Where Cooks
p. 16 · Read in the full issue
Stands With
New Zealand
New Zealand is quite happy about its present political relationship with the Cook Islands, but expects the Cook Islands, in laws and politics, to uphold a standard of values gener ally acceptable to New Zealanders.
This was one of the points made by the NZ Prime Minister, Mr Norman Kirk, in an exchange of letters with the Cook Islands Premier, Mr Albert Henry, about the constitutional rela tionship of the two countries.
Mr Kirk wrote that there were no legal fetters of any kind on the free dom of the Cook Islands, which made its own laws and controlled its own constitution. As well as being NZ’s view, that was the view of the United Nations.
The relationship between the two was simply one of partnership, freely entered into, and freely maintained.
While the Cook Islands’ constitution provided guarantees and guidelines for the partnership, in the final analysis, everything depended on the will of each country to make the arrangement work.
An integral part of the arrange ment was that the Cook Islands could continue to rely on New Zealand’s help and protection, so New Zealand had a statutory responsibility for the external affairs and defence of the Cook Islands. However, that did not stop the Cook Islands from following its own policies and wishes, as it was doing through membership of the South Pacific Forum and other regional bodies.
By their own express wish, the people of the Cook Islands remained New Zealand citizens, Mr Kirk con tinued. Like other New Zealand citizens they owed allegiance to the Queen and acknowledged her in her New Zealand capacity as their Head of State. Thus, the Cook Islanders kept the right to regard New Zealand as their own country, while still en joying self-government in the Cook Islands.
Mr Henry, in reply, confirmed that the Cook Islands government shared the views set out by Mr Kirk, and wished to maintain the special re lationship of free association between the two countries. e The Moana Roa will remain on the NZ-Cook Islands services till a suitable replacement is found. The NZ Prime Minister, Mr Kirk, recently gave this assurance to the Cook Islands Premier, Mr Albert Henry.