relief flight to the island.

Plans for a second relief flight to take more food and building supplies to the island on Saturday were cancelled following the Pacific-wide tsunami warning.

New Zealand High Commission first secretary Julie Affleck says the Hercules spent two hours in the air (circling Rarotonga) on Saturday morning and then could not go to Penrhyn later in the day because of air-time procedures.

Affleck said the relief flight to Penrhyn on Friday went as planned, with two hours spent on the ground offloading food, some building materials and other relief supplies.

Homes and other buildings on the far north atoll had been damaged a week ago as a result of tropical depression 11F. Passing cyclones over the past month had doused Penrhyn with heavy rain, high seas and strong winds with last week’s bad weather reportedly causing roof damage to 31 homes.

“The people in Penrhyn had already done a fantastic job of clearing up roads and cleaning up debris. They were very grateful for the transportation of relief supplies.”

“For us it was a very successful mission – especially that we were able to get those supplies there and come back again in a day,” says Affleck.

The Hercules also dropped off Penrhyn’s two school principals and two Telecom technicians in Penrhyn before returning.

A government delegation had accompanied Rasmussen to the island. When CI News spoke to him last week he said prime minister Jim Marurai would hold his ministerial portfolios if he could not return from Penrhyn over the weekend.

On Saturday the minister spoke on Radio Cook Islands briefly from Penrhyn where he had gathered with his people in Omoka.

Rasmussen had planned to return to Rarotonga aboard the second Hercules relief flight to Penrhyn, but his only option now is to fly back through Air Rarotonga.

Yesterday the Hercules flew to Aitutaki to retrieve the 12-member defence force team that spent two weeks helping in the relief efforts following cyclone Pat. The aircraft was due to return to New Zealand by evening.

• Helen Greig

SYDNEY, March 2 – Officials in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands praised emergency authorities for their handling of the tsunami warning following the massive earthquake in Chile.

But they slammed the many “stupid” members of the public who ignored the warnings for putting themselves and others at risk.

Alerts about a potentially destructive tsunami were issued throughout the region after the 8.8-magnitude quake struck just of the coast of Chile and in many areas people were evacuated from low-lying coastal areas. Related article: Search for Chile quake survivors

The worst fears were not realised with the resulting tsunami causing surges less than half a metre high in most places on Sunday New Zealand time, although there were reports in French Polynesia of damage from a series of two-metre (more than six feet) waves and one localised four-metre surge.

The warning was the third region wide tsunami alert in five months and authorities said Monday lessons had been learned following criticism they had been slow to act in the past.

“It’s a huge step up from where we’ve been,” New Zealand’s civil defence minister John Carter said.

“Civil defence structures in the regions, along with the police, the fire service and the coastguard, and other authorities, all responded particularly well,” he said.

In September last year a tsunami triggered by an 8.0-magnitude quake smashed into Samoa, American Samoa and northern Tonga, killing 186 people and sparking a region wide tsunami alert.

Authorities in New Zealand and some Pacific islands were criticised for their slowness in getting warnings out to the public, and there were problems again in October when a series of three quakes with magnitudes of more than 7.0 centred near Vanuatu triggered another regional alert.

But although happy with the response of emergency services after the Chile quake, New Zealand’s Carter said some “stupid” people were lucky to been unhurt. “Amid reports of people going to the beach or spectating, we also had reports of people getting caught in the powerful water surges,” Carter said.

“There was definitely potential for loss of life in our waters and it is a credit to the team who managed this event that didn’t happen.”

In Australia, many surfers and swimmers ignored warnings of surges and dangerous currents, despite the early warning system working well, experts said.

“A tsunami warning is a very important public announcement -- it is not made without a lot of careful consideration. Sadly, the public did not seem to agree,” said James Goff, co-director of the Australian Tsunami Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.

Goff said more public education was needed to ensure people took tsunami warnings seriously.

In the Fijian capital Suva, many people gathered near the sea wall despite being warned away by emergency services.

But in Samoa and Tonga, with the memory of September’s disastrous tsunami still fresh, residents were quick to flee for higher ground before dawn as sirens sounded.

“The public did not respond well in regards to that September 29 warning.

“This time around it was the complete opposite,” Samoan Meteorological Office head Mulipola Ausetalia Titimaea told Radio New Zealand

• AFP

Installing nationwide tsunami sirens is one of the recommendations that will be reiterated in the Emergency Management Cook Islands report following Saturday’s tsunami.

