the Cooks

More Fact-Finding in the Cooks Minister Will Call Late August

THE Cook Islands have had a num ber of official visits in recent months and another —on the ' Ministerial level —is planned for Al Th| t Secretary for NZ’s Islands Territories Department and two other Departmental men arrived in Rarotonga in June to discuss tax ation, Public Service and Public Works matters there in the couple of days at their disposal. The local public servants were doubtless happy to discuss public service matters; but the matter of tax ation naturally did not meet with any great enthusiasm. Three tax ation experts spent several months in the Group and returned to NZ in July. ...

NZ’s Minister for Territories, Mr.

Clifton Webb, will lead another fact-finding government mission to the Cooks in August. A meeting of the Cl Legislative Council will be held while the delegation is in Rarotonga.

In addition to this meeting, Mr.

Webb will inquire into such things as taxation (again), the citrus re planting scheme, the coolstore, health and education services.

Cook Islands residents are flat tered at the attention they have been getting from official New Zea land and hope that following the Minister’s visit some of their out standing grievances will receive at tention.

THE delegation to visit the Cooks in August will consist of the Minister, Mr. Webb, Mi’. S. W.

Smith (MP for Hobson electorate), the Secretary of Island Territories (Mr. J. B. Wright), the Director of Education in New Zealand (Dr.

C. E. Beeby), senior representatives of the Health Department and Ministry of Works, and the Chief of Air Staff (Air Vice-Marshal W. H. Merton).

Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Merton will be included in the party which will leave Auckland August 9 in a Royal New Zealand Air Force plane.

The tour will occupy about a week.

U Mrs. L. E. Ashton, well-known resident of Lae, New Guinea, was guest-of-honour at a luncheon party given by Mrs. J. Peterson, also of Lae, at Romano’s, Sydney, on July 23. Other guests were Mrs.

N. Bergstrand, of Bulolo, Mrs. B.

Bunting, of Samarai, Miss Richard son, Mrs. I. Levy, Mrs. A.

McCutcheon and Sister E. Shep herd. Mr. and Mrs. Ashton will be returning to the Territory about August.

Not Popular!

The two New Zealand taxa tion assessors, left and right, who returned to New Zealand in June after an unpopular visit to the Cook Islands. With them is Mr. Ted Estall, of Rarotonga, who had the task of driving them round to their “victims”.