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Cook Islanders vote to elect all 24 seats of Parliament amid a cost-of-living crisis and debate regarding a past partnership agreement with China. Incumbent prime minister Mark Bro
Confirmed
According to a poll conducted by Cook Islands News, Wednesday’s election will be a close race between Brown’s Cook Islands party and challenger the Cook Islands United party, led by Teariki Heather, who organised a public protest against the partnership agreement with China last year.
That partnerships agreement significantly affected Cook Islanders at home and in New Zealand, Heather said, adding that Brown should have been transparent from the start about the documents signed on behalf of the country.
However, he said the signing of the Defence and Security Agreement “really allayed a lot of fears that people had about our relationship with New Zealand”.Brown insists that establishing defence boundaries with New Zealand allows the Cook Islands to freely pursue economic relationships elsewhere without compromising security ties.
“China remains an important partner, not just for the Cook Islands, but right across the Pacific,” Brown said.“It’s the largest trading partner of Australia and New Zealand and some of our other Pacific Island countries.
The leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, Tina Browne, said if elected, her party would push to remove water use tariffs for residential and agricultural users on Rarotonga.
He said China has a “huge development programme” which supports many countries in the Pacific, including in infrastructure. While he acknowledged that exploration activities underway are potentially encouraging for generating long-term wealth in the country, he said it's so critical to protect the future health of the country, that the question of whether to progress seabed mining should be put to the people.
The question is actually who's going to pay for it, because we've upgraded all of our water intakes, 10 of them, around the island in the hills of Rarotonga, and they all need to be maintained," he said. He said for his party it's about consolidating the country's growth and economic recovery since reopening borders four years ago when the Cooks emerged the Covid pandemic.
"Now, that strong economic growth has allowed us to catch up, if you like, with pay increases that were halted or paused during the COVID period," he said. Brown said households receive 38,000 litres free of charge per month, while churches, schools and agricultural spaces have no limit restrictions.
What's confirmed
- According to a poll conducted by Cook Islands News, Wednesday’s election will be a close race between Brown’s Cook Islands party and challenger the Cook Islands United party, led by Teariki Heather, who organised a publi
- That partnerships agreement significantly affected Cook Islanders at home and in New Zealand, Heather said, adding that Brown should have been transparent from the start about the documents signed on behalf of the countr
- However, he said the signing of the Defence and Security Agreement “really allayed a lot of fears that people had about our relationship with New Zealand”.Brown insists that establishing defence boundaries with New Zeala
- “China remains an important partner, not just for the Cook Islands, but right across the Pacific,” Brown said.“It’s the largest trading partner of Australia and New Zealand and some of our other Pacific Island countries.
- The leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, Tina Browne, said if elected, her party would push to remove water use tariffs for residential and agricultural users on Rarotong
- He said China has a “huge development programme” which supports many countries in the Pacific, including in infrastructure.
What's still developing
- He said for his party it's about consolidating the country's growth and economic recovery since reopening borders four years ago when the Cooks emerged the Covid pandemic.
- "Now, that strong economic growth has allowed us to catch up, if you like, with pay increases that were halted or paused during the COVID period," he said.
- The leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, Tina Browne, said if elected, her party would push to remove water use tariffs for residential and agricultural users on…
- "And we will review the present structure of [water utility] To Tatou Vai," she said.
- Leader Teariki Heather said his party would remove residential water tariffs should they form government.
- The question is actually who's going to pay for it, because we've upgraded all of our water intakes, 10 of them, around the island in the hills of Rarotonga, and they all need to be maintained," he said.
- Brown said households receive 38,000 litres free of charge per month, while churches, schools and agricultural spaces have no limit restrictions.
- Progressive Party leader Te Tuhi Kelly said the free allocation for households is more than enough.