Cook Islands

Abstract

This paper provides a political review of key developments in the Cook Islands from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Full text

93
Political Reviews
Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2015
to 30 June 2016
michael bevacqua, landisang l kotaro,
monica c labriola, clement yow mulalap
Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2015
to 30 June 2016
peter clegg, lorenz gonschor, margaret mutu,
christina newport, steven ratuva,
forrest wade young
The Contemporary Pacic, Volume 29, Number 1, 93–188
© 2017 by University of Hawai‘i Press

127
Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events,
1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016
Reviews of American Sāmoa, Hawai-
ian Issues, Niue, Sāmoa, Tokelau,
Tuvalu, and Wallis and Futuna are
not included in this issue.
Cook Islands
The year under review was a pivotal
one as the Cook Islands celebrated its
fiftieth anniversary of independence.
Over the last twelve months, immedi-
ate and longer-term concerns have
seen old relationships revisited and
new ones forged. In this review, partic-
ular attention is given to highlighting
the leadership of women in advanc-
ing the Cook Islands across different
sectors and issues as political powers
continue to shift and take hold.
Although women are increasingly
elected and appointed as parliamen-
tarians, heads of government depart-
ments, chairs and directors of statu-
tory bodies and private entities, and
customary titleholders, there appears
to be little progress made toward
transforming the gendered nature of
Cook Islands politics. Indeed, despite
women’s making up approximately
50 percent of the country’s popula-
tion and positions held in the public
service, their representation remains
low across positions of authority and
leadership (Ministry of Finance and
Economic Management 2012; Minis-
try of Internal Affairs 2011).
Nevertheless, key appointments
have been made this year. Six women
were appointed as heads of minis-
tries among the thirteen government
departments. They include the first-
time appointment of seasoned public
servants who have worked their way
up the ranks. Tepaeru Herrmann was
appointed secretary of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and
Gail Townsend replaced the retiring
secretary of the Ministry of Education,
Sharyn Paio. Reappointments included
Elizabeth Wright-Koteka as chief of
staff for the Office of the Prime Min-
ister, Elizabeth Iro as secretary of the
Ministry of Health, Bredina Drollett
as secretary of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, and Daphne Ringi as chief
executive officer of the Office of the
Public Service Commissioner (opsc
2015).
This year also saw Teremoana
Yala appointed as Cook Islands’ high
commissioner to New Zealand. With
thirty-five years of public service
experience, including fourteen years
as a senior official at the Cook Islands
High Commission in New Zealand,
Yala is very familiar with Cook
Islands’ development and diplomatic
representation needs (
cin
, 3 June
2016). Although not the first woman
to be appointed to the position, she is
the first to take up the office; tradi-
tional leader and former head of the
Koutu Nui (traditional leaders group)
Te Tika Mataiapo Dorice Reid was
announced in April 2011 to take up
the role but passed away unexpect-
edly before being able to assume the
appointment (
cin
, 23 June 2011).
A less obvious but nevertheless

