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General News

Week ending Wednesday, 22 February, 2012

Current events and entertainment in Rarotonga and the Cook Islands.

Media explores suicide reporting
Suicide forum planners meet today
Costs of flights ‘part of the territory’
CISNOC ‘decrepit, failed, corrupt’
Govt ‘not running to big daddy’
Island Feast comes to the Cooks!
Govt accused of ‘free spending’
Air NZ subsidy not fair: George
Leader confirms ‘it will be torrid’
SPC celebrates 65th birthday
More global action against financial crimes
‘Spend money to make money’
Tribute to Dame Margaret
McCully inspects Forum Leaders venues
Govt grants $30,000 for suicide summit
Self-help training for Mangaia youth
Govt to review tourism strategy
Budget blowout detailed
Roadhouse burgled
House gutted in Turangi fire
The doctor arrives in Pukapuka
Family support group re-launched
New health clinic for Palmerston
They are just like us
Bonefisherman’s labour of love
Sharing the romance at Te Papa
Mauke farewells Teau Marae Tapu Ariki
Govt ‘not rushing out of deal’
Education master plan under review
Mangaia people air views on education
Footpath and ducts part of road works
Muso couple shoot for Fresh TV
14 prefects inducted at St Joseph’s
Rutaki prefects told to lead like captains of a vaka
Parents called to Tereora College meetings
Dead whale stuck on Aitutaki reef
Open day at animal clinic
Adventures in Mexico
Mental health versus mental illness
There is no health without mental health
Democratic leadership to be discussed
Changes to create space at market
New job for strategic planner
Pa Ariki wants govt to prioritise health
New market starts in Ngatangiia
New health clinic: a closer look
Pa floats idea of ‘coconut festival’
Island Hopper helps Are Pa Metua
Power outage possible today

The Cook Islands Media Association met yesterday to discuss how journalists can safely and responsibly report on suicide. 12022118

The Cook Islands Media Association has begun exploring the ways in which journalists can portray suicide appropriately in news reports.

The association met yesterday to discuss a range of issues, although the media’s coverage of suicide dominated its agenda.

The meeting brought together freelance journalists, government communication advisors and staff from Cook Islands News, 88FM and the Pitt Media Group to examine how the Cook Islands media can safely and responsibly report on suicide.

There, the association formed a steering committee which it tasked to consider how it can guide Cook Islands journalists on their responsibilities in covering items on suicide.

It is also tasked to find how the Cook Islands may differ or agree with other nations in reporting on the issue.

Damiane Rikihana, the communications adviser from the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Cook Islands media and community would benefit from having a set of guidelines to help journalists tackle issues of suicide.

She said there was a fine balance the media must find in its coverage of suicide.

On one hand, it was important reporting on suicide do not encourage others. On the other, it was also vital that the community discusses the issue through the media in order to remove the stigma surrounding suicide and to raise awareness of the problem.

The association discussed plans to hold a training seminar on the ethics and techniques to reporting suicide.

The seminar would be open to working journalists, students training in journalism and anybody interested in attending the event.

• Eric Parnis

A government committee will today meet to settle on how it can best spend $30,000 in funding it secured to host a youth conference on suicide.

The money is predominantly going towards bringing in youth from the pa enua to Rarotonga to join the March 12 forum.

The exact details of who will come and where they will come from is not yet finalised, but the committee is expected to go for variety of both people and places.

The committee, which has brought together people from various government ministries and bodies with police, school counsellors and the Cook Islands National Youth Council, wants to keep the forum run by youth and for youth aged between 11 and 25 years old.

Chaired by Vania Kenning of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Youth and Sports Division, the government brought together the committee to find ways the Cook Islands could seek to reduce the rate of suicide in its population and particularly in its youth.

The committee is discussing a range of issues to tackle the issue.

Aside from hosting the forum, which is intended to find some of the issues contributing to suicide and discuss youth views on suicide, the committee is also considering introducing a helpline in the Cook Islands for youth in need of counselling.

That idea will also be discussed at today’s meeting.

The committee is proposing to hold another forum following its March 12 youth forum to bring together governmental organisations, non-governmental bodies, parents and families to discuss the issue of suicide.

The Cook Islands government this week pledged $30,000 towards the March 12 forum from its POBOC (payments on behalf of the crown) fund.

When announcing the funding, Prime Minister Henry Puna said it was time the Cook Islands brought the issue of suicide out into the open.

“I am sure that we have asked ourselves why are our young people doing this. More importantly, what can we do to help,” he said.

“In our culture I believe there is a certain sensitivity about talking openly about suicide. If we are to address and confront this issue we need to bring it out into the open.

“After the last suicide case a couple of weeks ago, I thought it appropriate to convene a task force to look at what we can do about this issue...

“I was pleased that people from education, from health, from internal affairs, and even parents of young people who had taken their lives turned up to offer their assistance.

“After some lengthy discussion it was agreed that if we could convene a summit to talk about economic issues, then why couldn’t we convene a summit organised and run by young people to talk about this serious issue?

“But it was important to stress at the meeting that the summit be organised and run by young people.

“In order to allow this to happen the task force was to come up with a budget to allow this to happen sooner rather than later.

“That is the appropriation you see for the suicide summit.”

• Eric Parnis

It would be a terrible shame for the Cook Islands to lose its direct links with the United States and Australia and the government should make sure those links are secure in order to best assist growth in the local tourism industry, according to Pacific Resort chief executive officer Greg Stanaway.

Stanaway said removing the weekly flights linking Rarotonga with Los Angeles and particularly Sydney would be unthinkable given their infancy.

He was commenting on news and reactions to the announcement that government will have to pay $12.5 million this year to subsidise the direct LA and Sydney flights. He said government must do what it can to protect those flights. But government commitment to guaranteeing those flights through Air New Zealand has been tested this month when the airline informed them that it would cost the government $12.5 million to have the flights service Rarotonga for the current financial year – up $4.5 million on earlier estimates.

It’s a significant increase that has pushed the budget from surplus into deficit for the year.

For its part, government has committed to keeping up its guarantee for the time being and will maintain those flights through Air New Zealand.

Yesterday, Air New Zealand’s Cook Islands manager David Bridge said the agreement between the government and the airline still stood true.

He said the rise in cost for air fuel was to blame for the rise in costs, which affected the airline and government alike.

“The Cook Islands government has, since December 23, 2010, had contracts with Air New Zealand to provide flights to Sydney and Los Angeles and the terms of these contracts have not changed,” he said.

“Without this arrangement these services would not be financially viable and unfortunately significantly increased fuel costs and a soft global economy have increased the financial exposure to both parties.”

Stanaway, while he can only speak for Pacific Resort, said he was sure you would not hear any resort owner or manager in the Cook Islands saying the flights should be dropped.

It is well known that the Cook Islands’ economy depends almost exclusively on tourism and Stanaway said the costs of having flights service the country were part of the territory.

“With all eggs in the tourism basket at the moment and until the Cook Islands diversifies its economy, the government must promote tourism to the fullest,” he said.

“It is paramount the government makes sure these links to the outside world are secure.”

Stanaway said visitors travelling from Australia and the Northern Hemisphere were also important to the outer islands, with visitors coming from those areas more likely to visit at least one of the pa enua in addition to Rarotonga.

He described the Los Angeles flight as being paramount for the Cook Islands and the Sydney flight being an important factor, alongside the work of the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation and marketing from individual resorts, for the growth in visitors from Australia.

“We’re seeing positive growth from Australia both as a nation and here at the property... to even consider removing the flight from Sydney after one year of trading would be unthinkable.”

• Eric Parnis

Two members of parliament yesterday challenged the supplementary budget’s $30,000 allocation to CISNOC to cover its operating costs.

Teenui-Mapumai member of parliament Norman George called CISNOC a ‘decrepit, failed, corrupt organisation’.

“Because of their record of mismanagement I have great difficulty supporting any allocation of funds for them and my message to the minister of finance is I’m a bit disappointed with you, because when the announcement came about the $800,000 shortage in the finances of CISNOC due to over expenditure or reckless expenditure you did not waste any time to announce the next day that the government will rescue CISNOC.”

George alleged that the government was propping up its Cook Islands Party supporters at CISNOC and “rewarding unsatisfactory financial control”.

“Public servants get fired for that kind of performance,” he said.

Nukuroa member of parliament Tangata Vavia later raised his own concerns about the CISNOC allocation.

“Unless their house is cleaner then they should not get any more money from government,” he said.

He added that CISNOC funding should go to sports organisations and not to the organisation’s executives.

• Rachel Reeves

Finance minister Mark Brown says his government will ‘deal with’ the budget blowout rather than running to the New Zealand government for help.

He was responding to a question from Teenui-Mapumai member of parliament Norman George – the first parliamentary question of the year.

“Minister,” George said, “in view of the additional $4 million that we are required to pay as a subsidy to Air New Zealand, have you and your government made any plans to consult with the New Zealand government at prime ministerial or ministerial level to discuss this huge imposition on our small and fragile budget and economy?”

Brown answered that he has had ‘informal discussions’ with New Zealand government ministers about the Cook Islands’ supplementary budget – which was tabled in Parliament on Monday – and the $2.5 million deficit it acknowledges.

“And of course that deficit is predominantly due to the underwrite of the Air New Zealand flights from Los Angeles to Rarotonga and also Sydney to Rarotonga,” Brown said.

“The government is in a good position right now. We are comfortable with where we are and we will consider all the strategies required in order to address this deficit as we move toward the budget for the main financial year.

“There are a number of considerations for us as a country to consider and I am confident that over the next three months as we prepare for the main budget that we will have some very clear strategies as to how we can maintain our routes that we have to North America and Australia whilst at the same time looking at measures to contain this budget blowout on the underwrite of these routes.

“I’m also mindful that we are coming into the high season for our tourism industry so we are in no rush at this stage to amend or change our current situation. However, we are very busy in the background in assessing our options and reviewing the strategies as we move forward into the next financial year.”

George asked a follow-up question during the same question-and-answer session, in which he accused Brown of being ‘timid’.

“Minister, your approach seems to be timid, seems to be aimless. You’re too easily satisfied. Could you in fact step it up and make official contact with the New Zealand government rather than these informal chit chats, because would you not agree that as the government of New Zealand is the biggest shareholder in Air New Zealand, are we not in fact giving aid to the New Zealand government and the New Zealand people by subsidising their airline and therefore could you take a much more aggressive approach to organise a meeting?... Could you try and answer with some more positive and encouraging information for us?” George challenged.

Brown responded that the blowout is an issue his government will deal with on its own.

“It’s always very good to hear some options coming from the side of the opposition and our member (who) raised the supplementary question is well-renowned for his very hard-nosed approaches and I take that on board.

“However, this is a matter that we as a government entered into freely with Air New Zealand and it is a matter we will resolve with all the assistance and support we can gather together, but we’re not like previous governments where at the first sign of trouble we start shaking in our boots and running to big daddy for help.

“This is a matter we will deal with. And although we might speak softly there is a saying: ‘Approach with an iron fist inside a velvet glove’,” Brown replied.

• Rachel Reeves

Fresh, local ingredients are all television chef Peter Kuruvita wants and needs. 12022103

The flavours and curiosities of Cook Islands cuisine will be introduced to an estimated 50 million people in 100 countries though Australian celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita.

The chef and a five-man film team have just returned to Australia from the Cook Islands as the final destination for Kuruvita’s upcoming television series Island Feast with Peter Kuruvita.

During the series, Kuruvita travels through the Philippines, Indonesia, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands to take a close look at the diversity of island cultures through their cooking.

Kuruvita tries to find a way into people’s homes and lives to explore each community’s culinary histories.

He constrains himself to using products grown and sourced in the communities he is visiting, picking apart speciality dishes from each island and making restaurant-quality dishes from what he can find.

Kuruvita said he put a special importance on using ingredients he himself helped hunt down and collect – an aspect of the show that saw him hunting down octopus on the reefs of Rarotonga, spear fishing for trevally in Aitutaki, chasing down wahoo in the oceans and collecting fresh-water prawns from the streams.

The idea also threw up a few challenges for the show, including one point in Aitutaki where the only produce he could find included one cucumber and one capsicum.

During his stay in the Cook Islands, Kuruvita cooked a curry crab dish in Aitutaki and learnt some tricks and secrets to preparing ika mata in Rarotonga.