EMCI officer William Tuivaga says that the installation of tsunami sirens in all districts on Rarotonga and outer islands was one of the recommendations made by the department following the tsunami in August 2009.

Tuivaga says that while EMCI is yet to hold a debrief with police and the meteorological service, he believes that the weekend’s tsunami warnings were well delivered and the fact the people took note of the warnings and moved to higher ground made all the difference.

Tuivaga says that while the majority of people took the warnings seriously, there are still those who refused to listen to the warnings.

“There are still people who will go against the recommendations of the national controller and ignore the official bulletins,” says Tuivaga.

“We won’t let these overnight scientists hinder our process.

“We (disaster management) don’t play with people’s lives.”

Tuivaga congratulates local families for acting on the tsunami warnings and moving to higher ground.

“But this is the time for families to look back on what happened on Saturday morning and set out better plans for when the next tsunami happens.”

Tuivaga adds that the priority for officials when a tsunami warning is received is to clear the coastal areas. He also adds that the back roads of Rarotonga are far enough inland for people from the coast to move to.

“Saturday’s tsunami warnings worked really well because the community worked with us. It’s really important that everybody comes on board and works with us during times like this.”

Tuivaga also puts the success of Saturday’s tsunami warnings down to the efficient manner in which national controller and police commissioner Maara Tetava controlled the emergency.

“I take my hat off to Maara Tetava for seeking advice and making the right decisions and the disaster management team stand by his decision.”

Tuivaga would also like to acknowledge the assistance by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning for supplying vehicles to evacuate families along the coasts and the tourism industry for their quick response in evacuating tourist accommodation.

• Matariki Wilson

Kiwi visitors Bradley, Lorraine and Nic Brown at the Nikao beach property they were told to evacuate on Saturday morning. The family is grateful to police for bringing them the tsunami warning and for local families who made sure they had received the warnings. 10030104

A visiting Kiwi family felt safe and well informed during Saturday’s tsunami thanks to local police officers and neighbours.

Nic and Lorraine Brown and their 12-year-old son Bradley were sound asleep in their rental house on Nikao beach when they were woken up at around 3.30am by police officers.

“My initial thought was that maybe something had happened to my family back in Auckland,” says Lorraine.“But the police officer knocked on our door and told us of the tsunami warning and to move to higher ground.”

Lorraine says that their neighbour from across the road, Eddie Karika, had also come to their home to bring them the tsunami warning and to offer them a lift to higher ground. The family also received a number of calls from family friends on the island and from the owner of the house they were renting.

“We really felt like we were part of the community because the police came to our door and people called to make sure we had received the warning and to make sure we had a place to go,” says Lorraine.

The family ended up going to their family friends’ home in the hills in Nikao where they patiently waited for updates on the tsunami.

Lorraine says that they didn’t care that they were told to move to higher ground at 3.30am when the predicted time of arrival for the first tsunami wave was for 8.14am.

“I’ve seen footage of the devastation in Samoa from last year’s tsunami and I think that the earlier the warming, the more time people will have to prepare their home as best they can.”

Lorraine and her family would like to thank the local police for their efficiency in delivering them the tsunami warning and for the local families that thought of them.

• Matariki Wilson

The ministry of health is trying to save the life of a pregnant woman from Nassau due to give birth to her ninth child after sending a medical team on police patrol boat Te Kukupa to Pukapuka.

Health minister Apii Piho says the woman is one of two patients on Nassau who needed urgent medical attention. He says government will spend about $36,000 on the patrol boat trip and could not take the cheaper, faster option of chartering an Air Rarotonga plane because of possible problems transporting the patients to Pukapuka by boat from Nassau.

“Because of isolation of Nassau – 60 miles south of Pukapuka – it was just too risky to get the patients across for a flight. We decided the best option would be to send Te Kukupa. It still took longer than the usual two days to get there because it had to avoid rough weather between here and Pukapuka over the weekend,” said Piho.

Piho says Dr Henry Tikaka and a nurse were sent on the boat which departed Rarotonga at around 2pm last Friday and arrived in Pukapuka early yesterday morning.

The minister said at 9am yesterday he had received a report from Tikaka that the patients were both in a stable condition.

Piho says because Pukapuka did not get supplies on the cargo ship that attempted to go there last month, medical supplies that were destined for Nassau did not get there.

It is understood the woman had been having complications with her pregnancy, including diabetes related problems.

