Forgotten For Now

That Aitutaki Deal Is

Prom a Rarotonga correspondent “You can forget the $60,000,000 American syndicate deal for Aitutaki for the present,” declared Mr. Albert Henry, Premier of the Cook Islands, at a dinner given to mark his re turn from talks with the New Zealand Government. (An Ameri can syndicate wants to lease Aitutaki for $60,000,000 and develop it as a tourist resort. See picture on p. 53.)

Te added: “We will not give any rights to anyone but New Zea d. The New Zealand Government s it is all right for the Americans build hotels here, but not an air 1. ‘One hundred million dollars is enough to take away the heritage the Cook Islanders. No amount money can do that.” less emotional approach to the erican offer to lease Aitutaki was Je by NZ High Commissioner Mr.

I. Davis in an interview outlining purpose of the Cooks mission to . He said that he had noticed ss references to the fact that an erican-backed offer to develop itaki as a tourist resort may have i used by Mr. Henry to extract e financial aid for his govern it.

"Press got it wrong"

rhese reports are quite incorrect,”

Mr. Davis. “The reputed ,000,000’ deal was certainly raised ur discussions, as if it proceeded s entirety it could possibly affect s sole air traffic rights to and i the Cook Islands.

Tie proposal was left on the basis the Aitutaki development scheme Id be fully discussed between our governments after it had been lined in detail in Rarotonga,”

Davis added. hile in New Zealand, Mr. Henry his mission had talks with the Zealand Government about ; for Rarotonga’s new jet air (to be built at a cost of more $NZ6,000,000), as well as the rican syndicate’s multi-million :aki offer. After leaving NZ, Mr. y’s mission attended the eighth i Pacific Conference in Noumea. ic outcome of Mr. Henry’s visit \Z was that an agreement be

tween NZ and the Cooks has been reached on the proposed airport. A bill outlining the agreement was to go before the Cook Islands Legis lative Assembly in November, and nothing was to be done about the airport until the bill had been passed.

"Not quite true"

Mr. Henry told the diners: “Some how, before we arrived in New Zea land, a lot of controversial state ments bad been sent there from the Cook Islands. They gave a story one fifth true and four-fifths not quite true. The New Zealand Press took up the four-fifths part. I don’t know what the motives of these people were who gave this news out. Acts can never be changed—therefore all this controversial news was later proved to be mainly false.

“When we arrived in Auckland there were big headlines in the papers. One headline read—‘Cook Islands Premier is going to have a tough time in Wellington’. The story said that ‘Mr. Henry is selling Aitutaki to the Americans’.

“This was good. It showed that the Cook Islands were on the map again. The TV people wanted to interview me, but I said I had no time, so they came to see me at my home in Mangere.”

Brought together

Mr. Henry went on to thank Mr.

L. J. Davis for his help in NZ.

Although the High Commissioner represented the New Zealand Gov ernment there were times when he thought he was on the Cook Islands’ side. “He helped us when things really got tough,” Mr. Henry said.

Mr. Henry then talked about the South Pacific Commission Confer ence in Noumea which he had at

tended with Mr. William Estall, the Cook Islands’ Minister of Works and Communications, and Mr. George Ellis of the Treasury Department.

He said that the South Pacific Commission intends to guard and pro mote the “togetherness” of the Pacific Basin. The people living in this area must be brought together in their thinking and understanding, and the heads of Pacific territories appeared to understand this.

Mr. Henry said Tonga “now re alises that it is not much use to break away from her Pacific neigh bours to join the United Nations.”

Meanwhile, a development plan for Mauke Island has been accepted m principle by the Cook Islands Cabinet. The plan was worked out by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. T. A. Henry (son of the Premier and member for Mauke), after dis cussion between a Mauke delegation to Rarotonga, the government and the Agriculture Department.

The main points of his plan: • An extensive orange planting programme. . ® The expansion of coconut grow ing and cattle farming. • The consolidation of ginger growing. • Introduction of market garden

ing and animal husbandry. • Harbour and housing improve ments. • The replacement of Adminis tration buildings and an extension to Mauke School.

In October, Mr, T. A. Henry lead a government economic mission to Mauke to explain the citrus replant ing scheme and to ask for the lease of 100 acres of land for citrus de velopment.

Leasing of land in the Cooks, for any purpose, is always difficult and often impossible, but the Mauke people made no trouble about leasing 100 acres to the government.

There was no bargaining and they said they wanted the work to go ahead quickly. Mauke already pro duces oranges of good quality and the 100 acres is idle land. The gov ernment will provide the money and machinery for development and will employ local labour.

Acting Director of Agriculture, Mr. William Hosking, who was a member of the mission, told the Mauke Island Council in appealing for the land that the Cooks haven’t enough oranges to supply the New Zealand market or the canning factory in Rarotonga. Demand was for 500,000 cases per year, and pre sent output was between 180,000 and 200,000 cases.

He said the Mauke scheme would be run on business lines, and scientific management would ensure uniform production per tree. The govern ment would require a lease of 15 years.