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General News

Week ending Wednesday, 18 January, 2012

Current events and entertainment in Rarotonga and the Cook Islands.

Muri people await survey results
Vaka ready to sail again
Farewell to Australian officer
Injured youth improves after surgery
Gospel days will still be observed
Good friend of hospital passes away
Vehicles now dangerous goods
Hospital septic system progressing
NCEA results out now
Mobile phone numbers up to 8000
Its Black Friday at Westpac
Flights discounted
Fishermen offer to manage FADs
Solicitor general post due
Amelia meets a real cowboy
Pukapuka's oldest man shares bits of his life story
CI delegation off to Geneva
Ministers visit pa enua
MIA not missing in action: Henry
Emergency call justified
Pacific Resorts win two world awards
Black and gold for Red Cross
PM meeting with Pacific leaders
Missing skipper had no passport
Skipper told locals he was heading to Brazil
PSC post still open
Chloe beats odds to pass her NCEA
All 12 Rarotonga water intakes are flowing again
New business rolls in for guides
MFEM tweets!
73 doing USP summer courses
Locals study to be hotel managers
Summer photo competition - this weeks entries
Local produce sales increasing
Changing of maritime officers
Local TV applies self-censorship
OPSC advisors job advertised
Hurricanes, heart issues worried skipper
Ministry putting together trochus report
Residents point to smells emotional impact
Experts undertaking review of Secretariat of the Pacific Community
New Virgin Australia flight schedule out
Ministry moving into new home
Ngatangiia men on cannabis charges
Entrepreneur programme on again
Cabinet due to sit tomorrow
Drier conditions for north, wetter for southern Cooks
Call for shipping containers
UNESCO commission accepting applications
Industry looks forward to a better year
2 cruise ships arrive today
Punanga Nui vendors meet with BTIB tomorrow
PLPG not closing up shop

Muri anxiously awaits the results of a survey conducted on Monday, the aim of which was to determine whether residents of homes neighbouring Scotts Farm are experiencing ill health as a result of their proximity to the poultry farm.

Officers from the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Service canvassed homes within 150 metres of Scotts Farm on Monday morning, and later that evening re-visited those homes which had been unoccupied earlier in the day.

The survey asked responders to outline their recent medical histories and make special note of any illnesses or symptoms they had experienced or any visits to the doctors office they had made.

The Ministry of Health administered a separate survey to around 10 employees of Scotts Farm.

Some of the neighbours surveyed have raised concerns that the questionnaire dealt only with health issues and did not take into account the odour coming from Scotts Farm.

They worry that the ministry will not pursue the issue of the odour any further if the survey reveals no neighbouring residents have experienced ill health.

Resident Mann Short, who has called the odour a nuisance, wants to know what happens after the results of the survey are released.

If the survey comes out and says no one is sick they might not do anything, Short said. ...if nothing is done were going to protest.

He has previously gone public with his plan to stage a community-wide protest, which he believes might be the only way to get the governments attention.

Cook Islands News understands that the Scotts Farm stench has come up in cabinet discussions, and will be re-visited at the next sitting of parliament in February.

Short hopes the government will pursue the issue beyond the scope of the Ministry of Health survey.

I have no idea why they had to go and do a survey. Arent they satisfied with the public complaints? Isnt that enough? he asked.

Another Muri resident spoke to Cook Islands News yesterday on condition of anonymity.

She has been living in Muri since 1969, when the poultry farm was still an orange orchard, and remembers signing a petition in protest of the stench wafting from Scotts Farm years ago.

Nothing ever came of the petition, which went to court but was dismissed.

The woman says she is tired of tolerating the stench, which cyclically becomes the target of public criticism.

We thank those writing in through letters to the editor people are again becoming aware of what we put up with, she said.

She says over the years the stench has had a major impact on her family, driving them sometimes to eat their supper at the beach rather than inside their home which neighbours Scotts Farm.

The same resident says she has a persistent cough, to which she alluded when health officers visited her home on Monday. She says they advised her she must have the flu, but she is convinced that there is another reason for her ongoing cough.

She added that when her grandson lived with her, he was always getting sick, but he moved out and hes not getting sick anymore.

While she does not blame Scotts Farm for her familys health issues, she wonders whether there is a connection between the two.

The woman called the ministrys survey a quick fix, and says she hopes the government will take further action to address the issue.

I told them (the surveyors) to come and live here and see how they like it, she said. They should do more. They better do something about it because its not fair to us neighbours who have to smell that smell every day...I know it (Scotts Farm) is a business but he (John Scott) has to think about our health.

The ministry has promised to share results of this weeks survey with Cook Islands News.

• Rachel Reeves

This photo by Ronnie Siulepa shows Marumaru Atua off the Avarua waterfront last year. 11033041

Cook Islands vaka Marumaru Atua is preparing for the second leg of her Pacific voyage.

Last year, she carried 16 of the Cook Islands sailors on a five-month journey throughout Oceania and down the coast of California. Since September she has been tied up at a San Diego dock, awaiting the next chapter of the voyage.

Captain and master navigator Peia Patai left Rarotonga on Saturday and is presently in Hawaii with crew members James and Jamal Pakoti for vaka safety training. In San Diego the trio will join the rest of the crew, which departs Rarotonga this Saturday.

Those onboard Marumaru Atua from San Diego to French Polynesia are Patai and Rakeimata Koronui, Jamal Pakoti, Harry Goodwin, Steve Daniels, James Pakoti, Alex Olah, Brown Apera Pori Makea and Sergio Lai, along with new crew additions Numa Mackenzie, Margaret Meyer, Royale Teiti Henry and Peia Patai Jnr.

The Cook Islands Voyaging Society are very excited about this crew, mixing experienced crew members with newly recruited crew, master navigator Tua Pittman said yesterday.

For this voyage Alex Olah will be responsible for updating the very popular daily blogs and emails to the people back home, taking over from Nick Henry who has recently been promoted to captain of the Samoan vaka Gaualofa, which is great for the Cook Islands having two captains in the fleet.

A farewell ceremony will be held for the seven Pacific vaka on January 21 from 10am to 3pm at Spanish Landing West in San Diego. The tentative sail plan has the vaka leaving San Diego on January 23 and arriving in Cabo San Lucas on January 28. They are scheduled to depart Cabo for the Cocos Islands on February 5, and spend the period between February 19 and 25 onshore in the Cocos.

The plan has the vaka leaving the Cocos on February 26 and arriving in the Galapagos on March 29, then leaving the Galapagos and arriving in Fakarava on April 5.

The vaka will be onshore in the Tuamotus and Fakarava until April 16, at which point they will set sail for Tahiti. The fleet is expected to leave Tahiti on April 24, make landfall at Bora Bora and then spend a few days onshore in Raiatea.

A departure ceremony is scheduled to be held in Raiatea on May 5, and from May 5 to June 28 the vaka will stop at Rarotonga, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu before arriving in the Solomon Islands for the Festival of Pacific Arts in July.

All vaka are expected to depart for their home islands on July 18.

• Rachel Reeves

10111110

Cook Islands police will hold a parade tomorrow to farewell maritime surveillance adviser Chris Cooper (above), who has come to the end of a two-year posting in the Cook Islands.

Cooper has spent the last two years working with the police forces maritime surveillance division as part of a relationship between the Cook Islands Police and Australian Defence Force (ADF).

A member of the New Zealand Defence Force is in line to replace Cooper, taking over the management responsibilities of the maritime security programme in the Cook Islands but still working under the support of the ADF.

The ADF renewed its commitment to support the Cook Islands and regional maritime security in the Pacific during annual discussions in Rarotonga in November.

During the top-level discussion, ADF group captain Peter Bennett reaffirmed the forces continued support to the Cook Islands, saying Australia valued its security partnership with the Cook Islands and its foundation of mutual respect and cooperation.

The parade will begin at 8.30am tomorrow at the Avarua police headquarters.

Cooper moved to Rarotonga from Darwin, Australia, in January 2010.

He spent 17 years with Great Britains Royal Navy and six years in northern Australia with the ADF.

• Eric Parnis

A Rakahanga youth who lost feeling in his legs in injuries sustained in a six-metre fall from a tree is showing encouraging signs of improvement after undergoing surgery in New Zealand.

Secretary of health Tupou Faireka yesterday said the 16-year-old was able to stand only days after receiving surgery at a New Zealand hospital.

The youth was not yet walking and does not have any sensations in his legs yet, but Faireka said he was showing a remarkable improvement on his condition when he was evacuated from the Cook Islands on January 5.

The 16-year-old was flown out of Manihiki, after being transported to the island from Rakahanga by boat, on a specially chartered flight paid for by the Cook Islands government.

The youth underwent surgery to regain feeling in his legs on January 6, Cook Islands time, a day after touching down in Auckland.

Faireka said the youths family was upbeat after seeing the youths condition pick up in such a short timeframe.

According to his specialists, the surgery went well. He hasnt got sensation back in his legs yet, but the specialists think it could take five or six months for the feeling to come back, he said.

Hes doing much better than he was a week ago, so theres big hope in his family that he will be able to stand and move about by himself again.

Faireka said the progress underlined how important it was to have the 16-year-old flown to Rarotonga to make the next stage of his trip to New Zealand.

He said this case was a special and rare incident and the lack of expertise and equipment in the Cook Islands to deal with such an injury meant there was no other option but to evacuate him from Rakahanga.

New Zealand has all the specialists required. It was the only and best option for a case like this to refer him as quickly as possible to New Zealand.

Faireka said the last similar case to this occurred about four years ago when a young Manihiki boy injured his spin after diving into shallow water.

The boy lost feeling in much of his body and it was predicted he would not be mobile.

Happily, Faireka said the predictions have proved to be false and the boy is now active and running about under his own control.

The boy still has not regained full feeling in his hands, but Faireka said specialists were predicting he could still regain that feeling over the coming years.

In that case, the boy took about two years to become mobile again, so Faireka said the Rakahanga youth should be further encouraged by the speed of his recovery so far.

• Eric Parnis

There is fun to be had during the Nuku pageant, which is held every year in celebration of National Gospel Day. While National Gospel Day will remain a public holiday, the gospel days of individual islands will not. However, they will still be observed. 10102631

The Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) wishes to clarify that while individual island gospel days have ceased to be public holidays, they have not been eliminated altogether.

There is still some confusion surrounding the change to this years public holiday calendar, which no longer includes island gospel days. Instead the calendar incorporates Ra O Te Ui Ariki, a public holiday set aside to honour the country's traditional leaders.

CICC says each island will continue to celebrate its respective gospel day as it has in decades past.

Holidays like Mothers Day and Fathers Day are not public holidays, but most people still observe them. In the same way, each islands gospel day will still be cause for celebration.

CICC general secretary Ngatokorua Mataio says islands are likely to observe their respective gospel days on the Sunday prior.

They are most likely going to do that on the Sunday prior instead of on the actual day because of the fact that gospel day will now be a working day for some, a school day for some, he said.

Mataio says that island gospel days were celebrated long before the government declared them public holidays.

Way back in time there was only one (Gospel day) public holiday, but the individual island gospel days were also observed by each island without being a public holiday, he said.

Churches were already observing (individual island gospel days) on the Sunday prior.

Around 30 years ago the government granted each island a public holiday to honour its gospel day.

In light of the recent legislative change which means island gospel days are no longer public holidays churches will just revert to the old way of celebrating gospel day, Mataio says.

The gospel days are already documented they will always be there, he said. You cant delete the gospel day just like you cant delete Christmas or New Years Day. They will always be there. Whats changed is the fact that its no longer a public holiday, but they will always be there forever and each island will observe it like way back in time.

He noted with a laugh that the government giveth, and the government taketh back.

CICC records reflect the following gospel days for each of the 11 inhabited islands.

Penrhyn celebrates its gospel day on March 13, Palmerston on May 25, Mangaia on June 15, Atiu on July 19, Mitiaro on July 21, Mauke on July 23, Rarotonga on July 25, Manihiki on August 8, Rakahanga on August 15 and Pukapuka on December 6.

Aitutakis gospel day October 26 was deemed national gospel day because Aitutaki was the first island to receive the Bible.

Ra O Te Ui Ariki falls on July 6 this year, and national gospel day is still October 26. Both are public holidays.

This year is also Leap Year, meaning February has 29 days. Leap Year rolls around every four years.

• Rachel Reeves

The Hospital Comforts group says the Cook Islands has lost a friend in Charlotte Mueller, shown here in July 2011, who was a prolific knitter of baby booties and other items for newly born children at Rarotonga. 11060311

Long-time visitor to Rarotonga Charlotte Mueller will be remembered for her love of the Cook Islands and contributions to the newborn baby gift programme following her death in Auckland this week.