128 the contemporary pacific • 29:1 (2017)
noteworthy appointment was also
made with Caren Rangi taking up a
directorship on the Board of Direc-
tors for the Cook Islands Investment
Corporation (ciic). Based in New
Zealand and with ties to Northern and
Southern group islands in the Cooks,
she holds a range of community and
national level governance roles. She is
the national president of pacifica Inc,
a pan-Pacific women’s organization in
New Zealand, and serves as a board
member of the Creative New Zealand
Arts Council as well as the Pacific
Homecare Services and Charities Reg-
istration Board (pacifica Inc 2016).
Responsible for the oversight of all
government assets including land and
a number of state-owned enterprises,
ciic makes use of Rangi’s expertise in
attending to its affairs. These include
the development of seabed minerals
and preparation of the contract with
the United Nations International Sea-
bed Authority, which gives the country
mineral rights to a specified area of its
exclusive economic zone, and a joint-
venture agreement with gsr (Global
Sea Mineral Resources nv). This
allows the Belgium-based private com-
pany the opportunity to explore and
mine the designated area held by the
Cook Islands (ciic, 15 July 2016;
cin
,
26 July 2016). Caren Rangi’s appoint-
ment can be seen as a reflection of
the government’s openness to looking
beyond its geographical boundaries in
making use of skilled Cook Islanders
to provide expertise for the country.
As an example of Cook Islands
women’s leadership outside of the
country, Teresa Manarangi-Trott was
appointed to the new Specialist Sub-
Committee for Regionalism support-
ing the Pacific Islands Forum Secre-
tariat implementation of the Pacific
Regionalism framework (
cin
, 6 May
2015). She provides the committee
with a small island states perspective,
supported by her private sector and
economic development experience.
Having served on the Cook Islands
Tourism Corporation Board of Direc-
tors for ten years, she is credited with
transforming the agency’s financial
management (
cin
, 3 Nov 2015). As
an executive member of the national
private sector organization, the
Chamber of Commerce, she has also
been instrumental in the capacity
development of local businesses (
cin
,
21 Sept 2015).
Recognition can also be given to
the country’s young women. Despite
the controversy between the legiti-
macy of two pageant associations,
Natalia Short was crowned one of two
Miss Cook Islands. Having won the
Miss Cook Islands Association title,
Natalia has been an ambassador for
key causes. A business management
graduate, she attended the General
Assembly of the Red Cross in Geneva
as the youth ambassador of the Cook
Islands Red Cross. She also supported
the End the Violence campaign as
the #ENDtheviolence Ambassador
for Punanga Tauturu, a Cook Islands
women’s voluntary organization (
cin
,
30 April 2016).
But concern about women’s par-
ticipation in politics is not just about
increasing the numbers in leadership
positions. As one of four women mem-
bers of Parliament (mps), Democratic
Party mp for Titikaveka Selina Napa is
active in her parliamentary work. She
is a member of the select committee
for the Family Law bill, which is set to
table overhauled and outdated family

political reviews • polynesia 129
laws. More protection for survivors of
sexual offenses is a part of the bill; this
includes criminalizing marital rape,
which is not an offence in current law.
After two separate incidents of rape
against young women were reported,
and drawing on the 2014 report on
family health and safety (Te Marae
Ora and others 2014), Napa stated
that “we are such a small nation, but
the figures advise us that one in three
women are subjected to some form
of physical and sexual abuse” (
cin
,
17 March 2016). Napa has called on
all parliamentarians to support the
bill, which is waiting to be tabled in
Parliament.
This year also saw a woman chal-
lenge the prime minister’s position for
the first time. Rose Brown, mp for the
Teenui-Mapumai electorate in Atiu,
became central to continued political
maneuverings within the country and
a failed coup to oust the current prime
minister and his government. After
winning her seat in the 2014 election,
first-time mp Brown crossed the floor
to join the Opposition coalition. In a
bold move, the Opposition coalition
sought to remove the Cook Islands
Party (cip) government when Parlia-
ment retired from its 17 June 2016
sitting. The Opposition members met
at Parliament on Monday 20 June and
asserted that the parliamentary session
that ended on the previous Friday had
not followed the procedure correctly,
whereby no proper resolution to close
the sitting was carried. Being of the
view that Parliament was still in ses-
sion, the members undertook to hold
a no-confidence vote against Prime
Minister Henry Puna, who flew out
of the country to attend the inaugural
Small Island States meeting being held
outside of the Pacific Islands Forum
leaders group in Palau (pir, 26 June
2016).
The parliamentary session was
chaired by Brown, the Cook Islands
Party’s only woman member and
deputy Speaker of the House, and
attended by the Opposition members.
Democratic Party mp Albert Nicho-
las, who last year crossed the floor
to take up a cabinet position with
the cip government, also attended
the session (
cin
, 22 June 2016). The
members subsequently voted Brown as
the prime minister; however, she was
not sworn in by Queen’s Representa-
tive Tom Marsters. He upheld Speaker
of the House Niki Rattle’s ruling of
adjourning Parliament sine die (with-
out a designated future date) (Pearl-
man 2016). While Brown may not
be given the accolade of first woman
prime minister, she is the first woman
to be nominated by an Opposition
collation to be sworn in to the highest
office in the Cook Islands.
In speaking out about the move to
change the government, mp Brown as
the current leader of the Opposition
coalition expressed her shock at the
dirty politics and failure of all politi-
cians over the years to make neces-
sary political reforms. In pointing out
that the government has sat for only
ninety-three days in the last five years,
Brown is looking for political commit-
ment to make changes. She stated, “I
am not interested in the power, I am
interested in helping my people, no
matter what they think about politics
or the people who continue to feed
off the system” (
cin
, 30 July 2016).
Elected by the Democratic and One
Cook Islands parties “as the leader of
Unity in Parliament not as the leader