Te Kukupa was to be heading back to Rarotonga with the patients and medical team yesterday.

• Helen Greig

Carlos Morales spent hours on the internet trying to get news about the quake that rocked Chile on Saturday night. 10030106

In the early hours of Saturday morning, as Carlos Morales brewed coffee for anxious tourists, his thoughts were of his family back in Chile.

Morales, who works at Pacific Resort, said he spent the morning pacifying hysterical guests as they waited in the hills for the tsunami to strike.

“It was pretty hard to be nice and polite to the guests knowing my country was destroyed,” he admitted.

Morales said that after work on Saturday night, he came home to find that Chilean websites were down.

When he finally accessed an online newspaper, he discovered that his country had been hit by an earthquake measuring 8.8 and he started ringing family and friends straight away.

But his efforts were to no avail. The phone lines in Chile were down and Morales couldn’t get through. He rang an uncle in Australia and an aunt in Argentina, but neither had heard from his family in Chile.

“I was desperate. I thought, ‘I’m here [in Rarotonga] and I can’t do anything.’ I felt incompetent. I couldn’t even get a plane ticket because it takes hours to get to Chile and by then it would’ve been too late,” he said.

When a friend rang him at 4 am to warn him about the tsunami, Morales jumped on his bike and drove to Pacific Resort to check whether the staff needed help with evacuations.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I didn’t want to go and sit on the hill alone because I knew I’d go crazy thinking [about my country].”

Morales worked right through Saturday and, after more than 12 hours of worrying, was finally able to make contact with his family at 7 pm.

He said his family, who lives in Santiago, was safe. His house was not seriously damaged, but everything that wasn’t bolted down was shaken right off the shelves.

“We were pretty lucky nothing happened to our house,” he said. “It’s been there since 1939 and it’s been through three big earthquakes.”

Morales remembers the last major earthquake in 1985, an 8.0 on the Richter scale. He was celebrating a birthday at his home when “the adults started screaming and we could see everything shaking and cable lines swinging back and forth”, he said.

The aftershocks continued for hours, and the birthday cake ended up on the floor, but Morales remembers his 106-year-old grandma sitting on the veranda, unfazed, watching the show because she’d “never get to see the earth moving again”, he said.

After that earthquake, Morales said the Chilean government drafted a thorough evacuation plan. Three or four years ago, he remembers the “whole country walking up into the hills” when government initiated an earthquake drill, to prepare for the real thing.

People were familiar with the evacuation plan, Morales said, but there was no way to fully prepare for Saturday’s earthquake, which killed 708, damaged a number of historic buildings, destroyed 1500 homes and wiped out the coastal town of Constitucin.

He said he spoke with a friend on Saturday who was working at a hotel when the earthquake hit and blew out all the windows in the building. He also spoke to a cousin who lives in Concepcin and said that the only room in her house still standing was the kitchen.

Morales said that now the country has to contend with the effects of the earthquake – fires sparked by burst gas pipes, rubble and bodies laying in the streets and looters ransacking shops and markets for supplies.

“People don’t know when help is going to arrive so they get desperate. They go to the airport and realise they can’t leave so they go to the supermarket and steal things,” he said.

A plane flying to Concepcin crashed and a van drove off the end of a highway that had collapsed, after someone plucked the warning sign from the road.

Morales said that Chile is in desperate need of medicine and machinery to clear the roads and extract bodies from collapsed buildings.

He said that Chileans will go to the polls next week to elect a new president and people are nervous about whether the president-elect will continue to support the social work that Michele Bachelet has been advocating while in office.

Morales is grateful that his family and friends are safe, but said that Chile will suffer the effects of this earthquake for many months to come.

His contract at Pacific Resort expires in October and his original plan was to return to Chile to work in the hospitality industry.

“It’s going to be hard to get a job,” he said. “There will be a massive population movement – people will go to Santiago to find jobs, and it will be hard for me to find one.”

Morales said that he is considering looking for a job in New Zealand while his country recovers.

• RR

Police email and mobile phone alerts were the first form of tsunami warnings received by many local residents on Rarotonga and the outer islands.

Local police officer Allan Rua manages the police mobile and email alert database and says that on Saturday morning he sent the tsunami warnings to the 2000 mobile phone and email police alert subscribers.He says that he has received positive comments from subscribers who told him that if it wasn’t for their mobile phone going off, they would not have known about the warnings.

