Te reo o te KUKI AIRANI
$2 Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Avatea School students couldn’t contain their excitement when the contents of a container load of donated goods were revealed at a special presentation at their school on Monday morning. Schools, community groups, families and complete strangers generously donated reading books, school equipment, musical instruments and much more to help rebuild Avatea School’s resources lost when a block of classroom including the school library was razed in an arson attack on November. Full report – page 7. 14021711
Last minute bid to halt Te Mato Vai
More than 500 people have signed a petition calling for an immediate stop to the Te Mato Vai water infrastructure project, says a spokesperson with a citizen’s action group. The Te Mato Vai Petition Committee - comprised of 10 individuals who are against the project – is behind the petition, said group member and rarotonga resident James Thomson. “People are being bulldozed,” said Thomson. “They don’t have rights to a project that’s being built on their doorstop.” Thomson said once 1000 people have signed the petition, the group will table the petition in Parliament and seek a High Court order calling for an imme-
diate stop to the project. The number of signatories doesn’t include the group’s ongoing efforts in Aitutaki, growers in Titikaveka, and members of pensioner activist group Grey Power – who have all voiced some degree of support for the petitioners, said Thomson. The petition is currently available in shops around the island, including The Corner Store in Nikao and at the Kia orana store in Turangi, he said. Written in both english and Maori, the document lays out 11 points of concern outlined by the committee, including the project’s estimated $60 million cost, technical data cited by oficials, and allegations of con-
flict of interest against elected oficials. A stop is urged “... until misgivings and shortcomings on the project can be identiied and investigated and other options explored and that independent expertise be solicited to conduct that exercise with a view to distilling all material into an upgrade which is manageable, practical, and affordable”, reads the petition. “We’re hoping we can save up to 50 million dollars,” added Johnson. A Te Mato Vai project launch is scheduled for this Thursday, with New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully and Chinese Ambassador to the Cook
Islands Wang Lutong expected to be in attendance. Actual project work is expected to begin upon the completion of an environment impact assessment (eIA), which will occur at the end of the month. “What is the rush for this project?” asked Johnson. “And when will the Minister (Deputy PM Teariki Heather) and Te Mato Vai project oficials address some of the concerns that have been raised by us?” “I’m just a Cook Islander who grew up in Aitutaki, and a concerned father...” he said. “If you have a concern, you put your hand up and you raise it.” - Emmanuel Samoglou
Spokesman James Thomson with the Te Mato Vai Petition Committee said over 500 people have signed a petition that calls for a halt to the project. 14021718
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
worldNeWS nuti no TeIA NeI Ao Food photos frowned upon French chefs are cracking down on customers who take photographs of their food orders to share with friends on social networks. The chefs says it is poor etiquette to take photos of food, and more importantly, every time creations appear on social sites like Facebook or Twitter it “takes away the surprise, and a little bit of our intellectual property”. One restaurant in the northern French town of La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil has gone as far as to add a “no cameras” logo to its menu.
Crimes against humanity extermination, starvation and slavery evident in north Korea GeNeVA – North Korea’s regime
is committing crimes against humanity including the extermination, starvation and enslavement of its population, and its leadership should be hauled before an international court, a UN-mandated inquiry team has said. The U N Commission of Inquiry on Human rights in North Korea published its report on Monday, with evidence of Nazi-like torture, rape and
world BrIeFS DIVERS FOUND CLINGING TO REEF INDONESIA – Five Japanese divers have now been found alive more than three days after going missing near the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The divers found holding on to a coral reef of Nusa Penida island, south-east of Bali. The ive are among ive tourists and two instructors, all women, who went missing during their third dive near Nusa Penida and the island of Nusa Lembongan on Friday. The divers are said to be in a weak condition. The Japanese consulate in the provincial capital of Denpasar says oicials are trying to determine the identity of those divers rescued. About 100 people have been searching since the divers were reported missing. It is understood the seven women were very experienced, with at least 50 dives each under their belts.
WORLD CUP MASCOT FACING EXTINCTION USA – Brazil says it will present concrete plans to save the threebanded armadillo, the mascot of the football World cup, by the end of the year. A cartoon character inspired by the creature has starred on T-shirts and other merchandise for nearly two years. But the environmentalist who suggested the mascot says very little of the proit has been used for conservation. Experts say loss of habitat and hunting could lead to the extinction of the three-banded armadillo within 50 years. They are unusual among armadillos in that they can roll up into a ball to defend themselves from predators. Two years ago, biologist Rodrigo castro, who runs the caatinga Association for conservation, thought they would make the perfect World cup mascot.
WHALES INFECTED BY CAT PARASITE cANADA – A common cat parasite that infects millions of humans has now made the leap to beluga whales. Toxoplasma gondii, which is potentially dangerous to pregnant mammals, has infected more than 10 per cent of beluga whales living in the Beaufort Sea of northern Canada, according to scientists from the University of British columbia. Researchers suspect that the whales were infected by water contaminated with cat faeces that washed into the sea. Inuit people who hunt around the Beaufort Sea have been advised to take extra care when preparing whale meat to be eaten. Arctic ice sheets have previously acted as ecological barriers to parasites such as Toxoplasma, but climate change has made it easier for them to spread. “What we’re seeing is the liberation of pathogens gaining access to vulnerable new hosts,” warned a UBc parasitologist.
HOMELESS MAN HITS THE JACKPOT USA – A homeless Hungarian man’s decision to spend his last few coins on a lottery ticket turned out to be the smartest thing he ever did. Laszlo Andraschek was facing another year of unemployment, debt and living on the streets of the city of Gyor when he won an incredible US$3.09 million, one of the country’s biggest ever jackpots. The 55-year-old former alcoholic now plans to use his newfound wealth to help people still living the life he’s left behind. Andraschek’s incredible September lottery win only came to light when he recently made a “signiicant” donation to a hostel for the homeless, reports the Guardian. He wants to establish a foundation but he won’t fall into the trap of many former lottery winners and fritter away his wealth.
murder inside the country’s labour camps where political prisoners are held. Presenting the report, the commission’s chairman Michael Kirby charged that the leaders of the state, including the supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, should answer evidence that they preside over such crimes against their people. Kirby said: “The commission of inquiry came to the conclusion that there is abundant evidence those who are in positions of power are accountable. All lines of authority stop at the supreme leader.” However, he said that the commission was not a tribunal nor a prosecutor, and it was for an international court to decide on any action. “We have not judged the supreme leader. our job is to assemble the material and express conclusions.” Kirby said: “In the course of this inquiry we have been asked, ‘can you expect anything to be done?” I do. This report will galvanize action from the international community. “At the end of the Second World War, so many people said, ‘if only we had known’. Now the international community does know. There will be no excusing of failure of action because we didn’t know.” The UN commission was set up last March to begin building a case for possible criminal prosecution. It called more than 80 public hearings, and also used evidence gathered by the human rights group, Amnesty International. Its report, which will be presented to the UN Human rights Council next month, said: “Systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed by the Democratic People’s republic of Korea, its institutions and oficials. - Al Jazeera
A uN report says North Korea is complicit in inhuman crimes against its own population and that its leaders, including Supreme Leader Kim Jung-un, should be made accountable. AFP
Co-pilot hijacks light GeNeVA – The co-pilot of an
Ethiopian Airlines plane lying from Addis Ababa to rome has hijacked the aircraft and landed in Geneva, Swiss police say. The hijacker – who has been arrested – waited for the pilot to go to the toilet to lock himself in the cockpit. He was unarmed. He has requested asylum in Switzerland. The airline said in a statement that all 202 passengers and crew were safe.
The co-pilot, an ethiopian man born in 1983, has sought asylum due to fear of persecution in ethiopia. After locking himself in the cockpit, he asked to refuel at Geneva, landed the plane, climbed down from the cockpit window using a rope and gave himself up to police. He was unarmed and there was no risk at any time to crew or passengers, police said. The situation inside the plane
remained calm throughout. The co-pilot himself alerted the authorities to the plane’s hijacking, oficials added – and passengers on the plane were unaware it had been hijacked. The only possible offence the co-pilot could be charged with is that of hostage-taking, for which he could face up to 20 years of imprisonment, a Geneva prosecutor said at the news conference. - BBC
All dead in Nepal air crash PoKHArA – Oficials in Nepal
say the wreckage of a missing passenger plane with 18 people on board has been located in the western district of Arghakhanchi. The Nepal Airlines plane was flying from the resort city of Pokhara to Jumla when contact was lost shortly after take-off on Sunday. An aviation official said the plane appeared to have crashed into a hill. A helicopter had identified
burning wreckage and search oficials believed there were no survivors, he said. “The search helicopter has reported that it has found the wreckage and has seen the tail portion of the plane burning,” said Bimlesh Lal Karna, a rescue coordinator with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). “It has reported that there is no possibility of survivors.” recovery teams would make their way to the site over land, because the helicopter could
not touch down in the terrain, he said. Contact with the Canadianmade Twin otter plane was lost a few minutes after it took off from the resort town of Pokhara, bound for Jumla, around 360km west of the capital Kathmandu, oficials said. Fifteen passengers, including a child, and three crew members were on board the aircraft, which had started its journey in Kathmandu and stopped in Pokhara to refuel. - BBC
Nothing like a relaxing day ice fishing
PASTOR HANDLES ON TOO MANY SNAKES EGYPT – A US pastor who handled deadly snakes during his sermons has died from a snake bite. Pentecostal pastor Jamie Coots died on Saturday at his Kentucky home after being bitten by a snake in his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church. coots belongs to a unique sub-set of the religion that believe that once they feel “God’s anointment overtaking them”, they are protected from venomous snakes. In the event of a snakebite, followers will not seek medical intervention, instead they believe praying to God will cure them. coots, who starred on the reality TV show ‘Snake Salvation’, had already lost a inger to a previous snake bite.