For Kuruvita, one of the more memorable dishes included in the programme came from his time on Atiu, where he used one of the island’s most famous or infamous products in a creation of his own.

Kuruvita used some of the specially-brewed tumunu beer that makes Atiu famous in meal of beer-battered fish and chips.

“By the seventh bowl it became a little hard to make a TV show,” Kuruvita laughed when he met Cook Islands News in Rarotonga last week.

In all, Kuruvita said he was blown away by the quality of the seafood in the Cook Islands and, perhaps more importantly, impressed by the attitudes of the people here towards their environment.

Where many of the communities he had visited for the show were not overly concerned with sustainable living, Kuruvita said the people of the Cook Islands showed a great understanding of the importance of being cautious with their resources.

“While we were filming for this show I was also looking for sustainable living and finding people who cared about preserving their food sources,” Kuruvita said. “I was really inspired by the Cooks.

“When we were looking for octopus on the reef we came across some smaller octopuses and I decided to sit back and see what they would do. The guys decided that they were too small to take and left them there.

“It’s the same thing that happened when we were looking for fresh-water prawns.

“It seems like Cook Islanders are living with a lot of respect for the environment. It was inspiring.”

The Cook Islands will give Kuruvita enough material for two episodes in the Island Feast series.

The show is expected to be screened on Australia’s SBS during the middle of the year and then on-sold to international stations across the world through channels like National Geographic.

Cook Islands Tourism Corporation’s Papatua Papatua said the tourism industry had put in a special effort to support Kuruvita’s team while they were here in the Cook Islands.

The crew paid its own way to the Cook Islands, but counted on receiving assistance and guidance from the local industry, which Papatua said was gracefully offered on all islands visited.

Kuruvita has previously appeared on Australia’s Junior Masterchef and hosted My Sri Lanka, a 10 episode cooking show that explores the country of his heritage and childhood.

Born to a Sri Lankan father and Austrian mother in England, Kuruvita spent some of his childhood in Sri Lanka before moving on to Australia.

In his career as a chef, Kuruvita has worked at the one Michelin Star Rue St Jacques in London, Four Seasons Hotel in the United States’ Philadelphia and Yasawa Island Lodge in Fiji.

Kuruvita is also a published author and has worked in various Sydney restaurants including Flying Fish at Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont, the restaurant he currently owns and runs.

• Eric Parnis

Click to enlarge

Australian chef Peter Kuruvita hunting for eke with Kura Happ. 12022101

 

Click to enlarge

Celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita exploring a taro patch during his stay in the Cook Islands for his new show Island Feast. 12022019

 

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Island style – television personality Peter Kuruvita used Cook Islands ingredients in his dishes created in Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Atiu for his new series. 12022105

 

Opposition Leader Wilkie Rasmussen. 11020602

Opposition Leader Wilkie Rasmussen denounced the Appropriation Amendment Bill – or the supplementary budget – in Parliament yesterday.

He accused the government of being a ‘free-spending government’ and alleged that the deficit could have been avoided.

“If this governmentdoesn’t change direction and doesn’t wisen up and utilise assistance from overseas or donor countries and divert money appropriately for matters of substance rather than superficial matters, this trend is going to continue and it’s going to be alarming for the next year or so.

“That’s good for the Democratic Party because we’re going to come back and win the election,” he said.

Rasmussen acknowledged that the Air New Zealand subsidy pushed the government into debt.

“I understand and appreciate that the airline subsidy is the main cause of the blowout and as the minister of finance indicated it is a matter out of our control but is it really out of (our) control?...Could the government have taken some steps and measures since it came into office in November 2010?

“Because when this government came into office this was a topic we talked about in this parliament in relation to the Air New Zealand subsidies. We talked about it and thought there were delegations that were going to go and negotiate with the New Zealand airline and New Zealand government about ways to mitigate escalating costs Air New Zealand is imposing on us.

“Air New Zealand recently announced huge profits in the millions and its CEO Rob Fyfe was hailed as one of the best executives Air New Zealand has had because he’s apparently retiring at the end of this year but the reports that came back and were reported on TV New Zealand (were that) Air New Zealand is a company in very, very good hands and very, very stable financially.

“As a member of parliament I haven’t heard of any outcomes or matters of substance from our government in relation to actually discussing and negotiating with Air New Zealand or the New Zealand government as to this problem we’ve got.”

Finance minister Mark Brown has said that he held informal discussions with New Zealand lawmakers about the airline subsidies, but said the government will deal with the blowout without “running to big daddy” for financial support.

Rasmussen raised concerns about the lifting of the subsidy cap, which could subject the Cook Islands government to further costs in future.

“The subsidies were supposed to have a cap. This means there’s a limit, a ceiling (to how much) the Cook Islands government contributes (in) subsidies to this airline. The cap has been lifted – in other words, it’s open. Air New Zealand could easily just send us an invoice of its own calculations

“I was the minster who first engineered the agreement. The basis of that agreement was we will fund part of the (subsidy) and as we get more tourists into the country the payment we make will be less and it is capped.

“That’s because we valued and we still do the dollars of tourists that come through North America, from the United States and Canada and Australia, we value their tourism dollar. We don’t want to lose that mark but the government needs to put its foot down. I hope that when we get to the main budget, the principal budget of 2012-13, those subsidies haven’t increased by another two million.

“The way it’s going there seems to be nothing to stop the increase. It will just increase because of rising costs – Iran, for example, has stopped exporting its oil to Europe and that means the price of oil is going to go up again and that means therefore the taxpayers of this country are going to cop more in terms of payments to Air New Zealand.”

Rasmussen charged that the government could have avoided the budget blowout by cuttings its expenditures.

“In view of the deficit – the government doesn’t have to cut costs against ministries, it doesn’t have to raise taxes but can mitigate by (restraining) its own spending. This is a free spending government. It likes to spend.”

He recalled a ‘cost-cutting’ programme undertaken while he was in government.

“We embarked on programme of cost-cutting and started with this house. We reduced costs and we saved. I haven’t seen any saving from this government at all. All it does is spend. This trip to the Queen’s birthday – I really don’t see the relevance as to why the Cook Islands should go as a dance team It must be taken seriously that this government is not going to spend extravagantly in the next few years.

“Some harsh decisions have to be made. Some measures to curtail the spending of the government (need) to be made by this government because the way we’re going POBOCs are forever increasing. Even minor little things -- there’s a POBOC here, there’s a POBC there – when you add it all up it can be quite a substantial amount to spend and some of this spending may not be necessary.”

Rasmussen decried other increases in allocations to payments on behalf of the crown (POBOC) accounts.

“Under the MFEM Act the only reason why you can have a deficit budget is when the circumstances are exceptional and I agree that the Air New Zealand subsidy is indeed exceptional, however some of the other POBOC increases or allocations into POBOC are not exceptional, they are normal run-of-the-mill and these appear to me to increase the amount of the deficit.”

Rasmussen concluded his speech by acknowledging that the Cook Islands Party has the majority and is likely to pass the budget.

“In the end this budget will be passed because the government has the majority. We are just jumping up and down and paying lip service and sometimes I think this is where democracy fails because we come hereand they don’t take any notice of our advice.”

• Rachel Reeves

Opposition MP Norman George questioned the fairness of the government’s $4.5 million Air New Zealand subsidy as the Budget began its second reading in parliament yesterday.

“Are we sharing the profits of this route to North America? I don’t understand that we share in the costs of this but not the income.”

This follows statements he made during parliament’s opening session in front of New Zealand High Commissioner John Carter when George said, “Since Air New Zealand is an airline owned by the New Zealand government, the Cook Islands is essentially providing New Zealand with aid.”

George also questioned the effectiveness of the ministry’s outputs and also the expenses including $40,000 budgeted to support select committees.

“Have select committees been appointed yet? How many select committees are there? I haven’t seen any appointments. If they do have sittings perhaps they could make up for the lack of parliamentary sittings.

“I am very conscious of the lack of select committees in this parliament. I would like government to look at these select committees and to man these. They could make up for the short fall in our parliamentary sittings. The prime minister broke his promise of holding 100 days of parliament last year.”

George also attacked what he saw as the unequal distribution of largess by the government.

“Why isn’t Pukapuka getting an environmental officer. It is an unequal distribution, it’s shocking. Why is Manihiki getting attention? Is it because it is the prime minister’s own electorate? What about the AAs, Atui and Aitutaki?”

George also questioned the further channelling of funds into CISNOC, an organisation which George claimed to be poorly managed describing it as a “decrepit, failed, corrupt organisation”. Under the supplementary budget CISNOC will receive another $123,000 plus an additional $8000 for a review of its accounts.

George was also unconvinced by government claims that the majority of the payments fitted the criteria for a supplementary budget, namely that they were time sensitive and one off in nature.

Following the cue set by opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen, George criticised the government for its failure to take advantage of a potential deal with deep sea mining company Endeavour which offered $55 million for exploration rights.

“What I say to you minister is that deals don’t stick around for ever. This is an opportunity to pay off our deficit,” George urged.

Despite his criticisms of the budget, George stated that he would support it in parliament.

• Peter Campbell

Tongareva member of parliament Wilkie Rasmussen says that as the leader of the opposition he will “stand up and fight for what matters”.

“I believe the opposition team is going to be up to the game, they going to stand up and fight”, he said, noting that the opposition will focus on “matters that need to be aired and shown to the members of the public”.

He continued: “This change of face in parliament is for the best and is going to introduce a new culture of politics – none of the shenanigans that used to take place, behind-door schemes and all of that. It will be politics up-front.

“I’m optimistic that our parliament, as indicated by the minister of finance, that in future it’s going to be a transparent and open type of institution where our people will know exactly what we’re doing.”

The Democratic Party this week announced Rasmussen’s appointment as opposition leader, and yesterday in parliament Rasmussen thanked the House for its vote of confidence.

“Thank you to my caucus and the former leader of the opposition for having the confidence in myself to take over the position of leadership of the opposition. I want to say thank you to them here in this house,” he said.

“I also want to say thank you to the prime minister and deputy prime minister and cabinet members and members of the opposition who have extended their congratulations and best wishes to me in assuming the position.

“It may be that secretly they would prefer it doesn’t come to me because I think, as the prime minister stated in the newspaper, it’s going to be a torrid fight all the way to the end.”

• Rachel Reeves

Shown cutting the SPC 65th Anniversary Cake are (left to right) SPC deputy director general Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu, PNG High Commissioner Peter Eafare and Fiji secretary of foreign affairs Saipora Mataikabara. In the background is SPC director general Dr Jimmie Rodgers. 12021634

The Secretariat of the Pacific (SPC) community recently celebrated its 65th birthday.

“The SPC mission is to help the Pacific Island people respond effectively to the challenges they face, and make informed decisions about their future and the future they wish to leave for the generations to follow,” SPC director general Dr Jimmie Rodgers said.

Dr Rodgers made his comments on the organisation’s “ongoing” commitment to the region as it celebrates its 65th birthday. It was on February 6, 1947, that the South Pacific Commission was formed (now called the Secretariat of the Pacific Community).

“Since then, SPC has come a long way,” said Dr Rodgers.

“Our membership now comprises of 22 Pacific Island countries and territories as well as four of its founding members – Australia, France, New Zealand and United States.

“Our work programme spans over 20 sectors including important intersecting priorities such as climate change, food security and gender. We assist our island members achieve their national development outcomes.

“Today SPC’s work covers almost all the key economic, environmental and social sectors.”

These sectors include natural resources focused on agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, forestry and water. Human and social development covers such areas as education, health, sanitation, culture, gender, youth, and human rights.

Economic development includes information-communication technology, infrastructure and transport among its responsibilities, while oceans and islands address coastal zone management, geological assessments, sea-bed mapping, and maritime boundary issues.

SPC work also involves cross-cutting areas, primarily disaster risk reduction, statistics and demography, gender, human rights, food security and climate change. It also has a support infrastructure that includes research, policy analysis and advice.

To undertake the work, SPC employs nearly 300 scientists, technicians and specialists located at its two main centres in Noumea, New Caledonia and Suva Fiji as well as at its north Pacific regional office in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.

• Release

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard-setter in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, has revised its recommendations booklet after more than two years of efforts by member countries.

The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation with 36 members and the participation of over 180 countries through a global network of FATF-style regional bodies, including the Cook Islands Financial Intelligence Unit.

The recommendations are used by more than 180 governments to combat financial crimes. The revisions, made with input from governments, the private sector, and civil society, provide authorities with a stronger framework to act against criminals and address new threats to the international financial system.