Mueller, who has been visiting Rarotonga from her hometown Berlin for more than 30 years, passed away in hospital after suffering a stroke on Monday, Cook Islands time. She was recovering from leg injuries sustained during her most recent visit to the Cook Islands.

Friends in the Cook Islands yesterday said Mueller would be missed by many in Rarotonga and particularly by those in the Hospital Comforts support group.

The groups treasurer and long-time friend of Mueller Julie Bateman said Mueller had been knitting baby booties and socks for years to donate to the Hospital Comforts newborn baby gift programme.

A Hospital Comforts member visits the Rarotonga Hospital maternity ward each week and sometimes more regularly to give mothers a little parcel for their newborn baby.

Bateman said Mueller was so prolific with her knitting that she spent time in Berlin before coming to Rarotonga preparing booties for her visit and did not stop when she was admitted to the hospital herself.

Even with a broken leg in hospital she was still knitting baby booties, Bateman said.

Mueller has been described as being young for years, someone who was instantly likeable and whose love for the Cook Islands, its people and its culture was vast and unconditional.

She and her husband have been travelling to Rarotonga for more than 30 years, beginning with six-week stays and extending them more recently for up to three months at a time.

• Eric Parnis

Cars and vehicles being shipped to the Cook Islands from New Zealand (and vice versa) have been labelled dangerous goods by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The IMO is now reinforcing amendments to its Dangerous Goods Code, which stipulate that cars and vehicles being shipped in the Pacific are dangerous goods and subject to a certification process and a surcharge.

Carriers can not transport vehicles without the proper clearance and documentation. The onus is on the supplier to provide shipping agents with dangerous goods certification for each shipment that contains a car or vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

Dangerous goods clearance is $150 per unit.

While this may be inconvenient we must adhere to the regulations that have been put in place as a result of an amendment to the Dangerous Goods Code published by International Maritime Organisation of UN to which NZ is a signatory and which therefore is now a legal requirement in New Zealand, Reef Shipping said in a statement issued recently.

The statement was circulated to its clients, advising the changes to the IMO Dangerous Goods Code which affect all Pacific shipping carriers.

Signatories to the code including New Zealand had the option to comply with the amendment from January 1 of last year, but as of January 1 this year compliance is mandatory.

The amendment pertains to motor vehicles shipped break bulk, or loaded individually and not in containers or in bulk.

Now the following internal combustion engines, compression/ignition engines, fuel cell-powered engines are being classed as dangerous goods. Motorcycles, automobiles, forklifts, tractors, aircraft, boats or machinery containing an engine that runs on gasoline diesel or flammable gas all fall into this category. Measures can be taken to neutralise the hazard and earn the vehicle a non-hazardous classification.

Special provision 961 exempts some vehicles from being labelled dangerous goods.

Those granted exemptions must adhere to the following provisions: there must be no signs of leakage from the battery, engine fuel cell, compressed gas cylinder/accumulator or fuel tank; the fuel tank must be empty and batteries protected from short circuit; the positive pressure in the fuel tank must not exceed two bar, the fuel shut-off or isolation valve must be closed and secured, and installed batteries protected from short circuit; or the vehicle must be solely powered by a wet or dry electronic storage battery or a sodium battery, which is protected from short circuit.

Still, the line between dangerous and non-dangerous is fine.

Vehicles which are classified dangerous must still abide by the following rules in order to receive clearance.

They must not show signs of leakage from batteries, engines, fuel cells, compressed gas cylinders or accumulators, or fuel tank(s); fuel tanks containing flammable liquid must not be more than one-fourth full and in any case flammable liquid shall not exceed 250 litres; fuel shut-off valves must be securely closed; installed batteries must be protected from damage, short circuit, and accidental activation during transport.

Lithium ion or lithium metal batteries must meet requirements set out by the United Nations Manual of Tests and Criteria, and dangerous goods required for the operation of the vehicle or equipment such as fire extinguishers, compressed gas accumulators and airbag inflators must be securely mounted in the vehicle or equipment.

All of the above stipulations are outlined in Special Provisions for UN 3166.

The Dangerous Goods Code was developed in 1960 at the Safety of Life at Sea Conference and adopted in 1965 by the IMO Assembly. Amendments to its provisions are made biennially and originate from two sources proposals submitted by member states and recommendations submitted by the United Nations.

• Rachel Reeves

New Zealand septic system professionals oversee the last stages of installation and operation of a new waste treatment facility at Rarotonga’s hospital in Arorangi. 12011101

The first phase of work on an upgraded septic system at Rarotongas hospital is almost complete.

Following a delay in construction due to the initial lack of project approval, work resumed on site at Arorangi in September last year.

The Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) is managing the government project.

CIIC property manager Anne Taoro says the treatment system was brought online in the middle of last month and it is anticipated that a polishing system will be commissioned in two to four weeks. The polishing system is essentially a final filter, in membrane form, which will ensure septic matter is able to be discharged without risk to people and the environment.

This would bring phase one (installation and commissioning) of the project to an end. Phase two includes operations and maintenance for two years from the date of completion of phase one, Taoro says.

She says phase two is part of the installers contract.

Rarotonga Plumbing Contractors Ltd has installed the new system, for which approval was eventually granted by the Rarotonga Environment Authority in September.

Work on the $670,000 upgrade initially began on site in April last year.

Government agencies involved with the project then briefly delayed work, to address concerns about the waste water system being installed.

Those concerns were addressed and shortcomings were identified in the approval process for such projects, which have now been rectified by the relevant government agencies.

Initially the project was expected to take six months to get up and running.

It comprises the construction of a treatment facility in order for raw waste to be collected, treated and discharged into the environment on site.

A temporary system has been in place while the upgrade has been undertaken.

The only matter which will be treated and discharged on site through the system is sewage.

All contaminated material like swabs and biohazardous waste such as used syringes will continue to be burnt in an incinerator at the hospital.

Body parts and other human matter from operations will either be burnt or buried on site. Patients and their families usually opt to take body matter home to bury, and therefore the burial of body parts on site at the hospital is rare.

• Rosie Manins

The first lot of NCEA results for 2011 are now available on the internet.

National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level two results can be viewed online through the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) website www.nzqa.govt.nz

To access results an individual must have a National Student Number (NSN).

Those who do not know their NSN, or do not have access to the internet, can get their level two NCEA results through the Cook Islands Ministry of Education.

All other NCEA results for 2011 are expected to become available later this month.

• Rosie Manins

Telecom Cook Islands has panned a report predicting it will have 4400 customers on its mobile phone network by 2015, saying it currently has double that figure using its services.

International market research company Research and Markets released a report yesterday which predicted the Cook Islands would have approximately 4400 mobile subscriber connections in 2015.

The company says its forecast, which costs up to 481 euro or NZ$780 to purchase, provides key operational metrics for the Cook Islands wireless market and is one of the best forecasts in the industry.

But Telecom Cook Islands chief executive officer Jules Maher, who is currently outside the Cook Islands, said the reports figures were well wide of the mark.

Telecom currently has about 8000 people using its pre-paid and post-paid mobile services.

Maher said he was not sure where the company received its figures and added that Telecom would not be purchasing the report.

Sales and marketing manager Damien Beddoes echoed Mahers comments, saying that Telecom could not confirm the information in the document but that the company had already well-exceeded its predictions.

Beddoes said there were about 7000 active SIM cards using Telecoms pre-paid services and more than 1000 SIM cards on post-paid plans.

He said pre-paid SIMs had an expiry of six months, so the figure for active users may be smaller than the 7000 given, but he said even discounting those SIMs no longer in use and SIMs purchased by tourists to the Cook Islands Telecom easily surpassed the 4500 users.

Telecoms forecasting for user rates is tied to population predictions in the Cook Islands.

De-population is one of the biggest threats to Telecoms mobile phone user rate, but its expansion of mobile coverage to the outer islands in 2011 have helped it negate any loss in customers.

Telecom has established mobile networks in Manihiki, Mauke, Pukapuka and Atiu in the last 12 months.

It also has plans to institute full services in Penrhyn, Mitiaro and Rakahanga, as well as micro sites to Nassau and Palmerston Island in 2012.

Beddoes said Telecom would continue to improve its services and offer affordable deals on its mobile and internet services to help stimulate the Cook Islands economy.

He said better coverage, better value in its plans and prices, and more advanced mobile networks and internet services would help make the Cook Islands a more attractive place to do business.

• Eric Parnis

Workers in Avarua are claiming back Friday the 13th today and although theyll be dressing in black to mark the occasion, the colour wont have anything to do with bad omens or superstition.

Westpac staff will be making this Friday the 13th a day for good luck theyre ditching their usual red and white uniforms and coming to work in black to help raise money for charity.

Marketing and communications executive Jerome Shedden said it was all about creating a buzz in the office and giving a little something back to the community.

All the staff at Westpacs Avarua headquarters have been asked to come to work in black and make a gold coin donation, for Red Cross.

• Eric Parnis

Air New Zealand is offering discounts on flights connecting Rarotonga with Australia, but only for inbound flights.

Selected fares to Rarotonga from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland have been reduced for travel in periods from January to June this year.

The specials apply to some direct flights between Sydney and Rarotonga as well as certain flights from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane flying through Auckland.

Fares to Rarotonga start at $310 one way via Auckland from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane for travel between February 15 and March 17, and between April 26 and May 31.

Or fly direct from Sydney each Saturday for $380 one way from January 21 to March 31 and again from April 28 to June 30.

• Eric Parnis

Discussing the collaborative management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) are Rarotonga-based fishermen and staff from the Ministry of Marine Resources, as well as cabinet minister Teina Bishop. 12011213

The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) looks likely to authorise local fishermen to co-manage fish aggregating devices (FADs) positioned around Rarotonga.

MMR secretary Ben Ponia has agreed to stage a series of public meetings in the first quarter of this year with local fishermen and interested parties to determine the best collaborative approach in relation to FAD installation, maintenance and management.

At present there are 14 FADs around Rarotonga, but Ponia says the ministry has a flat-lining budget and increased responsibilities.

Accordingly, it cannot dedicate as much time and resource to FAD management as some local fishermen would like.

Senior MMR fisheries officer Sonny Tatuava says the ministry aims to check and maintain each FAD every month or two, but that level of maintenance can result in reduced FAD efficiency.

With declining catch rates around Rarotonga and an ever-increasing local demand for fresh fish and game fishing, that has fishermen chomping at the bit to get involved.

Ponia, Tatuava and marine resources minister Teina Bishop met with eight Rarotonga-based fishermen at Bishops office this week.

Fisherman Pupuke Robati says he goes out fishing every day and in his opinion only one FAD actually works. Fisherman George Ngaei suggests MMR hands over FAD management to the local fishing industry, which will see the end of constant nagging by members.

We want to maintain the FADs and take that off MMR so we can maintain them by ourselves, and we believe that will lead to an increase in catch rates. Give us a chance.

Ngaei says in the past there has been discontent from fishermen about the management of FADs.

Take the Panama FAD for example it was sinking at high tide for about one month before it broke off and your department (MMR) was alerted but nothing was done and it broke off. It could be months and months before a beacon is changed.

Im not laying blame, Im just saying thats the reality, so let us help. If we can work closely to achieve the same end, thats great.

Ponia is wary of clubs or fishermen taking ownership of FADs because fish are a shared resource, but he agrees a compromise with some involvement by fishermen will be positive.

• Rosie Manins

Prime Minister Henry Puna is considering a recommendation for the appointment of a new Cook Islands Solicitor General.

The Office of the Public Service Commissioner (OPSC) facilitated the recruitment process for the post in December 2011, following the appointment of former solicitor general Tingika Elikana as Ministry of Justice secretary in October.

Senior Crown Law Office lawyer Catherine Evans was officially sworn in as deputy solicitor general, but the top job has remained vacant since Elikanas departure.

A recruitment selection panel was appointed late last year with the prime ministers approval.

It comprises Trevor Clarke, Lynnsay Francis and Brian Mason.

OPSC chief executive Priscilla Maruariki says the panel has conducted interviews and tabled its report to the prime minister, recommending the most appropriate candidate for the post.

The prime minister upon his return will be tabling the recommendation to cabinet, which will then make a decision on this appointment, Maruariki says.

Puna is currently in Abu Dhabi and is expected to re-turn to the Cook Islands early next week.

The solicitor general takes responsibility as the executive head of the Crown Law Office and principal advisor to government on legal matters, as mandated by the Crown Law Office Act 1980.

Applicants are required to have a law degree, at least five years experience practicing as a barrister or solicitor or both in the Cook Islands or another Commonwealth country, and more than three years experience in executive management of a law practice similar to the Crown Law Office or Department of Public Prosecutions.

