Opposition supports Government criticism by NZ MP

Opposition Deputy Leader Teina Bishop responds to comments made by National MP John Hayes citing criticism of the Cook Islands set up in terms of governance issues.

He’s absolutely right. Mr Hayes’ criticisms have confirmed what we in the Opposition have known since 2000 and that this government has lost control and has no idea what direction it is heading into. The sentiments expressed by him reflect the poor state of affairs today that this country has deteriorated to since the economic reform of the mid 90’s.
We have a government that lacks clear leadership and focus therefore it is not surprising that more and more of our people are departing our shores every week because of this blatant disregard for the interests of the people of this country.
The spirit and principles of the reform initiated under a Cook Islands Party government was the best thing that ever happened to our nation but sadly, arrogance and lack of foresight by the incoming Democratic government over the last nine years, has lost sight of those principles and I’m glad that it has taken a politician from one of our donor countries to openly speak about his concerns over the lack of accountability and governance issues.
This is terribly embarrassing for the Cook Islands and government as a whole especially at a time when huge amounts of loan funding has been plundered into infrastructure projects without proper due diligence being undertaken as to the appropriateness of these projects and whether or not, they are a priority for the people of the Cook Islands.
The continuous travel by Ministers, MP’s and government officials show no resemblance to returning tangible benefits for our people and can only be regarded as political and personal jaunts at the expense of the taxpayer.
Our main concern from the Opposition is the immense damage this kind of statement can cause in the wider international community in the absence of a creditable response from government.
The recent appointment of an Economic Development Task Force is but one positive initiative from government and is a step in the right direction and one which the Opposition supports in principle however, the reality is that they are trying to achieve so much at the one time which in my view, is nigh on impossible. This “ping pong reaction” from government is an example of what Mr Hayes is talking about and highlights the ineffectiveness of government in making the hard decisions where it’s needed.
Unfortunately, our reputation as a creditable country is tarnished because of the stigma attached to statements such as this. On the surface, the Cook Islands is portrayed as a proud nation free from corruption and adhering to the principles of good governance. In reality, that is far from the truth when you look at the many examples of bureaucratic stuff ups, flip flop policy decisions being made by government that should be in the interests of our people and the actual negative economic impact it is having on the vulnerable groups within our society..
Increases to the Airport Departure Tax and the now abandoned increase to VAT are but mere examples of the many erratic decision making processes by government.
The Opposition views the concerns raised by Mr Hayes very seriously because it has come from an MP who has close political ties with our country and his comments would have been made in the context arising from his own experiences and observations from his relationship with the Cook Islands and neighbouring Niue and Tokelau. Naturally he would also be raising his concerns regarding the potential “misuse or abuse” of NZ taxpayers funds through NZ’s Overseas Development Assistance Programme which may well be the primary reason behind his comments as well.
But for now, government must move quickly to minimize any further fallout or damage control to our somewhat tarnished reputation or face the prospect of a backlash from the taxpayers of NZ over the future use of its hard earned tax dollars.

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