Today’s Daily Bread But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Matthew read: read: exodus 12:1-13 7:21-29
Text: Matthew Text: 17:26 Peter 3:15
More than 4000 people took part in an ice-hole ishing competition on frozen Lake Viljandi in southern Estonia on Saturday in the hopes of catching two big ones – a marked ish worth a 50,000 euro cash prize and another tagged with a 15,000 euro car. AFP
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
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More storms ahead for sodden UK Areas could be under water for ‘weeks if not months’ as land slowly drains
Newhaven lighthouse is battered by waves as high winds from the latest winter storm slam the south coast of england. More bad weather is on its way to make matters worse in parts of England where rain and rising ground water levels have claimed lives and looded hundreds of homes. AFP
Million-year-old footprints found LoNDoN – They were a British family on a day out — almost a million years ago. Archaeologists have announced the discovery of human footprints in england that are between 800,000 and 1 million years old — the most ancient found outside Africa, and the earliest evidence of human life in northern europe. A team from the British Museum, London’s Natural History Museum and Queen Mary college at the University of London uncovered imprints from up to
ive individuals in ancient estuary mud on the country’s eastern coast. British Museum archaeologist Nick Ashton said the discovery was ‘‘a tangible link to our earliest human relatives.’’ Preserved in layers of silt and sand for hundreds of millennia before being exposed by the tide last year, the prints give a vivid glimpse of some of our most ancient ancestors. They were left by a group, including at least two children and one adult male. They could have
been a family foraging on the banks of a river scientists think may be the ancient Thames, beside grasslands where bison, mammoth, hippos and rhinoceros roamed. University of Southampton archaeology professor Clive Gamble, who was not involved in the project, said the discovery was ‘‘tremendously signiicant’’. ‘‘It’s just so tangible,’’ he said. ‘‘This is the closest we’ve got to seeing the people.” The researchers said the humans who left the footprints
may have been related to Homo antecessor, or ‘‘pioneer man,’’ whose fossilised remains have been found in Spain. That species died out about 800,000 years ago. Ashton said the footprints are between 800,000 — ‘‘as a conservative estimate’’ — and 1 million years old, at least 100,000 years older than scientists’ earlier estimate of the first human habitation in Britain. That’s significant because 700,000 years ago, Britain had a warm, Mediterranean-style
climate. The earlier period was much colder, similar to modern-day Scandinavia. Natural History Museum archaeologist Chris Stringer said that 800,000 or 900,000 years ago Britain was ‘‘the edge of the inhabited world.’’ ‘This makes us rethink our feelings about the capacity of these early people, that they were coping with conditions somewhat colder than the present day,’’ he said. - BBC
Many dead in building collapse GYeoNGJU – At least nine people have died and 17 more have been seriously injured in a building collapse in South Korea. More than 10 people were still feared trapped at the resort in the south-eastern city of Gyeongju yesterday. Fifty-eight people received minor injuries, said an oficial at the state-run National emergency Management Agency, who also conirmed the deaths. Part of the auditorium of the resort collapsed during an orientation event for irst-year university students from the southern city of Busan. Fire services have blamed heavy snow on the roof. The weather is also thought to have slowed rescue efforts. Local media reports say there is confusion over the number of students in the hall at the time, and the number still trapped. rescue workers with heavy
equipment are at the scene, but heavy snow around the resort is thought to have slowed access. About 1000 students from Busan University of Foreign Studies were at the Mauna ocean resort, said an official. Many managed to get out of the damaged building by themselves, he said. The students are thought to have been attending a concert in the auditorium when the roof fell in. “The ceiling came crashing down at the front near the stage,” one student told South Korea’s YTN news channel. “Then pandemonium broke out and everyone started rushing towards the exits, shouting and screaming,” he added. Gyeongju is a historic city that served as the capital of one of the Korean peninsula’s ancient kingdoms, and is a popular tourist destination. - BBC
A South Korean student lies beneath debris at the scene of a collapsed auditorium in South Korea’s south-eastern Gyeongsang Province. AFP
LoNDoN – More stormy weath-
er is heading across the Atlantic and could last for the rest of the month, weather experts in the United Kingdom have warned. Parts of the UK remain on high alert as people battle to protect their homes and communities from rising groundwater levels. Forecasters believe another 38 millimetres of rain will hit the lood-stricken South West in the next 24 hours before a short lull before another spell of wet and windy weather begins on Thursday. Friday’s Valentine’s Day storm left half a million families without power, claimed three lives and flooded hundreds of homes, leaving areas including Somerset and Worcestershire further under water. BBC forecaster Chris Fawkes said the jet stream running across the Atlantic has not moved “with resumption from Thursday of very wet and at times very windy weather rest of February”, adding: “I think we’ll see some stronger storms developing again next week”. Parts of southern england could remain underwater for “weeks if not months”, an environment Agency expert said. Nearly one million homes have been without power after downpours and high winds during the last week. Floodwaters are likely to have a “devastating” impact on Britain’s wildlife and its ecosystems. Animals throughout the food chain, from insects to small mammals and birds are thought to be drowning or dying from lack of food, while pesticides and toxic chemicals in waters could poison animals, experts say. - Daily Mail
Lace ban protests ALMATY – The authorities in
Kazakhstan have detained three women protesting against a long-standing ban on lace underwear, it’s been reported. one of the seven women held at the demonstration in Almaty, was waving what she said was the last pair of lace knickers she had left, an local website reports. A law affecting the eurasian Union – the eU-style trade bloc made up of russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus – means that lacy ladies’ underwear may disappear from shop shelves in all three countries on July 1. officials say lace does not absorb enough moisture. The regulation was approved back in 2011, but has not been enforced until now. Lingerie outlets across russia may have to bin most of their stock under a bizarre trade directive that bans the import, production or sale of synthetic lace underwear. The directive has provoked a storm in the russian media, and protests elsewhere in the union. Kazakh police arrested three women after they tried to put lace knickers on a statue in Almaty on Sunday. - PNC
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Rescue of castaway retold Jose Alvarenga gave his boat to his rescuers on Marshalls’ atoll eBoN AToLL – Fresh details
have emerged of castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga’s first encounter with “civilisation” after months at sea. And in a parting gesture Alvarenga gifted his boat – his
floating island for over a year – to his rescuers and it is now being used to carry cargo and passengers around ebon Atoll. Until now, little has been known about the Salvadoran’s time on far-flung ebon in the
paciic BRIEFS FRESH NO CONFIDENCE BID IN VANUATU VANUATU – Reports from Vanuatu say three cabinet ministers have resigned and are supporting a motion for a vote of no conidence in the government of prime minister, Moana carcasses. According to the opposition, the ministers who have left the government are the minister of youth and sports, Tony Wright, the climate change minister Thomas Laken and justice minister, Jonas James. The opposition says 27 MPs of the 52 in the House have signed the motion and a vote is expected on Tuesday next week. The opposition press oicer, Jef Batunvanu, says a key driver for the cabinet ministers to leave the government are investments made by the Vanuatu National Provident in foreign companies which they do not think are in the interests of Vanuatu.
SACKING OF FINANCE MINISTER DEMANDED SAMOA – Samoa’s ruling HRPP party is back under scrutiny after several MPs have again demanded the removal from the cabinet of the inance minister, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga. The latest development comes after the chief auditor revealed in a report to parliament mismanagement and abuse of power in the administration of the Samoa Land Corporation. Faumuina was closely involved with the corporation during a previous HRPP government. The corporation has also failed to provide annual parliamentary reports for six years. concerns have been dismissed by the prime minister, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi. But Papalii has told local media there is uncertainty within the party caucus over the matter with reports some MPs have threatened to resign if Tuila’epa does not remove the MP from cabinet.
PM CHALLENGED OVER WOMEN BEATINGS FIJI – A Fiji businesswoman says the prime minister’s call for men to think long and hard about the treatment of women is a complete contradiction of his past actions. Speaking at the opening of a women’s centre in Kadavu last week, commodore Frank Bainimarama spoke out against the country’s high rate of domestic violence and said real men don’t hit women. But Laisa Digitaki, who was taken from her home and severely beaten by soldiers after an anti-coup protest in 2006, says while it’s positive that the prime minister is speaking out against domestic violence, his words ring hollow. Digitaki says she still wants to meet the Prime Minister to discuss her beating almost eight years ago.
ISLAND WHARF DAMAGED BY HEAVY SWELLS TONGA – The people of Niuafo’ou in the far north of Tonga are having to contend with a wharf that has been severely damaged by heavy swells in recent weeks. Radio Tonga reports Niuafo’ou’s government representative, Saia Monu, saying they are seeking help from the Ministry of Infrastructure. He says the waves have caused a hole up to 15 metres wide in the wharf. Monu says this is hindering the movement of goods onto and of ships. The island is located in the southern Paciic Ocean between Fiji and Samoa, 574km north of Tongatapu island group and 337 kilometres northwest of Vava’u. The volcanic island has a poulation of less than 1000.
FIJI REGIME GIVEN UNDER CREDIT BY PIF FIJI – The president of the National Federation Party, Raman Singh, says the Paciic Island ministers who visited Fiji at the weekend are giving more credit to the Bainimarama government than is due. The Ministerial Contact Group of the Paciic Islands Forum says there have been signiicant improvements towards free and fair elections since their last visit but it stressed the need for ongoing improvements to media freedom, freedom of speech, association and assembly. Singh says his party told the group it was concerned about several issues like the delay in electoral rules and open campaigning by the regime. And he says it is concerning the McG may not come to Fiji again before the election. “We felt that they should keep an eye on whether they keep to their promises. It’s the pressure they put, it’s the only thing we have, the pressure they put on them to be honest in what they say.”
NEW BANK TO OPERATE IN NUKU’ALOFA TONGA – The Paciic International Commercial Bank is expected to soon open its doors as the ifth bank in Tonga. Director ‘Aisake Tu’iono said the bank will be situated in central Nuku’alofa and will open in March on a date to be conirmed. “We are aiming that when the bank opens for business we would ofer interest rate as low as six-per cent,” he said. The chinese-Tongan bank venture was awarded a license to operate by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga in July last year. The main shareholder is a chinese businessman residing in China Hu, and Princess Pilolevu Tuita. A board of directors will oversee its operation.