• Rosie Manins

A young Amelia Borofsky with her mother (left) and her Pukapukan friends when her family lived there from 1977 to 1981. 11111123

American Amelia Borofsky spent her formative years in Pukapuka, where her father was stationed as an anthropologist for the University of Hawaii. His dissertation focused on Pukapuka, and he later penned a book entitled Making History: Pukapuka and the Anthropological Constitution of Knowledge that is today available at the Cook Islands Library & Museum. Amelia lived in Pukapuka until she was five years old. She came back to the islands last year to get a taste of her childhood. She left for Pukapuka aboard Kwai late last year and expects to stay there until April or May. A writer herself, she has agreed to share some of her adventures and conversations on Pukapuka with Cook Islands News.

Papa Charlie Frisbie can be found most days on his verandah reading the Book of Pukapuka. 12011214

Riding his GG and enjoying a laugh – Papa Charlie Frisbie, at 81 years old, is the oldest man living in Pukapuka. 12011215

At 81 years old, Charlie Frisbie is the Wola or the oldest man living in Pukapuka.

The first son of Robert Dean Frisbie, the South Seas trader and writer, Charlie Frisbie can be found today sitting on his turquoise and pink verandah with his feet up reading the Book of Pukapuka.

With his trademark mix of cowboy English, Rarotongan and Pukapukan, Charlie can spin any yarn with his humour. I had a chance to walk along the reef with Papa Charlie Frisbie trying to keep up with his lean, muscular frame.

If you could live anywhere in the world, Papa Charlie, where would you live?

Well, right here I suppose, The Island of Desire. Its a good life. Its a free life. You dont need money like you do on the outside. And everyone comes by and waves and says hello Papa Charlie. Its not a lonely life. Ive got my little Pati (adopted daughter) over here too. Have you ever been to Suwarrow? Well, thats a place tooplenty of coconut crabs, plenty of fish, plenty of birds.

What do you remember of your father Papa Charlie?

I dont remember much. When I was born my mother was quite sick, you know, and my aunty Piki Piki looked after me. My father would come and go. When he would return Piki Piki would run into the taro patch and hide me until someone came to tell her you can come out now, Lopati and his band of cowboys have gone. When I visited him, he would always shoo all of us kids away because he was always busy typing on his typewriter. Later, Johnny learned how to do all his typing. He wrote lots of books. Have you read them? I like reading. Its a way to pass the time.

What do you remember of living in Rarotonga?

Oh, I had a good life in Rarotonga. I climbed the mountains. We would climb the coconut trees and sing (Charlie starts singing an old love ballad).

Any bad memories?

Nah, I just erase those. What would I have those for?

What makes you so fit, Papa Charlie?

Well, Ive got to keep young and trim. I used to ride the GGs you know. I would wake up at four in the morning to feed the horses. Then wed eat plain toast, no butter and no jam. We would have a cup of tea, no sugar. For lunch, just a few pieces of lettuce and no dinner. We rode the horses all morning and then fed and cleaned them. No sleep. No sugar. Hard times I tell you. You had to be lean and mean to ride the GGs.

Were you any good Papa Charlie?

Well, those islanders loved us (brother Jakey and Charlie). I hated coming back after losing a race and all the Rarotongans would be shaking their fists at me saying you lost all my money Charlie! and I would say, Whyd you bet on me? I was riding a donkey! But it didnt matter to the islanders if I rode a donkey, theyd still bet on me. I won some races for them. You think Ill be able to ride the GGs again?

Of course you will. Youre fitter than most.

The doctor came and did full check ups on everyone on the island. He said I was the fittest man on Pukapuka. I dont eat much, you know. Ive got a good heart.

Of course! You're a real cowboy Papa Charlie!

Health and agriculture minister Nandi Glassie is due to lead a Cook Islands delegation to Switzerlands capital Geneva this month.

Glassie and at least four other Cook Islands delegates are travelling to attend a conference on the rights of the child.

Among them will be internal affairs secretary Bredina Drollet, Crown Law Office lawyer Martha Henry, Myra Patai from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and Punanga Tauturu manager Kairangi Samuela.

Glassie says the delegation departs Rarotonga on January 22 and should be back in the Cook Islands at the end of the month. Already Samuela has presented a non-government organisation report to a committee for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

That followed a stakeholder consultation in Rarotonga last year, for discussion of the report before its final submission to the committee.

The consultation at Sinai Hall in Rarotonga on September 27 was facilitated by Lynnsay Rongokea-Francis the local consultant contracted by Punanga Tauturu to produce the draft report.

Samuela says the report complements a government report on the convention, submitted in December 2010.

That is an analysis of the extent in which laws, policies and practice in the Cook Islands comply with the principles and standards of the UN convention.

• Rosie Manins

Cabinet ministers Nandi Glassie and Teariki Heather are planning travel to outer islands next week.

Glassie minister of health and agriculture says he will depart Rarotonga for Mangaia on Monday January 16 and return on Wednesday January 18.

His trip is part of governments ongoing efforts to revitalise agriculture, particularly in the outer islands.

Heather is in New Zealand at the moment, but a member of staff at his ministerial support office says he will travel from Rarotonga to the northern group on Monday January 16.

The infrastructure minister is due to visit most northern group islands before returning to Rarotonga on Saturday January 21.

Recently a number of infrastructure-related projects have been undertaken in the north.

They include the construction of new schools and a cyclone shelter, wharf upgrades and the installation of an improved water supply system.

Fellow cabinet ministers Teina Bishop and Mark Brown will remain in Rarotonga next week.

Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters also has no plans to travel in the near future, and remains acting prime minister while Henry Puna is abroad.

Prime Minister Puna is in Abu Dhabi conducting business in respect of renewable energy.

He is due to return to Rarotonga on Wednesday January 18.

• Rosie Manins

Mangaia Island Secretary Helen Henry. 12011216

Mangaia Island Administration workers were not granted two extra public holidays at the end of 2011, though the public services were reduced while staff prepared for adverse weather that had set upon the island, according to island secretary Helen Henry.

The public sector at Mangaia came under criticism this week for appearing to grant workers two extra and illegitimate public holidays on December 28 and 29 while a wild, wet and windy weather approached the island.

A member of the public phoned Cook Islands News saying as a taxpayer he was disappointed that the islands public sector had closed down for an extra two days between Christmas and New Years Eve.

But Henry said although services were reduced, there certainly were not any public holidays granted for Mangaia Island Administration (MIA) staff.

Firstly, the Office of the Prime Minister declares all official statutory holidays in accordance to the relevant acts.  The activities surrounding the storm weather forecasts on the days mentioned above, affected employees only of the MIA on Mangaia and no other public servants so it could not be classed as a public holiday in that sense, Henry said.

The offices had posted notices on its doors showing that it had closed as a result of bad weather.

Some of the staff worked to secure government assets and resources before being released to tend to their families, homes and livestock.

Other employees were allowed time off to prepare for the stormy weather, with all approved downtime classified as leave, not public holidays, Henry said.

When there is unexpected weather patterns that affect the efficient delivery of MIA outputs, employees are commonly required to apply for annual leave, TOIL (time off in lieu) or LWOP (leave without pay) depending on leave entitlements, if they wish to return home, she said.

Those who remain at work are usually transferred to office or workshop duties, this is only in the cases of the agriculture development division, the infrastructure amenities division and the public utilities division, where the majority of their work plans relate to field work outside of the public shelters designated to each division.

In this event, however, the island experienced extraordinary weather behaviour the evening beforehand, and MIA was able to plan for the conditions as forecasted by the Met Services in Rarotonga the following day...

One of the clauses of the Head of Department contracts requires me to protect government assets and resources, the decisions made were in anticipation of this.

They were also decisions that arose from consultations with various personnel, such as Mangaia police, meteorological services (senior forecaster) Maara Vaiimene Jnr, management of MIA and selected members of the community.

Employees of the MIA are resources also, and they are of no use to anyone soaking wet, sick or huddled up inside a room from the hours of 8am to 4pm.

• Eric Parnis

All fishing vessels and the government-owned barge were pulled out of the Mangaia harbour in anticipation of cyclone-like weather in late December. 11121159

The swift actions of the island administration and public servants at Mangaia prevented the island and its infrastructure from suffering any serious damage during cyclone-like storms that hit late in December, island secretary Helen Henry said.

Gusting winds, severe rain and heavy sea swells that soaked Rarotonga shortly after Christmas also battered Mangaia when the low pressure system causing the adverse weather moved by the island on December 28 and 29.

The island experienced extensive flooding during the period, with some crop damage reported and road closures due to flooding and downed trees the most common complaint throughout the storms.

In a report given to Cook Islands News yesterday, Henry said the Mangaia Island Administration (MIA) had managed to ward off any major damage thanks to the early preparations it had carried out in the days before the worst of the weather hit.

Henry said every district and village in Mangaia was affected by the storms, including the harbour area.

The rains were heavier than normal and lasting for long periods of time with strong whipping winds and very rough seas experienced at different levels and times in all three villages of the island, she said.

Waves washed over the quay area of our harbour in Oneroa, exposing power lines connecting the harbour lights to the grid.

I contacted the disaster coordinator (police Senior Constable Aerenga Matapo) and advised him of the situation and to expect the bulletin updates. He responded that he had just returned from the harbour to remove fishermens vessels from inside the basin and also those tied up in the driveway mid way between the entry to the harbour and the quay.

I advised him that MIA would consider emergency procedures in anticipation of expected worsening conditions, and he agreed that we should take the warnings seriously as the weather appeared to be worsening at the time of discussions. I made the call to activate standard operating procedures in the event of an emergency. Luckily, the conditions did not worsen enough for the disaster coordinator to deem it necessary to activate the emergency operating committee.

Fishermans boats and the government barge were removed from the water and surrounding areas to higher ground to help prevent any losses.

Similarly, government machinery and equipment at the various public sector offices was readied for the approaching storm.

Helen reported that no government machinery or assets were damaged during the period and all fishing vessels and the government-owned barge survived the storms undamaged.

The main concerns for the public sector at the time came when the harbours power lines were exposed when waves and rocks washed over the quay area.

Helen praised the public sector staff for their efforts in preventing damage during the wild weather.

She said the staff and management had worked well together to ensure the islands resources were properly protected.

As head of department for the MIA, I believe it is my duty as a good employer and public servant, to act in the best interests of protecting Cook Islands government resources, Helen said.

I am of the view that I and the MIA employees did in fact act in such a manner that displayed the same.

In light of this, government resources including personnel were not affected in any way, with the exception of the power network lines at the harbour.

• Eric Parnis

The world’s best again – Pacific Resort Aitutaki. 12011237

The Pacific Resort Hotel Group scored a double victory at this years World Travel Awards in Qatar.

The Cook Islands hotel group won Worlds Leading Boutique Island Resort and Worlds Leading Island Villas at the final event in Doha on January 11 (Tuesday, January 10 Cook Islands time). For the fourth consecutive year Pacific Resort Aitutaki was voted the worlds leading boutique island resort, and for the second Te Manava Luxury Villas & Spa was voted the worlds leading island villas.

Pacific Resort Hotel Group chief executive officer Greg Stanaway says this award is considered to be the ultimate achievement for the group and for the Cook Islands.

Stanaway emphasised a focus on consistency and a determination to achieve outstanding guest experiences as the hallmark of success for both Pacific Resort Aitutaki and Te Manava Luxury Villas & Spa.

It is the total team and the people of the Cook Islands that underpin our reputation but I am specifically delighted with how our groups executive management team has developed into a mature, innovative and highly effective hotel management company, he said.

Over 5000 companies in 162 countries were nominated for awards. Thousands of industry professionals and consumers worldwide voted for winners via the internet.

Hailed as the Oscars of the travel industry by the Wall Street Journal, the World Travel Awards are recognised worldwide as the ultimate travel accolade.

Travel professionals and discerning travellers have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the very best endorsement that a travel product could hope to receive.

During this weeks awards ceremony, World Travel Awards president and founder Graham Cooke underlined the remarkable resilience of the global travel and tourism business despite the challenges of the recession.

It is during times of economic uncertainty that world-class brands come into their own, continuing to reinvent themselves and grow market share traits all shared by tonights World Travel Award winners, he said at the ceremony.

• Release/RR

Westpac Cook Islands staff dressed in black (from bottom, clockwise) Jerome Shedden, Rosa Henry, John Paul Wilson, Christine Eldridge, Christina Teau, Ngere Tararo, Marian Gosselin, Tuffy Tuakana, Carmel Butler. 12011317

There was a lot of black and a little bit of gold in an Avarua office yesterday, all in support of the Red Cross.

Westpac staff ditched their usual red and white uniform to mark Friday the 13th yesterday, claiming back the dark day for a good cause.

The staff came dressed in black, semi-casual clothes for the gold coin fundraiser day with money collected to go to Red Cross Cook Islands.