The cost of money laundering and underlying serious crime is very high, estimated between 2 and 5% of global GDP.

The revision will enable national authorities to take more effective action against money laundering and terrorist financing at all levels – from the identification of bank customers opening an account through to investigation, prosecution and forfeiture of assets.

At the global level, the FATF will also monitor and take action to promote implementation of the standards.

The revised FATF recommendations now fully integrate counter–terrorist financing measures with anti-money laundering controls, introduce new measures to counter the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and they will better address the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and tax crimes.

They also strengthen the requirements for higher risk situations and allow countries to take a more targeted risk-based approach.

“Adoption of the revised recommendations demonstrates countries’ shared commitment to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” FATF president Giancarlo Del Bufalo said.

“The revised recommendations include requirements for stronger safeguards in the financial sector, strengthened law enforcement tools and improved international cooperation.”

The main changes to the recommendations are:

Combating the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction through the consistent implementation of targeted financial sanctions when these are called for by the UN Security Council.

Improved transparency to make it harder for criminals and terrorists to conceal their identities or hide their assets behind legal persons and arrangements.

Stronger requirements when dealing with politically exposed persons (PEPs).

Expanding the scope of money laundering predicate offences by including tax crimes.

An enhanced risk-based approach which enables countries and the private sector to apply their resources more efficiently by focusing on higher risk areas.

More effective international cooperation including exchange of information between relevant authorities, the conducting of joint investigations, and tracing, freezing and confiscation of illegal assets.

Better operational tools and a wider range of techniques and powers, both for the financial intelligence units, and for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing.

• Release

In defence of the $2.5 million budget deficit, cabinet minister Teina Bishop says the country has to spend money to make money.

“I stand to support the supplementary budget before the house,” he said in parliament yesterday. “Despite the fact that it is a deficit budget to me from an economic point of view, it is actually an investment budget. You have to spend money to make money.”

In jest he reminded opposition leader and former finance minister Wilkie Rasmussen, who yesterday was vocal in his denunciation of the supplementary budget, of a similar deficit situation that arose in 2009-2010.

“I’m sure he’s forgotten – he has to forget it – but the record states the Appropriation Amendment of 2009-2010, page nine, gives this statement that the operating revenue and expenditure statement shows a physical operating deficit of $2.7 million compared with a surplus of $2.9 million at the time of the original budget in July 2009,” Bishop said with a smile. The House erupted into laughter when he looked up and said: “I rest my case on the deficit.”

Assuming a more serious demeanour, Bishop explained that tourism is vital to the Cook Islands economy, and that both the Los Angeles and Sydney flights are integral to the government’s tourism strategy.

“Tourism accounts for 75 percent of the gross domestic product of the Cook Islands. In fact if we look at the growth of the economy over this financial year the economy has come through a very healthy state, minus the underwrites.

“Let’s not just focus on deficit. Let’s not just focus on the $12.6 million we’re supposed to be paying Air New Zealand. Let’s look at what that $12.6 million we have spent has earned for this country. If we didn’t spend that money, where would we be?”

Bishop said that independent assessors Eagle Aviation Consulting Limited are reviewing the Cook Islands government’s subsidies to Air New Zealand to determine whether they are economically viable.

“The beauty of this situation to me is now the corporation board and ministry of finance is really hard at work to look at the figures, the actual amount of money that this country makes from these underwrites and with the help of independent assessors we can really see a true reflection of the economic benefit of these underwrites.”

The firm reported that should the underwrite payments to support the Los Angeles flight alone reach more than $10.7 million, the benefits of tourism dollars will no longer outweigh the cost.

“But as a responsible government I don’t think we will ever wait for that time. Therefore the ministry of finance and members of (the) tourism (board) are working together to get our own scenario as to when we should exit these two routes.

He added that the government was saddled with a $1.2 million annual debt to Apex Agencies Ltd – a ‘virus’ which was ‘left to us by the previous administration’, Bishop said.

• Rachel Reeves

Dame Makea Karika Margaret Ariki 11123027

Takuvaine Member of Parliament Mark Brown paid tribute to Pauline Margaret Rakera Taripo – Dame Makea Karika Margaret Ariki – in Parliament yesterday.

He noted that she was this year made a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) – the second highest rank in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire which is an order of chivalry established in 1917.

“May the almighty be your protector, your guide, may the almighty bless you for the rest of your life,” Brown said in reference to Dame Makea Karika Margaret Ariki in Parliament yesterday.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully visited Aitutaki’s iconic One Foot Island on Friday as part of preparations for the Pacific Islands Forum this August. 12022042

A New Zealand government delegation that included Foreign Minister Murray McCully has returned home impressed with the Cook Islands’ progress in preparing for the Pacific Islands Forum, according to High Commissioner John Carter.

Carter said the two-day stopover was useful for the New Zealand government, which used the opportunity to examine New Zealand Aid Programme projects currently under way in Rarotonga and Aitutaki, and to investigate projects being proposed for development.

Aid projects aside, one of the main purposes for the trip was to view progress on planning the Pacific Islands Forum and find ways in which New Zealand can advise and assist the Cook Islands in hosting the event.

Yesterday, Carter again underlined the point that the Cook Islands government is responsible for planning for and hosting the forum.

New Zealand, he said, would examine any requests for assistance from the Cook Islands and help out in any way it saw possible.

“This is the Cook Islands’ show. It is being run by the Cook Islands and the Prime Minister (Henry Puna). We’ve already run our forum,” Carter said.

McCully, Carter and other representatives from the New Zealand foreign ministry met with Puna and other Cook Islands ministers during the two-day visit, which took in Rarotonga and Aitutaki.

In Aitutaki, the delegation visited One Foot Island, which will host the Pacific leaders retreat before the forum, and inspected the accommodation where those leaders will likely stay while in Aitutaki.

There they also met with the Aitutaki Island Council and inspected a number of New Zealand Aid Programme projects being carried out at the island.

Carter said the trip was extremely valuable for him and McCully to see the projects firsthand.

In the meantime, Carter said the New Zealand High Commission would continue to relay information up until the Pacific Forum is held in August this year and helping the Cook Islands and New Zealand governments maintain contact on the issue.

• Eric Parnis

A youth summit to tackle suicide in the Cook Islands, scheduled to be held in March, received the government’s backing at parliament yesterday – about $30,000 worth.

In presenting the supplementary budget to parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Henry Puna announced the government would contribute $30,000 to a host a youth conference planned for March 12.

The money, which is being paid to the Ministry of Education with POBOC funds (payments on behalf of the crown), will go towards bringing in youth from the outer islands to Rarotonga for the forum.

Puna said that the government saw it as important that the summit be run by youth and for youth in tackling suicide.

In any circumstance, Puna said it was important that the issue be brought into the open.

“It’s a very sensitive subject, let us bring youth from Rarotonga and the other islands to talk about this subject,” he said.

“I know that our spiritual leaders have their own prescription about what needs to be done, and I also know that there are others in our community that have ideas about what needs to be done.

“I don’t know what the answer is, and I don’t think there is any one single answer.

“Our young people are exposed to so many pressures and forces, that I think it is fair to say that their lives are exposed to so much pressure and are very complicated and perhaps we need to address our traditional ways of looking at this.

“It could well be that we are the problem, the parents, whatever the case, let us bring young people together to discuss it. Whatever comes out of those discussions, let us use this as the starting point.”

Mental health worker Mereana Taikoko, of Te Kainga support centre, said that while it was important to include the outer islands on the issue the government must also make sure what is learnt at the forum is taken back to the pa enua and the benefit of each island.

Taikoko said that $30,000 was a lot of money to commit to a one-day forum and the government must ensure it gets good value out of its investment. “$30,000 is a lot of money that could be used for other ideas,” she said.

“The idea for a helpline is a good one, but if we are going to do that it can’t just be for youth, it has to be for everybody. Everybody is affected by suicide and mental health problems... there are many older people at home with no one to talk to and a helpline would be very useful to them too.”

Taikoko said it was essential to include the outer islands and she hoped the ambassadors sent will be able to help their home islands’ confront suicide.

“I hope (what is discussed at the forum) will get back to the outer islands, but it is difficult to know if it does,” she said.

“At the forum we need the right people to facilitate it... we don’t want the money to be a waste.”

The idea for a youth forum was brought up by government committee formed late in January.

The committee was brought together to find ways in which the Cook Islands can reduce the rate of suicide in its population and especially in its young population following a spate of deaths in the last six months.

Te Kainga is not part of the committee, which includes only government bodies and organisations as well as the Cook Islands National Youth Council.

aand Peter Campbell

• Eric Parnis

Crafts and produce being sold by Mangaia College students, who learnt about the ins and outs of market life this month. Photo: MIA 12021763

Mangaia’s unemployed youth and upcoming school leavers are being told to look to their surroundings and be creative to help put some cash in their wallets.

The island’s tourism and community development division, under Tangimama Vavia, held a workshop this month for Mangaia’s youth.

Students currently completing seventh form at Mangaia College were invited to join the island’s unemployed youth for the division’s programme.

With a lack of employment opportunities available to Mangaian youth, Vavia saw the need for school leavers and soon to be school leavers to start getting into the practice of making their own money and not rely on their families for finance.

A two-day workshop was held earlier this month with the help of market entrepreneur Mama Ina Bishop.

Mama Ina came to Mangaia about three months ago and has since successfully introduced a Wednesday market day in addition to the usual Friday markets in Oneroa. She also organises a market day in Tamarua village once a month.

On the first day, Vavia walked them through the different kinds of products that Mangaia has to offer, from starting a business, to costing the product, to quality control and putting aside for new stock.

The participants were given the opportunity to watch Mama Ina paint her pareu and sew her ei pupu (shell necklaces).

She also talked about making kikau brooms, coconut drinks, coconut sauce, rukau and other meal dishes that are simple enough to make.

On the second day, they had the Maire Coordinators Noo and Oki Karena walk them through picking and processing maire for export to Hawaii.

The workshop participants were given a week to think about making or bringing a selected product to sell up to a value of $50 to be showcased at the Wednesday market this week. In less than an hour, all their produce was sold.

They had paintings, avocado, coconut sauce, fresh rukau, coconut drinks, fish, taro and mangoes up for sale.

The experience seemed to have an affect on the group because they were seen again at the Friday market selling goods.

Vavia has received positive feedback from families of the team and the general public for her efforts in helping these children make their own money.

One child was sighted one morning filling in his deposit slip as he saves his proceeds to eventually buy himself a motorbike.

Mangaia Island Administration secretary Helen Henry said Vavia has grown well in the organisation and displays initiative, common sense and leadership qualities in her role with MIA.

• EP/MIA

Mark Brown. 11042903

During the first parliamentary sitting of the year yesterday, finance minister Mark Brown tabled the Appropriation Amendment, or the supplementary budget that amends figures set out in the principal budget passed in July of last year.

He opened the session with a speech explaining the most significant variations to the original budget that the bill suggests.

“This appropriation amendment was prepared for items that are beyond the control of the government, that are time sensitive and cannot be deferred to the next budget process.

are one off in nature and (do) not reflect an ongoing expenditure to the crown, and have a level of existing cabinet commitment,” he said.

The majority of the increases are earmarked for payments on behalf of the crown (POBOC) – an increase of $5.1 million, bringing the total POBOC appropriation to $40.2 million.

POBOC increases include an additional $4.5 million to underwrite Air New Zealand’s Los Angeles and Sydney flights.

Brown told Parliament House yesterday that the increase in the Air New Zealand appropriation was “mainly due to the cost of aviation fuel since April 2010 when the cost of aviation fuel has risen by around 35 per cent in US dollar terms”.

“It is an external cost we are unable to control and to this end the government cannot really contain costs. The outlook for aviation fuels is unlikely to get any better, and could possibly deteriorate further.

“According to the International Air Transport Association, the increase in aviation fuel prices has cost the airline industry globally around the world around 32 billion just for this year. It is interesting to note that the increase in fuel costs is being attributed to the collapse of Air Australia recently and also for the major restructuring of airline routes and resultant job losses in many airlines around the world.

“We will not act in haste in regard to the current arrangements. An irresponsible approach would be to panic and cease one of the routes in the absence of any strategy. We are approaching our tourism high season. It is important that we continue to build on the gains we have made over the last 12 months and ensure an appropriate strategy to manage the underwrite costs.