130 the contemporary pacific • 29:1 (2017)
of the opposition,” Brown aspires
to have the Cook Islands Party join
and connect with efforts for a “real
government of national unity.” This
intention is particularly poignant at
this time as Brown reported that the
cip executive had recently agreed to
Henry Puna’s stepping down as prime
minister (
cin
, 30 July 2016). Over-
all, the diverse leadership of women
expressed in the year under review
highlights the quality of women’s
participation in the country’s affairs
despite the ongoing everyday chal-
lenges women face and the need for
increased representation locally and
further afield.
The celebratory nature of this
year culminated on 4 August 2015
with the official commemoration of
the country’s fiftieth anniversary of
self-governance. The proceedings took
place with full island-style ceremony
and entertainment. Attended by a
wide range of local and international
dignitaries, the warm, cloudless day
included commemorative speeches, a
religious dedication, flag raising, cake
cutting, and cultural performances.
A flyover by an Air New Zealand
commercial flight, a twenty-one-gun
salute from a New Zealand navy
vessel, and gift giving to the diplo-
matic corps also took place. In his
Constitution Day speech, the prime
minister acknowledged the challenges
the country has faced in its journey
as a nation. He paid homage to past
leaders and partners who have shared
and shaped the journey so far. Look-
ing to the future, Puna noted that the
key lies in embracing a cohesive and
inclusive approach, as in the vision of
the Cook Islands’ first premier, Papa
Arapati Henry, in which “no one in
the tribe is left behind, and no one in
the village is forgotten” (Cook Islands
Sun 2015).
In reflecting on these words in real
terms, the Cook Islands examined its
relationship with its associated state
partner, New Zealand. While the
Cook Islands remains responsible for
its domestic and foreign affairs, New
Zealand provides development assis-
tance through a traditional donor-aid
recipient relationship. In 2015, a new
aid agreement was signed between
the Cook Islands and New Zealand.
The performance-based agreement
is touted as a historic arrangement
because of the shift from project-based
to the higher aid modality of budget
support. This modality will see a
working group set up, consisting of
the two countries’ respective govern-
ment representatives, to engage in
higher-level domestic policy dialogue
rather than deal with the opera-
tional details of projects (
cin
, 7 Nov
2015). On the one hand, this kind
of modality favors the country-own-
ership principle with the use of the
Cook Islands’ own country systems to
manage external development activi-
ties and funds. On the other hand,
with increased levels of policy influ-
ence accorded a donor, budget support
can be seen as eroding small island
developing state sovereignty, whereby
its policy space shrinks as external
actors and mechanisms get involved
in a country’s decision making (Khan
2007; unctad 2014). Having this
particular development partner at the
Cook Islands’ policy-making table in
this way reflects an “inverse sover-
eignty” effect (Murray and Overton
2011) wherein such a policy dialogue
arrangement can be seen as an

