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General News

Week ending Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Current events and entertainment in Rarotonga and the Cook Islands.

NZ law change extends student loans to Cooks
Evacuation successful
Time to renew liquor licences
Tsunami plan expected today
Govt still seeking views on welfare
Classic liner cancels tour
First fundraiser for Tupapa meeting house renovations
Political deals and terms explained
The price of eggs and CITC
Telecom to credit Aitutaki customer accounts
Mangaia gives $8200
Local play to honour Women’s Day
Coordination the same despite numbers: SPC
Beijing’s daughters – doubtful and disconnected at 15
Tsunami experiences recorded
Island council welcomes plan
$220,000 in support for social recovery
Tamarii – a class act
Tsunami response reviewed
Harmonious family life still a myth for some
Women have to stop ‘making do’
Political will critical to usher in change
Ministries lack political mandate to integrate gender
Defining International Women’s Rights Day
WAVE calls for civilian and media leadership
Tupapa clinic reopens
Deaf club networks
Aitutaki showcased on Getaway
Housing and infrastructure main priorities for recovery
Residency offered
Pacific economies to perform slightly better in 2010: ADB
Specify road works
22 road deaths in four years
Cook Islands to attend EPLD
Tributes online
Titikaveka joins to live healthier

Interest-free student loans will be available to borrowers in the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency under law changes passed by New Zealand parliament last week.

The loan requirement is that they have to be present in one of these countries – known as the ‘Realm of New Zealand’ – for at least 183 consecutive days.

“This is good news for these borrowers and will encourage people from these countries, which share a special relationship with New Zealand, to return home and contribute to their countries’ futures,” revenue minister Peter Dunne said.

The Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill also extends loans to students who are furthering their education overseas through full-time study under a formal exchange programme or a formal agreement between New Zealand and overseas education providers.

This includes post-graduate study that can’t be completed in New Zealand.

Other changes in the bill allow Inland Revenue to increase the standard repayment deduction rate from 10 percent to 15 percent when borrowers have failed to have the correct deductions made, restoring the hardship relief provisions to reflect their original intention, and making loans interest-free for borrowers who return to New Zealand and fully repay their loan before they have been back 183 days.

During NZ Prime minister John Key’s visit to Rarotonga last July he told the chamber of commerce that his government hoped to give continued support to Cook Islanders through education initiatives.

Key revealed one of the new ways NZ hoped to do this was to make their student loans interest free when they are living in the Cooks by extending the existing student loan law.

• Helen Greig

Police patrol boat Te Kukupa is due to return this morning from its emergency evacuation mission to Nassau.

Tetava said that the pick-up was successful and the two patients are reported to be in good health.

The operation was expected to encounter Cyclone Sarah, but the commander and his crew were advised by maritime adviser Chris Cooper to go ahead. According to police commissioner Maara Tetava, the commander and crew followed Cooper’s sail plan to reach Nassau.

Tetava said that the boat had to tackle “very high seas, winds and rain for most of the first two days before finally arriving on Nassau on Monday morning”.

But, he said, “this was a mission that could not be performed any other way due to the lack of airstrip on the island and available boats in the area,” Tetava said. “The patients had to be transferred to Rarotonga to receive better treatment and the only way to do that was by the patrol boat.”

Tetava praised the commander and crew of 12 for the “professionalism” they displayed during the mission.

“[This] just goes to show that when it comes to the lives of our people, everyone including our government goes all out to do our best for those in need or danger,” he said.

• Rachel Reeves

All liquor licences will expire on the 31st of this month.

Businesses intending to serve liquor in the coming months will need to apply to have their licence renewed. According to Harriet Williams, secretary for the Liquor Licensing Authority, 210 licences had been issued as of December last year and will be up for renewal soon.

Williams said that licence holders receive a routine notice to renew two months before their licence expires.

Before being considered by the authority, a business must be approved by police and the health department.

The authority takes into consideration any complaints from police or the public about licensed premises and makes the final decision regarding whether or not to renew the licence.

Police are still doing routine checks on licensed premises, so don’t be caught with an expired licence.

• Rachel Reeves

Tsunami refuge – Aitutaki people flocked to higher ground at the hospital in Takapora on Saturday morning. PHOTO MIKE HENRY 10030411

Emergency management met with police, MOIP, Red Cross, met services, Ports Authority, ministry of health, ministry of tourism, Telecom, BRET (Betela-Rutaki Emergency for Tsunami) and the airport authority yesterday to draft a comprehensive tsunami response plan.

Willie Tuivaga of EMCI said that the plan has been submitted to cabinet for review and will be released to the media today. He said that the proposal requests cabinet’s assistance with working out the kinks in the tsunami response strategy.

Those present at the de-briefing reviewed the initial plan drafted in September of last year, which Tuivaga said has been improved since its inception.

The objective of the meeting was to canvass the opinions of ‘major stakeholders’ in terms of what was successful about the tsunami response and what needs improvement.

“We need to make sure this thing is finely-tuned machine, ready to go,” Tuivaga said.

• Rachel Reeves

Members of the public have less than two weeks to submit their views for this year’s review of the social welfare system.

The ministry of internal affairs announced last month that government is undertaking a preliminary review of the system and has identified a number of issues for broader public discussion.

A public discussion paper has identified key questions to help inform the development of a policy paper for further government consideration. This paper, available from internal affairs, is what people need to obtain before making a written submission by March 17.

This year more than a third of the population will receive welfare payments – there were about 5600 or about 40 percent of the resident population (about 13,000) on a welfare benefit as of December last year. Government spends about $11 million a year – a tenth of its total operating budget on the welfare system.

The last formal study on the social welfare system, head-ed by Kura Strickland, was in April 2002.

According to government, given the ‘impacts of the global financial crisis, recent inflation trends and stagnant development of most of the outer islands’, it believes it is timely to consider the future objectives of the vulnerable in the community.

The public discussion paper considers the intentions of the 1989 Welfare Act, targeting of welfare payments, the adequacy of payments, other safety nets, links with the superannuation fund and the affordability of the welfare system.

The Welfare Act specifies three types of welfare support – the child benefit including a lump sum payment at birth (newborn allowance), the old age pension, and the destitute and infirm benefits.

Submissions on the welfare system can be provided by mail, fax or email to: Welfare Review, c/o Secretary, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Cook Islands Government, ph 29370, fax 23608 or email secintaff@intaff.gov.ck

• Helen Greig

The Princess Danae left Rarotonga yesterday after dropping off a passenger. 10030410

The latest in a line of cruise ships to cancel shore visits to Rarotonga this year because of ‘sea conditions’ was the European liner Princess Danae yesterday.

Destination Management Cook Islands cruise ship coordinator Marlene Cuthers says their company had been talking with the ship’s agents for two years in the lead up to its first visit this month.

“Due to the sea conditions today the vessel has been unable to disembark their passengers. This is very unfortunate again for us all,” she said.

The 55-year-old Classic International Cruises ship is currently on charter to French company Croisieres Notre Temps and is on a 127-day world cruise.

The ship has already been through the Pacific and is due in Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington from March 10 and then heads to Sydney and three other Australian ports as it makes its way through ports in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, India, Oman, Jordan, Greece, Italy and France (completing its voyage in May).

Cuthers said shortly after 8am yesterday, the ship decided against sending passengers ashore. She says one passenger was dropped off in Rarotonga for medical attention before the ship and its 500 passengers continued on its voyage.

A port agent from NZ had flown to Rarotonga for the visit and Cuthers says French speaking locals were to help with shore tours for the passengers.

The 162 metre long, 288 cabin ship belongs to the grand family of classic liners and was completely reconstructed in 1974 as a luxury cruise vessel for the five-star market. In 1996, she underwent extensive refurbishment works worth US$10 million, building up an enviable reputation in the international markets.

The next visit to our shores, through DMCK, with presales already sold out on most tours, is the Dawn Princess due in on Saturday April 10 from midday to 7pm.

• Helen Greig

The Tupapa Nui meeting house renovation is expected to be completed by October. 10020107

The Tupapa Nui meeting house fundraising committee will launch its first fundraiser this Saturday – a barbecue that should kick off around 8am at the Maraerenga Meeting house next to the Convenient Shop.

A plate of food will cost $10 and all proceeds will go to the meeting house renovation project.