To receive police alerts, subscribe by emailing the emergency operations centre on eoc@police.gov.ck with your mobile number and if you wish you can also ask to be added on to the email alert database.

During an emergency you can contact the police on 22261, 22262 and 22263.

For more advice on the police alerts – contact Allan Rua at the police station on 22499.

• Matariki Wilson

The Cook Islands National Council of Women (CINCW) held a blessing ceremony for its new headquarters in Tauae recently. Its previous home was in O’oa, Tupapa.

Pictured here is the NCW string band of (from left) Vaine Wichman, Mama Beer, Mrs Pera and Francis Topa, setting a celebratory tone for the occasion.

The council continues its work in empowering women from the new headquarters which were blessed by Father Loni of the Catholic mission.

The blessing ceremony was also attended by acting New Zealand High Commissioner Nicola Ngawati.

CINCW acting president Francis Topa said they were thrilled to have a new base for the council and that people were more than welcome to visit the council at its new building next to the Takuvaine Seventh Day Adventist church.

The majority of women’s groups that meet to discuss issues that impact Cook Islands women and families are represented on the council.

At the local level, CINCW monitors local women’s community action and at the national level, the council works with the Internal Affairs women’s division and other government and non government agencies to implement the Cook Islands National Policy on Women.

One of the council’s aims is to promote women as equal partners in decision making processes at local, regional and international levels.

For more information on how you can contact a particular women’s group or to find out how the national council of women can help you and your family – contact the office on 29418.

• Matariki Wilson

Peka Fisher 10022814

Local secondary school student Peka Fisher (pictured) has fast-tracked her way into competitive wrestling.

Peka, 16, the daughter of Brent and Annie Fisher of Nikao, has been an exchange student at Kamehameha College in Hawaii for the past six months.

The bubbly and creative student is well known for her outgoing personality and her enthusiasm for new experiences.

Soon after taking up wrestling, she won her weight division at college and last week went on to finish fourth in the Hawaii state championships.

While the keen oe vaka paddler can now add wrestling to her list of credentials, she probably won’t get to fight competitively when she returns to Rarotonga unless she tries out a few moves on her brothers.

Peka is due to return home at the end of March and will no doubt be sharing some of her wrestling skills with her friends and who knows – wrestling could be the newest sport to hit the rock.

Congratulations to Peka on an awesome achievement.

• Matariki Wilson

Police reported three motor vehicle crashes at the weekend.

On Friday evening, police sent an ambulance to attend to a 25-year-old male who had fallen off his motorbike at Avatiu.

Later that night, a 47-year-old man crashed his motorbike into another motorbike. The driver and passenger, both female, were rushed to hospital but sustained just minor wounds. The man was charged with excess breath alcohol.

On Saturday afternoon, a 67-year-old man rammed into a power pole at Snowbird laundry, causing the business to lose electricity. The driver had not been drinking and told police that his brakes had malfunctioned.

Over the weekend, police were notified of three thefts. A Nikao woman reported a burglary on Friday afternoon but did not report any stolen items.

On Friday night, a mobile phone, DVD player and a motorbike were stolen from a Takuvaine residence, and a witness reported seeing the thief driving the motorbike during the tsunami warning. The vehicle was later returned but its side mirrors had been removed.

On Saturday morning, a motorbike was stolen from a residence on the back road at Ngatangiia.

On Saturday afternoon, a 13-year-old girl rang police to report that her father was assaulting her mother. Police did not discern any serious injuries and charges are yet to be laid.

Senior sergeant Nga Pouao said that the weekend was fairly “quiet” in terms of crime and crashes.

Police are still monitoring nightclubs on Fridays and Saturdays, on the lookout for minors or people on probation and working with bar managers to ensure that no one is out of control.

Police would appreciate your help in making sure the roads are safe. If you drink, find a sober driver or call a taxi.

• RR

Life insurance brokers Shaun Gallagher and Richard Fisher will be on the island until tomorrow, but will return in May to assist anyone who is interested in purchasing a policy. 10030210

The New Zealand government will be imposing a new tax on life insurance companies, effective July 1, and insurers intend to cushion the financial blow by increasing rates for policy holders.

“Insurance companies are going to be taxed like they’ve never been taxed before and individual companies have to decide how to deal with that,” life insurance broker Shaun Gallagher said. “The majority of that increase will be passed on to the client.”

