Herald Issue 730 13 August 2014

PB COOK ISLANDS HERALD13 August 2014 $2 (incl VAT) Congratulations to Woman of the Month Puapii Taurarii pictured here Cakes for wearing a necklace all ocassions! from Goldmine Edgewater Cakes Enquiries call us on 25435 extn 7010 Sunset BarBQs at the Shipwreck Hut Saturday Seafood menu with Jake Numanga on the Ukulele 6pm Tuesday Sunset BBQ with Garth Young on Piano 6pm Thursday Sunset Cocktails with Rudy Aquino 5.30pm-7.30pm Reservations required 22 166 Aroa Beachside Inn, Betela Great Food, Great Entertainment Always the best selection, best price & best service at Goldmine! POWERBALL RESULTS Drawn: 7/8/14 Draw num: 951 PB TATTSLOTTO RESULTS Drawn:9/8/14 Draw num: 3449 NEED MORE HARD SUPP: DRIVE SPACE FOR ALL YOUR MOVIES? HERE’S YOUR CHANCE ALL EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES OZLOTTO RESULTS from as low as POWERED DESKTOP PORTABLES Drawn: 12/8/14 Draw num: 1069 Next draw: 500GB, 1TB & 2TB 2TB & 3TB SUPP: PORTABLE 500GB Special valid until 23rd Aug or while stock lasts Cook islands Herald 13 Agust 2014 News 2 Politicians need to spruce up Parliamentary performances s long as Cook Islands say, but a MP must know what standard performing MPs were to do. It is little wonder Henry politics is personality they mean instead of being never inspired to rise to the Puna is labelled a lazy PM Adriven the Parliamentary dependent on the sub standard occasion due to the equally preoccupied with lavish self performances of our Members advice of the Crown Law Office. juvenile performance of a indulgences and the worst of of Parliament will be woefully The third step is to know how novice Speaker of the House all PMs in 50 years of Cook pathetic and undeserving of to apply the documents of who over indulged her brand Islands self governance. the monetary remuneration trade in relationship with each of chairpersonship exhausting In addition to NZ Members they receive. Until all the other in cross referencing. the patience and good will of of Parliament sitting 90 days a Electoral Petitions are resolved The Party leaders must know not only the regular listeners year, they work a full time week there are four politicians who the contents of the listed of the live broadcasts of the engaged in Select Committee are lawyers. documents like the back of Parliamentary sittings but work then have the weekends Between them they still have their hands and how to engage many of the more experienced to attend to their constituency to engage other lawyers to drive them under the pressure of MPs. demands and expectations. their petitions. In the last six political banter in the House. After she sacked the very There needs to be a reform months in the scarce sittings of Recapping; know what experienced Clerk of the shift from Parliament being Parliament debate and verbal the documents say, know House Puna Rakanui, Nicky the stage for Party politicking exchanges have been limited what they mean then most Rattle and the inexperienced performances to a forum where to a mere handful. Very few important of all know how to assistant Clerk replacement the voice of the constituencies sitting MPs prior to the 2014 use them while engaged in the where embarrassingly like is voiced and heard by the Elections appeared to have a whole Nation by the live working knowledge of their For the many years that some broadcasts on Radio Cook tools of the trade being the Islands. Parliament’s audience Cook Islands Constitution, the have been an MP including is sick and tired of the two Parliament’s Standing Orders Cabinet Ministers the level party antics in the House, each and the MFEM Act let alone MP represents a constituency their own Party Constitution. of performance in sessions that needs their issues debated It was evident on several and resolved. Parliament is to occasions the leader of the is alarmingly shoddy and serve the people not a small Opposition Wilkie Rasmussen embarrassing. group that push Party politics, was out smarted and caught the Constitution makes that out as being very shallow on machinery of the House. Most the blind leading the blind. very clear. the machinery of the House of the MPs do not have copies Unfortunately for Rattle and Its time MPs took their and the application of the of any of the four documents the inexperienced MP there job seriously and begin by Standing Orders, a shameful with them for instant reference were too few sittings of lifting their performances and indictment seeing he had been when they are participating in Parliament for them to grow contributions in the House a MP for nearly a decade. The Parliamentary business in the into the job. when it sits. It starts by getting CIP Prime Minister Henry Puna