“The government will review its tourism strategy to ensure we maximise our investment so that growth is sustained in the tourism sector whilst the budget is brought back to surplus in 2012-2013.”

A total of $155,000 has been earmarked for parliamentary support services, and Brown explained the significance of that particular variation.

“This reflects government’s commitment to establishing the select committee support services unit to initially support the Parliament in scrutinizing the government on various aspects of public finances. This would include audit reports, finance reports of the various entities of the crown and the budget of the government as presented to parliament.

“This initiative puts the Cook Islands at the forefront of the Pacific in the area of finance oversight and transparency. These new initiatives go a long way in lifting our profile as we aim to be the benchmark for the Pacific in public financial management processes and standards.”

Of the $130,000 appropriated to send a Cook Islands team to Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebration, Brown said that the Cook Islands is the only Pacific island nation that was invited to “participate in this uniquely prestigious event”.

“The honour of being included in this event is a great testament to the regard in which the Cook Islands are held within the Commonwealth and by the Queen. Over and above the honour, our invitation to this event presents a terrific opportunity for press and promotional coverage to showcase our country while in the United Kingdom.”

Of the $95,000 appropriated for the Pacific Islands Forum in August, he noted that hosting Pacific leaders and trades people for a week is “an opportunity for the Cook Islands to generate greater economic activity and build upon the partnerships with our Pacific Island community”.

He added that the appropriation amendment bill provides for funding to CISNOC to cover operating costs ($30,000) and the cost of sending a Cook Islands team to the Olympic Games in London ($93,000).

Capital to ministries and the outer islands has increased by $58,027 to reflect the provision of funds for the purchase of septic tanks for Aitutaki.

“This is not new money but funds generated from the sale of the recycled materials that would be returned to the Aitutaki Island Administration.

“This is part of the contract for the baling of ferrous and non ferrous light metal in Aitutaki as part of the cyclone recovery efforts. The baled material was packed into shipping containers certified as suitable for export for recycling to New Zealand in September 2011.”

Brown talked about how aid estimates have also increased. Foreign aid has increased by $946,247 million to reflect contributions from AusAID and the United Naitons Development Programme not noted in the original budget. Those funds target specific programmes, particularly “climate change adaptation initiatives and community-centred sustainable development planning”.

All said, the supplementary budget reveals an operating deficit of $2.5 million and an overall net balance deficit of $2.8 million.

Under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Act (section 23), a “fiscally responsible budget is such that unless debt is at prudent levels government must run an operating surplus”, Brown said.

“The appropriate amendment that I have presented on behalf of government calculates a budget deficit.

“The MFEM act, however, stipulates that government may depart from these principles of an operating surplus only in acceptable circumstances. These are exceptional circumstances and include such events that are deemed temporary and I shall specify the exact details as to: the reasons for government having to depart from these principals as well as justification of the exceptional circumstances, the approach the government intends to take to return it to these principals, the period of time government intends to take to return to these principals.

“In addressing these stipulations of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Act please allow me to note that the most significant operating expenditure increase in this appropriation amendment relates to the provision of the Air New Zealand underwrite of $4.5 million.

“In accordance with the MFEM Act the government has met the requirements and principles of a fiscally responsible budget. As part of government’s medium term fiscal strategy going forward, we are determined to ensure our investments are targeted and will boost the economy in both short to medium term spending and, at the same time, foster economic and social conditions for long-term resourcing and sustainable development.

“In conclusion, Mr Speaker, if you consider the fact that I have presented, it clearly points to the appropriation amendment that government has placed before you that is entirely in accordance with both the provisions and spirit of the MFEM Act.”

• Rachel Reeves

The original Budget appropriated a total of $172,097,116, but the supplementary budget appropriates $178,337,447 for the current financial year (2011-2012) – reflecting a variance of $6.2 million.

The bill suggests an overall increase of $5.1 million in payments on behalf of the crown (POBOC), bringing the total amount appropriated for POBOC this financial year to $40.2 million. (The original budget provided for $35 million in POBOC.)

The largest variation to the POBOC is an additional $4.5 million subsidy to Air New Zealand to operate its Los Angeles and Sydney flights.

In passing the budget in July, the government appropriated $8 million for underwriting both. Due to an increase in the cost of fuel, the appropriation amendment bill suggests a $12.5 million subsidy – a figure that was confirmed on February 2 at a meeting between Finance Minister Mark Brown, Prime Minister Henry Puna and Air New Zealand executives.

The budget has been amended to accommodate a further $46,000 appropriation to Audit for the cost of establishing its governance and oversight unit ($44,000), and the cost associated with recruiting the current audit director ($2000).

A total of $14,000 has been allocated to Cook Islands Investment Corporation for an extension on the leases for the offices of Internal Affairs and the Office of the Public Service Commissioner. For costs incurred during Operation Eagle, Crown Law has been allocated a further $60,000.

Other variations include the appropriation of $130,000 for the Ministry of Cultural Development to send a Cook Islands team to Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and $30,000 for the Ministry of Education to run a Youth Suicide Prevention Forum.

The Environment Service will receive an additional $17,000 under its island futures account to pay a new environment officer for Manihiki, who will address the island’s vulnerability to climate change and, accordingly, appropriate mitigation measures.

To facilitate the government in its hosting of the Pacific Islands Forum, a total of $95,000 has been put aside for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. A total of $123,000 has been appropriated for Internal Affairs to administer to CISNOC – $30,000 for its operating costs and $93,000 to send a Cook Islands team to the Olympic Games in London.

The supplementary budget provides the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management with $25,000 for a banking review, $8000 for an independent review of the CISNOC accounts, $20,000 for a review of Apex Agencies Limited, and the $4.5 million for a top-up to the Air New Zealand subsidy.

The supplementary budget earmarks $28,000 for the Office of the Prime Minister to fast-track its renewable energy preparatory work in the islands of Mitiaro, Mauke, Mangaia and Manihiki.

Parliamentary services is set to receive $155,000 in additional funding – a $50,000 increase to the Civil List to accommodate ministerial travel, $65,000 to the House of Ariki for the first inaugural Ui Ariki Day, and $40,000 for the establishment of a Select Committee Support Services unit.

Though the net deficit is $2.8 million, a slight reduction in debt servicing interest – the result of a delay in drawing down some of the loans as originally forecasted – the net operating budget deficit stands at $2.5 million.

Finance minister Mark Brown said in parliament yesterday that the supplementary budget was drafted in response to extenuating circumstances over which the government had no control.

“This appropriation amendment was prepared for items that: are beyond the control of the government, that are time sensitive and cannot be deferred to the next budget process, are one off in nature and (do) not reflect an ongoing expenditure to the crown, and have a level of existing cabinet commitment,” he said.

Capital to ministries and outer islands has increased by $58,027 to accommodate the purchase of septic tanks for Aitutaki – a cost that was paid with revenue generated by the sale of recycled materials.

Foreign aid has also increased by $946,247 to reflect contributions from AusAID and United Nations Development Programme not recorded in the original budget – that funding specifically targets climate change initiatives and sustainable development planning.

Variations

$12.5m - for Air NZ subsidy

$60,000 - for Crown Law due to Operation Eagle

$28,000 - to fast-track renewable energy preparatory work in Mitiaro, Mauke, Mangaia and Manihiki.

$17,000 - to pay a new environment officer on Manihiki

$95,000 - for government to host the Pacific Islands Forum

$44,000 - for Audit’s new governance and oversight unit

$123,000 - to CISNOC – $30,000 for its operating costs and $93,000 to send a Cook Islands team to the Olympic Games in London

$8000 - for an independent review of CISNOC accounts

$20,000 - for a review of the TOA deal

$50,000 - increase to the Civil List to accommodate ministerial travel

$65,000 - to the House of Ariki for the first inaugural Ui Ariki Day

• Rachel Reeves

A cash register filled with money has been stolen from an Arorangi nightspot during a weekend burglary that netted the thieves about $3000 in goods.

Burglars also stole a laptop and some alcohol from the Roadhouse in Arorangi after smashing through a rear door of the building.

The burglary occurred overnight on Friday and Cook Islands Police were called in to the bar to investigate the following morning. Inspector Tere Patia said police would welcome the public’s assistance in helping identify anybody they suspect is involved in the burglary.

Cook Islands Police can be contacted on 22499.

Police recorded one other theft over the weekend, in which a handbag containing cash, a mobile phone and a chequebook was stolen from a home in Titikaveka.

Although the bag was later located, the phone and cash had been removed. Meanwhile, an old house in Matavera was completely gutted by flames early on Saturday. No one was injured in the blaze, which occurred about 8.50am on Saturday.

Patia said police were currently awaiting a report from the fire chief on the cause of the blaze.

Police recorded no motor vehicle accidents during the weekend, although one Avatiu man was banned from driving after police suspected him of being drunk.Patia said officers also stopped three young men from driving on the running track at BCI Stadium.

Police saw the youths driving their motorcycles on the track and although police have not charged them with any misdemeanours, Patia said the youths received a warning for their actions. Police arrested an Arorangi man on Friday night after he was found to be in breach of curfew conditions imposed on him by the court.

Officers also attended three excessive noise complaints during the weekend with all associated to late night parties.

• Eric Parnis

A vacant house in Turangi was completely burnt out before four fire trucks from the Rescue Fire Service and Puaikura Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived on the scene 10 minutes after the fire was reported.

Deputy fire chief Willie Hagai says that a witness to the fire in the area contacted the fire service at 8.56 on Saturday morning but when fire trucks arrived on the scene at 9.09, there wasn’t much of the house left to douse.

He says that by 9.30am fire officers declared the scene under control. Hagai says that investigations into the cause of the fire are still ongoing but it is believed the house was vacant and the owner in New Zealand.

While fire service officers investigate the possible cause of the fire, Hagai would like to remind residents, especially those preparing to head overseas or to the outer islands for holidays, to turn off your gas and switch your power off at the main to avoid fires.

• Matariki Wilson

Dr Hla Thein walking with the tere party in Pukapuka. 12021754

The doctor dancing with the women of Loto. / 12021756

American Amelia Borofsky has been on Pukapuka since last year, and has been providing regular reports to Cook Islands News. Here she writes of Dr Thein’s arrival to the remote northern group island.

A doctor has not been in Pukapuka since 2005.

For the last 20 years, Manongi Tiro, a nurse practitioner, has served her people. For the last five years, she oversaw the ten hospital and health affiliated staff. The hard-working staff delivers babies, dresses wounds and administers medication.

They also provide health education at Niua School and listen to people’s needs. Any urgent or high-risk cases they send on a Ministry of Health flight to Rarotonga, a necessary and valued service for the atoll.

When the doctor arrived the island buzzed “the doctor has arrived,” “have you met the doctor yet?”

Dr Hla Thein grew up in Burma and lived in Fiji for the last 18 years with his wife Florence, a theologian, and his son Ederil, a professional golfer.

Dr Thein has lived in 18 different countries. He worked for the United Nations and in a refugee camp along the Thai-Burmese border. He last worked as a principal medical officer overseeing seven hospitals and has a special interest in non-communicable diseases.

Dr Thein wanted a new challenge and chose the Cook Islands because of the high rates of non-communicable diseases and the chance to have an impact.

While working at the Rarotonga Hospital, he heard about the vacant position in Pukapuka. No one wanted to take the position and other doctors discouraged him.

“You will come running back here,” they said.

The negative prejudices about Pukapuka offer a partial explanation for why a doctor has not been posted here for such a long time.

Dr Thein says: “I love a challenge and I knew that my skills would be most useful in a remote location.”

Pukapuka and Dr Thein have met their match.

“Last night, my dear,” he says, “I thought this is paradise. I just need to catch a chicken and then it will be paradise.”

The next day the island secretary’s son delivered him a chicken.

“We will get this whole island eating vegetables,” he says, “and I will eat all the chicken.” Dr Thein already planted cucumbers, radishes, chilli, garlic and cabbages to serve as a model. He and his staff planted the edible rukau and plumeria and hibiscus around the hospital.

“Non-communicable disease management and the upgrade of the hospital are my priorities,” he says.

In the first few days, Dr Thein walked around the atoll introducing himself to people, chatting and joking. Upon meeting Mama Vai on her front porch he kissed her and rubbed her sore legs.

“Ea koi ite akalili,” says Mama Vai laughing. The nurse practitioner and Mama Vai’s daughter-in-law, Letai, translates.

“I am not cheeky my dear,” says Dr Thein, “I am super cheeky.”