Marshall Islands, where he landed three weeks ago after setting sail from Mexico on a fishing trip in December 2012. only a single telephone services the remote Paciic outpost. But ebon’s mayor, Ione de Brum, revealed to AFP that Alvarenga “managed to swim his boat ashore” on the night of January 29 after a 12,500-kilometre journey. exhausted, he fell asleep on a deserted beach to be awoken the next morning by roosters crowing and the sight of two igures and a hut on a neighbouring island. Unknown to the 37-year-old, he had washed up at the tip of ebon, the southern-most atoll in the Marshalls. “He was at the tip of the island where it’s uninhabited, but from that vantage point he would easily see the single house on the neighbouring island across the pass,” said de Brum. The two coconut-forested coral islands are just a stone’s throw away and “people can yell back and forth between these two,” she said. Alvarenga did just that after he woke up and the sunrise let him see where he was. Amy Libokmeto and russell Laijedrik, who farm coconuts and are the only two residents on the tiny island of eneaitok, said they heard shouting and spotted the near-naked Alvarenga on the neighbouring atoll’s beach. They were the first humans he had seen after leaving southern Mexico on what was supposed to be a one-day fishing expedition with a companion — who, after weeks adrift, died of starvation and was lowered overboard. Alvarenga was frantically
The lone inhabitants of eneaitok island on ebon Atoll in the Marshall islands, Amy Libokmeto and russell Laijedrik, were gifted the boat in which Salvadoran castaway Jose Alvarenga drifted across the Paciic from Mexico. AFP yelling in an incomprehensible language and waving his arms in the air while holding a knife, Libokmeto told AFP. “We weren’t scared, just surprised,” she said. “As we approached him, I used broken english and motioned to the knife and told him, ‘put away, put away.’” With long hair, a bushy beard and dressed only in his shredded underwear, Alvarenga immediately dropped the weapon. “He gave in to his weakened state and collapsed onto the beach,” Libokmeto said. It was obvious to the couple that he must have washed ashore. The entire atoll has fewer than 700 residents, most of whom are related by blood or marriage to Libokmeto and Laijedrik. They said they took him to their home, where Libokmeto prepared a bucket of fresh water so he could have his irst proper wash in over a year, then gave him clothes to wear. Unable to communicate verbally as he spoke Spanish and
they did not, the couple gave Alvarenga some paper and a black marker while Libokmeto whipped up pancakes, which the hungry man devoured. Laijedrik took his notes and crossed the reef to the main ebon island, where he sent a young boy on a bicycle ride to get the local mayor de Brum and then retrieved Alvarenga’s boat. De Brum quickly rounded up the island’s health assistant, her chief of police and ola Fjeldstad, a visiting Norwegian student anthropologist and the only other foreigner on ebon. They grabbed some coconuts and bananas and rushed to meet the stranger, giving him a brief health check while checking his seven-metre boat which Laijedrik has retrieved from the adjacent atoll. “In the boat was a live bird tethered by its leg, bird scraps, bones, feathers and a small turtle shell,” de Brum said. The mayor discovered that her son had a few words of Spanish “learned from the ‘Dora the explorer’ cartoon show his chil-
dren used to watch”, and with the pictures Alvarenga drew a basic understanding of where he came from emerged. The castaway was starving, but it wasn’t just food he was hungry for. “He was so hungry to give us information he kept talking fast but we couldn’t understand him,” said the mayor, adding that she initially refused to allow him to use the island’s phone. “He wanted to contact his family but I was concerned because we were unsure of who he was, his motives or if he had other friends on ships nearby that he would alert — I just did not know and did not want to risk it,” she said. Instead she contacted the police and ministry of foreign affairs in the Marshalls capital Majuro. The Salvadoran remained on Ebon for ive days until a patrol boat took him to Majuro, from where he eventually left for el Salvador and an emotional family reunion. - AFP
Survivor now afraid of the sea SAN SALVADor – The Salvadoran castaway Jose Alvarenga will undergo additional medical tests and will stay in hospital in San Salvador. Doctors who have seen Alvarenga since the 27-year-old returned to el Salvador on Tuesday last week say he is in remarkable physical shape but needs psychological attention
following his ordeal. “We will conduct a new medical evaluation by Monday, and a decision on when he will be discharged will be based on this,” San rafael public hospital director Yeerles ramirez told AFP from Santa Tecla outside the capital San Salvador. He said doctors would conduct new tests and a neurosur-
geon would examine the results of an MrI brain scan performed Friday in the castaway’s lumbar region. on Thursday, psychiatrist Angel Fredi Sermeno said the isherman was now terriied of his once-beloved sea, adding that he was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and mental exhaustion that often
made him break into tears. “It wouldn’t be advisable for now” for him to see the ocean, the psychiatrist said, noting that Alvarenga was suffering from fear of the sea. “He doesn’t want to have anything to do with the ocean. He wants to avoid being in front of the sea as much as possible.” - AFP
Science backs up castaway’s story MANoA – A university study
of the prevailing wind and current conditions during the 13 months castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga claimed to be at sea supports his remarkable tale of having drifted 12,500 kilometres across the Paciic. Alvarenga made headlines when he washed up on far-lung ebon Atoll in the remote Marshall Islands two weeks ago, 13 months after setting off from Mexico on a ishing trip. Wearing only a pair of ragged underpants and sporting an unruly beard, Alvarenga claimed to have survived more than a year drifting across the Paciic by eating raw bird lesh, turtle
blood and drinking rainwater and his own urine. A University of Hawai’i at Manoa study of ocean winds and currents in the Paciic during the time Alvarenga claimed to have been at sea supports his improbable tale. The findings were drawn from a model originally developed to investigate variations in ocean surface circulation. “Alvarenga’s claim that he had been adrift for 13 months and that he came from Mexico falls well within the model’s limits and is consistent with the prevailing pattern of wind and ocean currents during his ordeal,” the study found.
Starting 200 nautical miles southwest of the Mexican ishing village, Chiapas, where Mr Alvarenga began his odyssey in December 2012, the model’s 16 tracers took a “remarkably narrow path” across the Paciic, passing by or nearing ebon Atoll within 120 miles by January 31 2014, the study found. The model’s parameters were drawn from actual drift patterns of debris across the Paciic from Japan to Hawaii after that country’s devastating 2011 tsunami. “The experience with capsized ishing boats from the tsunami that reached the shores of Hawai’i one-and-a-half to twoand-a-half years later guided us
in using realistic model parameters to simulate the isherman’s boat drift from Mexico,” said Jan Hafner, one of the study’s authors from the university’s International Pacific research Centre. Alvarenga told officials in Marshall Islands that he drifted across the Pacific after his boat’s motor died on an overnight shark-ishing expedition in December 2012. Diplomats have said his story appears to stack up, with his account matching reports of his disappearance from Mexico, although his survival tale has been met with scepticism in some quarters. - AFP
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
regionalNeWS nuti no Te PA eNUA
Violence leaves many injured Conlicting reports of breakout at Manus Island refugee centre LoreNGAU – An asylum seeker advocate in Papua New Guinea says scores of the detainees have been injured, some seriously, as gangs of armed PNG police and locals attacked them in reprisals for a break out, according to a radio New Zealand report. on Sunday, a meeting about the asylum seekers’ resettlement claims ended in chaos with some of them rioting and breaking out of their compound. An advocate, Ian rintoul, says in response, all staff and guards were evacuated from the detention centre, leaving the asylum seekers defenceless against gangs and local police. He says the attacks started late on Monday night after the power to the facility was cut. Locals armed with machetes, pipes, sticks and stones, attacked asylum seekers, with one reportedly thrown from the second loor of a building, and up to 50 in one compound suffering machete cuts. rintoul says many asylum seekers have now led, to avoid the attackers. He says the Australian Immigration Department has blood on its hands and the Manus Island centre has always been a disaster waiting to happen. However, in a differing report from the ABC, Australia’s Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says 35 asylum seekers escaped from the Manus Island detention centre but they were all quickly recaptured. The report says none of the asylum seekers’ injuries are serious. Morrison says the breakout happened about 6.15pm local time and was the result of “much-heightened” tensions at the facility. He says a fence and power pole were damaged during the escape. “Within about an hour and a quarter, control was restored to the centre,” he said. eight asylum seekers have been arrested and 19 have been treated at the centre’s medical clinic, but Morrison says none of the patients were “exhibiting life-threatening conditions”. Morrison says he does not
know how the asylum seekers were injured. “It is a situation on Manus, where people don’t want to be there,” he told Fairfax radio. “You need to manage those tensions and those tensions were much-heightened last night. “But that situation has been brought under control and we know where everybody is, I’m advised, and every one of our own people is safe.” Manus Island M P ronnie Knight earlier told the ABC that seven people had been arrested in connection with what his local staff told him was a brawl at the facility. He dismissed reports of a breakout at the centre, saying PNG immigration told him this was false. “That’s BS,’’ he told AAP. “There was a fight late yesterday afternoon amongst themselves. They have been arrested and will face court this week.’’ Tensions at the centre had been simmering after three asylum seekers were arrested last week following a fight with a guard, he said. “It was not a breakout or a riot or anything as such,” he said. “Apparently there was an altercation amongst the asylum seekers themselves and it was very, very violent.” Local doctor otto Numan said health workers had told him there was a “mass breakout” and to prepare for injuries, but he added that no injured asylum seekers or guards had been brought to the hospital. The Australian-based refugee Action Coalition put out a statement saying protests at the centre had escalated earlier that day. refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian rintoul says he has spoken to some people inside the Manus Island detention centre. He says he was told the protest happened after they were told their prospects of resettlement in another country were bleak. “The things escalated from there. There were some fires
set,” he said. “I don’t know the extent of the damage. We were told some tents had been burnt. “Some people had jumped over internal fences and then later, towards six o’clock, the outer perimeter of the fence was breached and people did leave the compound.” Morrison has rejected suggestions that the trouble was triggered by further uncertainty about where asylum seekers would be resettled if they were found to be refugees. He says the deal, struck by former prime minister Kevin rudd, for Papua New Guinea to take them in permanently still stands. “That is the commitment that Peter o’Neill gave to Kevin rudd, that is the agreement they say they will honour,” he said. “But the dificulties of having that put in place, I’ve mentioned before. There wasn’t a lot of detail negotiated by the previous government – we’ve been salvaging all of that. “But I can assure you they’re not coming to Australia and the commitments we have from PNG is they’ll be resettled there.” Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that he still expects the asylum seekers can be permanently resettled. “Prime Minister Peter o’Neill has reassured me repeatedly that the same deal that was on offer to the former government remains on offer. “My understanding is that there has been no such information given to people that they’ll never be resettled in PNG.” P N G’s foreign minister Rimbink Pato says oficials have started processing refugee applications. But the country does not have a visa category for refugees and there has been little public information about how, and where, they might be resettled. Pato told PNG’s parliament last week that he would seek the help of the Australian Government and the United Nations in deciding whether to resettle refugees within the country. He said the option of resettling refugees in a third country would also be explored. “What the cabinet has de-
There are conlicting reports of injuries and arrests after a reported breakout on the asylum seeker detention camp on Papua New Guinea’s Manus island earlier this week. DIPC cided recently is to appoint a group of eminent Papua New Guineans who will be assisted by relevant expertise from the UN, from the Australian Government, and other responsible stakeholders, to come up with relevant policy framework determining the question whether those asylum seekers will or will not be settled in PNG,” he said. The refugee Action Coalition says the Australian government needs to come clean about whether any resettlement arrangement is in place for asylum seekers being detained on PNG’s Manus island.
