Idle Te Kukupa was put at risk
Problems could have led to support being withdrawn

The Police patrol boat Te Kukupa’s lack of time at sea over the past two years became such an issue there was a risk of funding being withdrawn.
This would have meant the more than $5 million refit of the Te Kukupa last year funded by Australia would not have gone ahead. The boat would then effectively have been at the end of its operational life.
Concerns over the operation of Te Kukupa were raised during Australian Defence Cooperation Project and New Zealand Military Assistance Programme talks with the Cook Islands Police.
They questioned why Te Kukupa was spending so much time sitting in Avatiu Harbour. This was instead of doing the maritime surveillance and patrol work it was provided for.
Australia had given the patrol boat and both Australia and New Zealand were providing support for its operations. Australia even provided an “incentive payment” of $1000 a day to encourage Police to operate Te Kukupa at sea more often.
Details of the problems are revealed in the report of the Police Review, which was presented to Prime Minister Jim Marurai.
Prime Minister Marurai has quickly pledged the Government will address the patrol boat problems, saying:
“It is essential the Te Kukupa receives the priority it needs. The challenge for us all is now demonstrating a more serious commitment to better management and a long term focus on lifting performance.”
The review team led by former New Zealand Police Commissioner Rob Robinson outlined a series of operational problems.
On the lack of sea time, it said: “In our consultations with both Australian and New Zealand Defence Force personnel it was reported there has been extreme concern over the limited number of ‘sea days’ Te Kukupa has been operating in the past two years. We understand that in early 2006 consideration was given to withdrawing financial support for Te Kukupa.”
On crewing: “The Patrol Boat has a complement of 12 although we believe the funding and financial appropriation is for a complement of 16. On most occasions this complement does not cause any concern, but it does mean that safety is potentially compromised in situations where they have to board another craft at sea.”
On management: “It was apparent that a number of problems relating to financial management in the Cook Islands police affected the performance of Te Kukupa.
“During a recent safety audit of the vessel, life rafts were out of certification time, the EPIRB emergency beacon was cracked and not replaced and safety maintenance standards on the boat were unsatisfactory.
“Further, there have been occasions when Te Kukupa has been delayed putting to sea for operational purposes because the crew have not been able to provision the boat due to the withdrawal of credit by key providers.
“Similarly we understand the Australian project support agency has threatened to withhold supply of critical mechanical parts for the boat because of non-payment of past debt.
The Police Review team say they believe the current Police Executive have not fully appreciated the significant value of Te Kukupa.
* The Te Kukupa was provided by Australia under its Pacific Patrol Boat programme. The Cook Islands has one of the largest exclusive economic zones of the independent Pacific Islands.

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