He delivers a few more hilarious not-for-print jokes.

“Actually,” he says, “you are super cheeky and I am super, super cheeky.”

“Oh the old mamas are going to love you,” says Letai.

Everyone hopes that Dr Thein stays at least for the two-year contract, or for longer. In the past, some doctors broke their contract early because of boredom, isolation or an inability to pass the language barrier.

Because of these issues, the coconut wireless said a long-term Pukapukan doctor would arrive.

Pukapuka has a relatively healthy population thanks to a diet of fish, taro, and coconuts and a lifestyle of fishing, taro farming and playing sport.

Pukapuka also has invaluable local remedies including medicinal plants, lomi lomi massage and a local chiropractor healer.

Still, there’s additional public health work needed. There’s home visits to the elderly, health education at the school, medication compliance, management of and education on non-communicable diseases, a diet low in fruits and vegetables, nicotine dependence, alcoholism, domestic violence prevention, sex education, breast feeding promotion, public sanitation and encouraging people to seek medical attention early rather than waiting until something becomes serious.

There are also transportation challenges making it difficult to send blood samples or receive needed supplies.

“We have toothbrushes but no toothpaste to do the tooth brushing drills at the school,” says Noloto Williams the dentist. Dr Thein rises to the challenge stating “just wait, we will have the healthiest island.”

In the next few weeks, Dr Thein and the nursing staff plan to visit each house on the atoll to survey the prevalence and management of non-communicable diseases.

Dr Thein is a welcome, chicken-eating, jovial, “super, super cheeky” presence in Pukapuka.

Click to enlarge

The doctor dancing with the women of Loto. 12021755

 

A family support group for all those who have been affected by someone’s drinking problems has been re-started in Rarotonga.

The Al Anon support group, which re-launched last month, provides people with a confidential forum to talk about how their lives have been affected by someone else’s issues with alcohol.

But organisers say the group will also discuss other family problems such as domestic violence, suicide, and other mental health issues.

The group functions out of the Te Kainga building at Panama, meeting every Monday at 6pm.

Organisers say the group provides a great opportunity to meet with those who have experienced similar problems in order to learn how to solve them. They say there is no reason to suffer aloneYou learn that you did not cause the problems, you cannot control the problems and you cannot cure the problems.You should have no feelings of guilt or shame.

To contact Al Anon, phone 20162 or 50633.

• Eric Parnis

Palmerston Island is finally set to join its sister islands and have a purpose-built medical clinic constructed within its shores.

The people of Palmerston remain the only Cook Islanders not to have a purpose-built hospital or clinic on their home island. If government plans to construct a new clinic on the island are carried out to the anticipated schedule, the island will see the building being erected from March. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) have teamed up to see the long-awaited project come to fruition. The pair has now put the job to tender and have begun searching for contractors, suppliers and labourers to construct the new health clinic.

Ministry of Health secretary Tupou Faireka said the clinic had been a long time coming for Palmerston Island and its people were enthusiastic to see it finally happen.

In fact, the enthusiasm is such that two possible sites for the clinic have already been identified on private land with owners prepared to donate the space to have the clinic built.

Faireka said it was up to the people of Palmerston to decide where the new clinic will be built, but he was sure that in either instance it would be an improvement on the current facilities at the island.

A dedicated nurse is permanently stationed at Palmerston Island to provide care to the 60 people who live there.

Currently, the nurse works out of a single-room clinic wedged between two water tanks. The layout of the new building, while not yet finalised, will include a doctor’s room, a small emergency room, a store room to safely house drugs and space for one or two beds.

It is expected to cost up to $70,000 to build.

Faireka said the project was aiming to have a mid-March start-date, but that was dependant on the time needed to send materials to Palmerston Island.

The construction is expected to make use of labourers local to Palmerston Island.

• Eric Parnis

Marumaru Atua is still cruising the waters of Mexico. 12021701

A dispatch dated February 17 by Numa Mackenzie and Alex Olah aboard Marumaru Atua, 180 miles off the coast of Mexico.

Kia orana tatou!

We slipped lines at 10.30am yesterday morning from IGY Marina. We were the first vaka to leave the marina because we wanted to go out early and run a man overboard drill which we performed very well. As we were the first to depart we made sure to offer our powerful Ivi Tu Amu to the other vakas, to wish them all swift and safe sailing on this leg.

We had a group of very energetic humpback whales come to farewell us as we left Cabo San Lucas Bay. They were breaching almost their entire bodies out of the water! A few of us were startled as we were having lunch when one of these friendly giants breached only about 50 metres away on our starboard side – another breathtaking farewell display that we feel was put on just for us.

We are experiencing good winds and have been doing a solid 6-8 knots since departure. Mexico has been good to us and we are lucky and thankful to have visited her shores. We have learned a lot about their culture, food and a bit about their society.

We can see how their environment affects them and why they live the way they do. We have seen many parallels between ourselves and our lives in the Cook Islands and with the local people in Mexico. Just like us they thrive from tourism. Their culture is what drives it.

They are defined by the things they wear, the food they eat, how they speak, how they look, and being proud of that. All those things are driven by their environment. Some of their popular tourist draw card meals and activities, like fish and shrimp tacos, whole lobster meals, sport fishing and whale watching, is derived from the ocean. We love our ika mata and maroro and sport fishing helps sustain us. The tortillas, salsa and avocado which we all see as culturally Mexican, and which they eat with everything, all come from the land. Maniota and taro are our cultural staples. We see ourselves as different people yet we share the same important things – the importance of our land and the ocean to sustain us through food and economy.

Our way of life is based on the relationship we have with the land and sea and how culturally we are driven from it. This experience shows us even though we are so different in some ways we are all the same.

Since we have left we are getting our sea legs back and are gearing for our first major jump across the ocean. Just so you know, we are filled to the brim with plenty of vegetables, fruits and meat to sustain us for this long journey.

Our Mama Vaka is actually very heavy at the moment, but with big swells this is a good thing as it allows us to absorb the knocks much better than usual – however we are sacrifi-cing a little speed.

As we have left our new friends, our minds are with our family and our old friends back home and abroad. Meitaki maata for your thoughts, prayers, emails and wishes and we hope to speak to you all soon!

American fly fisherman Jon Hall has been active in promoting Aitutaki’s bonefishery via word-of-mouth. Hall has spent months in Aitutaki with bonefish guide Itu Davey and his brothers, who have also become guides under the new Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) training programme, teaching them the ins and outs of running a business.

Hall this week shared with Cook Islands News this collection of photos, which depict Kiwi, European and American fly fishermen who caught (and released) good-sized bonefish with the Davey brothers’ help.

“These guys (fly fishermen) happily put thousands of dollars into the tourist industry coffers – the key word is happy and happy breeds repetition,” Hall said. “Success is hundreds, then thousands, of happy fly fishermen and their families returning to enjoy and support the bonefish programme.”

He acknowledged the hard work of the Cook Islands government, Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, MMR, Aitutaki island council and mayor and most importantly the people of Aitutaki who believed in and supported this programme.

“Now the kio kio will always be there in the lagoon for them – their children and their children’s children,” Hall said.

• Rachel Reeves

Click to enlarge

American fly fisherman Jon Hall with a whopper of a bonefish in Aitutaki. / 12021510

 

Click to enlarge

A visiting fly fisherman smiling with a decent-sized bonefish he caught thanks to the keen eyes of guide Itu Davey. 12021509

 

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A visiting fly fishermen shows off his prize. 12021512

 

The Cook Islands will hold a market next door to Wellington’s Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa to coincide with the museum’s exhibition on wedding fashions. 12021505

The romance of the Cook Islands is being exported to New Zealand’s national museum and art gallery over a series of events held until April.

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa will undergo a partial transformation over the coming months, when it adopts the ambience and experience of romance in the Cook Islands.

The concept is designed to help promote the Cook Islands as a destination for weddings, honeymoons and all things romantic.

Cook Islands Tourism Corporation is backing the Cook Islands’ presence at Te Papa as part of the museum’s exhibition ‘Unveiled: 200 years of wedding fashion’.

The exhibition, which is on display until April, explores two centuries of wedding fashion and is based on the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Cook Islands Tourism Corporation chief executive officer Carmel Beattie said the exhibition gave the Cook Islands an ideal opportunity to share its story with a perfect target market.

It is currently hunting down Cook Islanders to join a market on March 3, giving passers-by a taste of what a market would feel like in the Cook Islands and what arts and crafts would be available to purchase there.

The market will be held next door to Te Papa and focus on items that reflect on the romance of the Cook Islands through design, print, weaving, flowers, tivaivai and carving.

Black pearls, Cook Islands cuisine, fashion, drumming, dance and song will also be put under a spotlight at the market while a wedding planner is kept on hand to help provide information on the Cook Islands to interested parties.

Beattie said the event would also give the Cook Islands a greater opportunity to work with the people of Te Papa and its affiliates such as major partner Visa, the financial services company.

Perhaps more importantly, the event gives the Cook Islands a chance to show off its 15 islands and the romance infused in them.

“Cook Islanders are known as the entertainers of Polynesia – their singing, dancing and musicianship are unsurpassed,” Beattie said.

“But so is their carving, their canoeing, their navigational skills, their art, their cuisine and their strong family based heritage.

“All of which makes this alliance with Te Papa a marriage made in heaven allowing a pivotal focus on this cultural inheritance – where every person who visits is instantly transported to the enriching space that sets the mood for the Cook Islands connection.”

• Eric Parnis

Teau Marae Tapu Ariki. 12021924

On Friday afternoon Mauke lost Teau Marae Tapu Ariki, one of three Ariki o Akatokamanava.

Born 19th September 1943, Marae Turaki, of Ngaputoru descent, spent his formative years in Mauke, continuing schooling in Rarotonga before training as an electrician in New Zealand. His years with Te Aponga Uira saw him working in Rarotonga and Aitutaki until 1991 when he returned to his much loved home in Mauke.

While living on Rarotonga, Teau Marae lived with the Matapo family in Titikaveka where he also played rugby.

Teau Marae used to talk about how much he loved Saturdays in Rarotonga because it was the only day they were told not to work too hard and conserve their energy for the game in the afternoon.

In 1993 the Ariki title was bestowed upon him and he was proud to carry out his duties as Teau Marae Tapu Ariki o Ngati Te Akatauira Matakeinanga.

However, in recent years he spoke of his desire to pass on the title to his surviving son Tony Turaki, his oldest son George Turaki having passed away already.

At the funeral held on Saturday, February 18, Tou Ariki spoke on behalf of the House of Ariki, as their president, but also as friend and family.

He encouraged the tribe to go forward and spoke of his wish to see the investiture for the new Ariki carried out before July 6th, that being ‘Ra o te Ui Ariki’, the first official public day of celebration for Ariki.

Teau Marae loved life on his home island, being a very active member, deacon and treasurer at Kimiangatau CICC, and also working on the land, tending to pigs and gardens.

According to his niece Kairangi Samuela, his only regret was that he didn’t come home sooner. Kairangi and her son Vanic visited Mauke whenever possible, loving their special times with Uncle, helping with the work and chatting into the night.

The diminishing population of Mauke was never far from his concerns as he wondered who would be left to carry on the responsibilities of Ariki and other traditional leaders.

Teau Marae Tapu Ariki is survived by his wife Kura, children Denise, Tony, and Tuatata Turaki, and grandchildren George, Ngatupuna, Akerere, and Anthony.

• June Hosking

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Teau Marae Tapu Ariki in full song with Kimiangatau CICC. 12021926

 

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Te Au Ariki and Kura at Father John’s house blessing. 12021925

 

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Mauke farewells Teau Marae Tapu Ariki o Ngati Te Akatauira Matakeinanga. 12021929

 

Tourists visiting the Cook Islands from the Northern Hemisphere have a positive impact on the economy and maintaining the Los Angeles connection is important for the tourism industry, according to Minister of Tourism Teina Bishop.

The government yesterday announced that it would be pushed into deficit for the current financial year thanks to a higher-than-expected cost to guaranteeing the flights linking Rarotonga with Los Angeles and Sydney.

Original budget documents allocated $8 million to underwrite the flights for the year, but that figure has now risen by $4.5 million.

Air New Zealand provides the figure by tallying up the amount it costs them to run the flights and subtracting the amount they made back with airfares. The gap that remains – in this case $12.5 million – is covered by the guarantee.

Air New Zealand is blaming the rising costs of fuel for the $4.5 million increase on estimates.