Australian foreign minister, Scott Morrison, says reports that asylum seekers had been informed they would not be settled in Papua New Guinea are false. But the refugee Action Coalition’s Ian rintoul says a statement was read to the protestors on Sunday afternoon, which inlamed the situation. He says the statement was unclear whether there were to be formal resettlement arrangements for asylum seekers in PNG, or anywhere else. “I’ve already publicly called for him to release that statement
NoUMeA – There is an urgent
shop in Noumea this week. “The time has come to step up the conversations around the economics of tuna and what countries, thinking regionally, are prepared to take – and give – so that we, as a region, can protect our fisheries resource, while achieving our economic aspirations.” As a regional intergovernmental organisation, the FFA secretariat would seek direct bilateral opportunities to work with FFA members and other Paciic territorial stakeholders, as well as in their multilateral discussions, he said. Movick reminded the public that despite warnings of a risk of over ishing, the Paciic Islands Forum Fishery Agency members had not been able to agree on effective management of the southern albacore ishery. “our lack of unity and resolve has allowed distant water ishing nations to expand their own isheries and to favour their own leets,” he stated. Movick urged decision makers “to see issues more clearly and objectively so that we, as a region, can protect our isheries resource, while achieving our economic aspirations”. Since 2012, tuna long-line fishing vessels, especially the albacore long-line industry, had suffered massive losses in proits, vessels had been moored and workers have been laid off. “Sadly, the brunt of the impact has fallen mainly on the domestic leets of FFA members,” Movick stated. He pointed out that a few years ago there were warnings of a risk of over ishing by sci-
Urgent need to act need for Paciic nations to rise above national agendas and act regionally, to respond effectively to the economic crisis in the Paciic’s albacore long line fisheries, warns the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency director-general, James Movick. To make this happen FFA members need to work cooperatively with the Paciic island territories who are not members of FFA but who share the same demise, he said. “To make this work we will also need to confront distant water ishing nations to reconcile their narrow fishing interests with their broader role as key strategic and development partners of this region,” Movick told regional journalists attending a two day “Tunanomics” work-
Time to think beyond the grid THe PACIFIC – Despite advanc-
es in research and development on renewable energy, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific remain the most energy-poor in the world, with an estimated 70 per cent of the population still without access to reliable energy. A paper from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University lays the blame on the pervasive focus on traditional approaches to rural electrification that prioritise grid extension. Grid extensions connect a home to a local utility grid. But extending the grid lines in the Paciic region whose populations are spread across tens
of thousands of islands may not be suitable and cost effective, the paper says. “Both utility agencies and the private sector need incentives to extend electricity grids and to set up off-grid systems in rural areas. “To provide those incentives, government subsidisation of up-front costs is necessary instead of merely subsidising operation and maintenance costs,” says Matthew Dornan, the primary author of the report. Dornan says off-grid electriication projects, which involve mainly renewable energy, may be more sustainable in the long term. However, it requires sig-
nificant up-front costs that are often impossible for local households or government to shoulder, he says. “In terms of off-grid technologies, the key is simplicity,” explains Dornan. “Technologies should only be installed where they can be supported by institutional arrangements, be that a utility agency or a community technician.” renewables may play a stronger role in low-density, off-grid networks, but only with large-scale support, experts say. According to Linus Mofor, a spokesperson for the International renewable energy Agency, “institutional strengthening, increased collaboration among
so we can all see what was said. “Because I think it is in the public interest for everyone to know what conditions the immigration department has inlicted on people who are being sent to Manus island. “The minister needs to come clean on whether there is a resettlement arrangement.” The Manus Island detention centre was first set up by the Howard government in 2001. It was closed by the Labour government in 2008 but reopened by them in November 2012. - ABC/RNZI
islands and enhanced coordination of development partners, donors, regional institutions and national authorities and institutions are essential for efficient use of resources for renewables deployment in the region.” Though his paper focused on SIDS, Dornan believes that his indings can help governments and development institutions alike in tackling the challenges of energy poverty. “Sub-Saharan African and Paciic island countries can learn from one another given the capacity constraints that governments in both regions share,” he notes. - PacNews
entists, isheries managers and even domestic industry stakeholders, but still “FFA members have not been able to agree on a unified regional cooperative framework to effectively manage the southern albacore ishery across its range”. The term “tunanomics” was an attempt “to ensure that when people are talking about the tuna ishery, they were fully aware of the factors affecting the economic dependence of Paciic peoples on the wealth from our oceans.” The Pacific’s tuna fishery is the biggest tuna fishery in the world today, and the Pacific islands countries are the principal caretakers of this stock, he said. “That caretaking role prompted Pacific island governments to create FFA in 1979, and their founding aim retains much relevance today – to promote and to assist Paciic island countries to derive maximum economic benefits from the sustainable harvesting of tuna resources in their eeZs. In 2012, the value of the tuna fishery has been estimated to be US$7.2 billion from a total catch of 2.5 million tons of tuna. Members of FFA receive a portion of the returns estimated to be around 8-15 per cent of the value of the catch, an increase from the 5 per cent or less that Pacific Islands countries received before 2010. He claimed that FFA member countries had successfully improved the value of Pacific island economies from the harvest of tuna. - Matangi Tonga
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
LeTTerS reta
Is there a ‘make work’ rationale to TMV? Dear editor, The Works Progress Administration 1939 was the USA’s answer to putting people to work during the great depression. Known as the WPA, the scheme was most famous for paying men to dig ditches and
then to ill them back in again. readers of this newspaper have asked Te Mato Vai bosses if the perfectly good trunk mains and perfectly good ring mains on rarotonga are going to be dug up and replaced with the same size pipes. There is a deafening
silence so far. Here’s a multiple choice quiz for our local school students: Is Te Mato Vai born of (A) ignorance or (B) corruption, or (C) arrogance or (D) stupidity. Go igure! (Name and address supplied)
Will this project make CIP a one-term government? Dear editor, Is richard Neves telling the truth or lying though his teeth? Was there ever an independent survey carried out to determine how much support is there in the community for Te Mato Vai? While there is always support
The water: Who gets it – and who doesn’t?
Dear editor, “When the project is inished, I will have a constant water supply, won’t I?” Not necessarily! Page 26 of the Te Mato Vai Master Plan deines the level of service as a minimum of 10 metres residual head below the 30 metre contour – and that’s only in non-drought conditions. This means you will have adequate pressure in the pipe so long as you live no more than 30 metres above sea level; however, if you live more than 30 metres above sea level, you will not be so lucky – water pressure will be lower, or there will be no water. So, who are the lucky ones? Pretty well anyone living on the beach side of the Ara Metua anywhere on the island – though there are couple of spots in Matevera where the residual head (water pressure) will be a bit less than 10m. And who is not so lucky? I checked the height of many locations around the island using Google earth and found that if you live more than about 100
it’s fast approaching “crunch time” for the ambitious Te Mato Vai water project with the oicial launch on Thursday. But, for many people, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and one interested observer Anaru in ruaau has dissected the Master Plan and posed a number of questions that he thinks should be answered to provide some reassurance to the Cook island public. he is so passionate about the subject and his desire to ensure that everyone fully understands the implications he has personally paid to have his material translated into Maori. The irst of his ive contributions is published below, with the remainder to follow throughout the rest of the week. - 200 metres inland from the Ara Metua, you will be above the 30m contour and will have reduced pressure – or no water. We know the trouble spots: Tupapa, Upper Tupapa, and parts of Matavera, Inave, and Arorangi, and there are also homes in Kauare and Tikioki that will not get service. For many people on higher ground, Te Mato Vai will make no difference – they will still have no water. In my area, the 50mm main pipe ends at 50m above sea level – the design service level of the “old” system. . . . . If we are to successfully supply water the great majority of residents
and to allow for future building growth at the higher elevations – and we are already seeing the growing trend – we need a supply that reaches those higher sections.
The solution: Provide 10 metres of residual head above the 30m contour on the ring and trunk mains on the Ara Tapu – that will service all properties from the beach to the Ara Metua. For the higher properties, provide 10 metres of residual head to the 50 metres contour at the ring and trunk mains on the Ara Metua – and prohibit cross connection of the upper and lower ring and trunk mains except in emergencies – no point in having the water just run down hill and leaving the elevated sections high and dry again. What do you think?? Signed: Anaru in ruaau
to improve our water supply on rarotonga the public meetings recently held in the Vakas clearly showed that there is a lot of concern in the community with Te Mato Vai. This ranged from the extravagant price tag of $60, $64 or $72m to the chlorination, the lack of government’s honesty over user pay, landowners’ concerns etc. From all of this, how did Neves came to the conclusion that there was overall support in the community for Te Mato Vai in his presentation to the donor partners meeting last week? Please remember richard, we are not aborigines from Australia who, for years, were told by white Australians that their
brains were smaller than the average person and therefore cannot think for themselves. Now, New Zealand is showing their lack of brain power too by putting up a sign to glorify the biggest mistake of this stupid CIP government. Let me ask this Government; has there ever been another project that has seen a petition against it, letters to the NZ Government and meetings called by concerned landowners. For this CIP government, if the Grey Power does not bury you, Te Mato Vai will certainly make sure you are a one-term government. Koura Vai Not Aborigines (Name and address supplied).