Fundraising committee chairman Juinor Teiotu said that this will be the first meeting house fundraiser but it won’t be the last.

Teiotu said that the ceiling, walls and roof need to be replaced and kitchen facilities and plumbing need to be installed.

“At this stage work has progressed well on the project and we need all the help and support we can get so we can achieve the scheduled date of opening,” he said.

The renovation is expected to be completed by October and is estimated to cost around $80,000. The fundraising committee has already received $35,000 from the Tupapa Sports Association and other donations from businesses and Tupapa residents.

If you want to help, ring Teiotu on 79744 or George Matutu on 54709. If you want a plate of food, just drop by the Maraerenga meeting house on Saturday.

• Rachel Reeves

Dear Editor,

In response to your journalist Helen Greig’s questions, I answer as follows: all 24 seats contested at all elections belong to the party and not to the incumbent MP as stated on our radio hour today.

Kare te nooanga e no te mema. Kare ite taoonga kopu tangata. E taoonga ikiia ra, e te puna ikianga.

As is the requirement in our constitution, any member of our party can submit his or her name as possible candidates to the puna electorates. This is true for all parties.

Coconut wireless has reported earlier this year, that all five seats of those in this minority government have been challenged by ordinary members of this party. Time will tell whether they will carry out their intentions to run against standing MPs.

We have a selection process that has worked well in the event of multiple candidates. There is a screening process and a final elimination through voting by the puna members. This was done between former MPs like Norman and Eugene in 2004 and again with seven candidates for one of our seats, the same year. I believe CIP goes through the same elimination process for their multiple candidates.

Wigmore met with our team as spokesperson for the minority government last week to state that they wanted to return to the Democratic Party. However, this was with one condition that our current leader Sir Terepai Maoate KBE must step down.

Our terms are basically that they are most welcome to return minus the Prime Minister and Wilkie. The PM will eventually be sacked from this party anyway. However, the three others – Manihiki, Ruaau and Titikaveka - must resign their cabinet positions to show that they are sincere in their intentions to return and are not going to use the party machinery to get back in at the next election.

Of course there is no guarantee that they won’t break way again after they win their seat next election. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

The three via Wigmore know our terms which includes being sacked from the party should they not resign their cabinet posts.

The status quo on the leadership issue remains unchanged, as the reasons given were vexatious, pedantic and based on personalities rather than issues of importance like the cyclone reconstruction plan for Aitutaki and Tongareva, economic and political reform policies for our country.

On the leadership issue, Sir Terepai Maoate KBE is the only leader since its inception in 1971, that has led and won two elections in a row. No other leader of this party has achieved this milestone. So common sense dictates that we should retain a leader with a proven election record than have someone with no track record to lead us.

He is also a great diplomat, public figure and political leader of national, regional and international stature. Unfortunately, none of the five in this minority government has the leadership qualities to lead our party and country let alone their very own puna electorates, to the next level of economic and financial  redevelopment.

Your lead article in Thursday’s paper suggests that the five in cabinet may join the new party. That is their prerogative and I wish them the best of luck.

Coconut wireless reported the formation of their new party not long after Wilkie’s sacking last year and reported again early this year that the five in government may join that party. Again I wish them the best of luck.

Merging with the CIP and with any party is always a positive and negative move – depending on the personalities involved, trust issues, good timing, and luck. This merger could not have happened without the coup by the five of this minority government. They brokered double deals with both major parties during Christmas week of 2009 that brought both parties together rather than apart.

Thanks to them, this merger became a reality. Of course, other factors like the loyalty issue of MPs and basic Maori Christian values also played a significant role. Both leaders of the two parties are traditional title holders and deacons of the largest church in the country. They are regular church people at home and overseas. This and many other equally important leadership variables helped stitch the merger, and make it a reality.

Makiuti Tongia

Democratic Party President

Local egg supplier targets

‘monopolistic trade practice’

Dear Editor,

I write to inform your readers that CITC is at it again.

The CITC conglomerate has advised that they do not require us to supply them with eggs as they have adequate stocks of NZ eggs. Typically this advice is verbal as they have shown a pattern of avoiding written communications when the position they are taking is unlikely to survive scrutiny.

They say that we are underselling them at our Scotts Cool Room which is rich indeed when one considers they are doing exactly that on a grand scale with all their wholesale customers. They also complain that we are now selling meat and other chilled and frozen lines at cheaper prices than theirs at Scotts Cool Room at Avatiu.

Competition would seem to be an unacceptable notion in CITC’s view of a ‘dominated’ free market and if an opportunity exists to retaliate then their policy would appear to dictate that they should.

Import substitution is a practical and worthy economic pursuit and has been Government’s policy since the time of the Sir Tom Davis administration but that too seems to take second place in CITC’s view of its place in the scheme of things

Importation of eggs can be justified if there is a shortfall in local supply which can happen. It should not be used to replace local supply. That position was put to Government previously and some proposals for strengthening support for local production advanced.

Those proposals will now need to be revived.

That was 2008 when CITC was similarly engaged in attempts to undermine our business. They cost us a huge amount of money as we downscaled our operations to avert even greater losses and gave eggs away to quit excess stocks and from which we have still not fully recovered.

Scotts Cool Room had its origin in these monopolistic trade practices.

John M Scott

Scotts Farm Muri

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

I sympathise with Mr Scott’s views as a business owner but have some concerns about the underlying theme. In summary this seems to suggest (1) CITC should buy its eggs from Scott’s, (b) CITC opposes competition, and (c) Importation should only occur if local supply cannot meet demand.

CITC do not oppose competition and in fact believe competition is healthy for the economy as by its very nature it brings about better pricing, quality and service which all benefit the people of the Cook Islands. For that very reason, we are pleased to see that Scotts Cool Room has opened as it creates this competition and gives shoppers a choice. However, as a competitor, CITC must also make decisions which it believes is prudent for our business.

Mr Scott’s article suggests we have decided to purchase all our eggs from NZ in future. This is not the case. Mr Scott needs to be mindful that he is not the only supplier of local eggs on the Island. Why shouldn’t CITC give other local suppliers opportunities as well and in so doing give them the chance to compete fairly with Scott’s on quality and price of like products. After all isn’t that what Mr Scott is advocating – competition.

CITC have been supporting Scotts by purchasing their eggs for quite some time and a review of purchases over the past 12 months shows almost 40% of all eggs purchased by our Food Group have been Scotts eggs. This is despite Scotts eggs being approximately 28% more expensive than NZ eggs (including freight costs).

Another factor which Mr Scott does not seem to have taken into consideration in his article is the customer. What do they want? We know from customer surveys and speaking to our customers that they look for the best quality at the best price.

Furthermore, a large number of our commercial customers specifically request NZ eggs. Our people expect quality products and competitive pricing and rightfully so. It is the challenge to local suppliers to meet these standards and expectations and if they can we will certainly support them.

We have used our size positively in the international arena to ensure we get quality goods and favourable pricing. These benefits are passed on to our customers. We have also been doing a lot of work with local suppliers to develop their businesses with a focus on quality on the understanding that we will fully support them if they can meet our customers’ requirements.

Mr Scott’s letter seems to be more aligned to his own businesses and the impact of our business decisions on him. It does not seem to have regard to other local businesses which may in fact be his competitors.

I’m also pleased he raises the issue of government controls and the need for these to be reviewed as I totally agree. They are not working or achieving the desired outcomes. Take for example the 50% levy that is imposed on all imported pork products (e.g. bacon, ham, pork chops etc). Why should the public be held to ransom and pay a 50% levy, included in the purchase price of these products, when the local industry cannot supply sufficient quantities to meet local demand?

Why should the public pay a levy of between 10% and 75% on produce during certain seasons if local produce is not of a similar quality or due to growing conditions they cannot supply sufficient to meet demand? Why do we have levy’s to protect local markets when local prices still exceed imported products when the labour and other local costs are lower? All interesting questions indeed and ones I would love to debate with government.

I’m sorry Mr Scott feels aggrieved about our decision to seek alternatives and wish him well in his business ventures.

Telecom Cook Islands is lending a helping hand by crediting all Aitutaki customer accounts for rentals for the month of February.