This week budget carrier Air Australia – which was known as Strategic Airlines until late last year – collapsed, citing the cost of air fuel as one of the main factors.

Bishop fronted a press conference yesterday to announce the development alongside Minister of Finance and Economic Management Mark Brown and Financial Secretary Richard Neves.

The trio said the flights were safe for now, adding that the government was not keen on seeing its progress made in emerging markets – and particularly Australia – go to waste.

Bishop said tourists from the Northern Hemisphere were providing a positive contribution to the Cook Islands economy and expected they would even with the added cost to underpin the weekly flight between Los Angeles and Rarotonga.

The Cook Islands’ main markets outside of New Zealand (which accounted for 60 percent of the inbound visitor numbers for the 2011 calendar year) and Australia (which made up 14 percent for the year) come from the Northern Hemisphere.

European visitors account for 6 percent of all tourists coming to the Cook Islands – the US brings in 4 percent of the total, the UK 3 percent and Canada 2 percent.

In total, 16,693 people from the Northern Hemisphere visited the Cook Islands in 2011.

It’s a figure comparable to the 16,088 Australians (which excludes Cook Islanders living in Australia) who came to the Cook Islands in 2011.

If those figures were repeated during the financial year that would equal about $380 for each individual based on the $12.5 million guarantee.

Of course, not all those who travelled to the Cook Islands from Australia and the Northern Hemisphere used the Sydney and Los Angeles routes.

Nonetheless, Bishop said the government would not be rushing out of the deal it had struck with Air New Zealand.

He said the guarantee should be considered as an investment and while visitors from Australia and North America were bringing more money with them to the Cooks than is being spent to get them here, he considered it a worthwhile investment.

“We’re not jumping to any conclusions at the moment on these flights – especially with the high season coming up,” Bishop said.

Brown said the government would be looking at its tourism strategy to ensure it is maximising its investment in the industry.

Some of the ideas floated at yesterday’s conference included putting more emphasis on Auckland as a transit point for travellers and working with Air Tahiti to see if the Cook Islands could team up with French Polynesia in sharing flights and connections.

• Eric Parnis

Two independent consultants are evaluating the Cook Islands Ministry of Education to ensure it is on track to achieving the goals outlined in its master plan.

The Education Master Plan was written in 2008, and is a projection of the ministry’s outputs from then until 2023. Kiwi Christine Scott and local Tina Newport have been contracted by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evaluate whether the ministry is adhering to that plan.

“They are checking the progress we’ve made over the last three years since the master plan was formulated,” education secretary Sharyn Paio explained.

Their final report will feature in the next round of negotiations between the New Zealand Aid Programme, AusAID and the Ministry of Education (which mid-year will merge with the Department of National Human Resource Development), Paio says.

Yesterday Scott and Newport presented their preliminary findings to a steering committee headed by education minister Teina Bishop. The committee also comprises representatives from the aid management division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce, among other ministries.

Subsequent to that initial meeting, Scott and Newport met with other stakeholders with whom they have been consulting over the past two weeks, including principals, teachers, ministry staff, parents and members of the wider community.

At that meeting their aim was to check the validity of their data and request further feedback.

Paio says it is important that an external outfit review the ministry’s performance periodically.

“This will help us to plan and move forward,” she said, “and will help us identify areas we need to focus on as we move toward the merger with DNHRD.”

Scott and Newport will write up a draft report over the coming month and eventually present it to the steering committee, which will then have an opportunity to respond.

The steering committee has until March 23 to approve the report.

When the final report has been rubber-stamped, a press release will be issued to Cook Islands News.

• Rachel Reeves

Education secretary Sharyn Paio speaking at the public meeting in Mangaia. 12021739

Members of the Cook Islands ministry of education including Minister Teina Bishop travelled to Mangaia this week to examine the issues that contributed to Mangaia School’s poor NCEA results recorded last year.

The trip took in all Mangaia’s schools, meetings with island councillors, school associations and school communities before culminating in one of the largest public meetings the island has ever seen.

Bishop’s delegation, which included education secretary Sharyn Paio, finance director Anthony Turua and Junior Areai, held several meetings with teachers, students and principals from Mangaia School & College, Ivirua Primary and Tamarua ECE.

Mangaia Island secretary Helen Henry said Bishop sought to guide the meeting away from negativity towards the education system on the island.

She said Bishop spoke about how he was upset to see what has happened to Mangaia’s children but wanted to keep the visit constructive.

“There is no use in pointing fingers, that won’t achieve anything but as a people, we need to realise that educating our children is all our responsibility and not just that of the schools,” Bishop said.

“This meeting was called so we can talk about what you think needs improving so that the foundation of our young is corrected now. If you love your child, it is up to you to make sure your child receives as much opportunity not only at school but in the home too.”

Henry said the public meeting included men, women, teachers, parents and grandparents.

“It was so difficult to get a slot to speak because everyone wanted to have their say,” she said.

“A few retired teachers noted that the systems of teaching nowadays were so different from yesterday’s methods and he noticed that many children did not even know basic math such as times tables.

“Some members of the community sought to amend the laws to allow physical means of discipline (smacking).

“The minister rebutted that you could ‘smack’ your child or student by taking away their mobile phone for a day, disallowing TV time, and others instead of being physical.

“(Paio) was very vocal about this issue and advised that there are many forms of punishment that can be administered to discipline our children providing parents followed through.”

Henry said this was the first time the people have been given this opportunity to talk openly with officials about education issues and the people are still talking about it.

• Eric Parnis

Preparatory work is continuing on road works stretching from Pokoinu to the Aquarius Hotel. 12021724

Preparatory work for the upgrade of the road from Pokoinu to the Aquarius Hotel in Nikao is progressing steadily under the eyes of Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP).

Part of the upgrade is to construct a footpath on the seaward side of the road and power poles on that side are being moved two metres back from their original positions.

Workers from the state-owned electricity provider Te Aponga Uira (TAU) were also on hand during the operation.

The inland side of the road will be reserved for the laying of underground ducts for utility lines for electricity, telephones and water supply.

Both sides of the street will be connected to utilities via new underground ducts laid under the road with manholes being constructed allow easy access to the utility lines.

MOIP engineers said the work will also reduce the upkeep of the Pokoinu to Aquarius stretch because road works will not have repair damage caused by utility agencies digging trenches across roadways.

MOIP’s acting secretary Donye Numa said she was pleased with progress to date despite some challenges associated with the weather.

“The local contractors have truly demonstrated a high level workmanship and are maintaining the traffic management plan with little disruption so far.”

The work has been contracted out to T&M Heather and Triad Petroleum.

• MOIP

King Kapisi and Teremoana Rapley with Anthony Niszow and Michelle Niszow on the beach in Muri. 12021737

Hip-hop icon Bill ‘King Kapisi’ Urale and partner, rapper Teremoana Rapley, made a quick visit to Rarotonga last week to shoot footage for Fresh TV and for a soon-to-be-released music video.

Rapley is a Cook Islander and she and Urale are regular visitors to the Cook Islands. This time around, the duo was on Rarotonga for just two days.

Their primary focus was to shoot footage for Fresh, a Pacific-themed television series targeted at young adults that explores Pacific art, music and sports icons.

As co-hosts of the programme, the pair were filmed around Pacific Resort and on the resort’s lagoon cruise, and at the Empire night market and Punanga Nui.

Fresh airs in New Zealand on TV2 at 10am Saturdays, and airs re-runs on Channel ‘U’ at 7.30pm on Wednesdays. The episode featuring King Kapisi and Rapley in Rarotonga has yet to air.

On the side the music icons did some filming for Rapley’s upcoming video.

King Kapisi is officially a ‘Pacific Resort Hotel Group brand ambassador’ and has enjoyed a long relationship with the company. He keeps in contact with resort management, and has filmed ‘Salvation’ and ‘Clap Ya Hands’ on location at the Muri resort.

• Rachel Reeves

Vaine Mitchell (centre) was proud as punch when she was named prefect for grade 1 at St Joseph’s School yesterday. 12021709

Newly appointed prefects bow their heads as Father Freddy says a prayer of blessing for them. 12021707

The St Joseph’s Cathedral in Avarua was bursting with pride when 14 students from St Joseph’s School were inducted as prefects.

The special mass at the cathedral also included the naming of the schools two peace ambassadors.

Families, friends and wider Catholic community gathered at the cathedral to witness the induction of the prefects and peace ambassadors.

The newly inducted prefects were picked based on their leadership qualities as well as their overall attitude towards school.

They are charged with assisting teachers in the day to day running of activities at the school and caring for the younger children.

The school’s new prefects are Patrick Moetaua and Paige Brooke Strickland, Amene Urirau, Teretia Teinaki, Numangatini George and Vaine Mitchell will in charge of grade 1, Denis Tokorangi and Teei Tuteru in charge of grade 2, Jacqueline Purea and Salvatory Ngaroi in charge of grade three, Itiao Unuka and Athena Dennis in charge of grade 4, Te Anau Rani in charge of grade 5 and Carlina Teariki in charge of grade 6.

The schools two peace ambassadors are Tanisha Tangimetua and Tiare Enoka.

• Matariki Wilson

Local MP and Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters was present at Rutaki School to present its new prefects with the badges and share some words of encouragement. 12021747

Rutaki School welcomed in its new prefects and peace ambassadors yesterday, telling them to look to the vaka captains for inspiration on how they can be good leaders for the community.

Tuiate Tuariki was named the school’s head prefect, with five other prefects or kauano puapii and two peace ambassadors or mata o te au named at the day.

The prefects include Ei Maire Glassie, Tini Maruhi, Tehina Pennycook, Ioane Moore and Augustine Samulea, while Viorangi Kite and Giovanni Samuela were named peace ambassadors.

At the ceremony, the school’s new leaders were told to use the vaka as inspiration, whose captains do not lead from the front, but from behind and help keep everyone steering towards the same goal.

• Eric Parnis

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Rain threatened to soak Rutaki School’s prefect ceremony on Friday, but students were left smiling because clear skies rolled over by the time it started. 12021745

 

Tereora College management strongly encourages parents to attend one of three vaka meetings next week to discuss the college’s vision for the next three years.

The Parent Teacher Association and the college’s senior management team have organised three meetings – for Te Au O Tonga on Tuesday, for Takitumu on Wednesday and Puaikura on Thursday – to hear feedback from parents of Tereora students.

The agenda is flexible, but the management has identified a few topics of discussion it deems important, which include NCEA preparation and performance and the school’s annual goals.

Other agenda items are the school uniform, student appearance and conduct, attendance and punctuality issues, how to contact the school, the school’s support networks and client focus, and the new student diary.

School principal Bali Haque says feedback will enable management to develop its plan for the next three years.

Parents will also be welcome to fill out a survey if they care to do so.

Tuesday’s meeting will be at 7pm at Sinai Hall, Wednesday’s at 7pm at Ngatangiia Clubhouse and Thursday’s at 7pm at the Calvary Hall .

• Rachel Reeves

Whale watchers were out on the Aitutaki lagoon catching sight of an unexpected visitor yesterday, although the visitor in question has been long dead before it even reached the island.

Aitutaki’s Joe Katangi put the local Marine Resources unit and a visiting marine biologist into action yesterday morning when he spotted a whale carcass inside the lagoon.

Judging from its state of decomposition, marine biologist Charlie Waters said the whale had been dead for a long time before it was washed inside the lagoon.

He said he was not sure of the exact species, but judging from the span of its tail he estimated it would have been 14 to 16 metres in length.

The whale is currently lodged on some coral in the lagoon and its future is unknown.

Waters, who is visiting Aitutaki for the ninth time, said that the carcass was so decomposed it would be hard to move.

“It has decomposed to the point where moving it would compromise the structure or the skeleton, so we have decided to leave it where it is,” he said.

“We’ve notified the authorities, but at the moment there are a lot more questions still to be answered.”

Aitutaki mayor John Baxter said it was a rare occurrence to see a whale carcass wash into the lagoon like this.

A sperm whale washed ashore at Amuri in 2007, making it the third such incident in about 20 years.

Waters said the whale carcass currently in the lagoon was bleached from the conditions, but there was no noticeable odour to it and it was not a gruesome sight.

He said tidal movements may help solve the issue, but otherwise the question of what to do with the carcass was still unanswered.