No to TMV monument Dear editor, When we had the public consultations there was no mention of a monument to be erected to commemorate the launch of the Te Mato Vai project – a project that has already been identiied by the people of the Cook Islands as being badly lawed. It is a slap in the face of those who attended the consultation meetings, who voiced their opinions and who asked for more work to be done on the
project and further consultations to take place. But no, they are going to spend money on a monument that will remind us of their absolute disregard for the selfdetermination of the people of the Cook Islands. The donors and the overseas Project Team will just do what they like. And we will pay for it. No to TMV Monument (Name and address supplied)
Te vai – koai te ka tu, koai te ka ngere? Dear editor, Me oti te angaanga, ka rauka tetai vai meitaki tikai noku, Kare ainei? Kare e anoano roa i ate reira. Tei rotor a ite kapi 26 ote parani maata ote Mato Vai, te akmarama anga ite okianga ote angaanga tei rave ia, mei te 10 mita toenga vai/
vari, I raro ake ite 30 mita ote okianga via tikai, I te tuatau tikai, kare e maro ana ate reva. Teia te aiteanga, ka pakari te ririmui ote vai I roto I toou paipa, me kare koe e noo ana I runga atu ite 30 mita ote okianga tai. Inara, me te noo ra koe, tere atu ite 30 mita I runga akre ite akaki
anga tai, kare koe e meitaki roa, ka iti mai too ta’eanga vai, me kore ra, kare takiri oou vai. Koai ma I reira te ka manuia? Ka manea ua ki tetai Tangata e noo ra ite tua ite pae tai ote ara Metua, I tetai ngai uatu I runga nei ite enua, noatu oki e, te vai nei tetai au ngai I Matavera, tei reira tetai ta-eanga vai, tei raro roa tona vaito ite 10m. Koai I reira te kare e manuia? Kua akarakara ana au ite teitei o tetai au ngai takapini ite enua, na roto ite taangaanga anga ite Google earth, e kua kitea ia mai e au e, me te noo ra koe I runga akre I tetai 100 – 200 mita ki roto ite enua, mamao mei te ara Metua, tei runga ake koe ite 30 mita ote okianga vai, e ka marie oou taeanga vai, me kare ra, kare takiri oou vai. Kua kite ua oki tatou ite au ngai e manmanata ana: Tupapa, Upper Tupapa, tei tetai tuanga o Matavera, Inave, e Arorangi, e te vai katoa ra oki tetai au ngutuare I Kauare e Tikioki, te kare e tae ria ite tauturu. No te manganui anga Tangata I runga ite ngai teitei, kare e akatuke anga a t Mato Vai I te reira, ka ngere rai ratou ite vai. I toku ngai nooanga, kua
akaoti ua tetai paipa 50mm kit e openga o tetai 50m I runga akre ite okianga tai – ko te au akaaere/irinaki anga teia ote tuatau mua. Me puapina i ate apai anga ite vai kit e manganui anga ote iti Tangata, kia rauka te akatupu anga ki tetai turanga teitei atu no te tuatau ki mua, ka kite taou I reira te tu ote tupuanga, ka inangaro tatou ite vai kia tae ria ia kit e reira ngai teitei. Te ravenga Papu: Kia tuku ia tetai 10 mita vari ki runga ake I e 30m tuanga paruru ite rini e te tumu paipa I runga ite Ara Tapu, te ka tauturu ite au ngutuare katoatoa, mei te pae tai, kit e Ara Metua. No te au ngutuare I runga ite ngai teitei, kia tuku ia tetai 10 mita vari ki runga ite 50 mita ote tuanga paruru ote ringi e te umu paipa ote Ara Metua, e kia aria i ate au paupau anga o nga ringi I runga e I raro ite the tumu paipa, mari ua, no tetai tupuanga viviki. Kare e puapinga kia rauka te vai kia tae ua mei runga mai ite maung, e te vai maro ua ra te au ngai I runga ite teitei. eAA TooU MANAKo? Signed: Anaru in ruaau
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
Tourism ops brush up on water safety ToUrISM operators will be
Swimming teacher Augustine Kopa teaches four-year-old Tinirau Macquarie how to loat, while brother Paeki, two years, looks on. 14021702
Students awestruck by donated gear AVATeA School students, staff
and supporters were awestruck by the huge amount of donated school resources they have received from generous donors across Aotearoa. The entire school gathered around a 20-foot container and let out a collective ‘wow’ as the contents in it were revealed at a special presentation on Monday morning. reading books, learning tools, musical instruments, math equipment and much more were donated to Avatea School after an appeal was sent to New Zealand for donations to rebuild the school’s resources. The drive that resulted in the donations began as one mother’s plea for donations of books to restock her son’s school after the library and a block of classrooms were razed in an arson attack on october last year. Arorangi mother Andrea rongokea was devastated that a “cowardly” arson attack destroyed Avatea School and its library just as her son Dallas was learning to read. She rallied her contacts for support and, together with a plea from the school committee, donations of reading books and equipment including musical instruments flooded in from schools and families right across New Zealand – leaving the mother in awe
of people’s generosity. rongokea also approached CITC for sponsorship of the container, which they readily agreed to do. Avatea School principal Nga Charlie made initial contact with both the Auckland Consulate and the Cook Islands High Commission in New Zealand to see how they could assist and things progressed from there. Their networks generated a lot of willing donors, and they also acted as collection points for goods in the greater Wellington and Auckland regions. other donations that were organised came from primary schools in Napier (18 cartons), Whakatane, Gisborne and Tauranga (22 boxes), the Brethren School in Waikato, Christchurch and Blenheim and elim School in Blenheim. elim School actually had a whole week of collecting preloved books for the Avatea kids. A number of boxes from some Auckland primary schools, arranged through an old childhood teacher friend of rongokea’s, were also received. CITC and Matson Shipping held a sausage sizzle fundraiser to raise the funds to pay for the shipping of the container load of donated goods to rarotonga. Logistics provider UTI also supported the cause and Main-
freight covered the cost of transporting donations from across New Zealand to the Port of Auckland for shipment to rarotonga. The presentation at Avatea School was attended by the Ministry of education as well as representatives from CITC, Matson Shipping who were thrilled to see the children’s delight in opening up the container of goodies to improve their learning. For Avatea School principal Nga Charlie – hearing the collective ‘wow’ by the whole school was a great show of gratitude for the generous donations. “We really appreciate the generosity and hard work that has gone into this – it’s that giving spirit,” says Charlie. Charlie would like to thank all that had a hand in the generous donation from those that donated resources, helped pack boxes of books, collected donations, packed the container and to the local community who supported the local sausage sizzle that raised funds to pay for the shipment of the container. For mother Andrea rongokea – she says it was just ‘awesome’ to see the kids’ faces light up as the container doors were opened to reveal all the magical books to read. Some donations in the con-
Cruise passengers being surveyed CrUISe ship passengers are be-
ing surveyed to provide insights that will help tourism stakeholders better understand this market. The survey has been commissioned by the Cook Islands Government, along with the country’s national tourism organisation, Cook Islands Tourism. The South Pacific Tourism organisation (SPTo) initiated the european Union-funded survey under the Paciic Regional Tourism Capacity Building Programme. The launch survey
project included a half day seminar on measuring tourism in the Cook Islands for public and private sector industry stakeholders and a training workshop for survey enumerators and supervisors the following day. The first pilot cruise visitor survey was undertaken by the survey team when the MS Columbus 2 called into rarotonga. SPTo Chief executive Ilisoni Vuidreketi said, “The Cruise Visitor Survey findings will help the Cook Islands tourism stakeholders better understand the
value of the cruise visitors that visit their shores and assist them in planning for any future cruise tourism product development and marketing initiatives.” The project activity aims to build capacity for the Cooks Islands Tourism staff who are involved in research and development as well as strengthening measuring of national tourism and cruise visitor statistics. The Cook Islands Cruise Visitor Survey project is scheduled for completion in May 2014. - Release/ME
tainer will go to Nukutere College which also had a block of classrooms razed in an arson attack. Separate donations in the container will also go to schools in the northern group. - Matariki Wilson
brushing up on water safety knowledge from next month. Swimming instructor Augustine Kopa is teaching the threemonth community education course through the Cook Islands Tertiary Training Institute. It is aimed at those in the tourism industry who run water safety activities. “What I’m teaching them is to take water safety a bit more seriously, not something they just do for work – being more prepared on land for the water, and being prepared for what water can bring.” Kopa has 18 years of experience teaching swimming, and has been doing so in the Cooks since 2007. After learning to swim at four years old, she began swimming competitively when she was 11. “I love swimming passionately. It’s part of my everyday life.” She says teaching the course will go hand-in-hand with her regular swimming lessons
through her business rarotonga Aquatic education Swim School (rAeSS), where she teaches all ages from three months up to adults. “Water safety is always the top priority. The course is mainly aimed at those sending tourists into the water. I think the minute they come on the island, they need to know where they can and can’t swim. “It’s very different from New Zealand. People say water is water, but it’s not like that.” Kopa says about half of the course will be in the classroom learning theory, while the other half will be in the water. The course will start on March 4 and classes will be held twice a week from 5pm at the Ngatangiia campus of the Cook Islands Tertiary Training Institute. To find out more about the course, call CITTI on 22628 or email Violet Tisam (violet. tisam@citti.edu.ck) or Amelia Borofsky (aborofsky@gmail. com). - BD
excited Avatea School students unload boxes of reading books to rebuild their school library. 14021712
sWitCh On with te aponga uira
2 MOnths tO gO… 4 months of the cyclone season has passed. Only 2 months left. Fingers crossed there isn’t one? if we do get a cyclone, however, then be ready to: •
Close your shutters or board up your windows.
•
Fill your car’s fuel tank and gather emergency supplies.
•
gather your family members and pets and stay indoors.
•
Prepare for a possible evacuation.
www.teaponga.com
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
e l b a t g n i theDin
the Dining table is a regular weekly feature, giving you options on where to eat, drink and be entertained.
Feature
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
Cook Islands tourism reps in Europe LoCAL ToUrISM industry representatives are on a whirlwind trip through europe trying to promote the Cook Islands and attract more tourists to these shores. robert Skews and Christian Mani, from Cook Islands Tourism Corporation (CITC), kicked off their journey with a luncheon in rome last week, hosted by CITC and Air New Zealand. Twenty-seven travel wholesalers were shown the making of Air New Zealand’s new in-light video, ‘Safety in Paradise’ - which was shot in Aitutaki last year and then given an update on the Cook Islands tourism market. “The new safety video is giving us amazing publicity here and will assist the Cooks with awareness and interest - something we could not buy unless we were Nike or similar,” Skews said. The pair then caught a train to Milan for one of Italy’s leading tourism fairs, the Borsa International Tourism exchange (BIT Milano). Skews, who is also acting in his capacity of managing director of Turama Paciic Travel Group, said he and Mani had
various appointments with travel agents and wholesalers at BIT. “The Italian market grew by 24 per cent last year and is showing further signs of growth this year, despite a weakening domestic economy,” he said. The pair will be stopping in Madrid, Paris and London over the next week, meeting new and existing trade partners, before heading to Germany for a major tourism convention called ITB Berlin. Mani, who is online Marketing Manager for CITC, will then ly to America to conduct IT training for the corporation’s North American ofice. Skews is a member of the CITC board and will be heading to China for further meetings. He said he has been making these types of business trips, to promote the Cook Islands, for 24 years. “While this is longer than usual, we need make the effort as private sector to recoup the rewards. We can’t sit on the island and hope business will just arrive,” he said. Both men are due back in the Cook Islands later next month. - Ben Chapman-Smith
Christian Mani (left) and robert Skews, from Cook islands Tourism Corporation, seen manning their booth at the Borsa international Tourism exchange in italy last week. 14021709
Air NZ video near 2M hits AIr NZ’s safety video featuring
Senior Sergeant Maevarangi Kirikava said when he joined the police he had his mind set on becoming a prosecutor. 14021406
Police strengthen skills with NZ training TWo MeMBerS of the Cook Islands Police Service have been on a training course in New Zealand to help improve their skills in the courtroom. Senior Sergeant Maevarangi Kirikava and Prosecuting Sergeant Fairoa Tararo were in Auckland at the end of January taking part in a four-day advocacy course. Kirikava said the purpose of the training was to prepare prosecutors for defended hearings in court. “It was a great course to be part of. It actually gave us a few more tools and sort of set down in concrete some of the things we already knew.” He said the training covered
topics such as how to prepare an opening address before trial and how to phrase questions to a witness. “It was about getting your evidence into court, how to strengthen the evidence that’s given, and how to discredit evidence given by defence. We also covered what’s generally referred to as a hostile witness - someone who gives a statement on the day and then changes it.” Both men are being trained as prosecutors over a three-year period and should be inished some time next year. Kirikava said the pair will soon be qualiied to conduct prosecutors training here in
the Cook Islands. “Instead of relying on New Zealand, we’ll be able to run the courses ourselves. The idea behind it is to get a bit of sustainability instead of relying on New Zealand Police.” The Cook Islanders were joined in Auckland by one oficer from Samoa and two from New Zealand. Kirikava said becoming a police prosecutor has always been his goal. “When I joined the police I always had my mind set on joining prosecutions. My thinking was that if I was going to try and stop offending happening, I might as well go all the way.” - BCS
scantily-dressed swimsuit models in the Cook Islands has created worldwide promotion for Aitutaki that money could not buy, such as coverage in the Telegraph in London and on CNN. With links to the video in their coverage they expanded its reach to millions of viewers and readers. The safety video has received more than 1,934,146 hits on YouTube since release. Part of the reason for the takeup of the video by international media has been reaction to the video in New Zealand where it was condemned by some. High-profile women to slam the video included former politician and media personality Pam Corkery, feminist commentator Deborah russell and TV3 news anchor Hilary Barry. Barry called on the airline to withdraw the video, which was released this week.