Premiums are expected to rise by as much as 25% but Gallagher said that the chances of an across-the-board increase of 25% are slim.

Most insurers have yet to determine the extent to which their rates will increase and Gallagher said that it will vary between companies.

“Insurers may not be able to absorb some of the cost [of the tax] and will have to pass some of it on to the consumer,” he said.

“But there are three ways they can respond – absorb the whole cost, which will reduce profits by millions and which shareholders won’t like; pass the whole cost on to the consumer; or do a bit of both.”

Gallagher and fellow life insurance broker Richard Fisher represent Share NZ, a brokerage firm that works with Sovereign, a life insurance company owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, to insure a number of Cook Islanders.

Sovereign is the result of a couple of mergers and buy-outs that trace back to Cook Islands Insurance Company, which failed and asked Prudential NZ to take over a large number for its CIIC customers. Prudential was bought out by Colonial in 1997 and later merged with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which re-branded it as Sovereign.

Sovereign insures between 500 and 700 Cook Islanders. Gallagher and Fisher did not have an exact figure, but said that a ‘broad spectrum of people’ – policemen, pastors, government employees, private sector workers – have life insurance policies.

They said that those insured through Sovereign and other insurance companies will feel the effects of the new tax, but the degree of impact will depend on policy type and date of purchase.

Those with an ‘ordinary’ life insurance policy will be most immediately affected by the rate hike. Fisher referred to this basic policy as a ‘steps and stairs’ type, as it increases with each passing year. Most premiums rise with the policy holder’s age. In essence, the older you get, the higher the premium.

The increase for these basic policies will at least be ‘grandfathered’ in, Fisher said. Those who already have the ‘stepped’ policy will see their premiums rise gradually over a five-year period, starting July 1.

Sovereign, among other companies, does offer an alternative package, a level premium that allows the policy holder to pay a fixed rate until he or she reaches 80.

The policy requires a purchaser to pay a higher premium today but exempts him or her from tax changes or annual increases.

Fisher said that of the people in the Cook Islands who have life insurance, 95% already have fixed-level policies. These people will not suffer the consequences of the new government tax. When the tax changes are initiated, their premiums will not go up.

“Those that have stepped policies are vulnerable to the increase that may occur, but level premiums are safe from tax increase,” Gallagher said.

However, those who purchase either life insurance package – stepped or fixed – after July 1 will pay higher premiums no matter what.

“People who buy life insurance policies after July 1 will be subject to the new tax, but those who buy insurance now will reap the rewards of doing so,” Fisher said.

• Rachel Reeves

Prime minister Jim Marurai’s office has issued a statement insisting he is not ‘on the fence’ about government ending Telecom Cook Islands’ monopoly.

A statement from his office yesterday said, “The prime minister made it clear (to the media) that the government policy on telecom reforms has not changed. It remains that cabinet has approved the establishment of an open competitive market with independent oversight. The pathway there does not have a parliamentary date attached to it but the PM is overseeing a process to reach that stage whereby the key parties are engaged in dialogue and negotiations.”

And the statement says the PM is not ‘sitting on the fence or going back on any position, as has been suggested.’

Last month Marurai said government would continue working on opening the market up but did not believe would-be competitors such as Mervin Communications would survive.

“The PM is not considering retaining the monopoly. Again, observers are getting too far ahead of themselves. What has happened (in the recent discussions with TCNZ representatives) is that during a workshop exercise, his advisory team agreed to receive any alternative options that the NZ side may want to submit while the process is continuing.”

The statement says no final decisions have been made as cabinet is yet to receive the nuts and bolts of the implications for proposed changes. Advisors reportedly have to put together the paperwork for the PM and cabinet.

“Some critics are obviously getting too far ahead of themselves. The PM is very happy with the process being managed at present as TCI shareholder partners are talking openly and honestly through the issues. This process is necessary and has to be managed with sensitivity given the joint venture arrangement signed during the mid-1990s.”

• Helen Greig

Rarotonga came out on top in Google’s travel-related searches by New Zealand last year.

The NZ Herald reported this week that recent stats on google.co.nz and Statistics NZ reveal that Queensland’s Gold Coast may be slipping in its appeal as a Kiwi holiday destination.

When the world’s most-used search engine provided details of the 10 most popular travel-related searches in its New Zealand search engine during 2008, Australia was first, Gold Coast second and Brisbane fifth.

But the figures for 2009, just released, have Australia dropping to second, Gold Coast to ninth and Brisbane has fallen out of the top 10 altogether.