By midday yesterday, manager Carmel Butler said the staff had raised $162 to be donated to the Red Cross and the bank planned to match whatever the staff could bring together.

A total of $350 was raised by the bank, with the Cook Islands Red Cross staff raising a further $25.50 to add to the tally.

Butler said the day was meant to be a bit of fun for the staff while supporting the community through a charitable contribution.

She said it was also about turning a day typically associated with superstition, bad luck and dark omens into something good.

The origins of why Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day are unclear.

Records show that the superstition surrounding the day began being recorded in the mid-1800s.

One of the most popular theories states that the superstition combines two older superstitions that 13 is an unlucky number and Friday is an unlucky day.

In numerology, the number 12 is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the 12 months of the year, 12 hours of the clock, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles of Jesus, and so on.

The number 13 was considered irregular and an interruption to this completeness.

Friday has long been considered an unlucky day, with business conducted on the day viewed to be more likely to fail. Christians also view it unlucky because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

Adding to superstitious peoples worries is this: there will be three Fridays the 13th in 2012, all 13 weeks apart.

• Eric Parnis

Prime Minister Henry Puna is with the leaders of 11 other Pacific island states in Abu Dhabi, discussing the acceleration of renewable energy uptake in the region.

They are part of a high level meeting organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which precedes the second session of the IRENA assembly.

Punas attendance follows his trip to Abu Dhabi in December last year.

IRENA director general Adnan Amin has been speaking to Pacific leaders about the role of IRENA in supporting renewable energy deployment in the Pacific. He says the attendance and active participation of Puna and other leaders confirms the significance of renewable energy for their countries.

Amin commends the regions ambition, citing the Cook Islands plan to be 50 percent reliant on renewable energy by 2015 as well as Tongas goal of reaching 50 percent renewable energy this year.

These meetings in Abu Dhabi should lead to strengthening of national renewable energy policies and programmes, closer collaboration with sub-regional entities, strategic partnerships with regional institutions and relevant inter-governmental bodies, and the reinforcing of international solidarity and partnerships to advance the cause of renewable energy.

Puna has chaired part of the sessions, reminding fellow delegates that with every challenge comes opportunity and it is opportunities which the world must focus on.

Almost 99 percent of the energy used for transport and electricity in the Pacific is dependant on fossil fuel particularly diesel. The increasing cost of fossil fuels is therefore a key driver for accelerating the use of renewable energy.

This year IRENA plans to become a one-stop-shop for renewable energy technology strategies, assess grid stability in renewable energy systems in the Pacific, and assess renewable energy technologies adapted to Pacific conditions.

IRENAs work programme and budget for 2012 is being discussed and adopted at the Abu Dhabi meetings.

• Rosie Manins

The yacht Bonny a day after it was towed into Avatiu harbour late on January 3. 12010402

A skipper who stopped at Rarotonga unannounced and without a passport was able to come ashore because he required medical treatment, says Harbour Master Captain John Cornwell.

The skipper, who is now the subject of a missing persons case after disappearing off Rarotonga on January 3, did not go through the usual customs and biosecurity checks before coming ashore in the days prior to his disappearance.

It has since emerged that the Auckland man had not cleared customs in New Zealand before leaving in the yacht Bonny.

He is also wanted in New Zealand on 27 charges related to sex offences.

The man did not have a passport in his possession when he first arrived in the Cook Islands on December 31.

He said to Cook Islands authorities that he had lost all his documents overboard during heavy seas in the days following Christmas when a large wave crashed over his boat.

He also arrived at Avatiu harbour without contacting the relevant authorities.

Cornwell said travellers sailing to the Cook Islands from international ports are required to contact the Ports Authority giving at least 24 hours notice of their intentions before they planned to arrive at land.

Passengers are only allowed to come ashore once their vessels have been cleared by customs and passed quarantine checks, he said.

Cornwell said Bonnys skipper was only allowed to come ashore without going through the regular checks because he was complaining of heart palpitations and breathing difficulties.

We had no other choice, Cornwell said.

The skipper was taken to Rarotonga Hospital for a range of tests soon after he arrived about 8.30am on December 31.

His tests showed that he was suffering from some complications and staff at the hospital recommended he be admitted for further observation.

The skipper declined and returned to his vessel, leaving Rarotonga before returning to land the following day to retrieve medication.

The next time Cook Islands officials received contact from the skipper was on January 3, when he was again complaining of problems with his heart.

Once officials lost contact with the man, police patrol boat Te Kukupa was deployed to make contact with Bonny and try to locate the skipper.

But he was not found on the vessel.

Te Kukupa searched for the man in the waters around the boat but they could not locate any sign of him. A life jacket was found in the water nearby.

• Eric Parnis

Cook Islands Police are continuing their investigations into the disappearance of the man skippering the yacht Bonny. 12011331

Police are investigating the possibility that another vessel was nearby the yacht Bonny when the man believed to be skippering it vanished at sea earlier this month.

Cook Islands Police commissioner Maara Tetava said police were looking at the possibility that Bonny was not alone when its skipper disappeared about 20 nautical miles off Rarotonga on January 3.

But he said police had no evidence suggesting there was another boat in the area at the time.

Tetava said police patrol boat Te Kukupa had no sightings of other vessels on its radar when it set off to locate Bonny.

He said Te Kukupa was deployed at 11.30am, about two hours after Cook Islands officials lost radio contact with Bonnys skipper.

When we deployed Te Kukupa, it had its radar on and it did not show any other vessels in the area, Tetava said.

That is another line of inquiry we are making and it could be a possibility, but we have no evidence to support those claims, he said.

As news spread in Rarotonga of the criminal charges laid against the skipper this week, so too did the speculation about the mans disappearance.

Talk at the Avatiu marina included the possibility that there was another man hidden aboard Bonny, although most people that had contact with the boat or the skipper said he appeared to be alone.

Others said the man had mentioned he was on his way to Brazils second largest city, Rio de Janeiro, via a stop in Tahiti and believe he could still be on his way to South America.

Tetava said he would not comment on whether or not police believed the man was dead or alive.

The case remains open as a missing persons case.

• Eric Parnis

Cabinet is apparently close to approving the appointment of a new Public Service Commissioner.

Prime Minister Henry Puna recently told Cook Islands News that an announcement of the position will be made soon.

He will not discuss rumours about who is likely to get the job and says cabinet will follow formal protocols in due course.

At present Navy Epati remains in the job and will work until his replacement has been officially employed.

Epati planned to leave the Office of the Public Service Commissioner about 18 months ago, but has stayed on at governments repeated request.

In mid October 2011 Puna said Epatis replacement would be appointed within six weeks.

That deadline has long since passed without explanation.

At the time Puna told Cook Islands News he was grateful for Epatis willingness to continue working as commissioner.

Hopefully the appointment can be made before the end of November, but as you can appreciate its a very critical position and we want to make sure that as much as possible weve the right person in place, Puna said at the time.

He said the appointment process for a new public service commissioner was being established, and that included the formation of a panel to consider applications and make recommendations to cabinet.

Puna said by law cabinet does not need to go through the extensive process, but it is deemed appropriate given the high ranking position and interest from the public as well as applicants.

• Rosie Manins

Chloe Wragg had a rough go of it this year, but was relieved by her favourable NCEA results, which she checked online this week. She’s pictured with her sister Jean and brother Tevita. 12011301

Going into NCEA exams this year, the odds were stacked against Tereora College year 11 student Chloe Wragg.

Due to complications with her student visa, her six-month exchange programme with Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii started later than usual, meaning she returned to Rarotonga in July and had just half a year to catch up on what she missed.

Things got worse. After being back at Tereora for about a week, Wragg was hit with a severe case of juvenile arthritis. She tried to stay strong and she tried to push through it, but by the end of her second week back at school she could hardly walk and had to lean on her friends to make it up the colleges steps.

She spoke to then-principal Teaea Parima, who she says was very supportive and understanding and forced her to get medical attention.

Wragg was admitted to Rarotonga Hospital and eventually referred to Starship Hospital in New Zealand, where she was also admitted for monitoring.

It was a difficult time for Wragg, who worried that the setback would interfere with her schooling and her plans to one day become a pilot.

But God helped me through it, she said.

Altogether she was only able to attend Tereora College for six weeks this year she was in Hawaii for terms one and two, and because of her illness was only able to be at school for two weeks during term three and four during term four.

Upon her return to school, Wragg borrowed textbooks from friends and studied as hard as she could to make up for lost time. Wragg says for about two weeks she studied for six hours a day.

Her arthritis medication made her drowsy, forcing her to take frequent study breaks.

Going into her science, English and maths and accounting exams, she was confident that she had prepared as best she could.

Still, the three-hour exams were really tiring, she says. I was struggling to keep writing but managed to pull through.

Checking her exam results online this week, Wragg was able to breathe a much-anticipated sigh of relief.

Shes happy with how well she did, as is the rest of her family.

We had a fish and chips party because Chloe passed her exams! shouted baby sister Jean.

Wraggs mother Ulamila says she is proud of her daughters courage and determination.

I was just hoping shed get through and be happy and not demoralised Im so happy for her. Im over the moon.

Wragg still has to travel to New Zealand every three months for check-ups, but has no doubts about whether shell be able to get through the academic year. After she finishes school she hopes to get a scholarship to attend aviation school in New Zealand or Fiji.

Chloes always been very responsible, but this (ordeal) really toughened her up to do well, her mother said. Ive told her to keep the momentum going some are in worse condition than my daughter. I want her to be grateful for her academic opportunities.

• Rachel Reeves

The quality and pressure of Rarotongas water should be back to its usual standards following the festive seasons ferocious weather.

Heavy rains that fell on Rarotongas interior caused troubles for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Plannings water works division when debris and mud brought down by the cloudburst entered all of the islands 12 water intakes.

Water works officer Adrian Teotahi said all 12 of Rarotongas water intakes received some kind of blockage during the cyclone-like weather that struck the island in the days following Christmas.

He said most were flowing at rates about 50 to 60 percent of what they should have been due to the amount of debris and mud that had collected in them during the weather front.

Rarotonga received about 160mm, or 6.5 inches, of rain over a 48-hour period beginning December 26. The rain accounted for half the months total.

Teotahi said the heavy falls had a big impact on the intakes and the water works maintenance crew was hard at work in the days that followed to fix the problems.

The crews first worked on the worst affected intakes, having to reach them by foot on two occasions with roads shut off because of fallen trees.

Teotahi said the workers could clear three or four intakes each day, spending almost all their time working in the water itself.

Water works can tell which intakes are worst affected based on pressure readings recorded throughout the day.

Teotahi expected some residents in low-lying areas to notice the drop in water pressure caused by the blockage, with virtually everyone on the island receiving less clear water than normal.

We can filter leaves, sticks and other debris out of the water but the colour is not removed, Teotahi said.

The ministry is currently working on extending infrastructure upgrades to all the intakes Rarotonga.

Last year, facilities at Avana and Turangi underwent upgrades to improve the equipment at intakes and the ease of access to them.

Teotahi said roads leading to the intake were dramatically improved through the work that enhanced the road surface, water crossings and culvert areas.

He said the facilities at the intake itself were also improved through the works, bringing a better and more consistent pressure to supplies and a better quality of water to the area as a result.

Some trees were felled in the process including some that shed leaves and other debris into the water with the approval and guidance the National Environmental Service and in consultation with the agriculture ministry.

Still, the improvements do not mean that intakes are safeguarded against blockages during heavy weather events, Teotahi said, so the water works maintenance crew will remain on call to respond to any complaints.

• Eric Parnis

Bonefish guide Itu Davey takes a Kiwi fly fisherman to catch the ever-elusive Aitutaki bonefish. 12011035

Fly fisherman Jon Hall says bonefish guide Itu Davey has a special skill for spotting bonefish – like the 13-pound specimen Jon holds here. 12011041

As the world gets wind of Aitutakis best-kept secret, business rolls in for the islands trained bonefish guides.

Richard Story and Ian Bertrams idea to turn local bone fishermen who were netting and killing bonefish at rates that the bonefish population could not sustain into guides for fly fishers from all over the world is Aitutakis biggest success story, according to American fly fisherman Jon Hall.

The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) sponsored the training initiative, enabling local fisherman Itu Davey to establish Itus Way, a bonefish guide business that employs other trained guides.

For the past two months Hall has been working with Davey and his two brothers, teaching them the ins and outs of running a business and managing accounts. Hall reports that the companys client base jumped from 50 to 163 in one year.

Itus Way has already booked 100 days on the water for 2012. Daveys goal is to be on the water for 250 days of the year, which will allow him to double his profit margin.

Earning $400 a day, he hopes to generate enough income to purchase a third boat so as to accommodate groups of up to 10 people at a time.

Hall, who has been involved in MMRs bonefish guide initiative from its 2009 beginning, believes that Itu and his brothers are some of the best guides in the South Pacific.