“I think it’s highly inappropriate, sexualised, objectiies women, demeaning, it’s just appalling,” she said on radioLive on Wednesday Cook Islands time. But another prominent NZ commentator Kerre McIvor said in the Herald on Sunday that the criticism of the video was “a lot of blather.” “It's not the cleverest Air NZ safety video, admittedly. But where's the harm in good-looking young women - and men - cavorting on a beach in swimwear? At least it's in context. They're bikini models advertising a tropical paradise - not a continuing education college.” A preview of the making of the airline’s safety video received similar backlash from some members of the public. Air NZ has said working with Sports Illustrated was a chance to boost its global profile and promote the Cook Islands as a destination. - BD
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
Thick clouds of black smoke were seen billowing from cargo ship ‘Tiare Moana’ yesterday. A concerned caller notiied CI News, inquiring if smoke posed an environmental hazard. Harbour master Saungaki rasmussen said the smoke was normal, and occurs every time the boat starts its engines. The boat was scheduled to depart from Avatiu harbour at 4pm yesterday. 14021720
Smokers keen to kick their habit
DeMAND for products to help smokers quit has proved overwhelming for the Ministry of Health. Director of Community Health Services Dr rangi Fariu said the ministry has been struggling to keep up with demand for free patches, gum and lozenges offered through a smoking cessation programme, which began last week and has proved more popular than anticipated. Fariu said the ministry was surprised by how many smokers were keen to kick the habit because anti-smoking messages have been pushed in the past. However, he said the cost of the products, which he estimated
at $80 a month for an average smoker trying to give up, would have been a deterrent for many. “I guess some of the reason people haven’t come forward in the past is the cost.” Fariu said the ministry has ordered more of the products after being unable to meet demand, and “hopefully should have enough now”. The free products help to curb cravings for cigarettes by delivering small doses of nicotine to those in the process of quitting. Those on the programme can also measure their progress by checking in each week and breathing into a ‘Smokerlyzer’ – a hand-held device that meas-
Police ask for help in solving crime spree PoLICe are appealing for infor-
mation from the community to help catch the offenders who robbed seven residencies in Puaikura overnight Friday. Inspector John Strickland said two homes and ive accommodation units were broken into during the crime spree. “The whole lot happened in a very close area between 11pm Thursday and 6am Friday.” Police believe there were two or three offenders, aged between 16 and 20 years old. “We are very much concerned and we are seeking community support,” Strickland said. He asked for anyone who has information about the crimes to contact the Puaikura Police on 27279 or Crime Stoppers on 22000. Strickland said cash, bank and credit cards and electronic devices were taken in the robberies. Lynda Goetz – a tourist from Devon, england – was in the Cooks visiting daughter Francesca Nimmo, who had been volunteering at esther Honey Foundation since November. They were both staying at an Arorongi hotel when their room
was broken into early Friday morning at some point between 1:30am and 6am. While she was sleeping, the perpetuators allegedly made off with $70, along with $450 in Australian dollars, while her daughter had $350 and 20 British pounds stolen as well. Another chalet, occupied by a couple that had just arrived on the island, also had their chalet broken into with $600 and an ATM card stolen, she said. They depart rarotonga to return to england today, nearly four months after Nimmo began volunteering her time at the animal clinic. “I think that it’s a shame,” said Goetz. “It does not detract from the fact that she loves the island ... but I think this is a bit of a sad end.” Despite the thefts, she said they both hope to return. “We would both come back, but it would be sad if petty crimes became something that was regular,” said Goetz. Meantime, Anchor’s rest owner Mark Boyd is adamant that his property was not burgled and we sincerely regret reporting that it was. - BCS & ES
ures carbon monoxide, which is higher in smokers, with a single breath. The device acts as a motivational tool by giving people concrete feedback as they quit. The free programme will typically last six to eight weeks for an average smoker, but may last longer for some people. After signing up to the smoking cessation programme by phoning or visiting rarotonga hospital or the community health clinic in Tupapa, people will be asked to come back each week to pick up more nicotinereplacement products as needed, and to measure their progress with the Smokerlyzer. The products were purchased by the Ministry of Health and are free to the public. Interested people can phone the Tupapa community health clinic on 20066. - BD
Tereora College student Alex Ngarua won a design competition in 2010 with his design to promote a smoke-free Cook islands. The design has been used on smoke-free signs around rarotonga. 14021721
Avarua asbestos results still to be conirmed reSULTS from the recent as-
bestos tests at Avarua School are being waited on by the Ministry of Health. The tests followed the removal of truckloads of soil contaminated by asbestos fibres after the hazardous particles were discovered in the air at the school, and were done after the students were back in class because this is when asbestos ibres are most likely to become airborne. Dr rangi Fariu said the results of these tests will irst go to the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CI IC) – which owns the property – and he hopes the results show much lower levels of asbestos in the air. “We’re expecting the results soon and we’re hoping that the final readings will be acceptable to everyone. For now, we are just waiting.” Samples of air from the
school were taken by Stuart Keer-Keer – a quality and technician manager for New Zealand-based K2 environmental Ltd, which specialises in air quality testing and advice – who has taken them back to New Zealand to run the tests. Fariu said the Ministry of Health will be unable to determine whether there are any adverse health effects from the fibres anytime soon, as these would not show up until many years down the track. “Any diseases caused by asbestos don’t show up immediately – it will take years. So how much exposure these kids have had to asbestos we will never know. “Not everyone who is exposed will get problems. It depends on the length of time, how much, and the individual,” he said, noting that he remembers going to the school in the 1960s and drinking water
running off the roof before the asbestos was removed. “I know some parents have removed their kids from Avarua School, but other schools have asbestos (in the air) too – just (at lower levels). And it’s in other buildings as well - at the dental clinic here (in Tupapa) the roof is made of asbestos. “It’s a problem for us, but I guess we can only do the best we can.” Avarua School, one of 11 areas where the air was tested in September and early october by Keer-Keer, was the only area found to have levels high enough to be in the ‘red’ category where there is a risk of exposure to asbestos. Three other areas – Avatea School, the community dental clinic in Tupapa and the Met Ofice – had asbestos levels in the ‘amber’ category – indicating levels above normal but not high enough to be considered
hazardous. Asbestos is a naturally occurring ibre that was previously popular as a building material, but was later discovered to be hazardous when it becomes airborne and is breathed in. over time, exposure can lead to respiratory illnesses. If not airborne – such as when contained in undisturbed building materials – it is not dangerous. The ibres in the soil at Avarua were found to have washed off the roof gradually as the material around it slowly degraded, prior to the roofing being replaced by CIIC some years back. The asbestos in the ground at the school was more inclined to become airborne because there was a lot of exposed soil in areas where people frequently walked and disturbed the soil. - Briar Douglas
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
‘Keep your hands off our assets’ “WeLL DoNe to the Business Trade Investment Board chairman George Pitt for standing up to Telecommunications minister Mark Brown on its dealings with selling Telecom Cook Islands to Digicel,” a smoke signaller writes in response to yesterday’s front page CI News article ‘BTIB takes hard line on Digicel’. “Minister Brown and government do not have the mandate to sell our national assets. The only way to get the approval to sell our national assets is to get a referendum from the people. The assets belong to the PeoPLe and not to the Cook Islands Party or Minister Brown, so hands off selling our national assets.”
JOE PUBLIC’S ‘ALWAYS SHAFTED’ “THere APPeArS to be a glaring gap in our legislation where ministers of the Crown can sign us up for loans simply by being a minister of the Crown,” a smoke signaller writes. “I raise the question about the capabilities of our elected members. Supposedly the smartest end up with ministerial posts as the whole country is dependent on them making sound, informed decisions. In 1997 Sir Geoffrey Henry sold off our majority shareholding in Telecom Cook Islands together with protective legislation giving Telecom New Zealand a stranglehold on domestic and international communications. Sixteen years later a new minister wants to on sell our remaining 40 per cent shareholding to Digicel. Who has he consulted? What advice has he been given and by whom? Along similar lines we see a $23 million loan for Te Mato Vai become inlated to $70 million, and rising. In my opinion the minister involved has a vested interest, but that does not hinder anything. Senior public servants defer to the minister. Common sense goes out the window and public consultations are carried out after the fact as the ‘we have signed the loan’ virus runs rampant. Where are the checks and balances in the government system? If we have them, are they working?”
WE’RE ON THE COVER! THeSe THree models – and the Cook Islands – will be getting plenty
of exposure today when the Sports Illustrated 50th anniversary Swimsuit Issue goes live across the web, on sale at newsstands and mailed
out to its 3.5 million subscribers. Sports Illustrated has dubbed the cover of their Swimsuit Issue as being "some of the hottest real estate a supermodel can inhabit” and according to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. The models Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissie Teigen were in Aitutaki last year for the ilming of Air New Zealand’s latest safety video and dropped their bikini tops for this cheeky photo that was picked to be the coveted cover photo. The Cook Islands gets a mention on the cover below the model’s names, and again at the bottom right showing the shoot’s location. According to Wikipedia the Time Warner publication is read by 23 million adults each week.
MONUMENT TO FAILURE A SMoKe signaller sends in this cheeky ‘advert’ ahead of tomorrow
morning’s trafic disruption at the roundabout in Avarua to allow for the installation of a monument to the $64 million Te Mato Vai project: “WANTeD: The basalt rock commemorating the immortality of the failed Sheraton Hotel Project at Vaimaanga. This is now required to be moved to The New Zealand High Commission site in Avarua to commemorate yet another impending project doomed to failure.”
