By Students Over

Sir Leon Jeered By Students Over Cook Islands

New Zealand’s Minister of Island Territories, Sir Leon Gotz, has been hav

ing a rough time lately

over NZ’s administration of the Cook Islands.

A COUPLE of months ago, he was “shot at” by reporter Noel Holmes in a series of critical articles in the Auckland Star ( PIM , Aug. p, 59); and in August, he was jeered and derided by students when he at tempted to explain the NZ Govern ment’s attitude towards the Cook- Islands at Wellington’s Victoria Uni versity.

The Victoria University affair oc curred during a week of lunch-time lectures, arranged by the university’s Students’ Association, to publicise the Cook Islands and their difficulties.

At the opening of the week, a 22year-old Cook Islander, Mr. G. A.

Henry, who has lived in NZ for nine years, bitterly criticised NZ’s handling of Cook Islands’ problems.

He said NZ had compounded the problems of education, health and land tenure into the one problem of over-population, and had then intro duced a scheme of selective assisted immigration to NZ.

However, this scheme seemed to be intended to solve NZ shortage of rural labour, rather than the problem of over-population in the islands.

"Trickery"

“The whole scheme smacks of trickery and exploitation of the islanders’ ignorance of the conditions of labour and life in New Zealand,”

Mr. Henry said.

He added that the present-day economy of the Cook Islands was a sad replica of the roaring twenties.

Islander? could recall a string of promises which gave them incentive to work, but which over the years had been broken and forgotten.

According to the Wellington Even ing Post, Sir Leon Gotz’s words were frequently drowned by shouting and roars of laughter when he replied to Mr. Henry’s comments at the univer sity on the following day.

Sir Leon described Mr. Henry as “out-of-date” in his knowledge and he referred deprecatingly to “arm

chair critics” who sat back in NZ in stead of returning to the Cook Islands to help develop the country. He said allegations that NZ was tricking and exploiting the Cook Islands were un true.

Sir Leon said NZ had never got anything out of the Cook Islands and it never intended to do so. “On our part, it has been give, give, give,” he said.

Speaking of economic development.

Sir Leon said that the cannery on Rarotonga would ultimately be the saviour of the Cook Islands citrus in dustry and would be of immense fu ture benefit to the economy.

Sir Leon said he frankly did not know what could be done to help the economy of the northern group. ‘That is why I have been keen to

let the Japs fish in those waters and have their catches canned at Raro tonga,” he said. “That depends on the agreement of the Cook Islanders, but I havent heard yet whether they approve.

Rapidly increasing population was a big problem, said Sir Leon. Sixty three pere cent, of the population of the territory was under 15.

Sir Leon said there was no possible economic development in the Cook Islands as a whole that could meet the needs of the rapidly increasing population.

The only hope for many South Pacific islands was that the people could emigrate to New Zealand. New Zealand must be prepared to accept these people and to allow them to be come integrated.