This is the talent these guys have just incredible. Itus got me catching 13-pound bonefish, Hall said yesterday.

Itu took out a 65-year-old Australian gentleman with cataracts who couldnt see and helped him catch a nine-pound bonefish. He talked to him, (giving him cues like) 2 oclock or 20 metres and the guy cast and caught a nine pounder.

He predicts that this year fly fishers can expect to land unusually large bonefish in the waters of Aitutaki.

Last year was the year of many, this year will be the year of few but big I landed one 13-pounder, one 12 (pounder) and two others at over 10 (pounds), he said.

I lost over 10 bonefish I reckon were double figures in amongst those would be something pushing the world record.

Hall says any fisher who gets a week on the water in Aitutaki has a real chance of landing a double figure bonefish.

He continues to advocate Aitutakis bonefishery abroad, and is working to organise a speaking tour of the United States for Richard Story.

He is hoping to organise a tour so that Story can speak in fly fishing communities from Florida to Alabama to Louisiana to Texas, and simultaneously screen a 90-minute DVD put together by Carl McNeil of On The Fly Productions which features Itus Way and Aitutakis bonefishery.

There are thousands of fly fishers in the United States who dont know where the Cook Islands (is), Hall said. But if you tell them about double-figure bonefish, they will ask, Where?

• Rachel Reeves

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) has established a twitter account in order to provide Cook Islanders with immediate updates on the internet.

Twitter is a social media network, which acts like an instant messaging forum.

Anyone can log on and establish a twitter account, which enables them to follow any other users they may be interested in.

The website has become a popular source of gossip and genuine news worldwide.

Financial secretary Richard Neves says he established MFEMs twitter account in the past week.

Neves says he has had his own account through the website for a while, which he uses to get snippets of the latest news from around the world.

So what will MFEM tweet about?

Neves says already he has posted information about upcoming statistical data that MFEM plans to release publicly.

It is a handy way to just put information out there.

People are not required to read through scores of text or pay to view information.

Instead they can receive instantaneous tweets in relation to the ministry and use information how they see fit, Neves says.

He hopes to post new information about the ministry and its output every few days.

Well just be a guinea pig and see how it works.

The ministrys twitter account is mfem_cookis.

• Rosie Manins

Seventy-three Cook Islands university students are filling their summer months with extra homework and assignments, enrolled in one of five summer school courses on offer at USP Cook Islands this year.

Four tutors from USPs Fiji campus have arrived in the Cook Islands to teach summer courses over the coming weeks. They are joined by local tutor Mii Manuela, who is this year teaching a course in communication and information literacy to 15 students.

Premila Devi is teaching a four-week English for academic purposes course to 25 students. She has a postgraduate certificate in teaching and a certificate in teaching English as a second language, and spent six years teaching Asian students English at the University of Queensland. She currently teaches at USPs faculty of arts and law.

Seventeen Cook Islands students are taking an accounting theory and applications course with professor Mick White, who also teaches at USP Fiji. He holds a diploma in teaching in higher education, a masters in accounting from the University of London and a bachelors of economics from the University of Hull. His research interests include accounting theory, accounting regulation and international accounting and culture.

Lecturer Dinesh Kumar arrives this weekend to teach six Cook Islands students about IT (information technology) project management. He works in the department of computing science and information systems at USP Fiji, and lists his research interests as computer graphics and facial animation.

Greg Cornwall of USP Fiji is teaching a course in food and beverage management to 10 Cook Islands students in both Rarotonga and Aitutaki. After completing the course those students will have the option to continue working toward a diploma or a bachelors of commerce in hospitality and tourism.

Summer school courses at USP Cook Islands started in either late December or early January and will wrap up in the first half of February.

USP Cook Islands has a full course schedule this year, which includes both undergraduate courses (in accounting, agriculture, biology, chemistry, computing, economics, English, education, geography, geomatics, law, marine sciences, mathematics, management, physics, psychology, sociology and hospitality and tourism) and postgraduate courses (in public sector management, information systems, international affairs, education and climate change). Semester one starts on February 20 and lasts 15 weeks.

USP is also going through a major re-model. To accommodate its student numbers and its newly-introduced postgraduate programmes, the campus is adding a computer lab, lecture room and postgraduate study rooms.

Part of the computer lab will be designated for iMac machines, and the study rooms will accommodate postgraduate students and those working on research for doctorate degrees. The re-model is expected to be completed on February 17, just before semester one starts.

• Rachel Reeves

Tutor Greg Cornwall (centre) with students in his summer school course – from left, Bill Nanovu, Rita Mateara, Stephanie Vaiimene and Tubale Vakalalabure. 12011234

Fiji-based hotelier Greg Cornwall has over 40 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry and has worked in management at hotels across Asia and the Pacific. But after just three days in Rarotonga, hes convinced that Cook Islanders are some of the friendliest, most hospitable people in the world.

Cornwall, originally from Tasmania, moved to Fiji when he was three and aside from doing his schooling and holding a few jobs overseas, has lived on Viti Levu ever since.

I thought Fiji was friendly and it is but I think the Cook Islands is even better, he said on Thursday. Theres something special here my first impression has been great. I havent met anyone whos turned me off yet.

Cornwall is in the Cook Islands on assignment, teaching a summer school course in food and beverage management at USP. His tentative plan is to teach six students in Rarotonga for one week, two students in Aitutaki for three weeks, and then finish the Rarotonga course in the following two weeks.

His course covers a little bit of everything, he says, and aims to prime Cook Islanders for hotel management positions. Those students taking the course have the option of continuing on to complete a diploma or a bachelors of commerce in hospitality and tourism.

Cornwall is covering the two major components of hotel management the first is rooms, which entails housekeeping, reception, reservations and activities, but he is focusing primarily on food and beverage, which includes cooking, bartending, restaurant management, function room and banquet organisation, room service and catering. Hes also touching on human resource management, finance and sales and marketing.

(Hotel management) is an interesting job because youre doing a little bit of everything, Cornwall said. Youve got to be a bit of an accountant, a bit of a cook, bartender, human resources manager, sales and marketing manager, gardener. And in the islands youve got to know how to make your own power youve got to understand generators and sometimes make your own water, and youve got to handle your own rubbish and understand hurricane action plans.

Squeezing a six-week course into three, he is teaching one topic a day, in the evenings when his students finish work.

One-quarter of the students final grade is an assignment that requires them to create a menu that honours farm-to-table criteria it must be sustainable and local using fresh, basic, seasonal ingredients.

One thing Im passionate about is helping farmers get hooked up with resorts, Cornwall said. When (resorts) use local produce theyre cutting down on imports and giving revenue to local farmers. Theyre also cutting costs.

He encourages hotels and restaurants to incorporate local foods into their menu as often as possible.

If you can persuade tourists to try things theyll develop a taste for it and start asking for it overseas, which helps exports. A lot of people dont think about it that way.

During the day, Cornwall is making use of his time chatting with local hotel operators in an effort to promote USP courses, meeting with the local foodies he read about in Robert Olivers cookbook Mea Kai, and tasting the local fare.

He carries a notebook and a folder with him wherever he goes something he also encourages his students to do.

I tell them to keep an A-Z folder. Whenever they learn something, like if they come across a better vinaigrette recipe, they can put it in the folder for (reference) later.

Cornwall says that if there is a demand for his course next year, he will come back. In the meantime, he encourages Cook Islanders to take ownership of the countrys biggest industry.

Ive never seen anyone who worked hard and studied that didnt go up the ladder, he said of the path to hotel management.

• Rachel Reeves

Youngsters and family gatherings feature in this the second batch of entries in our Memories of Summer photo competition.

Our first weekly winner is Teremoana Hardie of Tupapa who sent in her boys gossip and girls do all the hard work summer shot.

Hardie wins a framed photo of her winning snap and along with all week one entries printed will receive a free Cook Islands News tote bag which can be picked up at the CI News office in Maraerenga.

Email your snapshots to: editor@cookislandsnews.com

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This photo sent in by Bobbiejo Healey is of young Te Atarua’s best summer moment –enjoying a yummy mango, last one on the tree at home in Arorangi. 12011110

 

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No better way to spend a summer day! Anne-Marie Bounsall sent in this photo of surfer Simon Bounsall amped to be getting out in the water at Ngatangiia. 12011223

 

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Teuru Tiraa-Passfield sent in this photo of brothers Marouna and Tupuna Mata in Amuri, Aitutaki, having fun in the lagoon before a beach BBQ. 12011115

 

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Mere Vaipapa (right) with Tyrees and Michelle Williams playing in the once quiet stream at home in Araitetonga after heavy rains. 12011014

 

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Henry the goat and Mere Vaipapa playing in the summer sun. 12011013

 

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Lorraine Samuel sent in this photo of her granddaughter Vienna Tevai (aged 20 months) enjoying a cold ice cube while soaking up the sun at a beach in Aroa. 12011217

 

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Teuru Tiraa-Passfield sent in this photo of her newphew Corleone Tiraa-Rangi on the reef in Matavera at very low tide. “He was upset because he wasn’t allowed to walk barefoot... nek minute we saw a stonefish!” 120110114

 

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Lorna Ngarangi Napa entered this photo of Luciana Matenga and her son Anapa Nicholas swimming at Akapuao while on a Captain Tama cruise. 12011112

 

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“Summer, summer, summer – gazing at the beautiful sun while posing on a beautiful white sand beach and blue waters in Arorangi with my friends Maricel, Eva, my cousins Aleyn and Amy of course me, Johnalyn.” 12011113

 

Atiu pineapples are currently being sold in supermarkets and stores across Rarotonga. 10111936

The Cook Islands Trading Corporation (CITC) is recording an increase in the sale of Cook Islands produce at its main supermarkets. The trend is a result of the Go Local campaign, which was implemented throughout the country last year.

It encourages tourists and locals alike to purchase or support Cook Islands products, food and business where possible.

CITC manager Gaye Whitta says the companys produce supervisors work closely with local growers and are constantly managing stock levels to cater for the demands of customers.

With the introduction of the Go Local campaign in Rarotonga, there has been an increase in sales of local produce at Foodland and the Supermarket which has been awesome. We have also seen an increase in the variety of product that local growers have been supplying such as ginger, passionfruit and carambola (starfruit).

Whitta says unfortunately the supply of some local produce has not lasted very long as stock depletes quickly, but the weather has been predominantly favourable for growers.

We have been fortunate to have an extended local growing period with cooler weather which has produced some awesome local cabbages which have been better than the New Zealand product. We try to source seasonal fruit such as mangoes and pineapples as soon as they become available.

Atiu pineapples are currently in stock at CITC stores in Rarotonga. Whitta says customers are the companys focus, and accordingly produce supervisors try hard to ensure CITC has standard fresh vegetables available at all times.

If we know there is local product available we ensure that we stock this product and reduce what we import. CITC tries to only import fruit and vegetables from New Zealand if there is no alternative product in the local market.

She says unfortunately the local supply of fresh produce has been affected by heavy rain in the past few weeks.

We continue to talk to local growers daily to find out what is available. With the recent event of heavy rains, growers have seen crops damaged and all their hard work under water or waterlogged, which has seen local supply drop away.

But we will continue to support the Go Local theme and look after our growers.

Agriculture minister Nandi Glassie is heading to Mangaia on Monday as part of governments ongoing initiative to revitalise agriculture in the Cook Islands.

Last year Glassie similarly travelled to Atiu and Mauke to oversee progress in the development of locally-grown produce.

He expects the cash crops for export from the Cook Islands to remain pawpaw, noni, coffee and vanilla but says pineapple and vegetables can be grown to supply the domestic demand.

• Rosie Manins

Outgoing maritime surveillance officer Chris Cooper saying goodbyes to the Cook Islands Police force. 12011316

Incoming maritime surveillance officer Tony Grubb said the Cook Islands maritime protection programmes would benefit from more collaboration with New Zealands navy and airforce in the future.

Grubb expected the Cook Islands would see more collaboration between its maritime surveillance and New Zealands regional work in the coming years.

Until now, the Australian Defence Force has provided a lieutenant commander for the maritime surveillance officers position in the Cook Islands.

The task has now been handed to New Zealand defence, although the Australian Defence Force is still administering the programme.

Grubb, who brings 30 years of navy experience with him, said he believed he was taking over control of the best run patrol boat in the Pacific at a police parade held on Friday to farewell outgoing maritime surveillance officer Chris Cooper.

Cooper will move back to Darwin with his family after spending the last two years in the Cook Islands.

There he will command an Armidale class patrol boat in the waters north of Australia, protecting the countrys fishing and immigration laws.

Cooper said he would miss the Cook Islands and thanked the police force for being so welcoming and inclusive during his time here.