House. Since 2011 till 2014 a copy of the three documents fared no better but seemed For the many years that Parliament sitting days already referred to. Too many marginal due to his reliance some have been an MP totalled 74 days for three and politicians act as if their on Teina Bishop who sat at his including Cabinet Ministers a half years. Compared with primary work is to win an left and constantly kept him the level of performance in New Zealand Parliament the election, its time they woke up up to speed, on the right sat sessions is alarmingly shoddy Business Committee prior and realise winning is a door the bewildered Teariki Heather and embarrassing. Apart to the close of the sittings at to work and more work. The who at least stayed awake from sending a rare, lengthy the end of each year sets a leaders of both Parties must while lost in translation. greeting to their constituencies minimum of 90 days for the insist their MPs hone their MPs must do more than many MP are silent and barely next year. skills in the understanding and read their Standing Orders utter relevant comments or Select Committee work was application of their political and Constitution; they must intelligently contribute to the abandoned by the constantly Bibles. MPs must be self endeavour and make the effort debates. travelling Puna leaving the motivated and not dependent to study them. It is one thing to In this last Parliamentary majority of the MPs with little on others to be their resource. know what these documents term the 47th Session sub Parliamentary related work - George Pitt PB Cook islands Herald 13 Agust 2014 news 3 Time to take baby off the bottle After 50 years of self government, why are we still sucking up to foreign aid? By Charles Pitt proposal to reclassify foreign aid to meet our needs. Neither are generate more revenue by t was of interest to note the funds from specific programmes tourist dollars closing the gap effectively managing key national particular comments in the to the more general category between what we spend on assets like; IPeer Review Group’s report of “budget support.” While imports and what we earn from 1. Fishing –review license regarding our government’s flexibility seems to be the exports (the trade imbalance). fees for foreign vessels, create management of foreign aid purpose of this arrangement, MFEM reports tell us this gap is value added products for human assistance. it could be said it just helps to widening. Because of this, we consumption, animal feed, The Pacific Forum Peer Review mask or disguise the foreign still need to top up our budget fertilizer (Tuna). Group’s report is now on line. aid component under layers of with foreign aid money. 2. The Marine Park and It confirms a sad state of assurances our government will To redress this, government sea food -extracts from sea foods affairs. After 50 years of self manage the resource properly. policy should be to eliminate for use in health foods (vitamins, government, we’ve not grown The question is should foreign foreign aid by adopting proteins, omega 3) marine life up and are not standing on our aid form part of the budget at strategies to reduce over time scientific research/eco tourism. own two feet. We are propped all? Some say it should be kept donor aid funds. It is unlikely 3. Intellectual property up each year with the help of separate. The budget is for funds that reliance on foreign aid can (high value, innovative products). millions of dollars of aid funding. appropriated by parliament for be reduced through exports and 4. Plants and materials- Surely the time has come to a purpose. With foreign aid, export volumes so other revenue conversion into high value wean ourselves off the bottle? this is often already decided by streams need to be sought and products (high quality carbon The Group’s report in the agreement with donors, where at the same time efficiencies from coconut shells, coconut main, commends government’s it is going to go. Keeping foreign achieved in government to oils, cosmetics). efforts to manage the ODA- aid as a separate component reduce operational costs. Less 5. The environment- green Overseas Development helps to remind us the extent to tax needs to be drained from waste conversion (for fertilizers, Assistance, effectively. However, which we are living beyond our the private sector which should composts, energy). what continues to be disturbing means. retain more revenue to invest in We should be investigating about this, is that about one It’s a fact that we are indeed development. how we can maximize the third of government’s budget living beyond our means. Government should also returns to the country in these comprises foreign aid funding.

Load more