WHERE’S THE LIST? A SMoKe signaller asks: “Can anyone from the Ministry of Finance
and economic Management explain why each individual pensioner has to go in and ill out yet another form, producing either a passport of birth certiicate in order to get a Revenue Management Division (rMD) number? MFeM pays the pension out via Internal Affairs – why does MFeM not allocate an rMD number to each pensioner? We have already produced passports and opened accounts at the Bank of
Sugar tax suggested INCreASING tax on some unhealthy products is one strategy health oficials may soon be pushing for as concerns around non-communicable diseases continue. Director of Community Health Services Dr rangi Fariu said increasing tax on certain items is one of the strategies the Ministry of Health is looking into as a way to discourage unhealthy habits. “At the moment we are thinking of talking to our legislation makers about increasing tax on sugary food and alcohol.” He said research done overseas indicates that increasing tax on unhealthy items makes them less accessible to young people. “Twenty-six per cent of the school population is obese,” said Fariu. He said having schools sell healthy food is one way the Ministry of Health has tried to address this. “I’m not sure if that will work,
but it’s something where we need political leadership on that. We need someone to say, ‘There will not be these unhealthy foods in schools’.” Sugary food and alcohol are major contributors to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, obesity and cancer. Contributors to NCDs are the focus of a current survey by the Ministry of Health, which lasts a fortnight and is now in its inal week. Fariu said the survey is looking at indicators of NCD including blood sugar and cholesterol levels, body mass index, diet and food portions and activity levels. The data will give some indication of the impact of the ministry’s NCD programme, which began ive years ago. Fariu said NCDs continue to be a focus of the ministry. “We really have to continue working and hoping people will change their lifestyles – and change it themselves rather than
hoping we will do it for them.” Participants for the survey were selected at random by the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Finance and economic Development, who were then contacted by the Ministry of Health and invited to participate. The aim was to get around 1500 people to take part, though only around 300 have completed it so far. Fariu said participation involves fasting, where people do not eat from 10pm the night before having tests done. “That’s hard for some people. others may have issues with transport, so we’re trying to follow up with those who didn’t take part.” He said the first few days of the survey were “not productive – very few people turned up”, but that more people have been coming to have the tests done in recent days. - Briar Douglas
Sport iesta in store for Tupapa youngsters VILLAGe FeSTIVALS are back again in 2014 starting off at Victoria Park, Tupapa tomorrow Wednesday 19th February 2.30pm – 3.30pm where Just Play soccer will team up with rugby, cricket, netball, athletics and rugby league to deliver fun activities and games for all children aged 5-13 years old in and around the Tupapa area. “We are very excited to continue this community initiative that provides opportunities for all our children to be active and learn key health messages,” says Michelle Paiti, Just Project Manager. The initiative was instigated by Paiti and Public Health’s Karen Tairea following on from the NCD Awareness week in
February last year. Through this programme that runs once a month in different villages around raroronga. Partnerships have been built and strengthened with Public Health and the other sporting codes to help promote the awareness of NCD’s and provide more opportunities for development for our younger ones. “We would like to encourage all the children to come and join us for an afternoon of fun activities and games where they have the opportunity to have a go at a variety of sports.” “A series of activities will be on a rotational system so all the children that will attend can experience all different sports games on Wednesday.”
Water will be provided during the afternoon however kids are asked to wear hats to keep cool. Ministry of Health will also share this month’s health message 5+a day with the children during one of the compulsory water breaks. So parents, organise your kids to come down to Victoria Park after school where they will be supervised, safe and active. Paiti would like to thank all current partners of the programme along with rugby league who are joining us for the irst time. She also acknowledged Australian Aid for the funding of the Just Play social development programme in the Paciic. - CIFA Media
A dozen cheeks…Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissie Teigen took a break from ilming the Air New Zealand safety video in Aitutaki last year for a photo shoot which features on the cover of this year’s Sports illustrated Swimsuit issue 50th anniversary edition. 14021723 the Cook Islands in order to collect the pension. Someone somewhere must have a list? Just allocate the numbers and advise BCI customers, and post out the ones who don’t pick up their pension on the day. Maybe this is too simple or we can bother everyone by getting it done individually, and create more mistakes?”
Murienua’s candidates – in their own words Where does each candidate stand on some of the hot button issues facing their constituency and the country? Both democratic Party candidate James Beer and Cook islands Party candidate Kaota Tuariki were asked to take the time to answer ive questions drafted by the CI News team. While both agreed late last week, only Beer made it in time for yesterday’s deadline within the required 50 word limit per answer. here are his answers: What are the most pressing needs for the constituency of Murienua? BEER - People desperately need jobs. Lack of income is at the root of a large number of problems that threaten our survival: depopulation, increased crime rates, youth unemployment, and homes without electricity. Increased policing and stronger sentences can help in the short term, but permanent answers lie in the economy.
Do you support the Te Mato Vai project, and its estimated $60 million price tag? BEER - SToP this giant waste of money. It’s a mess. Why have voters not been consulted
more? How much do we pay for water now? What are the costs and beneits of possible other options? Why are we paying huge funds to external consultants? Can anyone even say what the project is?
Many in the community are complaining about crime committed by youth, and youth depopulation. What can you do as Murienua MP to address the issues facing youth? BEER - Youth disenfranchisement is historically the surest barometer of government incompetence. Youth are not the problem: they are the solution. Include youth, consult them, empower them, give them
meaningful work, provide them with dificult tasks and high rewards. They will lead our society's revitalisation. Without them, we should all retire now.
What are your main concerns with the state of Rarotonga’s environment? BEER - My concerns are vast, but my main worry is we will react so slowly to environmental problems we will both fail to address them and miss the signiicant opportunities they conceal. Dying reefs hide an opportunity for soil revitalisation and competitive agriculture. Waste disposal hides an opportunity for energy production.
Choose one: Steinlager or Heineken? BEER - Glad you asked. If you can take one message from this campaign, it’s this: "Beer is Good For You". I advise you pick a Steinlager on a hot afternoon and Heineken on special occasions.....and you pick James if you want some real action in Parliament!
Children enjoying Just Play football at the highest attended Village Festival in rutaki last year. 14021717
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
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Huanesian Fitness With TAB’S $2.00 Mondays 5pm – 6pm Wednesdays 12pm-1pm Kavera Meeting House Phone 52031 777
To all Takuvaine Netball girls and intending members, New players are more than welcomed, our Netball training will commence this Tuesday 18 February 2014, 5pm at our netball court. We hope to see you all there.
AGM NcI will be holding its AGM on Monday, 24 February 2014, 6pm at NCI’s oice, Nikao. Agenda: 1.Annual Report 2.Financial Report 3.Election of Elected Board members 4.Remits Enquiries to Admin Manager, NCI on 22840 or 54243, Email: admin@netball.co.ck 76682
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Apii Te Uki Ou School Incorporated Annual General Meeting to be held at school Tuesday 11th March 2014 at 6:30pm 1. Opening Prayer. 2. Apologies 3. Adoption of the minutes of the last AGM. 4. President’s report. 5. Treasurer’s report. 6. Principal’s report. 7. Head Pre-School teacher’s report. 8. Election of members of the Board and subcommittees. 9. consideration of any constitutional amendments. 10. General business. 11. Closing Prayer. All are welcome to attend. 777
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NIGHT COURSE ENROLMENTS FOR 2014 If you want to take up a new challenge for 2014, work towards a Trades qualiication and learn some practical skills, then now is the time to start. cITTI – Faculty of Trades and Technology, Arorangi is ofering the following course for new enrolees: Building construction: Pre-building Trade Certiicate – Stage one Date: Wednesday 19 February Time: 5.30pm Please bring your current Passport or Birth certiicate. For more information contact Alister or Edith on phone: 21471 or email e.nicholas@citti.edu. ck
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FOR SALE
SITUATIONS VACANT
STIHL chainsaw 029, In excellent condition, $900. Phone 26617 or 52412.
Retail Manager Raromart is looking at relocating in a few months time and is now looking at hiring an experienced shop manager. This is a career position and we are looking for someone who can successfully implement the expansion projects that we have planned for Raromart over the next 24 months. Email sunny@paciicapparel.co.ck or call 21060.
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1 bed house with studio rental cottage Sect 500 sq m – 29 yr lease Muri area, asking $495K. Ph /txt Carey 55678.
Lost bunch of keys @ Titikaveka college on Saturday. If found please contact 27113 or 52331. Reward ofered.
SERVICES Salon de Hermies at Banana court Hair and beauty services for men and women Valentines SPECIAL Xpress Manicure & Pedicare $35 Hermie’s back. call 22278.
2 bedroom absolute beachfront house for long term rental in Arorangi area. $350 per week. Genuine enquiries only. Ph 55 418.
Housekeeper Should have enough experience in housekeeping. Must be reliable, honest and able to work without supervision. Non-drinker & non-smoker is a plus. Send cV to onubayhome@ gmail.com 76931
5 year old, fully furnished 3 bedroom family home for rent in Turangi Valley, past Bill Kaman’s. Open to view 5 - 7pm this Thursday and Friday. 76957
FOR SALE 32 inch lat screen TV for sale $300, ONO. Phone 27651.
Chef required Tamarind House/Rickshaw With Asian and International cooking experience Please send CV & Refs to Box 50 Rarotonga. Phone 26487 and ask for Sue or Julie 76937
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8 & 9 month old pigs for sale Price: $150-$250 Call Ph: 75-661. 76970
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The public is hereby advised that there will be disruption to traic at the roundabout in Avarua on Wednesday 19 February 2014 around 10am to allow the installation of the Te Mato Vai monument beside the oice of the new Zealand high commission; this work will take approximately 30 minutes. On Thursday 20 February 2014 between the hours of 8am and 12pm, the roundabout in Avarua will be closed to allow for the Te Mato Vai project launch programme. During these hours traic will be diverted in the following areas: 1. Traic travelling from Tupapa village will be diverted to the empire Theatre road 2. Traic travelling from Avatiu/Ruatonga area will be diverted to the energy centre road The cook Islands Police will be at each of these areas to assist with the diversion of traic. All enquiries to Daryl Rairi, Deputy Project Manager, telephone 55064 or email daramide@oyster.net.ck 76992
WANTED MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Employment Opportunity MINTAFF, invites applications for the position of GENDER PROJECT COORDINATOR, in its Gender and Development Division. Applicants must be self motivated, proactive and have the ability to coordinate projects through to completion. A good knowledge and understanding of Gender and Development is preferred. Applications close on Friday 28th February 2014. Job descriptions available from the Ministry. Please submit a cover letter with curriculum Vitae and references to: Eva Mapu PO Box 98, Rarotonga or email: eva. mapu@cookislands.gov.ck 76995
A live in house girl/baby sitter is needed for long term. contact 56980. 76902
Wanting to rent long term 2 bedroom house prefer Rutaki, Vaimaanga,Titikaveka. Also wanting to buy late model Diesel 4Wheel double cab Truck. Phone 74767. 76972
FOUND Notices are FREE To encourage honesty and good citizenship. A Cook Islands News public service.
BIRThDAy a special haPPY 16th BirthDaY to
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Love from Mum & dad, Papa tupou & Mama Mere in heaven who is looking down on you, Papa Mike & Mama awhitia, Mama ura, tepua, Mitaera, tauira gina baby raea & William in aussie.
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PUBLIC NOTICE TE MATO VAI PROJECT LAUNCH PROGRAMME
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Sales Assistant Bright, articulate, honest person to work in our CIPS image sales team. Interested in photography, printing or electronics will be to your advantage. Numerate and able to handle money with honesty is a must. call colin on 55570 for interview. cV and references will be required. Maintenance person to do work around the house, with sober habits, Send CV to P.o Box 418.
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Muri 2 bedroom unit available, long/short term. Phone 23012 / 55752.