He described the Cook Islands police officers as being well trained, disciplined, organised and easy to work with.

Cook Islands Police commissioner Maara Tetava thanked Cooper for his frank and honest advice and welcomed Grubb to the team.

Tetava said Grubb was well experienced with the Cook Islands, having worked with officials here in his roles in previous programmes and advisory roles.

Tony Grubb is no stranger to the Cook Islands and the Pacific and I have no doubt he will continue the good work of the programme, Tetava said.

• Eric Parnis

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Outgoing maritime surveillance officer Chris Cooper (front row, centre) with official guests and the Cook Islands Police force. 12011311

 

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Outgoing maritime surveillance officer Chris Cooper (front row, fourth from left) with the Cook Islands Police maritime division. 12011310

 

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Outgoing maritime surveillance officer Chris Cooper saying goodbye to the Cook Islands Police force with Cook Islands Police Commisioner Maara Tetava in the background.

 

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Cook Islands Police march past new maritime surveillance officer Tony Grubb, outgoing maritime surveillance officer Chris Cooper, New Zealand High Commissioner John Carter and police commissioner Maara Tetava. 12011312

 

Greg Parker. 12011323

Alfred Morris. 10112617

In the small Cook Islands broadcasting industry, television companies are largely self-censoring content.

Vaka Television general manager Greg Parker says he is not aware of any legislative restriction or framework for television programming, but he and company chief executive Dave Reuther self-censor their content.

When we get our programmes they already come with a rating we always have a rating before each programme.

Ratings are imposed in New Zealand or Australia, where Vaka TV sources the bulk of its content from.

Parker says if he or Reuther feel that a certain programme requires a greater rating than what it has been labeled with, they change it accordingly.

If we know a programme is PG (parental guidance) and its a bit worse we might rate it as an M (mature audiences) or an R (rated), so we self-regulate a little bit. We are very much aware that it is a Christian country and we dont want to offend anyone.

Parker says generally programmes with higher ratings intended for adult viewers are not aired during the day when children might be watching television.

But he says ultimately parents are responsible for the television content their children are allowed to watch.

If we rate something as R and a parent lets their children watch it, then theres nothing we can do about that. But we certainly try to give them that information and advice before the programme starts.

Parker and Reuther say they have not received any complaints in respect of their programming.

We also try to make sure our programmes are pretty much family orientated, Parker says.

Cook Islands Television content is also largely pre-rated in the country of origin.

Trevor Pitt, of the Pitt Media Group, says there is a local broadcasting act but it does not necessarily stipulate that certain programmes can only be aired at certain times.

I dont recall any stringent timing for that level of censorship.

Pitt says CITV self-regulates according to common sense.

Its about local standards and whats acceptable community-wise because weve always been a Christian-based company and weve had a strong content of religious programming since the beginning so thats kind of helped us keep on the straight and narrow.

Where weve to go down the commercial road to attract advertising, we need to play the key programmes like Shortland Street but weve always pushed it to an 8pm timeslot.

Pitt says adult programming, such as dramas, are aired even later to avoid exposure to youth.

Violence, swearing and nudity are a no-no.

We wouldnt expect to be showing R-rated stuff at all. Something thats an R18 (restricted to viewers aged 18 years and older) in New Zealand wouldnt make it onto television here.

He says CITV uses existing ratings as a guideline but also takes into account Cook Islands culture, sensitivities and standards.

Network television, where most New Zealand and Australian content is sourced from, tends to be relatively mild compared to cable television programming which is hardly aired locally, he says.

You have to be aware of the source of material.

Pitt says CITV has occasionally dealt with chief censor Alfred Morris in terms of television content.

There have been occasions where hes expressed concern over some of the stuff that crops up. Shortland Street is an obvious target and the main one that attracts attention.

Pitt says the company aims to keep within safe boundaries as best it can, although some documentary material can be graphic or disturbing and even some news segments can be explicit.

On occasion we might have documentaries that have bad language but its in the context of the documentary they might be talking about a particular issue to do with violence or drugs for example.

He says to some degree broadcasters must also be conscious of their licence to air content, which can stipulate conditions.

• Rosie Manins

The Office of the Public Service Commissioner (OPSC) is advertising its vacancy for the job of performance management advisor.

Carmen Temata retired from the position recently, after more than 40 years in the public service.

Her leaving party was attended by Prime Minister Henry Puna.

The job of performance management advisor is a senior position which involves the provision of executive advice to heads of ministries in relation to performance development within the public service.

OPSC staff members say it is a crucial role and one they hope will be filled quickly.

Applications for the job close at 4pm on January 24.

OPSCs job description for the role cites its purposes as the robust performance management of government which promotes accountability, the strengthening of monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure effective operations and high performance, and the assistance to ministries in developing outputs as a management tool in implementing government policies.

The performance management advisor is also to provide executive advice to OPSCs chief executive and Public Service Commissioner when required.

They are responsible for reviewing the performance of heads of ministries and ministry outputs as well as institutionalising performance management systems.

The performance management advisor is also responsible for up to a minimum of two support staff budget permitting.

Applicants must have at least a degree in management and public administration or human resources and eight years of experience in a related employment field, as well as preferably a masters degree in related fields and a sound understanding of government operations and governance issues.

They should have a strategic management background and the ability to develop public sector performance frameworks, experience in the public sector with strong skills in researching, writing and analysing policy, an understanding of the Cook Islands national budget and business planning framework, and awareness of regional and international best practices in related fields.

Job descriptions and application forms are available through the OPSC.

• Rosie Manins

The yacht Bonny moored at Avatiu harbour after skipper David Peppiatt disappeared off Rarotonga this month. 12011630

Er, GIDDAY!

Well I got as far as Raro in one piece.

The harbour here is only slightly bigger than a swimming pool and a dreadfully exposed location. Poor old boats been taking a bit of a wharf beating over night.

Anyway, when I turn up and find the entrance theres nobody around so I spot a bit of a concrete wharf and was almost tied up when some dude on a moped (everybody rides the damn things around here, and with absolute reckless abandon) and tells me I cant moor here I have to moor over there ... about 10 feet away.

You the harbour master, I ask.

No. Hes off on sick leave.

Is he? Well that is good news, I think to myself. No harbour master means customs wont be alerted. Things are looking up.

I move to the other side of the harbour and find the harbour master has raised himself from his sick bed. Damn.

Although he turns out to be a thoroughly decent chap, he starts out fairly aggressively and says I cant tie up because I didnt give the required 48 hours (sic) notice of arrival.

Um, but Ive been at sea for 45 days so how could I give notice?

Well youre supposed to send notice before you leave the last place you were at. And anyway, why are you here. All the other boats left earlier in the month because this is the hurricane season.

Beg pardon? I think, also think, F--- me. No wonder the weather has been so bad. But the hurricane season? I thought hurricanes were the pets of the northern hemisphere.

I tense up when I realise the enormity of my position. Oh man I have to get out of here and get out pronto and get as far south as I can as fast as I can.

My brain is speeding up and a plan lays itself out.

Well, you see. It was not my intention to come here. I was heading for Tahiti but as I passed south of Mangaia I had some heart problems so I had to come here to seek some attention.

As I say, hes a really nice guy. Ten minutes later we were secured to the wharf, and 20 minutes later (transport provided) I was in Raro hospital (actually a few Quonset huts stuck together with low quality glue).

As I was about to get into the car the harbour master said, you get sorted, get back here and be gone.

Im thinking, Yeah, after I get some fags and wine, I will be.

Ten minutes after arrival (the service is amazing) Im attached to an ECG. Bugger my gumboots if in fact they discover Ive recently had a heart attack, which, given some of the conditions Ive endured, doesnt come as a surprise, but I have to say I never noticed.

The doc wants me in a hospital bed for observation for a few days.

Im sorry. I simply cant, and for two separate reasons. The first being the harbour master wants me gone because I dont have the proper entry papers. Second its the hurricane season (I say this part in the manner of a mariner who knows about these things) and I have to keep heading east as fast as I can to get clear before all hell breaks loose.

Sir, he intones with due authority, I am now your doctor. You have had a heart attack. We have no idea yet, and until the bloods come back, the extent of damage. If I say you are to remain on this sunny isle till the end of time, then that is precisely what you will do, and no snotty harbour master or custom chap, or even our esteemed prime minister will have it otherwise.

Well, I guess that says it. However, I still have the other problem. The hurricane season and the fact that there is no safe place for me to moor my boat. Im sorry doc I simply have to go.

What about the rest of your crew? Why cant they simply leave without you?

Um, there is no other crew. Im it.

What!? Are you telling me you are sailing a yacht from New Zealand to Tahiti on your own, at your age, and with heart problems?

Hey! Easy on the age bit, but yes, thats about the size of it.

This huge grin burst on his face.

By the way, when I was shovelled into the car at the wharf I didnt have a shirt on and since I havent worn any clothes for at least a month, the lack of shirt bypassed my notice.

So there I am, in a pair of shorts, with this hugely grinning doctor who then says, I must say, you certainly look to be a remarkably strong and healthy specimen.

Out there on the ocean, Doc, you get exercise 24/7 because you are always moving, even when in a bunk your body is on the move, compensation for the rolling and bucking of the boat.

Further, hanging on for dear life, especially in storms is just a way of life.

He gave me a very avuncular pat on the shoulder and said, Youre a very brave man. Now then, we need blood. Well get that then you come back tomorrow and we will decide on what best medications I can give you. Meanwhile, heres a letter to show the authorities lest they may wish to intervene.

I couldnt believe my good luck. They called a taxi and I made a new friend. She changed some US dollars into NZ dollars, for a lusty fee may I add, but then said all taxi rides till I leave would be free.

She took me to the grog shop, sorted me out to get to an internet caf to send this, took me to a grocery store to get stuff, helped load the stuff onto the boat and asserted she would be back at 9 oclock to get me up to the hospital.

So thats where Im at. I have to say this revelation about the hurricane season has given me a modestly sleepless night. I need to get as far south as I can, as quickly as I can. And so, about an hour after I have sent this I will be gone.

Interesting place, Raro. Very casual. Very friendly folk. And you can do pretty much whatever you like without having to get a permit. Way to go!

Toodlepip, old buddy. Hope I will be able to send more some time in the future from some place, so long as neither heart nor hurricane intercede in the plan.

Ahab

January 1, 2012

Aitutaki residents share a laugh while processing harvested trochus shells. 12011049

The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) is compiling a report on the recent trochus harvest in Aitutaki, to be published in the Secretariat of the Pacific Community newsletter.

Late last year MMR supervised Aitutakis trochus harvest the first on the island since 2003.

In total 17 tonnes of dry, clean trochus shell was purchased by Cook Islands company Ora Moana Ltd.

MMR senior policy advisor Kelvin Passfield says the report will explain how the harvest was undertaken and managed.

Its an article of regional interest, to other countries that have trochus stock. It may even be of interest to other buyers, he says.

Passfield hopes to have the report completed within two weeks.

The Aitutaki trochus harvest itself was extended in December last year to allow residents enough time to fill the 17 tonne quota one full shipping container.

Ora Moana Ltd, which successfully tendered for the trochus, has the same owners and directors as fellow Rarotonga-based firm Moana Gems.

All 17 tonnes of trochus shell is likely to be exported.

Harvesting began in Aitutaki on November 28 and was initially supposed to end on December 5.

But a progress report by MMR showed that harvesters had only managed to produce about 12.5 tonnes in that time.

Prior to harvest interested residents registered for individual nine kilogram quotas with the Aitutaki island council.

MMR Aitutaki Marine Research Centre station manager Richard Story says many people found the trochus harvest harder and more time consuming than expected.

Families were working from 6am or 7am right through the day and into the night sometimes finishing about 9pm.

Story says many people transferred their individual transfer quotas to other harvesters because they could not process the whole nine kilograms.

At a dry weight (cleaned of meat and dried) harvested trochus shells each weigh about 250g.

Story says most harvesters get four or five shells per kilogram, so individual quotas equal about 40 shells.

Many families processed about 500 shells, he says.

Story says most harvesters complied with legal shell sizes, and MMR found just a small amount of trochus outside the 8cm-11cm radius limit.

He says the quality of the harvest is at the top level.

Ora Moana tendered $5.50 per kilogram for A grade shell, and less per kilogram for lower grades.

Money from the trochus sale will be divided between individual harvesters and the Aitutaki island council, which will spend it on community projects.

In its supervising of the harvest, MMR also visited almost all families involved and surveyed individuals about where they collected trochus and what they planned to do with the meat.

Story says most harvesters kept trochus meat for their own families freezing it in anticipation of Christmas kai kai.

Some planned to send it to family members in Rarotonga, and a few said they might sell it locally.

In some cases families were not able to preserve or store all meat in time, and Story says some was left to rot.