The Pacific islands are now becoming more popular travel destinations based on last year’s statistics – Fiji came third on the Google list and Vanuatu came in sixth place.

The NZ Herald reported that Statistics NZ figures showed the number of people travelling to the Cooks last year rose by nearly 3 percent, confirming that there is not only more people searching for it on the web, but that many are choosing it as a destination.

Australia still remains the most popular destination for New Zealanders, but the Pacific is fast becoming an alternative when it comes to white sandy beaches.

• Helen Greig

Your eye and talent is needed to create awareness and help ensure the Pacific can continue to benefit from the wealth of its fisheries.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community has launched a photo competition in which the winner receives US$1000 and gets their photos published in a book that compiles the work of 70 scientists over the past two years.

Photos must be sent by email by April 30 to photo_comp@webmail.spc.int.

• SPC

Samoa’s Minister for Women and head of delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (right) with Carole Shaw of Australia in New York this week. 10030212

The United Nations on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was told this week that the Cook Islands is one of the six regional countries that have undertaken a stock take of gender mainstreaming capacity.

Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned policy action, including legislations and programmes, in all areas and levels. The concept was first proposed at the 1985 Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi and was formally featured in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

The stock take by the Cook Islands was included in a report by the Pacific Islands Forum countries delivered at CSW in New York this week on behalf of the Pacific Islands by Samoa’s Minister for Women, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.

“Efforts towards mainstreaming gender across the whole of government have been sporadic in our region, but we are pleased to report that six countries (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Cook Islands) have recently undergone a stock take of gender mainstreaming capacity and will be working with development partners on the implementation of strategies for enhancing institutional capacity,” Mata’afa said.

“We hope that the efforts and achievements of these countries will provide models for similar work throughout the region in the coming years.”

The Cook Islands stock take was carried out last year by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in partnership with Ministry of Internal Affairs and local consultant Vaine Wichman.

Mata’afa said that the Pacific Islands region ranks the lowest in the world in terms of gender balanced parliament with 95.8 per cent of seats held by men and only 4.2 per cent of seats held by women on average in the Pacific (excluding Australia and New Zealand).

“Here much work remains to be done. However, several governments including Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Papua New Guinea are actively investigating options for increasing the numbers of women in Parliament through the use of Temporary Special Measures.”

CSW was established in 1946 as a mechanism to promote, report on and monitor issues relating to the political, economic, civil, social and educational rights of women. Among its activities the CSW drafted several conventions and declarations, including the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 1967, of which the Cook Islands is a party.

• Ulamila Kurai Wragg

Tonga’s Emeline Siale Ilolahia is eyeing new strategies to engage Pacific Commonwealth networks in achieving the vision of the Gender Plan of Action.

Ilolahia is the executive director of Tonga’s Civil Society Forum and took on a new hat this year, representing Pacific civil society networks to the Commonwealth Gender Programmes Monitoring Group (CGPMG).

Ilolahia, like many of the Pacific civil society leaders looking at one of the lowest turnouts ever in the number of Pacific leaders at CSW, says the absence is a sign that some work needs to be done to bring the leaders back into the room. This is after 15 years at Beijing.

“I can understand the issue of financial difficulty,” she says, “but even then, if they could have had some form of coordination to ensure we do have representation here, to take on the responsibility of sharing the challenges and successes of the Pacific and take up that role.”

She says the key is networking and dialogue amongst diverse partners at national and regional level, and says the impact of civil society growth and change in Tonga bodes well for fresh approaches and understanding of issues like CEDAW, which the Kingdom has yet to endorse. “I will say that option is open. We are going through an interesting time of political reform. The leaders who thought Tonga is not ready to sign CEDAW are facing an election, so we might have new leaders coming up to try and convince. So you never know. .. there’s hope.

“There is always hope. It’s just for us to take up the opportunity in a more strategic and different approach, to make that come around.”

• WAVEmedia

Lisa Williams-Lahari. 10030214

Cook Islander Lisa Williams-Lahari is in New York this week under Cook Islands News accreditation to report on the 54th meeting of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women.

Williams-Lahari co-founded Pacific WAVE Media Network and is in a joint project with UNIFEM Pacific and UNESCO Pacific to provide media coverage on Pacific delegates regarding Pacific issues for Pacific readers.

