‘We wuz robbed’ Sir

Albert tells UN

The Cook Islands’ former Premier Sir Albert Henry wants the United Nations decolonisation committee to check the role played by the New Zealand Government in the Cook Islands’ March gen eral election, and the sub sequent court action that dumped his ruling party, writes William Gasson from Welling ton.

The decision of the Cook Islands Chief Justice last July invalidated the votes of passen gers on charter flights arranged by Sir Albert to fly Cook Islanders from New Zealand to Rarotonga, and cost the ruling party nine seats, and political power. ‘lnformation now gathered and placed in safe keeping in Melbourne proves about 50-50 that Wellington did have some thing to do with this whole drama,’ Sir Albert claimed when he arrived in Auckland from a September visit to Aus tralia. He said the petition call ing for the investigation was filed with the UN committee by Professor Otto Ulc, pro fessor of political science at New York State University. He acts as the Cook Islands honarary representative to the UN.

He bases his evidence for calling for the investigation on suspicions. ‘We gave the com mittee some ideas of what hap pened. I don’t like to say more,’

Sir Albert said.

He then repeated his claim made earlier this year that a New Zealand government department has assisted the then opposition party leader Dr Tom Davis during his elec tion campaign. Sir Albert said he felt there had been inter ference in the internal self government of the Cook Islands and claimed tht the whole political situation there now seemed farcical to the people. ‘The only alternative is to go back to the people and let them decide,’ he added.

And would he want to be

Premier again?

i would ... I don't know.

But I think the people say they haven’t found one yet who could beat me.' Mr Muldoon’s reaction was to shrug off the UN petition. ‘I don’t think we should take this seriously,’ he said. ‘Albert Henry was obviously deeply shocked when the court found against him. but the court was operating under Cook Islands law and he has been the head of the government since the time of self-government and is thus responsible for the Cook Islands law. ‘lt was under his own law that his Cook Islands court found in the way that it did and that was the end of his govern ment so at that point there in no case for any allegations of outside interference. The whole thing has been done in the Cook Islands and in ac cordance with Cook Islands law.’

Mr Muldoon’s view was that no UN committee would take

Sir Albert’s petition seriously.

The Christchurch Star, in an editorial about the ‘irrepress ible’ former premier, said he ‘may be down, but he’s not out’. For years he had lent comic relief to New Zealand’s newspaper columns and tele vision screens with his outrage ous comments. ‘Now he’s at it again. It makes no difference that his government has been ousted by the judgment of Chief Justice Donne, who branded the elec tion “the greatest perversion of

representative democracy’’.’

The Star said that Mr Justice Donne’s judgment was well reasoned, ‘and will doubtless serve as a warning to emerging Island governments for many years to come’. ‘Sir Albert in his early years of office did much good for the Cook Islands and is still

remembered affectionately by

many in spite of his double dealing nosedive. It would be better for all concerned if he left it that way and slipped quietly into history,’ the edi torial said.