MMR only allows a harvest when it is confident the trochus population is strong enough, and also restricts certain areas where shells cannot be removed during harvest to ensure the populations sustainability.

• Rosie Manins

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Aitutaki’s trochus harvest proved a social time for those involved. 12011048

 

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The last of Aitutaki’s trochus harvest is packed into a shipping container. 12011047

 

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A shipping container is packed with sacks of dried and cleaned trochus shell in Aitutaki. 12011050

 

Muri residents are worried that the Ministry of Healths recent survey does not adequately address the wide-ranging implications of the smell reported to be coming from Scotts Farm.

All are eagerly awaiting the release of the ministrys survey, which was conducted last week and targeted at those living within 150 metres of the poultry farm.

Some of those people surveyed say they understand the ministry is looking to draw a correlation or prove that there isnt one between the health of a household and its proximity to Scotts Farm, but feel that the survey does not take into account the emotional impact of the smell.

The smell is quite nauseating, but that doesnt mean it impacts physical health, neighbour Robin Bullen said.

He believes the National Environment Service should be addressing the issue, but says if the Ministry of Health is going to tackle the problem it should also consider the ways in which the smell has influenced neighbours mental health.

I reckon if its going to be a health issue it would (be causing) things like anxiety and stress and hypertension rather than coughs and colds.

This is where the problem is its a general feeling of malaise when the stench is around. It might not be killing you but its almost unbearable. You dont want to stay (in Muri). Youve got to shut up your house to try and lock the smell out. The whole thing is quite stressful.

Some neighbours suspect that their proximity to the poultry farm is in fact having detrimental effects on their health and that of their families.

Makiroa Mato says that when her children were living in Muri they were always coughing, and says another member of her household has been coughing chronically for months.

But she says that even if the stench is not directly affecting the health of her family, it does cause emotional upset for them.

We cant even have people come over to our house, she said.

One resident who asked not to be identified said that when the smell is most palpable she and her family cannot eat dinner at home.

When it was raining the past few weeks it was quite disgusting, she said. It would put us off eating. We would go and eat burgers out instead of eating at home.

Neighbours disagree as to when the smell is most prominent some say it is worse after rain, and some say it is worse in the evenings and early mornings.

I think part of the chemistry of it is that as soon as the sun goes down you get a temperature inversion and if theres no strong breeze then the smell seems to sink further down in the atmosphere and just sit there, Bullen said. When the sun comes up and it warms up the air then it tends to lift and go away.

The Ministry of Health is conducting another survey about hygiene and doing another inspection of Scotts Farm tomorrow. It has promised to release survey results after that follow-up survey is complete.

• Rachel Reeves

A functional review of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s services is about to begin. 12011632

A review is being undertaken this month of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and in particular its core functions.

From January 16 to 27, a team known as the expert reference group (ERG) will review the SPCs services that its divisions and programmes provide to member countries, including the Cook Islands.

The review is being undertaken with a view to refining and contexualising the core services that SPC should focus on and deliver in the long term.

The exercise is one of several initiatives by SPC that stemmed from a 2009 decision by its governing body the Conference of the Pacific Community to establish a subcommittee to develop a long-term sustainable financing strategy (LTSF) for the regional organisation.

The subcommittees work was twofold to determine the core business of SPC and the key services that it must provide to its membership in the long term, and then to develop a financing strategy to support the delivery of these services.

The firm KVA Consult conducted early analytical work, identifying and documenting key deliverables for SPC after wide consultation with member countries and territories.

Their report will provide some guidance to the ERG in their upcoming two weeks of discussions.

At the seventh Conference of the Pacific Community, held in November 2011, SPCs governing body also endorsed the conducting of an external independent review (EIR) of SPC, a parallel initiative to support the ongoing work pertaining to the LTSF strategy.

SPC director-general Dr Jimmie Rodgers says it will be an organisation-wide institutional review and will consider particularly SPCs core business, and also other issues that link directly to core business, general governance and organisational efficiency.

These include items such as decision making and membership, organisational structure, strategic planning, priority setting, business practices, financial management, resources, and performance monitoring and assessment.

The EIR will be undertaken from February to April this year.

The ERG team, led by former CROP (Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific) organisation executive Alf Simpson, comprises eleven sectoral experts who have extensive technical expertise and Pacific experience and who are very familiar with and knowledgeable about the regions diverse challenges and issues.

The team will review and analyse further the outcomes from the KVA Consult report and other SPC and regional literature, and will conduct further consultations with SPCs technical divisions.

The work of the ERG will be guided by terms of reference that specifically highlight its role in assisting SPC to determine the core business and services that SPC should focus on and continue to support its members with in the long term.

It is envisaged that the ERG will reaffirm and/or refine these, based on their expert knowledge and extensive experience and recognising the comparative advantage that SPC may have over other technical and policy agencies and development partners.

Dr Rodgers says considerable work has been done on the long-term sustainable financing framework.

This has included the work by KVA Consult, as well as the in-house analysis conducted by our own directors and executives on the services provided to SPC members. All this needs further analysis and assessment and so an expert reference group has been selected for this purpose and to provide a report to SPC, he says.

It is expected the report will come up with recommendations on the core services that SPC must provide in the long term, and the services it must move out from.

Dr Rodgers says the ERG review and the EIR that will follow it are important milestones for SPC, especially as it emerges from the Regional Institutional Framework developments and merger.

We recognise that an institution-wide review is timely and due, to take stock of our interventions and assistance to our members and the people of the Pacific over the past few years, and the impact of these on future interventions.

The ERG will convene in Suva on January 16 and their report will be presented to the EIR team who start their analysis in February.

• SPC

New changes to Pacific Blue flights to start. 12011631

Virgin Australia has released its schedule for February and March.

For starters, the 1:05am flight from Rarotonga to Auckland will not be operating for four Mondays in February. There will be no flight from Auckland to Rarotonga (arriving 11:55pm) and back to Auckland (leaving 1:05am) on February 5, February 12, February 19 and February 26.

There will also be no flight from Auckland to Rarotonga (arriving 11:55pm) and back to Auckland (leaving 1:05am) on Thursday, February 23. From Thursday, March 1 to Saturday, March 24, flights will resume their normal operation.

Normal services resume with a Thursday evening flight arriving in Rarotonga from Auckland, which will turn around to depart again at 1:05am.

The same flight times apply to Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays arriving from Auckland at 11:55pm and departing again for Auckland at 1:05am.

• Rachel Reeves

Mariake Pirake sorting and packing files for the education ministry’s move. 12011622

The Ministry of Education’s new Nikao headquarters, designed to use the natural sunlight to brighten its workspace. 12011623

The Ministry of Education has begun packing up its possessions and is saying goodbye to the Aitutaki hostel as it moves into its new Nikao headquarters. 12011619

The Ministry of Education has begun moving into its new headquarters at Nikao.

Staff will spend this week split between the new building, nearby Tereora College, and the old building in the Aitutaki hostel at Tupapa-Maraerenga as the ministry shifts its furniture, equipment and materials.

The new building was officially handed over to the ministry this week, with staff due to move in between yesterday and Friday.

Although the building was blessed late last week and the ministry will be using it to full capacity from this week. Education secretary Sharyn Paio said the building would not be officially opened until the middle of the year when new furniture is delivered.

Paio said she and the ministry staff were excited to be moving into their new headquarters after so many years since they last had an official office.

Its the first time in years that the ministry has had a real building weve been homeless for so long, she said.

The building is split over two levels, with some ministry divisions and heads of divisions on the top level and the general staff on the ground level.

Workers were laying the last of the tiles on the ground level yesterday, with some minor work still to be completed.

The new building also features meetings rooms and space to hold training and inductions.

Paio said the ministry was forced to find alternative locations in the past, giving the ministry extra costs for rent and other associated expenses.

The new headquarters also has room for staff from the Department of National Human Resources Development, which is merging its functions with the education ministry this year.

Two large art works will decorate the building at both ends.

On one side is a specially-commissioned artwork by Ian George, who is also the ministrys art adviser, and on the other will be a mosaic of tiles created by Cook Islands schools.

Paio said all the schools would be invited to submit a tile for the mosaic, which is expected to cover a large portion of the wall.

• Eric Parnis

Three young Ngatangiia men have been arrested on drug charges during a police operation carried out during the weekend.

The men, aged 18, 20 and 21 years old were arrested on a variety of offences related to suspected drug use.

Cook Islands Police inspector Tere Patia said the men faced offences such as the possession of utensils related to the use of cannabis, smoking cannabis, and possessing cannabis.

The men were arrested in a private residence and remain in police custody to appear in court this week.

Patia said the arrests came about from a special operation.

In other incidents on the weekend, two women were reported as being the victims of assault, two burglaries were reported to police and two motorcycles were reported as being unlawfully taken.

Police also received eight noise complaints over the weekend.

No motor vehicle accidents were recorded.

Patia said police would welcome the assistance of the public in identifying a man who assaulted a Matavera woman late on Friday night.

The woman was injured during an attack at her home about 11.30pm on Friday when she unknowingly interrupted a suspected thief.

Patia said the woman was attacked in a dark room while she was shutting curtains at the end of the night.

She was unable to identify her attacker in the poor light.

The woman was taken to Rarotonga Hospital with minor injuries to her face.

Patia said police would welcome any information from people who were in Matavera on the main road at the time of the attack.

In the other assault case, police are considering laying charges against a man who assaulted his partner.

Patia said investigations were continuing and police suspected alcohol was a factor in the Sunday night incident.

In the weekends burglaries, a grocery store in Ooa and a home in Tutakimoa were broken into.

Burglars took alcohol and cigarettes from Manea Foods Ooa store at some stage over the weekend.

Patia said police received the report of a burglary on Sunday evening.

The burglars used a cement block to smash a window and gain access to the goods.

Patia said police would welcome any insights from the public into the case as police continued their investigations.

Police reported a mobile phone and some cash were lost in the Tutakimoa theft.

• Eric Parnis

Business Trade Investment Board staff Mana Etches, Melina Tuiravakai and Tangata Tou with internal affairs’ Shaun Herman (second from left) and the national youth council’s Maru Mariri (second from right). 11101120

The Business Trade Investment Board (BTIB) is continuing its young entrepreneur programme this year.

The initiative sees Cook Islands youth given opportunities to take part in local business opportunities.

BTIBs young entrepreneur programme was launched at Titikaveka College in 2009 and was then expanded into Tereora College.

This year BTIB is likely to go into schools with the programme in March.

In the past BTIB has helped many local teenagers in their business ventures.

Students have participated in Go Local night markets, the Pearl Market Day in August 2011, various corporate events and specialised youth markets.

• Rosie Manins

12011633

Cabinet is likely to sit tomorrow (Wednesday January 18) due to the current absence of Prime Minister Henry Puna, health and agriculture minister Nandi Glassie and infrastructure and tourism minister Teariki Heather.

Cabinet services secretary Taivero Isamaela says cabinet needs a quorum of three ministers to proceed.

Cook Islands News understands Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters is in Rarotonga, as well as finance minister Mark Brown, and marine resources, tourism and education minister Teina Bishop.

Cabinet sat last week without Puna, who is in Abu Dhabi at a regional conference discussing renewable energy with leaders of other Pacific island countries.

He is expected back in the Cook Islands early tomorrow in time for cabinet.

Glassie is in Mangaia as part of governments ongoing initiative to revitalise domestic agriculture particularly in pa enua communities.

He also returns to Rarotonga tomorrow.

Heather is leading a delegation from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) as well as the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) to the northern group.

There have been various infrastructure projects undertaken in the northern group lately, including the construction of schools and a cyclone shelter as well as a major community-wide water supply upgrade.

Heather and his delegation, which includes acting MOIP secretary Donye Numa and financial secretary Richard Neves, is expected to travel first to Pukapuka then Manihiki, Rakahanga and Penhryn.

All delegates are expected back in Rarotonga during the weekend.

• Rosie Manins

Rainfall and sea surface temperature estimates for Pacific Islands in the next three months. The tercile probabilities (e.g., 20:30:50) are derived from the averages of several global climate models. They correspond to the odds of the observed rainfall or sea surface temperatures being in the lowest one third of the distribution, the middle one third or the highest one third of the distribution. For the long term average, it is equally likely (33% chance) that conditions in any of the three terciles will occur. 12011706

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Cook Islands Meteorological Service predict that the rest of the summer will bring less-than-average rainfall for the northern group, and above-average rainfall for the southern group.

NIWA last week released its Island Climate Update (number 136), a monthly summary of the Pacific climate which includes an outlook for coming months.

The bulletin predicts that La Nia will persist, at least moderately, for the duration of the summer.

La Nina is part of a repeating cycle called the Southern Oscillation it is the cold extreme, and El Nio the warm extreme.