political reviews • polynesia 131
increased demand and conditionality
placed on the Cook Islands.
During a year that has also been
about celebrating the new and not
just what has happened over the past
fifty years, another relationship has
also taken a notable historic turn. In
October 2015, a signing ceremony
took place between the Cook Islands
government and Te Kīngitanga (the
King Movement) at Tūrangawaewae
Marae, in Ngāruwāhia in New
Zealand. This Koreromotu (cultural
covenant) gives recognition to the
“historical, ancestral and cultural ties
between the Maori people of the Cook
Islands and Aotearoa” (
cin
, 27 Oct
2015). Areas of cooperation include
“environmental issues including
freshwater, climate change and fisher-
ies; economic development including
investment and commercial oppor-
tunities; social and cultural issues
including language preservation and
development and health and social
well-being” (
cin
, 27 Oct 2015). Seen
as strengthening ancestral ties and
acknowledging the indigenous author-
ity of both countries, the covenant
also reflects the ability of the Cook
Islands government to engage in part-
nerships that go beyond its sovereign
state–defined relationship with the
New Zealand government.
Closer to home, the government
took to challenging its own indigenous
leaders, the Ui Ariki. Prime Minister
Puna invited the Ui Ariki to consider
their roles, functions, and contribu-
tions to their tribes and the country
as a whole in the twenty-first century
before seeking more funding from
the government. Puna pointed to the
prolonged absenteeism of chiefs who
reside overseas and are not physically
resident in the Cook Islands to lead,
serve, and live among their people as a
contributing factor to the diminishing
mana (authority) of the Ui Ariki (
cin
,
25 July 2016).
There are 23 Ariki in the Cook
Islands, with 16 sworn in as members
of the constitutionally formed Are
Ariki (House of Traditional Chiefs).
This is a parliamentary body that
provides advice to the government on
a range of issues. In September 2015,
the Are Ariki undertook its first-ever
tour of New Zealand and Australia
since it was formed in 1966 (Radio
New Zealand 2015). Taking advan-
tage of this opportunity to connect
and consult with Cook Islands com-
munities, they held discussions on
a range of matters. These included
absentee titleholders; the role of
the Aronga Mana (group of chiefs,
sub-chiefs and heads of families) in
granting Cook Islands residency to
foreign nationals; and the occupation
rights and vesting orders related to
the land-tenure system (
cin
, 21 Sept
2015). Also on the agenda were the
fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the
establishment of the House of Ariki
that would take place in 2016.
The three-year wait for Teina
Bishop, the leader of the One Cook
Islands Party, to have his day in court
on corruption charges came to an end
during this year of review. In Novem-
ber 2015, Chief Justice Thomas
Weston granted leave to prosecute
the former cabinet minister on two
charges of bribery and corruption
(
cin
, 10 Nov 2015). Bishop was found
guilty of corruption when he received
funds from a subsidiary of Chinese
fishing company Luen Thai toward
the purchase of hotel accommodations

132 the contemporary pacific • 29:1 (2017)
in Aitutaki. Bishop’s sentencing will
take place in August 2016. He could
face jail time of up to fourteen years,
ending his seventeen years of service
as a member of Parliament and forcing
another by-election to be held for the
Arutanga-Nikaupara-Reureu elector-
ate in Aitutaki (
cin
, 30 July 2016).
In the face of the impending
prosecution and subsequent verdict,
Bishop continued to lobby to resolve
marine resources management issues,
which remained active throughout
the year. Following on from the 2015
public debate and petition opposing
purse seine fishing, the prime min-
ister agreed with Bishop, who was
Opposition coalition leader at the
time, to establish a select committee
to examine the issues, including the
anti–purse seining petition especially
concerned with the use of fish-aggre-
gating devices (fads) (
cin
, 18 May
2016). The signing of the Sustainable
Fisheries Partnership Agreement with
the European Union is also proving to
be a controversial part of the debate.
Advice from Foreign Affairs Secretary
Tepaeru Herrmann called for removal
of a clause that was interpreted as
undermining the government’s author-
ity: “This kind of text is objectionable
and Pacific Islands countries have
collectively resisted long and hard
against such text appearing in any
kind of access arrangement or Treaty
Convention language in this region”
(
cin
, 7 June 2016). However, the
advice was considered unfounded or
lacking in substance according to the
European Union and the Ministry of
Marine Resources (
cin
, 7 June 2016),
and the European Union has ratified
the agreement. The cabinet-endorsed
agreement is now waiting for the
signature of the prime minister as the
minister of marine resources.
Sadly, this year also saw the pass-
ing of two prominent artists who,
through their creative work, reflected
their dedication and advocacy for
Cook Islands culture and authority.
From Atiu and Rarotonga, Ian George
worked as an educator and was a
well-known painter and sculptor. In
particular, he drew on Oceanic totems
such as Tangaroa (God of the Sea) to
provoke comment on the loss of Cook
Islands and Pacific indigenous control
and cultural imperialism (Art Associ-
ates 2016).
Eruera Te Whiti Nia was a film-
maker, sculptor, activist, and tradi-
tional titleholder from Ngati Makea
in Rarotonga and Te Ati Awa in
New Zealand. He safeguarded Cook
Islands culture through his art, which
included his sculptural and spatial
responses to the concept of the Are
Korero (house of history and learn-
ing) within the paepae Ariki (chief’s
palace) of Taputapuatea in Rarotonga
(Nia 2010). He protested for politi-
cal change as a member of Nga Tama
Toa (an indigenous activist group as
part of the Maori sovereignty and land
rights movements of the 1970s and
1980s in New Zealand) (Ngā Taonga
2016;
cin
, 13 June 2016). Both men
were strong advocates for the collabo-
ration of cultural and artistic efforts
across Oceania.
Overall, the half-century milestone
of independence was celebrated with
much fanfare. The year’s events have
shown that old and new relationships
can be established, redefined, and
advanced. While the economic, social,
cultural, and environmental matters
continue to require attention, the

