News in Brief

NZ High Commissioner updated on sewerage project
On Friday the 14th the NZ High Commissioner, John Carter, visited a residence on Rarotonga to inspect a new septic tank installed under the NZAid funded Sewerage Construction project. The High Commissioner told the Times the project was being lead by Prime Minister Hon. Henry Puna, Minister for Infrastructure Hon Teariki Heather and Associate Minister Ata Herman with the support of NZ Aid and other donors.
The project which begins in Muri will eventually widen and include the outer islands.
The project involves the community and will take several years to complete.
Letters and phone calls have been sent to a quarter of Muri households to expect onsite inspections when the project kicks off. -Tiare Ponini

Rain Welcomed on Northern Group Islands
The situation with the drought in the northern group has been resolved, according to Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Hon. Teariki Heather. He stated that as of this morning the northern group had experienced “heaps of rain”, and there were no problems with the water issues, “as was the case for the last couple of days.” The Cook Islands Meterological Service commented that according to their weather maps the rainfall began last night, and they believed that Penrhyn was receiving rainfall. They also said, however, that the rain clouds were sitting to the north west of Pukapuka, so it is unclear whether Pukapuka are receiving rain. Cook Islands Herald was unable to obtain comment from anyone on Pukapuka at the time of printing. The minister also said that there were no plans for the Cook Islands to send any assistance to Tuvalu, who is experiencing severe drought and has declared a state of emergency.

Minister Plans to Attend Performance in China
The Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Hon. Teariki Heather, is planning to attend the performance of a Cook Island dance group at a cultural festival in China later this year. He stated that they were invited when a team from the Guangdong Province came here this year for Te Maeva Nui. The minister commented that this was an “important” trip to strengthen the bilateral relationship between China and the Cook Islands, as well as to benefit the areas of tourism and cultural exchange between the two countries.

NZ High Commissioner visits House of Ariki

On Thursday the 13th of October the New Zealand High Commissioner John Carter visited the House of Ariki and Koutu Nui for the first time. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize himself with the Ui Ariki’s and their roles in the Cook Islands alongside the Prime Minister and government. “There are three reasons for coming here today, one is so that I can meet the Ariki’s individually and know who they are, second is that I will know the roles they play in society so that I may know how I can work with them for the people and lastly so that we can have this opportunity to share on the issues in the Cook Islands that need to be addressed,” said the High Commissioner. The Ui Ariki’s of Rarotonga were deeply impressed by the fresh approach adopted by the New Zealand High Commissioner with each giving as brief back round on their roles and place among the people of Rarotonga. The visit was a complete success for both sides. Topics were raised and solutions were given.- Tiare Ponini

Mobile Coverage Available for Pukapuka
Thursday 29 September saw a team of Telecom’s technicians and engineers fly to Pukapuka to install Pukapuka’s new GSM mobile network, as well as e-topup services, at the existing Telecom facility on the island. Telecom announced that the installation had been successful and that the new mobile coverage would complement other existing services available on the island, such as - e-calling and e-WiFi.
The upgrade to Pukapuka is one of a host of new cell sites in the outer islands, including Mangaia, Manihiki and Mauke. Telecom also announced plans to provide cellular coverage on Atiu by Christmas and Mitiaro by Easter 2012, as well as erecting more towers around Rarotonga to improve mobile coverage in some areas. Telecom has made plans available to the people of Pukapuka which include being able to send 500 texts around the Cook Islands as well as internationally for $10.
Chief Technology Officer for Telecom Cook Islands, Rob McFadzien, stated that Telecom was “overwhelmed” by the high demand from Pukapuka for starter packs, new mobiles, new SIMs and top-ups. “We have invested a lot of time and effort into getting mobile services effectively up and operational in the Outer Islands. This project was completed and officially launched Wednesday 12 October, 2011, and the team has done exceptionally well to get this up and running. We are delighted for the people of Pukapuka.” -Ngariki Ngatae

Northern Knights at Edgewater

There’s no such thing as hope,” says Northern Knights Coach Grant Bradburn, “it’s about being personally accountable because there’s no substitute to hard work,” a winning trend that’s obvious throughout the Northern Knights Cricket Team players during their time here in the Cook Islands for their spring training camp.
In the final stages of preparation for their season ahead starting early November, Coach Bradburn explains that the focus of their training here in the Cook Islands is mostly about bonding the team, “When new players come to our team we get familiar with our values and what we stand for, and what a magical environment do this,” he says. Preparing for some R&R snorkeling after their midday training in Arorangi the players agree “camaraderie” plays a large role in determining their compatibility, “there’s nothing better than sitting in the changing rooms after a 4 day game with 11-12 of your mates having a beer and talking it’s pretty awesome,” says 4 day side Captain Brad Wilson.
In conjunction with the Edgewater Resort, Cook Islands cricket are focusing on youth development within the sports code, says Edgewater Resort marketing agent Kura Metuariki, and plan to span the activity out over a 12 month period. The team supportive of encouraging young guns who are interested in the sports all express their passion for cricket starting at a young age, “my pathway was very much just getting a passion for sports at a young age, not just cricket but sports in general and In a way cricket chose me and I chose cricket,” says ex Black Cap James Marshell. -Maria Tanner

Picture Paradise
Relocated from Muri to the heart of town in the Cook’s Corner square is the ever popular ‘Picture Perfect’ Studio operated by George and Jenna Tere. The Studio first opened in Muri on the 18th of September in 2010. It has been operating at Cook Corner for two days and it is already busy with orders and buyers coming into the shop and taking away picture blocks, canvases and local themed artifacts made by Jenna Tere, who was a wedding photographer in New Zealand before the couple came down to Rarotonga.
“After five years of living in New Zealand, we decided to come back to Raro to be closer to family and raise our kids in a good environment, and also to start a small business which we have found to be very successful.”
George told the Herald the name ‘Picture Perfect was based around the whole concept of the business which revolves around pictures and the name paradise was a given because of how they felt about the Cook Islands.
George and Jenna create and sell their products by using local themes. “We don’t want to move away from being local and we like to take a lot of scenic photos of Rarotonga, so when tourists come in they would usually buy the stuff that would most likely remind them of their time here in the Cook Islands.”
Picture Perfect will have their new photo studio set up soon where families or friends will be able to go and get their picture taken by professional photographer Jenna. -Tiare Ponini

Headlines : Times 290 02 March 2009
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- Island of Atiu to host Koutu Nui AGM in June 2009