It’s a relief package worth about $20,000. All landlines, broadband internet, dial-up internet and post-paid mobiles will have their monthly rentals free for the month of February. This is to help the people of Aitutaki deal with the stress of the damaged caused by Cyclone Pat at the beginning of February.

Unfortunately, Telecom is unable to assist the prepaid mobile customers as it cannot distinguish Aitutaki customers from the Rarotonga customers.

Telecom Cook Islands advises that the internet and landlines are currently working but the cellular network has a few areas that still need to be addressed. As most people are aware the Takapora cell tower at the hospital suffered major damage. The original tower was 33 metres and has been repaired but is currently running from the reduced height of 18 metres.

This is an interim solution and a new tower has been ordered. The Maunga Pu cell site is currently experiencing a number of problems which our technicians are currently working on.

The good news is that Telecom Cook Islands will install a new cell site so that the coverage is improved especially around the Amuri area. The location of this new site is yet to be confirmed.

Telecom has itself suffered significant damage (in excess of $100,000) in the cyclone but it feels that many of its customers have suffered proportionately much worse, and hopes that this relief on their Telecom bill will help them recover. The relief package will cost Telecom $20,000.

• Telecom

The island of Mangaia raised $8200 for the Aitutaki cyclone relief effort last week through a telethon appeal, hosted by volunteers, the Mangaia TV station and the local YPE branch.

Mangaia Red Cross president Gill Vaiimene commended the people who made “a great effort for a population of less than 600”.

The money was sent on behalf of all Mangaian people to Red Cross in Rarotonga.

- Rachel Reeves

To honour International Women’s Day on Monday March 8, the Cook Islands National Council of Women in partnership with Punanga Tauturu are putting on a stage play.

Written by Vaine Wichman, produced by Tereapii Napa and directed by Clare Waldroun, the play will be staged on Monday at the Assembly of God church in Takuvaine at 7.15 pm.

The title of the play is ‘It started with a kiss’. The theme running through the play is universal, but is set in a period context in Rarotonga.

Targeted at our young people it explores the theme of first love, teenage pregnancy, violence in relationships and the difficulties of being in love.

A cast of experienced but first time play actors will take the stage. Uirangi Bishop assumes the lead role of Temana, a young beautiful and growing woman in love with life, and nave about what the real world offers. Sean Wichman accompanies her performance as the young Tama who loves as all men love their women.

Maria Tuoro cast as Nina portrays the island side of these deep issues trying to challenge issues that we often try to sweep under the table.

The narrators, Elizabeth Wright-Koteka and Ty Connal, complement the messages from the actors as the conscience of our communities.

The entry fee is $5, and interested theatre goers are invited to be seated early.

Punanga Tauturu has been the lead agency advocating equality in the home, and the importance of protecting the health and status of women and children.

The Cook Islands National Council of Women continues to represent the women of the Cook Islands and affiliate organisations that work towards ensuring that the voice and rights of women and children remain a prominent part of any development discussion.

For more details on the event contact PTI on 21133 or CINCW on 29418.

• CINCW

The Pacific representation at the 54th Commission on the Status of Women meeting in New York may be very small this year, but the effort put to making the representation possible has been the same for technical officers from the region.

National statements, country delegates, plenary sessions, side panel events, a change in UN hosting and venue arrangements, mission meetings and briefings, civil society and media networking, and that all-important Pacific regional statement needed full time work.

The technical support of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Gender Advisors to the Pacific delegates attending the annual two-week CSW meet began months up until the last days of February.

Faced this year with a smaller Pacific turnout than usual, the pressure on effective networking and collaboration remains the same for Tea Braun and Joanne Lee Kunatuba.

“We’re always trying to work together because we as well (as our members) have limited resources,” says Braun, “so coordination is key for us and for anybody else. It also makes us more effective, not just with PIFS and SPC but with a range of other partners in government and civil society to get a range of key messages across.”

The Australia mission as the current chair of the Pacific Forum in the UN fora, hosted the initial Pacific briefing on Monday (March 1) and an evening function (March 3). SPC and PIFS collaborated on a second briefing this week and will host a final catchup next Tuesday as the CSW winds down, to help weave in interventions during plenary, Pacific panels, and country statements that keep the regions issues on the CSW radar.

Sharing ideas and drafting input is at its most challenging in the wordsmithing that goes into the regional statement. With the result being presented to the global community, this year by Samoa’s Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, drafters have to nail a regional consensus in a few minutes.

The final statement published to the Pacific Women’s Information Network (PACWIN) this week raised some eyebrows on what it didn’t say, but Braun and Kunatuba take the feedback in stride.

“You can’t put everything in there, it would be a very long statement if you put all the issues in. You need to focus on the key messages and key areas of progress, the key gaps and challenges that are specific to our region and how we deliver those at this global forum,” says Braun.

• LWL

Pacific WAVE media team covering the CSW meeting in New York – with accreditation arranged by Cook Islands News. From left, Val Jacobo (Samoa), Amelia Niumeitolu (Tonga), Tara Chetty (Fiji) and Lisa Williams-Lahari (Cook Islands). 10030529

She was ten years old when Beijing’s commitment to a world of equality, development and peace was declared. At 25, Linley Faulkner is in New York at Beijing+15, wondering where the years – and the BPA, went.

“I still wonder how useful the document is now. As a statute it is very useful but I have to wonder how it will be applied in the future,” she says.

“There are new things being put out, we have the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and a new climate, with new initiatives – I have to wonder is it going to be the big thing to continue, or continue to be the big thing?”

Like others in her generation, the Canadian university student of Filipino descent doing an internship with DAWN, the Development Alternatives for Women entering a New era, is having to reach out to reconnect with Beijing’s realities of 1995.

The defining moment for two decades of women’s conferencing had stepped back to exhale, taking a burst of renewed vigour with a UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in 2000; but downsized to take over the CSW agenda every five years, where it continues to be placed, likely to be waiting on the new GEAR ‘gentity’ for a revamp of its early marketing.

Meanwhile in the age of the internet and a more sexier, streamlined global branding of approaches like the MDGs, Faulkner has a valid point.

From her observations at this CSW meet, she says “there’s been some interesting progress, but there is so much work to be done. I’m hoping my experience of CSW doesn’t make me jaded!”, she laughs.

While her words would horrify the Beijing thousands whose activism created the outcomes document from the China meeting, for Fiji’s Tara Chetty, who was at high school in 1995, the focus on the MDGs as an empowerment initiative is something she sees as a point of distraction for Beijing.

“I knew about it because my mother came back with some corny knick-knacks from the Great Wall of China.

I’ve only really come to it properly after ten years since it was first passed, and now we are here.”

‘Here’ for Chetty is a working up-close look with a global human rights defenders coalition while doing her Masters in Women’s and Gender studies at Rutgers University in New York.

She says lots of mention is being made of CSW, but not the main one, the BPA.

“I think only once today I heard the BPA word mentioned. It was in a panel on sexual orientation, culture and religion, where it was the reaffirmation of women’s rights as human rights. Sometimes in these side events we are not making a lot of reference to the fact that we have a declaration there.

“I actually feel it’s one of our strongest commitments we’ve produced as a movement. That’s the one that needs our support. The worrying thing is the distraction of the MDGs and other less powerful, less detailed and targetted documents.” Chetty says the disconnect from those like her colleague speaks of, a lack of implementation of the Declaration.

“I guess I was trying to see where I could fit into it and where there are areas in it that are limiting or helpful,” says Faulkner “but overall, I will support any document that does anything for women.”

• Lisa Williams-Lahari

Takitumu Primary School student (from left) Keely Sexton (9), Corrine Teatai Ariki (9) and Teariki Piri (8) share their tsunami experience. 10030507

This week, Rarotonga school children have been learning about what causes a tsunami and writing stories of their tsunami experience.

Takitumu Primary School’s composite grade 4 and 5 students held a tsunami brainstorming session to learn more about a tidal wave caused from an earthquake.

The students then wrote their own early morning tsunami evacuation stories using words from their brainstorming session.

Today’s Kids Page features tsunami stories written by Takitumu Primary School students.

Cook Islands News would like to thank grade 4/5 teacher Eitiare Vano for sharing her students’ work with us.

- Matariki Wilson

The Tsunami

Early Saturday morning about three thirty my parents woke me up to tell me about the tsunami. We were exhausted and so unorganised.

When the man came and knocked on the door, mum went and answered the door.