political reviews • polynesia 133
meaningful contribution of the coun-
try’s women in these matters has been
highlighted. Calls for political reform
still remain at the forefront of much
public opinion. It would seem timely
then that a woman prime minister
lead the 2017 elections as an option
to pursue an inclusive approach where
no one is to be left behind and forgot-
ten.
christina newport
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French Polynesia
In the often-turbulent recent politi-
cal history of French Polynesia, the
year under review was a relatively
calm one. Against all odds, Edouard
Fritch consolidated his power as the
country’s president, transforming his
tenuous tenure in office into one based
on a comparatively solid majority, and
uniting under his leadership all politi-
cal forces that oppose both indepen-
dence and Fritch’s predecessor Gaston
Flosse. Meanwhile, for the first time
in over a decade, the country hosted a
French presidential visit, which made
some hopeful impressions, but at the
same time the French government con-
tinues to stubbornly refuse to engage
with United Nations institutions to
work with them toward the country’s
decolonization.
The review period started with
yet another unfortunate change in
the local media landscape. In August
2015, at the end of the summer break
(as one of its many anachronistic
colonial absurdities, French Polyne-
sia follows the French metropolitan
calendar and is thus the only country
in the southern hemisphere to have its
long “summer vacation” during the
pleasant austral winter and not during
the very hot season at the beginning
of the year), the formerly monthly
news magazine Tahiti Pacifique (
tpm
)
became a weekly, after having been
sold by its founder and editor Alex
W du Prel to local Chinese business
tycoon Albert Moux, whose company
Fenua Communication already owns
the weekday newspaper Tahiti-Infos.
Unsurprisingly this change in owner-
ship transformed
tpm
, once feared
by local oligarchs for its investigative
reporting and scathing editorials, into
a more docile publication. While du
Prel continues to write good editori-
als occasionally and the magazine
still contains investigative articles, the
publication has clearly become more
mainstream and now contains a lot
of trivia, missing some of the intellec-
tual depth of the old monthly edition.
Also, for outsiders, the both reliable
and manageable chronicle of impor-
tant political and social events that
tpm
provided is being missed.
What remained the dominant
topic in local politics for the first half
of the review period, however, was
the ongoing power struggle between
President Edouard Fritch and his
predecessor, Gaston Flosse, until it
was essentially won by the former
in early 2016. In September 2014,
when Flosse was removed from office
because of a definitive conviction in a
corruption case, his longtime confi-
dant and former son-in-law Fritch had
routinely taken over the presidency
with the understanding that Flosse
would continue to hold the reins of
power from behind the scenes. Fritch,
however, developed his own taste for
political power, and tensions between
the two soon become apparent. In
May 2015, the majority party Taho-
eraa Huiraatira split when Fritch
formed his own caucus in the General
Assembly named Tapura Huiraatira,
and on Flosse’s order all members of
the new formation were expelled from
Tahoeraa. Fritch subsequently formed
a minority coalition government with