Overseas electorate

for Cook Islands

Cook Islanders living outside their homeland will be able to vote as members of an overseas electorate under one of the many constitutional changes to be implemented this year by the Cook Islands government.

Details of the proposed consti tutional changes there are nearly 30 of them in all were announced by the Premier, Dr Tom Davis, during a recent visit to New Zealand. One of the changes will extend the term of office of governments from four years to five. The Democratic Party led by Dr Davis has the necessary two thirds majority to ensure that its constitutional proposals be come law early this year.

This means the next election will be in 1983 and not 1982 and Cook Islanders living in New Zealand, Australia and other countries will no longer be required to fly home to vote. Dr Davis said of the five-year term ‘lt’s the general wish and also the wish of the previous govern ment. They introduced the bill, we’re just re-introducing it. We think it is a good idea anyway.

We think a three or four-year period is a bit short. Most Commonwealth countries have five years.’

The New Zealand delegation attending the annual confer ence of the Democratic Party pressed for Cook Islanders who live overseas and meet certain residential qualifications to be allowed to vote from where they live, but for the votes to apply to ‘back-home’ electorates.

At present Cook Islanders who meet certain residential qualifications can vote, but they must do so in the Cook Islands.

These so-called ‘flying voters’ were at the centre of the policital storm that saw the government of Albert Henry unseated by the Electoral Court after allegations of bribery and corruption were upheld.

Cook Islanders living in New Zealand say they would have ineffective representation with an overseas electorate. Dr Davis said there were more Cook Islanders in New Zealand than in the Cook Islands, and at present they had more capa bility to influence the choice of government than the people who lived in the Islands. The cost of campaigning in New Zealand was another consider ation, he said.

There is some irony in the situation for it was the Demo crats living in New Zealand who scraped together enough money to fly home and vote and who swung the balance in several key electorates in the last election.

Mr Henry said the principle of Cook Islanders living over seas and being able to deter mine the Government at home was not right. But he did not agree with the idea of an overseas electorate. Under the proposal the overseas electorate member could be chosen from electors living overseas. Mr Henry criticised the cost of flying an MP to Rarotonga for Assembly sittings, ‘and when he comes over who will he be speaking for?’ he added.

He said that Cook Islanders living in Australia would never have enough voters to get a

Former Premier Albert Henry said from his home in Rarotonga that he agreed with the five-year term but thought the Democratic Party which had been ‘appointed by the Court and not elected’ should go back to the people at four years. The court gave them power to rule for four years. If they want change they should get the endorsement of the people,’ he said.

Many Cook Islanders living in New Zealand are expected to be upset at the decision to create an overseas electorate.

candidate from there elected.

Auckland and Wellington would dominate in numbers.

The result was that the 22 000 people in the Cooks would have 22 representatives and the 24 000 living overseas just one. ‘Eventually they would want more than one member,’ Mr Henry said.

The creation of an overseas electorate is part of an overhaul of the electorate structure.

There will no longer be seats with multiple representation.

The Teauotonga seat on Rarotonga, for example, cur rently has four representatives.

It will be divided into four village electorates. The Takitimu seat will become three separate seats. The over all number of seats will remain at 22 with the addition of the overseas electorate.

Dr Davis described multiple representation as ‘a very foolish thing introduced to us by the New Zealand constitutional ex perts’. He believes the new system will make it harder for any political party to achieve a two-thirds majority and with it the power to amend the consti tution.

The move to base electorates around villages obviously gives wider representation. It can also be seen as a strategy to reduce the chances of Albert Henry's Cook Islands Party in the next election.

Dr Davis looks ahead confidently to the next election, when he will be 65. Asked if he will be still leading the Demo crats he said ‘As far as I know I will be, yes.’ He said the Government would have won an election this year ‘hands down’, but predictably Mr Henry claims the Government would lose an election ‘no doubt

about it’.

James

Tally in

Auckland.

Police rights

on Lae campus

Dr A.P. Mead, vice-chancellor of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology at Lae, has affirmed the right of police to enter the campus under certain conditions.

His statement on the contro versial issue was made on the recommendation of a board of

inquiry into recent episodes of student unrest at the Univer sity.

Dr Mead’s official statement said: The university campus is an area subject to the laws and statutes of Papua New Guinea.

As such it is an area which is subject to police patrol and surveillance just as any other area in the country.

The rights of citizens and residents are to be protected by the police in the same way as in any other area of the country and, therefore, in the case of individual complaints, the police will call and investigate on campus as may be necessary.

The police authorities have, however, agreed that they will not enter the campus in force unless specifically requested by the university authorities (vice chancellor, deputy vice chancellor, registrar, senior se curity officer). This then per mits peaceful assemblies of members of the university for any purposes without special permission being required by the police or local authorities. It also leaves the majority of the potential disciplinary situations at the discretion of the univer sity authorities for internal res olution. ‘However, should a situation in the university develop to a point at which it is no longer controllable by the resources available to the university the police may be called by the university authorities to restore order in such an emergency. ‘When the police are called in to deal with an emergency situation they will take full charge of the preservation of order, including the arrest, if necessary, of any person threat ening or causing a breach of the peace, obstructing the police or breaking the law in any other way. ‘Close liaison will be main tained between the university authorities and the police while the emergency persists, and the subsequent withdrawal of the police will be a matter subject to the advice of the police and the agreement of the university authorities. ‘University staff and students do not have special privileges in relation to the law, nor is the university campus ar area out side the laws of the land.’

Dr Tom Davis