The man said we had five minutes to pack and leave. Mum asked why. He said there was a tsunami coming.

My mum told me to get dressed and pack any food I could find.

So I got the food and put the food in the bag as quickly as I could.

After that I switched off everything then unplugged everything.

Finally we got on the truck.

There was one girl sitting on the truck and her name is Dawn. She goes to a high school so mum knew her already. Dawn has special needs and she uses crutches.

Mum stopped at a few homes to warn people about the tsunami.

Then we went up a private road and stopped because there was a big chain across the road connected to a sign that said ‘private road’.

The man unbuckled the chain and we drove up the hill to a clearing. We were the first ones there.

Mum had forgotten a whole heap of things. Just then a lady drove up on a motorbike and asked mum if she wanted a ride. Mum said yes.

Mum came back half an hour later. When she came back I asked if she brought the tent. She said no.

By Keely Sexton (9)

(Keely had more to write on his tsunami experience but he said he ran out of paper!)

The Tsunami

Early Saturday morning about three thirty am, my parents woke me up to tell me about the tsunami that is predicted to hit Rarotonga at eight o’clock that morning.

We packed our things. We went to my uncle Darren’s home. We all went up on to a hill.

We went on our cars and bikes, it was still dark.

Then it started to rain hard so we got out the umbrellas and soon the soon the sun came up.

We waited for the tsunami waves.

The tsunami didn’t come. Everyone was happy that we were all safe.

By Teariki Piri (8)

Tsunami

Early Saturday morning about three thirty my parents woke me up to tell me about the tsunami that morning.

Then I woke up to pack my clothes and I went to wake up my papa and my mama to pack up.

We went up to our aunt’s house.

By Corrine Teatai Ariki (9)

Aitutaki recovery coordinator Wilkie Rasmussen’s announcement of the recovery plan was welcomed by the island’s eight village leaders on Friday.

Following the devastation of Cyclone Pat on February 10, the island has been waiting for news of assistance from government.

Rasmussen told the council government plans to spend $9.46 million on the recovery plan for Aitutaki. Government will contribute about $2.7 million, but the New Zealand government is expected to contribute the majority of the funds. The finance minister said NZ has already committed an initial $4 million and has indicated it will provide $8-10 million towards Aitutaki’s cyclone recovery.

Last Thursday cabinet approved the recovery plan put together by the recovery committee working under Rasmussen.

On Friday he flew to Aitutaki with his advisor Tamarii Pierre, and UNDP disaster risk management advisor Moortaza Jiwanji to present the plan to the people.

Several island council members expressed words of gratitude for government’s plan of assistance.

Mayor Tai Herman encouraged the island council to support the plan and to continue working with government to help with the housing project.

The most significant impact of the cyclone was on housing with about 78 percent of all homes being affected.

Around $5 million will be spent on grants to repair and rebuild homes on the island. Funding has also been set aside to boost the local economy under the plan.

“Damage to livelihoods varies by sector, although it is recognized that the local agriculture sector was completely destroyed. There was severe damage and destruction of the local food supply and food security will be affected for the next 3 to 36 months,” says the recovery plan report.

Following immediate relief efforts, government is now moving to the recovery phase with an emphasis on restoring the community to a state of normality.

The recovery plan places some focus on addressing the the needs and basic human rights of women, young people, the elderly, the disabled and children in its approach to recovery amongst the affected populations.

“Under this pretext, the need to provide people with proper housing and with adequate opportunities to provide for their families cannot be understated – particularly given the potential outmigration that may occur if housing and income generating options are not provided immediately,” says the plan.

Island council member Manarangi Tutai Ariki thanked Rasmussen and government for the plan but like some Aitutaki people, she had reservations about parts of the plan.

She asked that Herman be put in charge of the all projects under the recovery plan and that he and the council control the finances that will be made available.

“I don’t seem to agree that we have to bring people from overseas to tell us what to do. We have a lot of local knowledge here,” she said.

Rasmussen explained that an independent project manager will be brought in to oversee the plan’s activities. He believes this is the best option, given the danger of locals putting their own political agendas first when in control of major projects.

Rasmussen told the island council and its ex-officio members – the four ariki, aronga mana representative, island MPs, that they and the island administration will still play a major part in helping with the recovery plan activities.

• Helen Greig

Ex-officio members of the island council Manarangi Tutai Ariki (left) and Tamatoa Purua Ariki. 10030550

The Aitutaki recovery plan includes $220,000 to support social recovery on the island.

“While a lot of focus has been placed on the physical reconstruction and establishing systems to return people to normalcy, there is a need to monitor and assess that the people affected by the disaster are also recovering. The needs assessment and focus group discussions identified that those affected by the cyclone were primarily concerned about their immediate needs,” says the recovery plan.

Government has already offered some counselling services to those traumatised by the event but it believes more may be needed especially for those people whose homes were completely destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

Continued employment has been recognised as an issue, especially as some people in Aitutaki have claimed a large resort laid off staff when they did not go to work but attended to the immediate needs at home following the cyclone.

Government wants systems in place to ensure that people are able to retain employment and continue to be productive in the workplace, that children will continue to go to school regularly and gender-based violence due to depression and frustration caused by the loss and damage of the cyclone is prevented.

The elderly and disabled must not be forgotten in the recovery efforts, says the recovery plan.

The very real risk that families will choose to leave Aitutaki, rather than remain is also a concern government hopes to address in its support for social recovery.

How well this support works will also depend on how well other key areas are addressed, such as housing and livelihoods.

Families and communities will receive support in three areas – case management of the most vulnerable households, counselling services and continued communication with the community on the recovery progress.

The ministries of internal affairs, health and education, along with Red Cross and the Aitutaki island council have identified the most at-risk people and families for priority case management – topping this list are those who lost their homes in the cyclone. These families are likely to receive more counselling services and benefit from recovery activities such as the cash for work scheme.

Informing the public on the progress of the recovery plan through local radio and TV has been seen as an important part of the social assistance. - HG

Summary of social

recovery activity costs:

Case management $100,000

Counselling services $100,000

Continued communication $20,000

Total $220,000

Tamarii Pierre died on Saturday morning in a car accident at Blackrock – he will be remembered as an energetic 19-year-old with bright eyes and a big smile. 10030713

By Barbara Dreaver

Pacific Correspondent, One News

There’s this kid Tamarii – young, bright with a smile as wide as the sea.

Between him and two other reporters at Cook Islands Television, they do everything to get their news to air every night. When I say everything I mean everything – they interview, they film, they write, they edit, they present. Somehow they put together half an hour of local news five nights a week.

It was into this environment Television New Zealand gifted an O-band kit – a portable kit that would allow CITV to broadcast live.

Tamarii did CITV’s very first live cross breaking into programmes from the Police Emergency Centre interviewing Superintendent Isemaela about a developing tropical depression and the damage done by Cyclone Pat in the Northern Cook Islands.

We did a rehearsal and Tamarii was sweating fear as he stumbled over his words knowing that he would have no second chance when we went to air. Then came the countdown, he looked at the camera, took a deep breath and he was off. He was flawless, it was a class act.

When it was over there was much laughter and he looked at me with triumph blazing from his eyes. I’ll never forget that moment. He’d just made history in the Cook Islands and he knew it. There’s nothing like doing a live cross with adrenalin pumping, nerves pounding and shaky knees. Public humiliation lurks very close but afterwards there is no feeling like it.

It was a feeling echoed in television stations in Samoa and Tonga where we also donated live kits. Apia Broadcasting (TV3) not only did their first live cross, they broadcast their entire news live for the first time. The team in there led by Karl and Analisa totally made it happen with a commitment which left us, the training team, reeling with exhaustion and elation.

And the Tonga newsroom – those girls in there, Vui, Salote and co, are a force to be reckoned with. They took to it like ducks to water while Solo and his team worked into the wee hours to find technical solutions that comes hand in hand with having next to no equipment.

For the TVNZ team it was a great experience giving the island stations resources so they can provide a crucial service for their country. We loved it. And for me it was extra special working with my friends and colleagues in a region which is my own.

And so we come back to our Cook Islands star Tamarii, the young man filled with energy and a passion for life. He was killed this weekend in a car accident. It feels like a kick in the guts. No parent should have to bury their treasured child especially good parents like Tam and Ipu.

