PM’s commitment to referendum on political reform, Sunday flights will make him popular

The Prime Minister made two announcements on Tuesday afternoon which will give him the upper ground in the popularity stakes. Those announcements were to hold a referendum on political reform and a referendum on Sunday flights to Aitutaki.
The referendum on political reform will enable the people to consider an alternative form of representation other than the first past the post system. The referendum on Aitutaki Sunday flights is long overdue. It had been promised earlier but that promise had not been delivered.
These announcements were among several made during a press conference at his office on Tuesday afternoon. The Prime Minister Hon Jim Marurai advised that in the public relations area, he was keen to start off with an intent to be open. The PM then drew the media’s attention to various matters under consideration by government and some matters discussed at Cabinet earlier Tuesday morning.
Referendums on political reform, Sunday flights
The PM said Cabinet discussed political reform and it decided there would be a referendum on people’s preferences. It was recognised that unless there was public support there would be no support for the party. There will also be a referendum on the issue of Sunday Flights to Aitutaki. A team is to be set up to organize the referendums with election time considered the best opportunity to hold the referendums.
Tahitian Vaka project
The Government of French Polynesia (Tahiti Nui) has asked the PM for the Cook Islands to participate in a voyaging project to retrace the migration of the Polynesian people from main land China. A start to the project is set down for month. The voyage will take in most of the Polynesian and other islands such as Niue, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Indonesia also Taiwan and eventually China landing at Shanghai. The voyage is to take six months ending in October to coincide with the closing of the World Expo in Shanghai. The Tahitians want the Cook Islands to identify a crew member to sail on the Vaka. The PM will be writing back to accept the invite and will ask local organizations including Ministry of Culture to recommend someone suitable preferably a young person in their early 20s who can be trained. The Vaka is 18m long with a single outrigger and a sail.
Opening of the books
There is to be an investigation to find out where the nation stands financially. It will mean an examination of the finances to see where the money went, how much is unspent and what the financial commitments are. The PM confirmed some $16m in aid money is still unused and he is looking to fast track programmes. He said at Cabinet a request under the Capex appropriation-$174,000- (capital expenditure) to purchase new vehicles was declined. Some vehicles were in the $42,000 price range. However a request to purchase new computers was approved.
Protest by Demos/CIP MPs
The PM said he was advised by Hon Wilkie Rasmussen that there was to be a protest by the other 19 MPs for Tuesday. The PM understood the presence of the Queen’s Representative (QR) at Executive Council at the OPM was one of the reasons for the protest. The media had been alerted to the MP’s protest by Police (Inspector Patia) shortly after 9am. Several Police officers then arrived before 10am and blocked the entrance to the OPM. However, the QR arrived without incident as no protestors turned up. Mark Brown of the CIP advised the media the protest was not a CIP initiative, that the QR had made a decision not to call parliament and that the CIP will now wait for parliament to be called.
Next sitting of parliament
The PM said parliament was due to sit in March 2010 but that was unlikely now. He said parliament would need to be called to pass the Budget which had to be tabled by 31 July 2010. However, that was just the tabling process. The Budget did not have to passed for another 90 days. Government could continue to operate on finances at one twelfth. The Toa settlement of $1.75 needed to be appropriated but the PM was unsure by what date the settlement had to be paid.
Overseas travel
Cabinet has discussed overseas travel and has decided to cut down on Ministerial travel due to the financial situation and also public opinion.
Post Copenhagen Conference for leaders
It is unlikely government will be attending this conference which is to be held in New Delhi, India this year.
Joint Ministerial Forum with NZ Government
The forum was pushed back from last year to this year. The inaugural meeting will still be held and the timing and agenda will be discussed with the NZ Government.
Liaison with NZ Government
Since the outbreak of the political crisis, the PM’s office has been in regular contact with the NZ High Commission. The PM said the NZ High Commission has been monitoring the situation.

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