New PM deeply honoured and humbled
Puna realizes the enormity of the footsteps he is following but he isn’t intimidated.

Henry Puna was sworn in as the country’s 9th Prime Minister at a ceremony held Tuesday afternoon at Government House.
Flanked by his fellow Cook Islands Party MPs, Puna recited his oath of office in front of Queen’s Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin as members of his extended family, friends and supporters looked on.
In a message to the Cook Islands people in his acceptance speech, Puna noted that he is “deeply honoured and humbled by this high honour that you have bestowed upon me today. I and my wife, Akaiti, accept it with humility and total respect”.
After naming the eight men who served as Prime Minister before him – Sir Tom Davis and Sir Geoffrey Henry held the office on two different occasions – Puna noted wistfully that he wished that “somebody like Sir Geoffrey had written a manual on how to be a Prime Minister. That would have made my task a lot easier”.
Puna concluded his speech by saying the day shouldn’t be all about him.
“It is about all of us,” he noted. “It is about giving expression to and celebrating our hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow for all of us, and for the generations to come.
“It is, I feel, a new beginning. A new beginning where politics ends at the ballot box, where the elected serve all Cook Islanders and not just the few, where our government becomes a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays.”
The swearing-in ceremony broke protocol in allowing members of Puna’s family to perform a song written in memory of the new Prime Minister’s late parents.
“As you would have seen during the signing ceremony, I was a nervous wreck – I couldn’t even sign my own name,” Puna said. “(The song) just added to the emotional content of the occasion.”
Puna’s CIP party swept to power in the November 17 general election, grabbing 16 of the 24 seats and relegating the Demo party to the shadows. Puna now follows the likes of Davis, Geoffrey Henry, Albert Henry, Pupuke Robati, Joe Williams, Sir Terepai Maoate, Robert Woonton and Jim Marurai into the leadership role.
Puna said he realizes the enormity of the footsteps he is following but isn’t intimidated.
“I have confidence that, with the team that I have, that we can at least match the very high standards that my predecessors have set,” he said.
Ngereteina Puna said he always called his younger brother the David of the family and knew that, one day, he would be named Prime Minister.
“The prophet came and looked at the older brothers and said, surely this must be the one, but God said no,” said Ngereteina of the Bible story. “And then the youngest, David, came and God said, that’s the one. Because God looks at the heart while man looks at the outside.”
Ngereteina said the Puna family is proud and humbled that one of their own has been considered suitable to lead the country.
“He’ll be good,” Ngereteina predicted. “He’s a clever fellow. He’s always been very smart.”
John Henry, CIP MP for Avatiu-Ruatonga-Palmerston, said the swearing-in ceremony is just the first step of many to come.
“People have shown their faith in the Cook Islands Party to lead the country for the next four years and see how our government can do,” said Henry. “We must deliver what we promised to the people. That’s what we should focus on. That’s what governments should do.”
It’s early days yet for setting priorities but Puna said his government will focus on growing the country’s economy.
“We have to look after the most important thing and that is to have money so that people can be happy in their own homes,” he said. “And have money so that Government can get on with its various programmes.”
A national economic summit is also in the pipeline.
“We promised to do that within three months of taking office, and I’m going to hold me and my team to that promise,” Puna said.
Members of the new government’s Cabinet will be sworn in tomorrow (Thursday) at Government House. There had been rumblings of backstage posturing for coveted portfolios but Puna shrugged off any talk of conflict amidst the ranks.
“There hasn’t been any unrest,” he said. “We’re all committed to working together as one team. We’re looking forward to starting work as soon as.”
Asked if the Cook Islands is finally going to see what a government in action looks like, Puna said, “No disrespect to our predecessors, but we are keen to get on with the job. I am very confident in a bright future for the country with the team that I have.”

By John Ireland

Herald Issue 463 10 June
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