• Eric Parnis

Cuddling kittens is one of a number of fun things planned for this Saturday’s open day at the Esther Honey clinic in Nikao. 12021520

Kitten cuddling, face painting and games galore are in store for the whole family this Saturday at the Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic in Nikao.

The open day also commemorates world spey day and the general public at large is invited to celebrate the day and enjoy a great afternoon with the clinic animals and volunteers.

There will also be fun educational activities, a clinic tour as well as an opportunity to meet the volunteers and vets as well as watch a real surgery.

There will be yummy snacks and treats for sale to feed the whole family so get along to Esther Honey this Saturday from 3pm to 7pm and find out how you can ensure the future of the Cook Islands’ only veterinary clinic.

• Matariki Wilson

Cook Islands crew members horsing around on the steering wheel. 12021410

Marumaru Atua crew member Alex Olah has dispatched another blog update from Cabo San Lucas. Here is the amended version:

It has been a busy few days here in Cabo San Lucas. We have been out and about exploring the town and seeing the sights, as well as making preparations and adjustments to our vaka to get ready for the long sail coming up.

While here in Cabo we have utilised the artistic skills of our own Numa Mackenzie to sketch our traditional 32 point wind compass in the deck along with our Cook Islands Maori names (translated from the Hawaiian version by Captain Peia with assistance from Harry Goodwin and ‘Ninja’ Koronui). It is positioned in the middle of the deck below where we stand to grip the oe for steering our vaka.

Then we have also utilised the master-carving skills of one of our Fijian brothers from Uto Ni Yalo, Tukana, to carve Numa’s designs into the deck. They have begun to come out beautifully and they have multiple uses. It is a teaching tool for our navigators to pass on knowledge; it is a fine display of Cook Islands traditional motifs and design; and it improves the grip of the deck for our feet in the crucial spot where we need it most while steering.

Aside from prep work, the crew has been keeping busy with:

A tour to a small local fishing village about 2 hours drive from San Lucas named Cabo Pulmo which is championing the drive for alternative and eco tourism. They have established a non fishing (raui) zone 5 miles from the coast and 75 miles long. Sergio (a keen fisherman) had to almost be restrained from diving in and spearing some fish while visiting there as the marine life was so abundant.

Some night life excursions to sample the sights, sounds and tastes that Cabo has to offer! Some good times had by all the Pacific Voyagers. We have even sort of adopted one of the local pubs and their friendly Mexican staff as our unofficial base and meeting place when walking around town – a quaint little hole in the wall with a Mexican cowboy theme, complete with the flapping hinged doors, and aptly named ‘the Saloon’.

Taking some locals out on a daysail. We saw some humpback whales and had good winds. It was a beautiful day to demonstrate our vakas to them, and for us to view Cabo from offshore.

An afternoon/evening sail on an old tall pirate ship named Sunderland with beautiful huge square sails and all the rigging you can imagine! We were invited by the owner Mark Malberder free of charge (who came out on the daysail with Marumaru Atua) and he in turn invited every one of us on his tours! We all had an amazing time being hosted with all drinks and meals provided, and a few of us even clambered right to the top of the rigging to sit atop the gallant boom!

We have also thoroughly enjoyed meeting many locals here and making good friends. We have enjoyed taking them on tours of our vakas and explaining our cause to them and our traditions. A few of us were invited to another town close by named San Jose (about 30 minutes away) to experience an evening with some locals. This was an amazing evening with local music provided by the family and we got to see traditional Mexican dancing, singing and fun!

However, as of yesterday, with our upcoming departure, everyone’s minds have started to turn towards our next task, to focus on what we need to do, and just getting our mindset away from the contagious complacent holiday mood here in Cabo and into our sailing mindset. We are looking forward to getting underway and are keen to put the finishing touches on our vakas. If there are no other delays we should be underway this afternoon, and God willing we will have fair winds to take us on our way... closer to Rarotonga... closer to home!

Alexander Teariki Olah

Marumaru Atua IGY Marina

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

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The boys carving Cook Islands motifs into the deck of the vaka. 12021408

 

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Marumaru Atua crew pose on the deck of the vaka. 12021413

 

For Mereana Taikoko and Richard McQuillen, the director and a long time volunteer with Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre, there is a high amount of misperception surrounding mental health and who it affects in the Cook Islands. They say there is a need to lift the fog that surrounds the topic and warn that mental health problems affect many more than people might think.

There are almost 400 different types of mental illnesses and just like physical illnesses they range from the mild to the severe.

It is a popular misconception that ‘mental illness’ just means ‘craziness’. This leads directly to the stigma and shame that is perceived around mental illnesses, however, only one in 20 people diagnosed with a mental illness will be a severe case requiring specialist treatment.

The World Health Organisation says that around 20 percent of any given population will suffer from some form of mental illness ranging from the mild to the severe.

That is one in five of us here in the Cook Islands. Therefore every family will be touched by one or more cases of mental illness.

The resident population numbers of the Cook Islands from the 2011 census are not yet available as only the preliminary statistics have been released However, as of the 2006 Census the resident local population was 14,155.

Therefore, approximately 2800 to 3000 citizens will be suffering from some form of mental illness.

But only around 140 of these are likely to be severe cases which require specialist treatment and medication.

The remaining being milder forms of mental illness such as addiction, depression, stress, anxiety or ‘worry’ illness etc. These can all be readily treated by support and in some cases counselling where resources are available.

Awareness programmes for mental health are very important as they should help enable early diagnosis of a mental illness, which if treated early, should prevent it escalating into a more severe illness, resulting in quicker outcomes and much reduced family disruption.

The top five mental illnesses that have been supported and treated by Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre since its foundation in 2004 are: stress, grief, caregiver stress, depression and alcoholism.

Te Kainga has treated over 1000 clients over the eight years since it was founded.

Therefore, there should be no shame to admit that one has a mental illness.

There are many people with similar problems, just as there are many people with similar physical illnesses. No one of us is perfect, however we may try to appear so.

- Richard McQuillen

Support groups:

Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre – 20162.

Putuputuanga Tauturu Taeke/AA Alcohol Support Group – 50221.

Alcoholics Anonymous – Support Group for family members of alcoholics – 50633 or 20162.

The definition of health according to the World Health Organisation Constitution of 1946 is: “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

We believe that spiritual well-being has since been added to this definition.

So ‘total health’ is a combination of physical, mental, social and spiritual health.

However, mental health and illnesses have long remained a neglected part of medical and health care services world wide. Progressive countries are at last recognizing the benefits of investing in mental health in order to improve the effectiveness of the overall health budget.

It is also proven by WHO research that one in five people will suffer at some time from a form of mental health problem, be it depression, anxiety, addiction or more severe forms of the illness. Therefore, every family in the Cook Islands will be affected by some family member with a mental health problem.

Despite this, this has traditionally been a major stigma and ‘shame’ and general confusion between ‘mental health’ and ‘mental illness’ in the Cook Islands.

Mental health is a state of emotional well being. There are over 400 types of different mental illnesses ranging from the mild, such as anxiety attacks (worry illness), some forms of depression and addiction (alcohol overuse, over eating etc.) to the severe which would include psychosis, schizophrenia and the like.

The severe cases would be relatively rare, representing approximately only 1 percent of the total population. Early diagnosis of any mental illness will enable preventative treatment early to reduce the possibility of progression to more severe problems.

Direct links between mental health and physical health

From WHO research, it has been proven that there are direct links between mental and physical health and this is supported by our experience in the Cook Islands.

Those who suffer from mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia/psychosis and addictions are highly vulnerable to indulging in modern lifestyle diseases such as smoking, alcohol, fast food and sexual risk taking, as self cures to help them feel better.

These in turn lead to related physical illnesses such as lung disease/cancer, liver and heart diseases, accidents, obesity, diabetes and cardio vascular disease, strokes, exposure to sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and so on.

The above illnesses are very expensive to treat and a huge economic burden for a small country like the Cook Islands.

Accordingly, preventative funding into mental health will yield large cost benefits and efficiencies in the annual government health budget.

Since its founding in 2004, Te Kainga O Pa Taunga, the sole mental health service for mental health issues in the country, has treated more than 1000 clients.

This number would be considered at face value as pretty impressive.

However if one takes the 1 in 54 statistic above, there will be approximately 3000 to 4000 citizens of the Cook Islands with a mental health problem.

Therefore, despite the good work of Te Kainga, there are still between 2000 to 3000 people in the country with mental health problems that are undiagnosed and untreated, largely caused by denial and lack of awareness.

- Richard McQuillen

Support groups:

Putuputuanga Tauturu Taeke/AA Alcohol Support Group – 50221.

Alcoholics Anonymous – Support Group for family members of alcoholics – 50633 or 20162.

Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre – 20162.

In light of Titikaveka MP Robert Wigmore’s ongoing illness, there is talk that the future of the Democratic Party looks uncertain. At this stage, though, the party says its leadership structure remains unchanged.

At present, Wigmore is still the leader of the party and on medical leave until March.

In Parliament last December a motion was moved for standing order 37 for leave of absence to be granted to Wigmore in order that he could travel to New Zealand to receive medical treatment. At the time Prime Minister Henry Puna took the time to extend special greetings to Wigmore, his wife and family members.

Though Wigmore has since returned to Rarotonga, he is still on leave.

In his absence, deputy leader of the opposition Wilkie Rasmussen is acting as the party’s leader.

The party executive is meeting today to discuss its future, and expects to announce any decisions around its leadership structure before Parliament sits on Monday.

“At this stage we are not making any decisions,” Rasmussen said.

Democratic Party secretary Eddie Drollet says the party is not in a position to make any announcements.

• Rachel Reeves

Elmah McBirney. 10092336

The main avenue at Punanga Nui Market will undergo a change in layout this weekend to allow more vendors to set up stalls. 11120101

Some changes will be introduced to the Punanga Nui Markets this week to help open up the market’s main avenue to more vendors and stall-holders.

The main avenue at the market will be divided into two areas for stall-holders, with people wishing to sell produce from the back of their cars set to line one side with tents and tables to line the other.

People who still want to sell produce from the backs of their utes are asked to park their cars on the main road side of the avenue.

People who wish to sell from the sea side of the market lane will be asked to park their cars elsewhere during the market’s opening hours to help free up space in the area.

Those stall-holders can still access their stalls with their cars in an area immediately behind it set aside for temporary loading and unloading.

The changes being implemented are part of a plan to see the market expand which was put together by the Business Trade Investment Board (BTIB) and Punanga Nui Market management.

The plans were put forward to stall holders at a public meeting on Thursday, January 19, the first such consultation held for market vendors in more than a decade, and reported in Cook Islands News on the following Saturday.

BTIB chief executive officer Terry Rangi said stall-holders had an option to park their cars in space along the harbour end of the market for $2 or they could park them for free across the road behind the BTIB offices.

Stall-holders have reacted to the changes in a variety of ways. While some are welcoming the evolution of the market, others feel it was better left how it was.

Yesterday, some people said they were happy to go along with the changes and others reluctant.

One lady suggested that there be an all or none policy for cars to help clear up the rules around who could bring them into the market and who could not.

One person contacted Cook Islands News with concerns that their elderly grandparents would not be able to shift their goods from their cars to the stalls if they were forced to park outside the market.

Rangi said those people could still use the sell-from-your-cars area in the market.

“We encourage our mama and papa to sell from their truck and a space can be found for them in the vehicle selling area,” he said.

Punanga Nui Market manager Elmah McBirney said the changes were being introduced to free up more space for additional vendors.

She said the market had filled to a point where managers had to begin introducing changes to ensure it could continue to bring in local vendors.

“In the past we had more room and less people, now we have more people and less room... we’re not doing this for ourselves, we’re doing this for everyone at the market,” McBirney said.

Although there have been few issues, McBirney said management would also be enforcing more strictly the rules governing who could set up at the market.

She said locals – indigenous Cook Islanders, permanent residents and spouses of Cook Islanders or permanent residents – were the only people allowed to set up at the market.

Under the changes, new walkways and lanes would be opened up at the market to allow for more pedestrian traffic and flow through a better layout.

McBirney said the market would aim to keep all the trees already there and replace any that needed cutting down.

Two trees have been removed in recent weeks. One of the trees was dead and began to fall over, the other was rotting and posed a safety risk.

McBirney said the management was looking to replant new trees in their places, but needed to ensure they would not damage electrical lines and other infrastructure as they grow.

• Eric Parnis

Applications for a new senior strategic planning position at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) are due tomorrow afternoon.