But there’s more because to us, Tamarii represented what the TVNZ project was about. It was about taking talent and running with it, it was about developing the skills of exceptional people, our young Pacific people. It was about hope. And Tamarii held the banner for all those things.

We extend our deepest condolences to the Pierre family.

Emergency Management Cook Islands issued the following report on Friday after meeting with police, MOIP, met services, Ports Authority, ministry of health, ministry of tourism, Telecom, BRET (Betela-Rutaki Emergency for Tsunami) and the airport authority yesterday to discuss the tsunami response of Saturday February 27:

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves generated by sudden displacements in the sea floor, landslides, or volcanic activity. In the deep ocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few inches high. The tsunami wave may come gently ashore or may increase in height to become a fast moving wall of turbulent water several metres high.

Although a tsunami cannot be prevented, the impact of a tsunami can be mitigated through community preparedness, timely warnings, and effective response.

- NOAA website

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has done a great job in ensuring we in the Cook Islands are advised of seismic activity and associated tsunamis in and around the region.

In turn we receive this information at the Cook Islands Meteorological Services (CIMS) and the Airport Authority which is the designated back up facility or agency to ensure the information is received here in the Cook Islands. The information is disseminated to the Cook Islands Police by CIMS.

Tsunami Information Statement - a tsunami information statement is issued to inform emergency management officials and the public that an earthquake has occurred, or that a tsunami warning, watch or advisory has been issued for another section of the ocean.

Tsunami Watch - a tsunami watch is issued to alert emergency management officials and the public of an event which may later impact the watch area.

Tsunami Advisory - a tsunami advisory is issued due to the threat of a potential tsunami which may produce strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or near the water.

Tsunami Warning - a tsunami warning is issued when a potential tsunami with significant widespread inundation is imminent or expected.

When a Tsunami Warning bulletin is issued for the Cook Islands, this is a summary of the response process.

The bulletin information is disseminated to police and other stakeholders on Rarotonga and the Outer Islands who will immediately put into action their response plans, assist in message dissemination and coordinate movement of their people and resources into position to assist the communities.

Other stakeholders which include the general community are advised simultaneously of the bulletin via the media, text messages, emails, telephone calls, door-knocking and police sirens. All agencies have a contact list so the message at this stage has a domino effect, spreading to many areas in the community.

The coordination of the entire emergency operation is planned and monitored from firstly the Police Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) and later the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at the Telecom Building in Parekura.

National Tsunami plan

After the Tsunami that devastated Samoa, Tonga and American Samoa in September 2009, the National Disaster Risk Management Council of the Cook Islands requested that EMCI and police develop a national tsunami plan for the Cook Islands.

The new tsunami response plan includes the use of mass text messages and e-mails to speed message dissemination. EMCI will monitor tsunami movement in real time, receiving data immediately from countries near the tsunami source and the Cook Islands.

The plan is a living document and will be complemented with the strengthening of all communities to respond. It calls for the inclusion of tsunami sirens and signs clearly identifying safe and unsafe areas throughout the whole of the Cook Islands. EMCI is still working to perfect the details of the national tsunami plan.

After every tsunami operation, stakeholders will gather together to provide feedback. The recent tsunami operations revealed very minor issues that will be addressed by each agency.

Recommendations put forward included raising tsunami awareness in all communities in the Cook Islands and having pre-format messages for media for public dissemination in Maori and English.

EMCI would like to thank all emergency responding stakeholders and those in our communities who assisted and took part in this operation and ask that we continue to work together to strengthen disaster management in the Cook Islands.

• EMCI/Rachel Reeves

It has been estimated that as many as one in three women across the world has been beaten, raped or otherwise abused during the course of her lifetime, according to the United National High Commissioner for Refugees, Navi Pillay, in marking this year’s International Women’s Day.

According to him, the most common source of such violence comes from within the family. Amongst the most extreme forms of abuse is what is known as ‘honour killing’.

For some families, he said that a harmonious family life is still myth.

“Most of the 5000 honour killings reported to take place every year around the world do not make the news, nor do the other myriad forms of violence inflicted on women and girls by husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and other male – and sometimes even female – family members,” Pillay said.

“In the name of preserving family ‘honour’ women and girls are shot, stoned, burned, buried alive, strangled, smothered and knifed to death with horrifying regularity.

“The reasons for these murders vary. They may be committed because the victim is considered to have breached family or community norms with respect to sexual conduct, or simply because a woman has expressed a desire to pick a husband of her own choice, or wishes to divorce or claim inheritance. Most perversely, rape victims are sometimes viewed as having ‘dishonored’ their families and are killed by them as a means of erasing the stigma, while the men who raped them often escape lightly.”

“The problem is exacerbated by the fact that in a number of countries domestic legal systems, including through discriminatory laws, still fully or partially exempt individuals guilty of honour killings from punishment. Perpetrators may even be treated with admiration and given special status within their communities.

“Honour killings are, however, not something that can be simply brushed aside as some bizarre and retrograde atrocity that happens somewhere else. They are an extreme symptom of discrimination against women, which – including other forms of domestic violence – is a plague that affects every country.”

“For many women and girls, the family life that is supposed to be productive, protective and harmonious is little more than a myth. Instead, for such females, family life means physical, sexual, emotional or economic violence at the hands of an intimate partner or other family members. Domestic violence typically involves punches, kicks and slaps, or assaults with objects or weapons. It also frequently involves persistent belittlement and humiliation, and often includes the isolation of women from traditional supporters such as other family members and friends. Sometimes it may involve forced participation in degrading sexual acts, rape and homicide. Some women, who resist an arranged marriage, are locked up by their families for long periods until their will is broken and they agree to marry the man who has been chosen for them.”

- WAVEmedia

Pacific women doing gender work need to break out of the mentality of making do with resource-poor situations, especially if they are senior public servants tasked with bringing commitments such as the Beijing Declaration to life.

That’s the view of Solomon Island’s Director for Women, Ruth Maetala, who has come into the post recently after a long career in civil society and women’s networks in her island nation.

Maetala referred to her own experience in the Solomons to drive home the problem.

“We don’t have basic email or printers and resources to enable us to do the work, and so we find ourselves most of the time ‘making do’.

And that is typical of women.

We make things happen. Even if we don’t have enough food we come together and make do with what we can get, and we are bringing that into our gender work and an office environment. It’s not very healthy.”

While the issue of working around the problem of not having resources to work with has been raised in the Commonwealth Secretariat consultations, the Pacific briefing, and noted by the SPC Gender Adviser Tea Braun, Maetala says there signs of hope.

The Solomons has completed a gender stock take which steps out the size of the problem “and gives us some new options”.

A national women’s policy and set up of a gender research unit followed a review of the government and civil society national women’s networks in the Solomons last year.

Other development partners are tipped to support the review findings and help with the work of gender mainstreaming in the Solomons.

But in the meantime, and illustrating the irony of the Pacific challenges in this report-card year, Maetala was keen to make the most of a spot of downtime during CSW with what she could save from her daily allowance.

The reason?

To work towards her one dream item in this shoppers’ paradise of a city: a laptop computer.

- Lisa Williams-Lahari

Magdalena Walters exercising her right to have a voice in all levels of decision-making, in Federated States of Micronesia Parliament. Photo UNIFEM Pacific - 10030534

All Pacific Island States with Cook Islands included, but except Nauru, Palau and Tonga, have ratified CEDAW and endorsed the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), and therefore are accountable to advancing equal rights for women and men, and the empowerment of women, according to UNIFEM Pacific.

CEDAW is the UN Convention to Eliminate All Form of Discrimination Against Women which the Cook Islands is a party and presented their first report in 2006.

In their message to mark the International Women’s Day, UNIFEM say that the most critical factor in bringing about change is the gap between commitments and implementation by Pacific Island Governments.

UNIFEM boast that the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea could lead and inspire other Pacific Islands governments to achieve equality for women in political representation.

In the lasts few years, significant achievements have been made in the Pacific region in advancing gender equality through increased women’s representation in the political sphere.

“With the initial pioneering example of the creation of three reserved seats for women in the Constitution of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and more recently the proposed legislation for reserved seats for women in the national parliament of Papua New Guinea, we now have beacons of lights, showing the way forward for other Pacific Island Countries to fulfil their commitments to advance gender equality,” say UNIFEM in a statement.

