Positive response by Cabinet to reform proposals

In a media conference at his office on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Hon Jim Marurai said Cabinet had responded positively to the political reform package presented by Tata Crocombe and Iaveta Short.
He said Crocombe and Short would meet with the Members of Parliament on Wednesday and a paper setting out the options would be made public simultaneously.
The Herald understands the CIP will be briefed first followed by the Demo MPs.
The PM said he would like the public to support the reform and he called on the MPs to do the same.
The PM said there were 12 points to be approved and a two thirds majority was needed to pass the proposals through the House. He said it was now up to Crocombe and Short to sell the proposals to the MPs.
The PM said if the MPs support the reform proposals there would be no need for a referendum. However there will still be public consultations on the options.
It would be up to the constituents to decide if there should be two or five less MPs said the PM.
The PM will meet with Crocombe and Short again on Thursday to discuss progress. He confirmed they were not receiving any remuneration from government for their work.
As regards the Mou Piri group, the PM said he had received an e-mail message from Teina Mackenzie saying they supported what was happening however they still wanted people to sign their petition.
Cabinet update
The PM gave a brief account of several issues discussed in Cabinet on Tuesday morning.
Residence for House of Ariki
The PM said Minister William Heather Jnr had requested that the Kavera residence which had been proposed as a new residence for the Queen’s Representative, be provided for the House of Ariki for use as a residence and meeting place. The house had been promised to the Chinese for two years as accommodation for workers on the roads project. The Herald understands the house requires some renovation work such as a new coat of paint and work on the plumbing.
License approved
The PM said Minister for Civil Aviation, William Heather had advised that new airline Kia Orana Air had its air service license approved and will begin operations in July.
Toogood report received
The PM advised he had received the Kit Toogood report into the Toa affair on Monday from the Minister of Finance. It was 17 pages long and he did not know if he could legally release it to the media. He was concerned at the delay in getting a copy to him and said that was probably due to the secrecy surrounding the Toa issue.
Settlement date not known
The PM said he did not know by what date the settlement of $1.75m had to be paid to Toa. He confirmed the amount had to be appropriated by parliament and payment would most likely be in NZ dollars.
Early election possible if support given
The PM, when asked what he thought of the call by the Demo executive on Radio Cook Islands last Friday for him to resign, said, “Why should I resign? What have I done wrong?” He added, “If they support me to call for an early election, I will.” The PM said an early election was the more attractive option.
Position of High Commission to NZ not confirmed
When asked if Demo party president Makiuti Tongia would be taking up the High Commission position in Wellington NZ, the PM advised Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Robert Wigmore was discussing the matter with Foreign Affairs Secretary Mike Mitchell. The PM said he believes Tongia is “out of the picture” and intimated it may be due to the NZ government.

Herald Issue 463 10 June
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