Te Kura O Te ‘Au releases its cornerstone commitments

The sense of Cook Islanders being empowered and taking a lead in making a difference in the way their country is to be governed; by, for and with the people is what Founder, Tarota Mataiapo expresses passionately to the Times.

Te Kura O Te ‘Au has established a list of Cornerstone Commitments. These commitments point out the main areas of focus. It presents a collective view of who and what Te Kura O Te ‘Au will aim to do during and after the General Election 2010.
On behalf of Te Kura O Te ‘Au we present to the Nation, says, Founder Tarota Mataiapo our Cornerstone Commitments.
Reinforcing Cook Islands Dignity
• Spiritual Empowerment
- To strengthen the role of the Religious Advisory Council legislatively to maintain the spiritual balance of the country.
Cultural Empowerment
o To reinforce the role of the House of Ariki and Koutu Nui legislatively to encourage the retention and revision of the traditions, culture, and customs of the Cook Islands.
Depopulation (High Priority)
o To create and develop incentives to retain Cook Islanders and to develop returning packages to attract Cook Islanders living abroad.
Land Ownership (High Priority)
o To create policies to safeguard native land that maybe prone to Foreign Sale or Mortgagee Sales.
Investing in Family, Youth, NGO’s and Sport
Family and Welfare Support
o To boost social and economic support to Elderly, Disabled, Youth and Families with children under the age of 15 years old.
Non Government Organisations (Women, Youths & Sports, etc)
o To strengthen, promote and enhance the role of NGOs in all aspects of the National Development Process of the country.
Sports
o To raise the level of training and development of all sports codes to attain international ranking and professionalism.
Lifting Health and Education
Competency Levels, Standards and Salaries

Education and Health
o To raise the standard, competency and pay salaries accordingly, within the Education and Health Departments.
Effective Bi-Cultural Governance
Governance
o To establish high standards in development and bi-cultural governance structures to uphold law and order, while enforcing accountability and transparency.
Foreign Policy
o To open new dialogue with foreign countries outside of New Zealand and Australia to widen our social and economic opportunities.
Immigration
o To monitor and cap the amount of immigrant workers into the Cook Islands, while enforcing stronger rules on employers.
Innovating Economic Opportunities
National Economy (High Priority)
o To invest, widen and grow the economic base of the Cook Islands. (Energy, Telecommunications, Research, Agriculture, Marine Resources, Tourism, etc)
Business, Trade and Investments
o To establish a Commerce Commission to monitor fair trading, alleviate monopolistic practices and protect consumers, businesses and investors.
Research and Copyrights
o To legislate and monitor Research and Copyrights amenities in order to raise value and retain ownership of research carried out in the Cook Islands.
Reliable and Affordable
Infrastructure, Transportation, Communications & Energy
Infrastructure – Water, Sewage, Roads and Landfill (High Priority)
o To address with urgency the status of: water, sewage, roads and landfill.
Transportation (High Priority)
o To improve with urgency transportation to and from the Outer Islands.
Telecommunications and Media
o To improve and harmonize all Communication and Media outlets in the country, for effective communication throughout the Cook Islands and the world.
Renewable Energy (High Priority)
o To negotiate renewable energy concepts and bring them into realisation with urgency to reduce energy costs and fossil fuel use.
Protecting Land, Sea and Air Environments
Environment
o To enforce the protection and prevention of detrimental impacts on the land, sea and air environments.
Te Kura O Te Au has now opened its doors to the people of the Cook Islands and welcomes potential Candidates to stand for the above mentioned Cornerstone Commitments, says Founder, Tarota Mataiapo.

For anyfurther details or information about Te Kura O Te ‘Au contact Tarota Mataiapo, Founder of Te Kura O Te ‘Au Rarotonga on 55409.

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