In 1995 CSW met in Beijing and put in place a platform for actions to achieve equality, development and peace for all women around the globe. This month’s meeting will undertake a 15-year review of the goals. Emphasis will be placed on the sharing of experiences and good practices, with a view to overcoming remaining obstacles and new challenges, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals.

While the Cook Islands may not be a member state of the CSW (annex to New Zealand), it has however ratified the Convention on the Elimination on all form of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Reports by Williams-Lahari and her four member team can be accessed online from www.pacificgap.blogspot.com.

Dear Editor,

I am sure there were a lot of disappointed customers at the CITC Supermarket on Saturday afternoon (February 27) who were wanting to buy supplies, after everything being closed in the morning due to the tsunami warning.

First there was a power failure and with no working power backup system in place, the tills failed. After customers had spent time in the store picking out their supplies and then waiting at the checkout area, all were then told that they had to leave their supplies in their trolleys and that they would be put back on the shelves.

I said to a smallish gentlemen who was the person who told the customers that they could not have their supplies today, what happened to manual to be used as a backup.

He then said, I’m not aware of any manual way, you can’t have your supplies today. I said I need to have them, he said not today you won’t.

I cannot believe that this person employed by our largest monopoly on the Island could not know about selling manually. Then I thought about it – the reason they cannot now sell manually is because there are no prices on any of their goods, some only have prices on their shelves, not all products do though.

Some years back, I remember CITC used to sell with their shop keepers having to write out dockets for all goods sold.

It seems that the new breed of shop keepers have had no training in this sort of selling and rely completely on electronics.

I feel sorry for all of those people that wasted their time that afternoon pushing around their trolleys, filling them and spending time waiting at the checkouts, only to be told, you cannot have those goods, our the tills are not working.

Some shoppers most likely had to buy some of their weekend supplies at the Oasis, where I was told by a CITC supermarket staff member a couple of weeks back, after asking for something they never had at the supermarket, we may have it at the Oasis, but you will pay more for it.

In saying all of that, has anyone noticed, that there is not the same variety in the grocery food shops that we used to have, why?

Kevin Cook

Tupapa Heights

Editor: CITC food group general manager Dan O’Brien responds

We too are as frustrated and disappointed as the writer in the power failure that disrupted the business and inconvenienced our customers on Saturday evening.

CITC do in fact have a large new generator backup power system in place which activates automatically when a mains supply outage occurs. Unfortunately, this failed after a few minutes of operation.

While customers waited, we had technicians working frantically to rectify the problem but it became apparent that this was not going to be a quick fix.

The call was then made not to inconvenience customers any further as they had already waited patiently for several minutes for an update.

We closed the store 20 minutes early and had our staff re-shelve the product. Foodland was on line and remained open for those who needed supplies that evening.This brings us to the writer’s point of a manual system. In the good old days when there were fewer shoppers and stock inventory and prices were not aligned to bar codes and scanners, this was in fact an option.

However, with the large volume of stock now moving on a daily basis, bar codes are used to strictly control and track stock and accurately apply pricing for the customer’s benefit. They also ensures the checkout process is very quick for the customer. The down side is manual transactions are no longer viable.

It is for this reason that a significant amount of time and money has been invested into the power back up system which was to ensure continuity of service in the event of power failure.

The writer also queries the price difference between Oasis and our other two stores. Very simply, being a 24hr x 7 day operation, the cost to run this business is significantly higher and is reflected in the price of items in store. This is consistent with similar operations worldwide for the same reason.

In fact, here in the Cook Islands we enjoy a benefit not available elsewhere and that is the government price control on all essential items which ensures the price is the same on these items as they are at CITC Supermarket and Foodland (e.g. corned beef, sugar, flour, tea, coffee, milk powder, etc).

On the question regarding a lack of variety, CITC Food Group currently has in excess of 10,000 product lines available to customers.

Additionally, we have developed strong relationships with agents, manufacturers and suppliers to secure access to traditional lines as well as source new products. The ongoing difficulty is getting a balance that ensures quality products that are affordable to the general public.

We would like to convey our sincere apologies to the writer and our other valued customers who were affected that afternoon and can confirm that we have been working on upgrades to the generator to ensure there is never a reoccurrence.

From a personal point of view, what I find more concerning was that a person was drink driving at 3.30pm in the afternoon, crashed their vehicle and knocked out a power transformer.

With all the activity on the island at that time, the consequences could have been more serious had they hit another vehicle or an innocent pedestrian.

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