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China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) ccEcc has been appointed the general contractor for the construction of the Rarotonga Ring Mains in the Te Mato Vai project. ccEcc is now commencing to source local services and resources. In particular we are seeking expressions of interest for the following: • labourers for trench digging, pipeline laying, backilling and other physical works (cV required); • machinery hire including excavators, trucks, loaders, trailers, water trucks, as well as fuels; • building materials including sand, aggregates, cement, blocks; and • chip sealing for road repair. Service providers and contractors should contact Mr. Nicky Nie, Assistant Project Manager of CCECC. Phone 29396 or Email: niekefeng@gmail. com
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PUBLIC NOTICES Landowners meeting- Totokoitu 22 Lot 4. Matavera Sunday School Hall on Wednesday 19 February at 6.30pm. Requesting all issues of charlie Tau Cowan. Macken Line- Landowner.
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Applications are invited from persons interested in assisting taxpayers meet their accounting and tax obligations. This position will involve the promotion of good record keeping and tax practices within the business community through assistance and public engagement. Persons who are computer literate, analytical, good communicators, and have a good commercial understanding, along with the ability to work with minimum supervision, are welcome to apply. A drivers license is also essential for this position. A job description can be obtained from our website www.mfem.gov.ck or email: tessa.vaetoru@ cookislands.gov.ck Applications should be forwarded by Friday 7 March to: Tessa Vaetoru Revenue Management Division P O Box 120 Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
Flight Times | Voyage details FROM ARRIVES
tuesdAy FeBruAry 18 Nz746/745 AKL 2.10PM DJ163/162 AKL 11.55PM thursdAy FeBruAry 20 Nz46/45 AKL 4.10PM VT035/034 PPT 2.50PM Nz748/749 AKL 12.30AM
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TO
AKL AKL
3.10PM 1.05AM
AKL PPT AKL
5.25PM 3.50PM 1.30AM
0800 1030 1530
AITUTAKI AITUTAKI AITUTAKI
0850 1120 1620
TIARE MOANA 21 - ETD AUCK 27/02, ETA RARO 07/03, ETA AITUTAKI 09/03
Shipping OLOMANA 24 - ETD AUCK 04/03, ETA RARO 17/03, ETA AITUTAKI 19/03
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Weather Forecast to Midnight Situation: A moist northeast wind low prevails over Southern cooks. A trough of low pressure with associated cloud and showers remains slow moving over northern cooks. Forecast to midnight for the Southern Cooks: Fine apart from brief showers. Moderate northeast winds. Moderate to rough seas. Further outlook: Fine apart from brief showers. For Rarotonga: Fine apart from brief showers. Further outlook: Fine apart from brief showers. For the Northern Cooks: Occasional showers and few thunderstorms over most places. Moderate north to northeast winds, fresh and gusty at times. Moderate to rough seas. Further outlook: Occasional showers and thunderstorms.
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-
5.55AM
0.33M
TUE high
18
Low
Rarotonga Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Forecast Map 2pm Tuesday
Tides
Issued at 2pm at Rarotonga
12.03PM 0.97M 6.18PM
0.32M
0.9m NE
N
WEd high 12.22AM 0.95M 12.36PM 0.98M
19
Low
6.27AM
0.33M
6.53PM
0.32M
30°
Sun, Moon & Arapo
N 08kTs New Moon Feb 28 10.00PM
First Quarter Mar 8 3.27AM
Full Moon Mar 16 7.09AM
Sunshine hours
Third Quarter Feb 22 7.16AM
9
ArApo - turu TUE 18 TANu (Planting) Tanu i te kai katoa. Good time for all planting.
Humidity
19
By Lee Falk & sy Barry
®
[ WEd
By Dik Browne
®
the PhantOM
18
OLOMANA 23 - ETD AUCK 15/02, ETA RARO 25/02, ETA AITUTAKI 26/02
GOT A STORY?
Su-Do-Ku HARD
TUE
ARR
tuesdAy FeBruAry 18
Air Rarotonga
International Flights
FLIGHT
TAuTAi (Fishing) Po ika. Kua torotoro te tupa/koura. Fish night crabs & crayish crawling.
0.9m NE Front Key:
Cold
Warm
Occluded
y
Swell direction and size
Stationary
Outer Islands Weather Outlook Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Morning
74%
Night
80%
Morning
73%
Night
76%
Forecast thanks to Cook Islands Meteorological Service.
TUE
18
Sun rise
6.31AM
Sun Set
7.14PM
Moon rise 9.01PM Moon Set 9.40AM
WEd Sun rise 6.32AM Sun Set 7.14PM
19
Moon rise 9.40PM Moon Set 10.33AM
Aitutaki
30° NE 10kTs
Mangaia
28° N 10kTs
Mitiaro
29° N 10kTs
Atiu
29° N 10kTs
Penrhyn
31° NE 08kTs
Mauke
29° N 10kTs
14
Tuesday, February 18, 2014 cook Islands News
Open day beach volleyball
tarekareka
—WEDNESDAY NIKAO 5PM ONWARDS
SPorT
Cooks players shine in Nines TWeLVe Cook Islands rugby league players took part in the Auckland Nines competition at the weekend with seven being members of the Cook Islands World Cup squad 2013. regular NrL team mates Dominique Peyroux (New Zealand Warriors), Zane Tetevano (Newcastle Knights), Brad Takairangi (Gold Coast) and Isaac John (Penrith Panthers) are all looking good to secure their position in the NrL starting line-up for their clubs this season after a very good performance at the World Cup and the Nines at the weekend. Dylan Napa (roosters) who after a handful of NrL games last year looks to cement himself as a regular starting line-up for the roosters alongside Sonny Bill Williams after a good performance at the World Cup and the Nines. Drury Low (Bulldogs) showed some glimpse of his speed at the Nines and hopes to secure a place in the starting line-up for the Bulldogs. Tupou Sopoaga took the ield at the Nines and is hoping to be in the starting line-up for the Sharks this year with team mate and young rising star Valentine Holmes. The 18-year old star Valen-
Cook Islands league players Ken Edwards of the Parramatta Eels (left) and Dominique Peyroux of the New Zealand Warriors were among 12 local lads that had great performances during the Auckland Nines at the weekend. 14021707 / 14021708 tine Holmes is already mixing it with the big boys and showed strength to crash through the middle of the Gold Coast defence then a sizzling display of speed to out-run the cover defence on a long distance sprint to the try line. He was playing at standoff, a position that was certainly found wanting in the Cook’s World Cup squad. Providing he stays on track and doesn’t get poached by the
Kiwis or the Aussies he will certainly be a lethal combination alongside Isaac John in the halves for the next World Cup campaign. Kenny edwards (Parramatta eels) made a few appearances for the eels last year but wasn’t available for selection to the World Cup due to personal commitment but hopes to cement a place in the top side this year after a good performance at the Nines. His eels team mate Peni Tere-
po opted to play for Tonga at the World Cup but was very disappointed that he didn't even get a game at the World Cup and is now contemplating his future commitment to either stay with Tonga or join the Cooks. He was in devastating form at the Nines and hopes to secure a permanent position in the starting line-up for the eels. Alex Glenn of Brisbane played for the Cooks in 2010 against the New South Wales Country side
and opted to play for the Kiwis at the World Cup and was again in devastating form at the Nines. James Tamou (Queensland Cowboys) was, perhaps, a bit unlucky in not winning the player of the tournament. He wanted to play for the Cooks against the New Zealand Kiwis in 2011 when the Kiwis called the tour off. However, he has since gone from strength to strength and now is a regular second rower in the Kangaroo squad.
Cook Islands rugby League president Charles Carlson says it’s great to see Cook Islands players taking part in professional tournaments. “It was awesome to see our Cook Islands players playing in these professional tournaments and also be outstanding role models for our youngsters to look up to as we continue to develop the game among the juniors,” says Carlson. - Matariki Wilson
Popular triathlon on this Saturday THe ANNUAL Team Triath-
lon Challenge take place at the Tikioki tri-site this Saturday starting at 2pm. This event is often called the ‘Corporate Team Triathlon’ as it started out as a business-house type event, however, in recent years and due to popularity, it has been expanded to sports, family, social and business teams. It is a fantastic event for both participants and spectators alike, who either watch or take part in a team triathlon with three members per team, comprising of a 200 metre swim, 8km cycle and 2km run with two team categories. You can enter as an ‘all discipline’ team where each team member completes the swim, cycle and run before tagging their next team member, or the ‘individual’ team where each member does one discipline – one member does the swim, tags the next member who does the cycle who then tags the runner, and this happens three times. This is the 20th annual team’s triathlon and every year has become more and more popular with teams joining for the irst time and trying to out-run their business rivals, or just teams who want to give triathlon a go in a relaxed and fun environment. Last year was another record
with an outstanding 52 teams comprising 168 participants. This bettered the previous year record of 123 participants and was untold fun for all ages and itness levels. Air New Zealand entered ive teams while Westpac Bank and Ministry of education were next best represented with four teams each. The day was enhanced with great warm weather combined with a party atmosphere afterwards – a strenuous but fun time was had by all. Fastest time in the individual disciplines category was Team Consultri of Bernie raffe (swimmer) Geoff Stoddart (cyclist) and John Beasley (runner) completing the course in 1.20.24 just outside the previous years’ record time (1:19:04) by the same team. The fastest all disciplines team was team Aroa Vegeland Lettuce Heads with Steve Whitta, Jennie George and Terry Meyer completing the course in 1.28.12 – a top time beating the previous years’ winning time by over three minutes. Special mention must be made of the rarotonga Sailing Club Juniors who entered 18 participants to take most of the junior prizes. Location is at the Tikioki Tri Site (not far from Fruits of rarotonga), with a start time of 2pm.
There are a bundle of prizes for just about everyone and entry fee is $45 per team or $15 per team for juniors (all members under 15). It’s a fantastic afternoon of fun, rivalry and exercise with a bunch of celebrating afterwards! Bring along your change, mats and BBQs for the celebrations. The Hash eskies (beers and softies) will be available too. entries close on Friday February 21 at 4pm – please and email poly@oyster.net.ck for entry or entry forms. All entrants are asked to be at the triathlon site on Saturday
by 1pm to register, numbering, set up your gear (for before and after) and race brieing prior to the race. Please note CITAI has a compulsory helmet rule when cycling in any CITAI event. There will be a limited number of helmets to borrow on the day – irst in, irst served. There will be safety kayaks on the water and we also ask for safety purposes, that no loose clothing be worn on the swim leg of the race, and no headphones/ipods to be used during the cycle or run legs of the race. Apart from the safety aspect, you
want to hear everyone cheering for you! So, get a team together, get registered and come on down for one of the most exciting and fun days on the triathlon calendar. otherwise, come on down and join the fun and cheer on all the teams who are out there giving their best, and celebrate with everyone afterward! - CITA
Tania Savage shows how much fun it is to be part of the annual team triathlon – get your team together and register today.
The annual team triathlon is a great event for doing a bit of exercise while team bonding and of course having lots of fun during and after the event. 14021706