The successful applicant will work at the Central Policy and Planning Office (CPPO) and report to its new director – another position being advertised.

The OPM is looking to fill its CPPO director position, as Liz Koteka is moving departments within the OPM. Currently the office’s acting director is Tai Manuela.

The senior strategic planner is a new position, created in response to a vacancy for a policy planner but tweaked to imply added responsibility. The senior strategic planner will be primarily responsible for implementing the National Sustainable Development plan and monitoring the government’s adherence to it. He or she will also be responsible for providing planning and policy advice, developing capacity within the CPPO, facilitating training programmes and represent the government at relevant forums.

Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in a field like development planning, management, business or public sector policy and administration; five years experience in a relevant field; and, among other skills, a good understanding of Cook Islands political, economic, cultural and social structures.

The senior strategic planner will work alongside policy analysts and officers, and report to the new CPPO director who in turn reports to OPM chief of staff Mac Mokoroa.

The role of the Central Policy and Planning Office is to provide the prime minister and cabinet with strategic policy advice.

Applications for the senior strategic planning position should be delivered to Mokoroa or emailed to mac@pmoffice.gov.ck by 4pm tomorrow.

• Rachel Reeves

Pa Marie Ariki is working to rally the support of government and her Tainui cousins in New Zealand for a health clinic she plans to run from her Mata Enua palace.

She envisions establishing the palace clinic within the next year, but says the ‘sooner’ she can form a team of helpers and secure funding, ‘the better’.

Pa Ariki feels passionately about ‘turning the car around’ – reversing the national trend toward obesity and helping Cook Islanders learn how to become healthy and fit by teaching them to be mindful of what they eat.

“People ask why I want to help, but constitutionally it’s on an ariki’s shoulders to help her people. My duty as queen and leader and a servant to my people is to go out and sound the warning that the tsunami is coming,” Pa Ariki said yesterday.

She has been in discussion with Tainui – a tribe with which she has nurtured a relationship for decades – about setting up a clinic similar to Raukura Hauora o Tainui in Manukau.

“In Auckland I met all the board members and gave them a proposal, and they are all very supportive. When they’re ready to send help and resources they will let me know,” Pa Ariki said.

Her proposal to the Tainui people noted that modernisation and economic development have effected changes in the Cook Islands lifestyle, living conditions, diet, culture and health, some of which have been negative. She said that while wellness and living standards improve in the developed world, prosperity in the Western sense of the word has been a detriment to the health of Cook Islanders.

Pa Ariki has done extensive research into the country’s health records, and says that in the 1970s diseases like diabetes were rare.

“Our people were healthy. If our ancestors didn’t have these diseases how did they do it? What did they live on? They lived off the land and our local food,” she said.

By returning to a diet of fish, fresh vegetables, fruit and coconut, Cook Islanders can turn their lives around, she says.

She believes government should tax soft drinks like Coca Cola, and should require shop owners to post nutritional warnings on junk food labels.

“I want government to put a tax on all these Coke drinks – they’ve got sugar in them. The shop owners should know they are the cause of all these (health) problems,” she said.

Pa Ariki also believes government should prioritise health in terms of preparing its budget.

“I think we should be putting funding into health and not things like pearl farming – are they going to think seriously about helping our people with health issues?”

She wants to invite all Pacific leaders to her palace during the August forum, so she can explain to them what she’s trying to achieve in and through her health clinic and inspire them to set up similar initiatives in their own countries.

“I think it’d be awesome if the Cook Islands became a model in prevention for diabetes and high cholesterol.”

Pa Ariki is continuing her quest to find donors and supporters for her clinic.

• Rachel Reeves

Te Are Ariki o Pa Ariki will host a night market from 4pm.  11121417

Pa Marie Ariki has always envisioned her Mata Enua palace as a gathering place for the people of Takitumu, and tonight she’s taking the first step toward making that dream a reality.

A night market will kick off at the palace grounds at 4.30pm and run until about 9pm.

“We thought we’d make use of the palace grounds seeing as they’re right next to the road and people can come in and have something to eat,” Pa Ariki said.

“We want our people to come and sell their stuff – the (night market) in Muri was a bit of a one-off so we thought we’d do something regular for our people.”

The idea to run a night market at the palace was born at a meeting Pa Ariki called with her ui rangatira, who supported the proposal on the premise that it afforded the people of Takitumu greater opportunities – both to make money and to spend it.

A number of the palace market vendors are from Takitumu, but stalls are not limited exclusively to people from the village.

The palace grounds can accommodate about 30 stalls, 18 of which had been spoken for as of press time yesterday.

Most confirmed vendors are regular food sellers who feed the Saturday morning market-goers, so the usual staples will be on offer.

The palace market is a privately-run initiative and does not receive government support.

If it is a successful venture and attracts a decent crowd, Pa Marie Ariki says it will run fortnightly, or every other Thursday.

• Rachel Reeves

Pa Marie Ariki wants Cook Islanders to understand how dangerous, even deadly, it is to be obese.

She says Cook Islanders of years past never struggled with diseases like diabetes – they were fit and healthy and adhered to a diet of local foods like fish, vegetables, fruit and coconut.

“Our grandparents, if you look at pictures, were handsome and beautiful because they didn’t eat this rubbish people eat today,” she said.

She believes the country’s health crisis stems from the importation of “food on the shelves”.

“Now our people are mixing local foods like rukau with shelf food – corned beef. Everything started going down when the shelves filled up with bad food. Our Cook Islands body is not built for that sort of thing – it’s built for our indigenous food,” she said.

She laments the sugar-laden diets of today, and believes government should implement a tax on sugary drinks like Coke and foods like white bread.

Her mission is to educate Cook Islanders on the benefits of a healthy diet, as even those who are ‘trying’ to get healthy can be ill-informed.

“They’ll skip breakfast and lunch and then load up their plate for dinner and pile on the food, or they’ll go to Zumba but go home and stuff their stomachs,” she said. “I’m not blaming them because they don’t know. I’ve got to show them, it’s my duty. I want to help.”

Pa Ariki intends to run a health clinic out of her Takitumu palace, which will focus not on treating disease but preventing it.

“We have a lot of cures for diabetes but no prevention,” she said. “It’s all to do with exercise, weight and diet. Food is the prevention – it’s as simple as that.”

She believes that by simply living the way the ancestors did – by walking instead of driving, eating fresh vegetables instead of white rice and rukau without corned beef mixed in, drinking nu instead of Coke – Cook Islanders can save their own lives.

“Our ancestors and their metua before them walked everywhere, now we drive to pick bananas off the trees,” she said.

Pa Ariki is doing the groundwork to set up a health clinic at her Takitumu palace, but says Cook Islanders need to take control of their own health.

“The clinic will be about prevention (of diseases like diabetes) based on indigenous foods and education,” she said. She plans to bring in diabetes specialists and educators to talk about nutrition and health, and for the purpose of reaching a wide audience, will bring people of all fitness levels on board. Already she has met with her rangatira, who have agreed to support and work at the clinic.

Pa Ariki expects people, particularly health professionals, to criticise her idea and invites the naysayers to join her cause.

“I know I’m not a doctor and I expect challenges, but if (doctors) want to come on board, they should.”

She has met with health professionals in New Zealand and Rarotonga, and has arranged to meet with minister of health Nandi Glassie and director of community health services Dr Rangi Fariu. She has also secured the support of 17 Tainui doctors who have offered their time and resources, and the backing of a University of Otago professor who specialises in low-GI (glycemic index) food education.

Pa Ariki is also practising what she’s trying to preach – in five months she’s dropped 10 kilos.

“I want to be a good example to my people – I can’t just talk the talk, I’ve got to walk the walk.”

First and foremost she wants to set up the clinic, but beyond that wants to take more drastic steps.

She believes government should impose a tax on sugary drinks, ban soda in schools (like the government of California did), and make nutrition a separate course at school.

She also wants to make a television documentary about diet in the Cook Islands, in the hope that things will improve and the Cook Islands will become a leader in the Pacific region for health standards.

“It’s going to work – we are going to be a model for the Pacific,” she said with confidence.

- Rachel Reeves

Pa Ariki’s clinic will focus on:

- Food, nutrition

- Culture, ethics

- Language, tradition, rituals

- Environmental principles, traditional practices and ceremonies

- People, family and self

Health issues she wants to tackle:

- Diabetes and heart disease

- Smoking

- Mental health

- Suicide

Pa Marie Ariki wants Cook Islanders to recognise the nutritional value of drinking nu. 12021401

Like any Cook Islander, Pa Marie Ariki extols the coconut tree for its usefulness.

But she believes people have lost sight of the health benefits of incorporating coconut and nu into a daily diet, and she’s got a few plans to remind them.

Most exciting to her is the prospect of starting up a ‘coconut festival’, which she envisions running for a week in August during the Constitution celebration.

“All islands will be here and we can have demonstrations of how they use the coconut and their way of cooking it,” Pa Ariki said.

Based on Hawaii’s ‘taro festival’ model, she wants the festival to be a celebration of the coconut and its nutritional value.

Pa Ariki has offered to host the coconut festival at her Mata Enua palace. She says the festival should include a ‘day of planting’, on which young people plant trees from which they will benefit in adulthood.

She also wants to initiate a ‘coconut competition’ in schools, which rewards the student who brings the most coconuts to school – and drinks them – in a week.

“We’ve got to start with the young ones, because the older ones will be harder to tackle,” she said.

Coconut will feature heavily in her plan to establish a health clinic which focuses on prevention of (rather than a cure for) weight-related diseases like diabetes.

She champions nu as ‘good for the heart’, and encourages Cook Islanders to choose nu over sugar-laden drinks like Coke. She also encourages people to cook with coconut oil, rather than frying their food in fattier oils.

• Rachel Reeves

Are Pa Metua trustee Pauline Napa, second from left, with Island Hopper Vacations staff Margaret Isaac, Mousie Skews and Takei Rakei, who presented the service with a $660 donation on Tuesday. 12021404

Staff from Island Hopper Vacations and Are Pa Metua with the service’s clients during a brief presentation on Tuesday. 12021403

A community donation will help social service Are Pa Metua keep running for now, but its trustees are concerned that the amount of ongoing support truly needed to keep it operating is not being met.

Currently, the service hosts groups of Rarotonga’s senior citizens three days a week.

Trustee Pauline Napa thanked Island Hopper Vacations for a $660 donation presented to it on Tuesday, saying it had come with good timing for Are Pa Metua after it had its government funding reduced last year.

Napa said Are Pa Metua aspired to open its doors for senior citizens more often that its current Tuesday to Thursday scheduling, but with the current level of funding it simply cannot do so.

The service still pays rent for its premises and employs someone to look after its clients. In all, Napa said it took a surprising amount of funding to keep Are Pa Metua afloat.

“So we thank you (Island Hopper Vacations) very much for this very kind donation,” Napa said.

The staff at Islands Hopper Vacations collected the funds throughout 2011 during its weekly mufti days.

Doing so one gold coin at a time, the company brought together $660 during the year to contribute to its annual community donation.

Island Hopper’s Ronny Siulepa said staff had been collecting funds like this since 2006 and chose a different community service group each year as its benefactor.

For 2011, the staff picked Are Pa Metua as the group.

“We have a soft spot in our hearts for Are Pa Metua, especially for a golden oldie like me who will be sitting here soon,” Siulepa said with a laugh.

Island Hopper has again started collecting money through its mufti days and has yet to decide on where the funds will go for 2012.

• Eric Parnis

Te Aponga Uira (TAU) will carry out routine tests on one of its Avatiu Valley power station generators today and tomorrow.

The company is advising there is a chance the testing will cause power to drop out anytime from 9am and 4pm over the period causing outages in some areas.

It also warns that for their own safety people should treat power lines as though they are active at all times, even during any outages.

TAU apologises for any inconvenience caused if an outage occurs.

The testing is necessary for TAU to bring one of its Rarotonga generators back online after undergoing a major overhaul.

TAU carried out the overhaul as part of standard procedures that demand engines undergo servicing after completing 12,000 hours of operation.

TAU communications officer Trevor Pitt said the testing is being carried out as a preventative measure to detect and analyse any issues that may cause drop outs.

He said if the system is tripped during such testing, power may be cut as a result.

“The engine is subject to a progressive increase in loading (up to the required capacity level) while the tests are completed,” Pitt said.

“The notice to the public is to provide awareness of this procedure in the event that testing results in a disruption to supply.”

• Eric Parnis

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