[?]dgy About Alpers

[?]Rua And

[?]Lington Are—

OUGH the Cook Islands “man in the street” probably knows yery little about Mr. Anthony rs, he has a good deal to thank for in the way of publicity i to Cook Islands affairs in a ing New Zealand newspaper, Auckland Star. lough the Cook Islands Ad stration and Island Territories irtment would say that all »n taken in these Islands in it years was merely “according lan”, there is much evidence to i that in fact the present New and Government is highly sen e to criticism in the leading jpapers, and that whatever >n may have been intended, it able to be implemented much er when adverse publicity on subject develops, r years New Zealand’s Islands itories received insignificant e in NZ newspapers, and as a It the average New Zealander completely uninformed regard the Islands which he, as a tax r, helps to support, ie revival of press interest is to have dated from the out ; against New Zealand scales axation in the Cooks several s ago, and of the publication of very exhaustive and interest and in places highly critical, e-Belshaw Report on all ;es of development of this ip. lortly after the report appeared as given publicity in the Auck- Star in a series of articles d on it, and on other informa under the Alpers by-line, lese caused real interest in New and—and considerable heat in .ington and Avarua. Mr. Alpers told that he did not know what was talking about as he had t been to the Cooks. Had he l there to examine the situation irst hand he would have seen wrong he was. i the Star promptly sent Mr. irs to the Cooks, where he was ived civilly though coolly by Administration and given facili to make further investigations :hat he could recant. >r a time during this period Alpers was the subject of an ial circular barring him from official news sources; this ban lifted later. course, with bulging note :s, the unwelcome visitor re ied to Auckland, and promptly ;ed much handwringing in Wel ton and horror at Avarua by iching forth on a well docu ted series of interesting, illus ed articles of more detailed icism than the original “un rmed” series.

Where praise was due it was given. Where criticism seemed called for, it too was doled out in full measure. The series still con tinues, covering sometimes the same ground as the first series in the light of later events. The latest article to appear in September gave publicity to the fact that, on the showing of figures given in official publications alone, the Citrus Scheme has fallen far short of official hopes, and must now be causing real anxiety in Welling ton.

From the point of view of the Cook Islanders, whether one agrees or disagrees with the views or con clusions of Mr. Alpers, their affairs are at least receiving publicity and are the subject of discussion as never before.

Island affairs are now being

looked on at last as “news” in the New Zealand press. While the Star has interested itself mainly in the Cooks, the NZ Herald has also dis cussed Western Samoa in an in

tere&ting series of articles.-

J.P.S.

i Completing three years of service in Tonga, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Kidd left Nukualofa per Tofua in October.

Mr. Kidd was manager of the Nukualofa Electric Power Board, and Mrs. Kidd was Registrar to the British Agent and Consul. t The Leper’s Trust Board of New Zealand has made a further grant of £5OO to be divided between the leper hospitals of Western and Eastern Samoa. The money will be spent mainly on carpenters' tools for the patients.