Pacific Island Countries are currently ranked lowest in the world on women’s representation in national parliaments and local governments. Only 4.1 percent of Pacific parliamentarians are women despite governments signing up to international commitments to advance gender equality through the ratification CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA).

These and other commitments made by Pacific Governments stress that the percentage of either men or women should be at least 30 percent to allow for meaningful representation by gender and the contribution of men and women’s values and perspectives to national debates, decision-making and legislating in parliament.

In Samoa, there are four women in parliament. Fiji elected six female MPs last elections, but ground gained was lost again when parliament was dissolved in 2006.

There is only one woman out of 109 members of parliament in Papua New Guinea.

In Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Kiribati, only two women are in parliament, and the numbers are even lower for the other countries, with one woman in parliament in Tonga and the Marshall Islands, and zero women represented in Nauru, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. At the world scale, only 18.8 % of members of parliament are women, even though they represent half of the world’s population.

Rita Taphorn, UNIFEM’s Regional Programme Manager in the Gender Equality in Political Governance Programme (GEPG), says that increased representation of women in politics could provide "transformative leadership" by shaping new priorities and agenda for Pacific Governments, and by ensuring progress in achieving gender equality in all areas of policy-making, and ideally applying principles of gender response budgeting.

Increasing women’s political representation is also a fundamental principle of democracy and respect of human rights.

Fast-tracking women’s representation in parliament can be supported through Temporary Special Measures (TSM) such as the introduction of reserved seats for women or political party quotas for women to be nominated as party candidates.

“UNIFEM’s GEPG is providing technical assistance on the adoption of such measures, to increase the dismally low representation of women in Pacific parliament as well as other strategies of mass and multi-level education, advocacy and lobbying to strengthen women’s contribution as active citizens and leaders in the Pacific.” says Taphorn.

• UNIFEM/WAVEmedia

A stocktake carried out last year has concluded that gender mainstreaming as a strategy to integrate gender into all aspects of planning, programmes, projects and activities of government is still far from being realised.

It also concluded that central agencies and line ministries lack the political mandate to integrate gender analysis principles into policy development and processes.

In a summary of findings prepared for the National Sustainable Development Plan on gender mainstreaming, the authors note that a number of gender equality commitments have been made at the international, regional and national levels. They add efforts are being made at the national level to review and develop legislations from a gender perspective even though national and sectoral policies are yet to be gender inclusive.

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 gender mainstreaming stocktake summary was prepared by consultant Vaine Wichman, government policy analyst Repeta Puna, and Director of Gender and Development Division Ruta Pokura. It was carried out in November last year.

The summary also notes that the current organisation culture of government is not supportive of gender mainstreaming. While gender mainstreaming in line ministries is driven by donors or implemented by GADD, there is little ownership by the executing ministries.

“Gender policy issues are acknowledged as important, however integrating gender principles in planning and policy has been hampered by the diversion of development planners versed in this activity into urgent macro-policy matters,” the report adds.

“Currently no formal system of gender focal points exists .... development partners through an increased coordinated approach towards gender mainstreaming have provided consistent presence and support to this activity in the Cook Islands.”

The summary recommends that technical assistants be attached to the Gender Division to review and develop organisation structures, systems and procedures, plus also review the role of policy development in the gender division as well as at the central planning and policy office.

The technical assistance is also suggested to work towards enhancing the policy role of the department and improve and strengthen linkages across government sectors and with non-governmental organisations.

“Strengthening in these areas will ensure improvement in gender mainstreaming role for the Department ... the success of this project would require the involvement of the HOMs of the Office of the Prime Minister and Planning, Public Service Commission and the Finance Ministries.

“Capacity building (should also) target core central agencies and line ministries including the Office of the Prime Minister and Planning, Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Commission. This would require the provision of technical assistance to review performance management systems and focusing on the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms with close linkages between targets and outputs.

“In addition (technical assistants) to conduct gender analysis training in policy development and gender budgeting training for selected senior executives within the core ministry and selected line ministries with the objective of ensuring that gender is mainstreamed into national and sector policies budgets. To provide capacity building support to the Public Service Commission, to review and implement accountability and responsibility mechanisms that integrates gender.”

• WAVEmedia

International Women’s Day is celebrated every year around the world on March 8. The commemorative day emerged from women activist movements at the turn of the 20th century. This year’s theme is “Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all”.

Equality between women and men continues to be a challenge world-wide. Women form the majority of the world’s poorest people. They work two-thirds of the world’s working hours and produce half of the world’s food, yet earn only 10% of the world’s income and own less than 1% of the world’s property. The number of women living in rural poverty has increased by 50% since 1975.

Violence against women prevails on an unimaginable scale throughout the world and in all cultures, and women’s access to justice is often paired with discriminatory obstacles – in law as well as in practice. Multiple forms of discrimination based on gender and other factors such as race, ethnicity, caste, disability, HIV status, sexual orientation or gender identity further subject women to exclusion, poverty and violence.

The principles of non-discrimination and equality are enshrined in international human rights law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and guarantees men’s and women’s equal enjoyment of their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Non-discrimination, together with equality before the law and equal protection of the law, constitute the foundations of human rights protection.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) entered into force 30 years ago, yet the recognition and enjoyment of equal rights with men still remains elusive for many women around the world. CEDAW has been ratified by 186 States, including the Cook Islands (2006), yet has the record number of reservations to core articles such as articles 2 and 16, which impact on young girls’ and women’s personal and family life.

• UNIFEM

Regional development agencies must step up more effective engagement with civil society and media leadership to help achieve stronger Pacific futures, says the Women Advancing a Vision of Empowerment Network, WAVE.

“What we are seeing from the Pacific regional and national statements coming out at Beijing +15 is a continuing trend from previous regional and global meetings: “some progress, more work to do”, says WAVE co-ordinator Ulamila Wragg.

WAVE is a network of Pacific women in media and communications, with advocacy in three thematic areas where gender inequality is at its most pervasive in our own context: climate change, violence, and HIV.

“Access to equal rights and opportunities must be a part of our legal systems, but it only becomes part of governance when media networking, advocacy and outreach places the information into the hands of those who need it,” says Wragg.

“While we honour the work being done, Pacific families living on the fringes of development shouldn’t have to wait for the UN CSW to find out the critical updates on what is happening with gender progress in our region. Our communities need to receive, shape and share these Beijing +15 debates. In their own spaces and in language they can connect with, people can in turn shape and own the decisions affecting their lives.”

“We urge Pacific leaders to also build on the UN ‘reform’ of its gender work by setting the regional house in order. And just as a major resource commitment is required, a new regional framework for gender must make media leadership, civilian or civil society leadership, and political leadership, true and equal partners in gender mainstreaming.”

“Civil society and media networks should not be the optional add-on when the budgets are complete. Strategies for civilian and media engagement need to be embedded within the planning and budgeting processes for gender work, from concept to completion,” says WAVE’s Lisa Williams-Lahari; in New York this week with a UNESCO and UNIFEM-supported WAVE online portal on Gender Actions in the Pacific, called PacificGAP.

“The deterioration in human rights normally associated with progress – free speech, freedom of expression, movement and assembly in Fiji has affected Pacific regional networks who depend on key focal points based there,” she says, “it’s timely today to especially honour the important work of human rights defenders in Fiji this International Women’s Day and express our continued solidarity for our sisters there.

“The thing about human rights is that we only realize they are there when they are not. If more of our leaders understood that human rights are there not so much to show we have rights, but to show we are human, they would be less threatened by them.”

This IWD, WAVE especially encourages a focus by media colleagues on the critical areas of the Beijing Platform, including reportage that allows innovation and consultation with women on how they are affected by climate change, family violence, and access to sexual and reproductive health.

At regional level, agencies are asked to support the growth of a one-stop civil society network which supports effective and transparent regionalism, innovation and inclusion.

• WAVE Media

The ministry of health reopened the Tupapa community health clinic yesterday after its facelift worth just over $100,000 was carried out over the past few months.

Ministry director of funding and planning Daphne Ringi says the project was thankful to $40,000 from The Global Fund (to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria), and funding and work coordinated by Cook Islands Investment Corporation and the ministry.