The tropical Pacific is currently in a moderate La Nia state, with atmospheric indicators having intensified in the last month, it says.

The result is suppressed convection, or less rainfall, in the northern Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tuamotu Archipelago and Western Kiribati over the next three months.

The northern Cook Islands are also likely to experience below-normal sea surface temperatures.

La Nia is likely to weaken with the onset of the austral autumn in March.

Despite intermittent rainfall, significant drought in Tuvalu, Tokelau and the Northern Cook Islands is expected to continue but is anticipated to ease as La Nia weakens in late summer, the report reads.

The flip side of La Nia conditions is above-average rainfall in the southern Cook Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tonga, Fiji and Niue.

Island Climate Update also forecasts below-average tropical cyclone activity for islands west of the dateline, including the Cook Islands.

Residents are still encouraged to be prepared for the event of a cyclone, which is likeliest between the months of November and April each year.

Island Climate Update is a NIWA initiative, which is made possible with financial support from the New Zealand Agency for International Development, NOAA and SPREP. It is prepared at the end of each month.

• Rachel Reeves

Anyone who has not returned Reef Shipping containers to the wharf is asked to do so as soon as possible.

Customers are usually asked to bring containers back within 14 days. Shippers and agents are asking those who have failed to do so to return the unit to the wharf straight away.

Southern Express voyage 152 is due to arrive in Rarotonga on January 27, and will head to Aitutaki when her Rarotonga-bound cargo has been unloaded and her Aitutaki-bound cargo loaded. The deadline to return containers is Tuesday, January 24, which gives the Ministry of Agriculture sufficient time to inspect the containers before they are loaded onto Southern Express when she arrives.

Customers shipping dry goods aboard Southern Express should deliver them to the wharf by January 25 at 4pm. The delivery of frozen goods to Aitutaki can be arranged through cargo agents EXCIL.

Agents are on hand to process orders from Monday to Friday (8am to 4.30pm) and can be contacted at 25196 or at shipping@xcil.co.ck.

Aitutaki customers can contact Mii and Mana Makimare on 31221 or 75220 or email makimare@aitutaki.net.ck

• Rachel Reeves

A temporary body has taken control of the Cook Islands UNESCO National Commission and is wasting no time in calling for funding applications.

The commission is calling for applicants to make a submission to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) biennial participatory programme.

In the programme, member nations can make up to 10 submissions for funding of up to US$26,000 (NZ$32,500) for projects in line with UNESCOs global priorities.

The organisation is focussing on a number of pre-determined global priorities for its target group, including least developed countries, developing countries, countries in post-conflict or post-disaster situation, small island developing states and countries in transition.

The Ministry of Education took over the management of the Cook Islands UNESCO National Commission in October last year.

Minister for Education Teina Bishop is chairing the national commission with education secretary Sharyn Paio acting as its secretary general.

Paio said a temporary commission would handle the bodys matters until its member list could be formally confirmed before July this year.

The temporary commission currently includes Bredina Drollett Youth and Social Sciences;

Mathilda Tairea Social and Human Sciences; Vaitoti Tupa Culture and Environment (Natural Sciences); Gail Townsend Education; Myra Patai Foreign Affairs; Ben Ponia Natural Sciences; Jacqui Evans World Heritage; Robert Matheson Information and Communication.

Others who have offered assistance include Jean Mason (World Heritage); Gerald McCormack (World Heritage and Environment); Sonny Williams (Culture), Paio said.

The commission will prioritise and review applications under UNESCOs participation programme with the intention of formalising the actual membership by the end of the current financial year.

The education ministry had taken over control of the UNESCO commission under cabinets instruction, said Paio.

Previously the Ministry of Culture held this responsibility but much of the work of UNESCO relates to education and it was agreed by cabinet that the national commission should sit with our ministry, Paio said.

Some time ago, when the national commission was transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education was offered the opportunity to take this over but for reasons I am unsure of this was before my time this offer was declined.

UNESCO gives its member countries the opportunity to submit requests every two years under the participation programme.

Up to 10 applications can be submitted, each to a maximum value of US$26,000.

Application forms are available from Sharyn Paio, Secretary General, UNESCO Cook Islands National Commission, Ministry of Education on spaio@education.gov.ck and must be in line with the priorities of UNESCO which currently relate mainly to gender equality and assisting developing nations and small island states.

Applications close with the Secretary General on January 31.

The National Commission will be reviewing and prioritising these for submission to UNESCO headquarters in Paris on February 1.

I apologise for the tight schedule but the actual forms were only received by us on January 16, Paio said.

Anyone wanting further information should contact me urgently at the Ministry of Education on 29357.

• Eric Parnis

Noni fruit, which is high in nutritional value and used to make juice. 11050401

It has been a difficult year for the Cook Islands noni industry, but things are looking up.

Brad Stafford and Gwen Welland of Cook Islands Noni Marketing Ltd spoke to Cook Islands News yesterday about the status of local noni exports.

In the past 12 months Cook Islands Noni Marketing and Rarotonga growers have weathered a few challenges not least of which was Japans tsunami in March last year.

Japan remains the largest export market for Cook Islands noni juice despite the tsunami, which resulted in a slowing of the trade.

Previously Cook Islands noni juice exports to Japan have been worth about $1 million a year.

Stafford says overall 2011 saw the local industry lose about 40 percent of business.

The tsunami had a major impact and is still having a major impact. A lot of markets in Japan are affected not just noni and the pie itself has shrivelled in Japan.

People in Japan are being very cautious at the moment with spending, so any excess money they do have theyre not spending on extras like noni the same as here they are sticking to the basics.

Stafford says there is still demand for noni in Japan and some of the Cook Islands Noni Marketings clients are doing quite well, although others are not.

Weve had to look at price structuring in the Japan market to ensure that the juice itself is still selling. Some clients because of the price reduction are starting to move more product but other clients at present are not doing so well.

Stafford says while Cook Islands Noni Marketing has stayed loyal to its Japanese partners, it is also looking outside the parameters of the Japan export market.

We have three very strong leads into China and are currently sending samples over. China itself is an emerging market with noni.

We feel that from all the reports from people weve spoken to who are looking to buy noni from us, its like the crest of a wave its just starting.

Stafford says whether China will surpass Japan as the largest export market for Cook Islands noni juice cannot be predicted.

Thats an unknown quantity. From all accounts it will start to be an emerging market that will take a fair bit of our juice from us if we do it right and the price is right. Japan will always be there its been there for 14 or 15 years.

He says those in the industry are now adapting to a new approach with Japans market.

But it comes down to price structuring there has to be a balance in the price structuring. Once upon a time we were able to get a premium dollar for our juice but now we cant.

Weve had to lower our price quite significantly in the Japan market and also in the China market because there has been a price set in the China market.

Stafford says the Cook Islands is also a very expensive place to export from, given its location and size.

It costs just as much to ship a tank from China to Auckland as it does to ship it from Auckland to Rarotonga. Running costs are very expensive as opposed to Tahiti, Fiji, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Despite a tough 2011, Cook Islands Noni Marketing retains all its staff, growers and clients.

Stafford and Welland say they operate with integrity and it pays off.

They know there is a natural ebb and flow within their industry and are happy with their almost 15 years in business overall.

Like every year in business, some are okay and some are not. Last year we were in a valley but we are coming out of that.

The market by the end of the year we believe will be back again, Stafford says.

We have ups and downs but at the same time our farmers have been very loyal which weve been very grateful for and we are very loyal to our growers as well.

Stafford and Welland say this year has started on a positive note, with January seeing the export of about 15 tonnes of Cook Islands noni juice.

The year has started on a better trajectory of business than it did last year. It looks like a whole new market is opening up and its time to develop that, Welland says.

Establishing new export markets is not a fast process, but one that should pay off in the long run.

Realistically its going to be at least six to nine months before we start seeing any real impact of those samples (sent to China) so at present all we can do is stick to our main market which is Japan, Stafford says.

Also being considered closely are changes to the value of New Zealands dollar, but Cook Islands Noni Marketing seems in a good position to ride out any more market hiccups.

Weve been in the business just under 14 years and our sole intention is to be here in another 14 years, but every business has its ebb and flow. At the moment we are in an ebb but we are looking forward to the flow, Stafford says.

Welland agrees.

I think this years going to be very interesting and hopefully very profitable.

• Rosie Manins

Click to enlarge

Litres of noni juice stored at the Cook Islands Noni Marketing Ltd premises last year. 11090610

 

Click to enlarge

11090609

 

The MS Rotterdam during its fifth visit to Rarotonga last year. 11011808

Two cruise ships will deliver 2700 people to the Cook Islands tomorrow when the Seabourn Odyssey and the MS Rotterdam stop by Rarotonga.

Both cruise ships will begin disembarking passengers at Rarotonga about 8am tomorrow, with the Rotterdam due to leave about 5pm in the afternoon and the Seabourn Odyssey about 1pm.

It is the first time since February 2008 that Rarotonga has welcomed in two cruise ships on the same day that time being the Albatross and the Tahitian Princess.

Tomorrow, the ships will bring about 1700 passengers to Rarotonga and about 900 crew.

The Rotterdam includes 1335 passengers and 585 crew members and the Seabourn Odyssey has 422 people aboard being serviced by a crew of 346.

Cook Islands agents Matina Travel Ltd said it was uncommon but not rare to have two ships stop by Rarotonga on the same day.

Both ships visiting Rarotonga tomorrow are owned by the Holland America Line and originated from the United States.

The Seabourn Odyssey departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 20 and has been sailing through French Polynesia via Colombia and the United States on its way to the Cook Islands and New Zealand.

From there the ship will move onto Australia and eventually return to the United States.

The Rotterdam departed San Diego, California, on January 4 and has spent its time in Hawaii and Kiribati to date.

It will travel through French Polynesia after leaving the Cook Islands.

Later in the month, Matina Travel is organising a Rarotonga stop for the Amsterdam. It is due to visit on Sunday, January 29.

• Eric Parnis

The popular Punanga Nui market is now being administered by the Business Trade and Investment Board, though still an independent operation under the supervision of Elmah McBirney. 11120101

Punanga Nui vendors are meeting with the Business Trade and Investment Board (BTIB) for the first time since the government agency took over managing the market.

A meeting has been scheduled for 6pm tomorrow at Sinai Hall.

BTIB took over the administration of the market from the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) late last year. Whilst BTIB oversees its operation, the market is still an independent operation managed by Elmah McBirney.

McBirney says it is premature to comment on the meeting, but is hoping vendors have positive things to say about the markets management.

I hope that we get some positive feedback from the tenants, she said.

On the meeting agenda is discussion of the following items how to improve the market, the markets current financial status, market policy which stipulates what vendors can and cannot do, the markets administration and BTIBs plans for the Punanga Nui market over the coming year.

Its for the vendors to know whats going on, and (us) to know what the vendors want, McBirney said.

• Rachel Reeves

Despite rumours of its closure, the Pacific Legislatures for Population and Governance (PLPG) office in Avarua is alive and kicking, coordinator Tangata Vainerere says.

PLPG is a regional organisation based in the Cook Islands.

Its headquarters, manned by Vainerere, is within the former Philatelic Bureau premises in central Avarua.

Vainerere says there has been some confusion about what is happening at PLPG lately.

He says various other people and organisations are interested in utilising the office, and on top of that former auditor general Paul Allsworth has moved in temporarily in his new capacity with Parliamentary Services.

Vainerere says Allsworth might be working through the PLPG premises for a few months, but there has been no change to the organisations operation.

PLPG has a regional focus to encourage parliamentarians to advocate for HIV/AIDS, climate change, youth development, governance and gender issues.

It works closely with regional legislatures, regional organisations, donors and non-government organisations to develop and carry out institutional strengthening programmes for members of parliament, and to enhance the ability of legislators in law making.

The joint secretariat of the Pacific Parliamentary Assembly on Population and Development and the Forum of Presiding Officers and Clerks had been based at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Fiji, until the PLPG office in Rarotonga replaced it.

Vainerere is in charge of helping to mainstream key regional and international frameworks such as the Pacific Plan, the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development programme.

One of the main programmes being implemented by the PLPG this year is focused on HIV prevention advocacy for parliamentarians.

It provides training to parliamentarians to do advocacy work in promoting the prevention of HIV and STIs. We are doing that the whole of this year in a number of countries, Vainerere says.

Other PLPG programmes include bench-marking for parliaments throughout the Pacific.

Vainerere says the Cook Islands has already completed the programme, which effectively is a functional review.

It involves the parliament assessing itself in terms of clarity and capacity in performing its functions an oversight of functions for the country.

PLPG also conducts other promotional activities for parliamentarians throughout the Pacific, he says.

We send them to attend conferences and seminars that fit their areas of interest, and they get leadership development from them.

• Rosie Manins

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