With Self-Government Soon,

The Cook Islands Are Humming

With internal self-government coming up next year, Cook Islands affairs are now moving at such a pace that it is quite a job keeping up with everything that is happening. The first three weeks of May were particularly busy and newsworthy.

Zealand's Governor-General, Sir Bernard Fergusson, com leted a tour of the islands in MNZS Royalist; a five-man delega on from the Cook Islands Legisla ve Assembly spent a week in New ealand for constitutional talks; the fZ Minister of Island Territories, [r. J. R. Hanan, announced that his rovernment was considering the adding of a jet airport at either arotonga or Aitutaki.

Here is a day-by-day summary of le most important Cook Islands sws to May 22: May 5: A party of New Zealand IP’s who had just returned from the ook Islands said they believed the iain problem in the Cooks was that le Group would find it difficult to jcome economically self-supporting hile maintaining a reasonable andard of living. Some members so thought self-government had jen thrust on the islanders too soon; it all agreed that the islanders ished to retain the closest possible iks with NZ.

May 6: Mr. Hanan announced the overnment was considering a jet rport at either Rarotonga or itutaki; that with improved air scr ees and better tourist facilities, arotonga had “a definite tourist jtential,” but that the development : the Cook Islands pineapple in istry was of more immediate im jrtance. He added that many more ook Islanders would probably nigrate to NZ when more transport as available.

May 7: Mrs, Inanui Rio Nie, mghter of the late paramount ariki Rarotonga, said in Wellington at the NZ Government, by unwit igly allowing itself to become the ime mover in the establishment of If-government in the Cook Islands, ould bring disaster to the social and onomic well-being of the Raro ngan people. She said self-govern ent would result in the complete dlapse of the traditional way of :e on which the people’s social, onomic and cultural well-being en •ely depended; and that it would tablish a breeding ground for com

munism. She added that all Raro tongans, including those in NZ, should be allowed to vote on whether they wanted self-government.

May 8: A five-man delegation from the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly, led by the Leader of Gov ernment Business. Mr. D. C. Brown, arrived in NZ for constitutional talks.

Mr. Brown denied an allegation by Mrs. Nia that most Cook Islanders did not want self-government.

On the same day, Mr. Hanan told the Press that the election in the Cook Islands early next year for the new Legislative Assembly would be fought on the issue of the constitu tion for the Cook Islands. Tabling of the constitution in the NZ Parlia ment was the next step towards self government.

May 13: Mr. Hanan announced that excellent progress had been made in ironing out problems of drafting a constitution with the five-man Cook Islands delegation. He added: The delegation reiterated the wish of the

Cook Islands people to remain NZ citizens and to accept the Queen as Head of State.

May 14: Four members of the five-man Cook Islands delegation to New Zealand left Auckland on a six week overseas tour sponsored by the UN Technical Assistance Board, The four men, who included Mr. D. C.

Brown, and the Deputy Leader of Government Business, Mr. W. Estall, will visit the US, several Caribbean islands, Hawaii, Fiji and Western Samoa.

May 18: NZ’s Secretary of Island Territories, Mr. I. M. McEwen, told a Victorian University seminar in Wellington that boredom rather than economic reasons was behind the big migration of Cook Islanders to NZ.

Cook Islands leader, Mr. D. C. Brown.

Gone Fishing! West Samoa's school holidays in May, coupled with a run of mackerel, brought fishermen, young, old, and in their hundreds to the Apia jetty and seafront. In spite of the premium on space it was an unlucky fisherman who went home empty-handed. —Photo: Samoana.