The clinic now includes a dedicated HIV/STI office, two doctors rooms, a mental health clinic, counselling services, adolescent and reproductive health services and more.

During the opening George Hosking was commended for his work as the project manager for the refurbishment by health minister Apii Piho.

Piho said while health is one of the most important service areas in any country, government lacks the funds and resources to carry out much of the work that needs to be done. He said he hoped more partnerships with regional agencies and international funding partners would help the ministry to improve health services in future.

• Helen Greig

Oropai Mataroa explaining sign language to a group of about 20 on Thursday night. 10030508

The Cook Islands Deaf Club kicked off another round of sign language classes Thursday night at USP.

The club is considering changing the date of the class so as to accommodate those with scheduling conflicts but for now will continue to meet from 5 pm to 6 pm on Thursdays.

Oropai Mataroa, who was a member of the late Disability Action Team, introduced the group of about 20 to the deaf attendees. She instructed the class to leave English and their voices ‘outside the door’, and said that next week there will be no speaking.

Mataroa explained that deaf people give a person a name in sign language so as to avoid having to spell out each letter, and said that next week students will learn their names.

Deaf Club treasurer Paul Ongoua, whose sister Rose is deaf, said that sign language classes aim to “help those who are deaf, so they can benefit from being able to communicate with other people”.

He said that the club functions as a support group for the deaf community on Rarotonga, comprised of four deaf people and one with impaired hearing, and for the five deaf people on the outer islands.

The club acts as a network for the deaf, encouraging them to be more independent, helping them to get involved in the community and find employment, Ongoua said.

Sign language classes are open to anyone and will continue for the next 11 weeks.

• Rachel Reeves

Last Wednesday, Australia’s number one TV travel programme Getaway showcased the Cook Islands atoll of Aitutaki.

Presenter Catriona Rowntree had dreamed about Aitutaki as her honeymoon destination even before she met her new husband, James Pettit, and last year, all her dreams came true.

This same episode was screened on Getaway April of last year and since then 5935 people have viewed this story on the Getaway website.

The Getaway website is part of the ninemsn network, which attracts over 8 million Australian viewers per month, the largest online audience in Australia.

Getaway is Australia’s longest-running and highest-rating holiday and travel show, attracting 2 million viewers in Australia and an estimated 10 million viewers worldwide.

In Australia, Getaway airs weekly during prime time at 7.30pm on Thursdays and repeated on Saturday afternoons and shown on Foxtel’s ‘W’ Channel.

Getaway broadcasts internationally in New Zealand via both the Prime TV Network and the Living Channel, throughout Asia via the ABC Asia Pacific Service and Latin America via The Discovery Channel. Getaway also airs as part of Air New Zealand’s In-flight entertainment program.

Cook Islands Tourism has facilitated all three of Getaways visits to the Cook Islands where the show has featured both islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki and we continue to work closely with the travel program on future endeavours.

To view the Getaway Aitutaki Romance episode go to http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au

Tourism Corporation

• Cook Islands

The Reureu hall was one of the venues for public meetings held by recovery coordinator Wilkie Rasmussen on Friday. 10030554

Government will provide about $5 million to help with the cost of repair and reconstruction of almost 300 homes damaged by Cyclone Martin.

It estimates the repair and reconstruction of homes will be over $15 million.

The most urgent need is to provide basic shelter to those whose homes were damaged as a result of the cyclone, says recovery coordinator and finance minister Wilkie Rasmussen.

On Friday he spent the day in Aitutaki announcing the $9.46 million worth of assistance government will provide with the help of New Zealand aid in recovery activities for the island over the next 12 months.

“We want to finish everything within a 12-month period. If we can do that before then, all the better,” Rasmussen told the people.

There was also damage to infrastructure, such as power, water and public buildings and government will spend about $2.3 million to repair this damage. Repairs to the hospital, schools, water tanks and pumps as well as a phased initiative to install underground cabling for power supply are part of the work planned for infrastructure recovery.

Government is not able to fully cover all repair and reconstruction costs but is providing partial funding assistance to home owners.

Grants (on a reimbursement basis) of up to $7500 to repair houses in damage category one and two will be provided soon. Government wants this work completed within the next two months. It might take up to 12 months to carry out the repairs to homes with major damage and those that were completely demolished.

Those families whose homes were completely destroyed (category four) will receive a grant of up to $35,000. Government soon hopes to have a basic home design option for people to use in building new homes that will meet building standards and be cyclone proof.

Rasmussen says an independent project manager will be employed to oversee the housing project. It is likely NZAID will cover the cost of the project manager.

At three public meetings in Aitutaki, Rasmussen was asked where people can go to get their house repair grants. For now they can go through the recovery committee based in Rarotonga or Aitutaki mayor Tai Herman. Soon there will be a dedicated project management team in Aitutaki to coordinate the project said Rasmussen.

This week a team from the ministry of infrastructure and planning – engineer Ata Herrman and three building inspectors – will be in Aitutaki to carry out more assessments on damage to homes and what repairs are being carried out now.

Following the cyclone, government set up a cyclone ‘recovery committee’ to run and coordinate the recovery and reconstruction planning processes.

This committee was responsible for conducting a recovery needs assessment and developing the recovery plan.

The committee is made up of representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Minister of Finance, the Ministry for Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. The main point of contact for the recovery committee is Rasmussen’s office.

• Helen Greig

Fulbright New Zealand and Creative New Zealand are accepting applications for the 2010 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency, an award which offers a New Zealand writer of Pacific heritage the opportunity to work for three months on a creative writing project exploring Pacific identity, culture or history at the University of Hawai‘i.

Valued at NZ$30,000, the residency includes return airfares to Hawai‘i, accommodation costs and a monthly stipend. It is open to writers across all genres, including fiction and non-fiction authors, poets and playwrights.

Previous recipients have included children’s author Sarona Aiono-Iosefa, poet Tusiata Avia, playwright Victor Rodger and filmmakers Sima Urale and Toa Fraser.

Hawai’i has been identified as a strategic location for artists and is considered the hub of Pacific writing with numerous universities, library resources, networks, writers’ forums and publishers. It is also an important link to the mainland US and has a strong indigenous culture.

The three month residency is available from August to November 2010. The closing date for applications is Thursday 1 April 2010.

See http://www.fulbright.org.nz/awards/nz-cnz.html for detailed information.

Enquiries should go to Felicity Birch at Creative New Zealand - felicity.birch@creativenz.govt.nz or phone (04) 498 0735.

Most Pacific island economies are expected to perform slightly better this year than last, building on improved prospects for the global economy, says a new Asian Development Bank publication.

The first issue for 2010 of Pacific Economic Monitor, a quarterly economic review of 14 Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste, notes that the Pacific islands are expected to expand by 0.5 percent overall in 2010, after contracting by an estimated 1.4 percent last year.

Vanuatu is expected to remain the best performing Pacific island economy, bolstered by the benefits of recent improvements to its economic policy.

Of all the Pacific island economies, only the Fiji Islands and Palau are expected to contract in 2010, an improvement from last year when five economies in the region contracted.

The small overall growth rate for the Pacific region (the Pacific islands, plus Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste) is expected to rise slightly in 2010 to 3.7 percent, from 2.4 percent in 2009, largely driven by resource-rich Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

The Monitor highlights that 2010 will provide an opportunity for these resource-rich countries to refine how they manage the large revenue flows from major resource projects.

The report says that many of the Pacific island governments are still feeling the impact of the economic slowdown on their tax revenue, so fiscal pressures remain. Those pressures are particularly intense in the Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

The ongoing adverse social impacts of the global economic crisis on vulnerable groups cannot be ignored says the ADB.

The Monitor says many families in the Pacific region are likely to bear costly and long-lasting effects as labour markets weaken and as smallholder incomes decline. It says that weak government revenues are adding to the risk faced by the vulnerable, because of the resulting pressure on the delivery of essential services.

“The working poor, those that have a job but earn too little to meet their basic needs, have been more exposed to the economic slowdown than others as construction, manufacturing and retail and wholesale activity weakened,” said Cecile Gregory, senior advisor of ADB’s Pacific department.

“Maintaining the delivery of social services should remain a priority, as this will help protect the vulnerable members of the community.”

The Monitor notes that some Pacific island governments are already budgeting for higher social sector spending in 2010, but analysis shows that development partner support is needed to ensure the additional spending pushes through.

• ADB

Dear Editor,

I would like to comment on Kevin Cook’s letter to you regarding the road works on our roads.

It is a vague approach for me to fully comment on this issue, without knowing the whole parameters and the specified standard stipulated by the governing body in relation to any road works on our roads.

Specification, generally speaking, should assist the contractor to undertake the first step in translating the designer’s intention into reality, with a clear understanding of that intention, as such to be concise, unambiguous and complete.

Any excavation or activity on our roads should be described clearly – what is to be constructed and to what standard, how that standard will be measured against, and what action will apply should the standard not be achieved.

We must take into consideration that the road network is an essential component of our transport infrastructure, and it also contributes to the social structure, by providing access for other infrastructure such as electricity, water and telecommunication networks.

In my view, our roads standard can be sustained, and improved if the governing body endorse and set in a place standards and procedures as a guideline for all prospective road contractors to comply with. Furthermore, these standard procedures must also be closely managed.

Teuira Ka

Melbourne

This vehicle crashed at Blackrock in the early hours of Saturday morning, killing Tamarii Pierre. 10030904

According to police commissioner Maara Tetava, 22 people have been killed in motor vehicle crashes in the Cook Islands during the past four years.

Eighteen of those accidents involved drivers of motorbikes who were not wearing helmets at the time of death, he said.

The high numbers of road fatalities have people wondering when and whether government will legislate in favour of compulsory helmets.

Registered nurse Marion Holt said that in her time working at hospital she’s seen her share of head injuries sustained on the roads.

She said that it’s easy for people to distance themselves from the gruesome reality of motor vehicle crashes.

“People distance themselves because it’s too painful to think about the reality of it,” she said. “But I’ve seen the reality.”

Holt wrote to CI News about a particular encounter with injury and pain caused by a motorbike crash.

“I watched as family and friends gathered near in the Intensive Care Unit, their faces reflecting indescribable anguish, sorrow, fear and hope,” she wrote. “It hurt to see the agony that may have been easily prevented if this young man had been wearing a helmet.”

She said that during her nurse training, she studied behavioural science and the stages of human development and learned that a fair number of young people are wired to believe that they are invincible.

“This means they take risks even though they may know the dangers because they get caught up in the excitement of the moment and think that nothing bad can happen to them,” she said. “They may not consider that they are putting others at risk because during the adolescent years it is common for most (not all) young people to think mainly of themselves.”

Holt said that for some young people, “no amount of effort aimed at changing overall attitude will make any difference”.

If people won’t listen, helmets will “at least minimise the degree of injury as well as the number of fatalities”, she said.

Holt said that it’s time to change our attitudes toward drunk driving, but “unfortunately, as we know, these things take time and time waits for no one”, she said.

Until then, we need to support a legislative change if we want to see road fatality numbers dwindle.

“No matter what your reasons are for being against compulsory helmets, those reasons can never justify the loss of human life, especially when the risk can be so easily decreased,” she said.

“Don’t distance your minds, allow yourselves to see and feel what really matters,” Holt wrote. “Don’t fight against those who are only fighting for families to remain whole, for less loss, pain, stress, expense and for a positive change in the statistics. Let compulsory helmets do their job, sooner rather than later.”

Colin Burn of Road Safety Council reiterated Holt’s point: if we can’t change the attitude, it’s time to change the law. Burn applauded police for doing their best but said that they are powerless to prevent fatalities when they don’t have the support of the law.

• Rachel Reeves

Temarama Anguna from Ministry of Health, Edward Herman from FIU and Rosa Henry from Westpac Bank were chosen as Cook Islands delegates to the second Emerging Pacific Leaders’ Dialogue (EPLD), which will take place from March 11 until March 23.

The Cook Islands representative on the EPLD Secretariat is Ngara Katuke, who does clerical work for the team and organises their trip.

The inaugural EPLD in June/July 2006 brought together 120 prospective leaders from the member and observer nations/territories of the Pacific Forum.

EPLD 2010 is a regional leadership development initiative that is funded and sponsored by government agencies and the private sector across Pacific, a large portion of it by the Australian government.

It will again bring together 120 mid-career participants selected from more than 20 Pacific region countries/territories.

The theme of the EPLD 2010 is again ‘Navigating our Future Together’ and will focus on the significance of leadership in the context of relevant sub-themes including economic growth, regional co-operation and infrastructure, good governance, security, stability and strengthening communities, environment, industry, education and health.

• EPLD

Tributes are flooding in to the CI News online memorial page for local television news presenter Tamarii Pierre, who was tragically killed on Saturday.

Since the page was launched on Monday, friends, family and people from around the world have shared their tributes, thoughts and condolences for the family of the young Cook Islander.

Here’s what some of them posted:

- Dearest Tam & Family. Remembering you in your time of loss, we mourn with you the sudden tragic passing away of T2, and we pray for the comfort and peace of the Lord to be with you always. Warmest sympathies. Alofaaga. Lupe, Helen, Mon & Amaze

-Tam, My heartfelt condolences to you and the family for the tragic loss of your son. May the good Lord give you/family peace and comfort in this difficult time. Vinaka, Taito Nakalevu

- Tamarii (T2) was a youth that wasn’t scared of anything. He took it day by day and was never angry. Any obstacle that was given to him, he always made sure that he would achieve his goal of reaching the top.. Rest in peace T2. We miss you heaps. Bad Boys For Life Aaiiss!!! Nae Williams

- Dear Tamarii, Ipu & the Pierre Family, Please accept my sincerest condolences for the passing away of your dear son. During this most difficult time for you I pray that you will find solace in the peace and comfort that only our Father in Heaven can provide. May his soul rest in peace. Sincerely, Rosanna M. Galuvao-Ah Ching, Secretary to Programme Manager – Pacific Futures SPREP

- I never got to meet you personally but seeing you on TV every night made me feel as if I had met you or that you were my friend. I am a good friend of your sister’s and she is a great person so I can only imagine what kind of a person you with the great family support you had. I am sad that I will never get to know you but I will always remember your magnificent smile on TV. May you rest in peace and I wish your family and friends strength and my condolences. Julz Westrupp

- We want to send our condolences. We are a small family from Norway that lived in Rarotonga for six months, and we were lucky enough to meet Tamarii (T2). Linn became his friend. She is so very sad these days after hearing about what happened to him. Our thoughts are in Rarotonga right now. Much love from Norway. Heii, Linn and Mads in Norway

To send a tribute log onto www.cookislandsnews.com/Tamarii-Pierre-memorial.htm

• Helen Greig

The Titikaveka community turned out in force at the village rugby field for the Go Local launch which included an aerobics demonstration. 10030908

The Titikaveka community has embarked on a new mission to live healthier.

On Monday MP and deputy prime minister Robert Wigmore helped officially launch the ‘Go Local’ Titikaveka project at the rugby field behind the Kent Hall.

Community leader Teava Iro Jnr now heads a committee that will support the community’s efforts and promote the reduction of the country’s high rate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease and diabetes.

Many NCDs are preventable because they are the result of poor lifestyle choices such as diet, lack of exercise and alcohol and tobacco use.

Iro, who is also chair of the Titikaveka Growers Association, attended a regional workshop on NCDs in Fiji last year as a representative of the agriculture sector. He says each country was asked to design a programme for healthier living.

And so the idea for ‘Go Local’ was sown.

“Exercise is probably the most obvious thing we think of for a healthier lifestyle. Go Local means eat local food – we need to do something now and create a culture around it, not just for the community but for the individual to be healthier.”

Iro says they want to encourage people not just to create their own home gardens for fruit and vegetables, but a ‘food forest’ that contains a diverse range of foods which can grow together and are low maintenance.

Sports codes, schools, churches and traditional leaders have been asked to support the ‘Go Local’ project as well as provide suggestions on how they can get the most benefit out of it.

Ministry of health nutritionist and NCD coordinator Karen Tairea says the World Health Organisation is supporting the community project along with the traditional leaders and the ministries of health, agriculture and education.

Monday’s launch included an aerobics session and walk for the community. Papaaroa school students also sang a theme song they had composed for ‘Go Local’.

Iro says the project will look to support current community activities such as the use of the gym and weekly boxing sessions at the Kent Hall.

• Helen Greig

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