Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News Talks dB.
Speaker 2: Yes, it is twenty eight past three now. As you know,
Speaker 2: Foreign Minster Winston Peter's announced to pause. Well he didn't
Speaker 2: announce it, it came out he paused eighteen million dollars
Speaker 2: in funding to the Cook Islands following a lack of
Speaker 2: consultation over their deals with China earlier this year. The
Speaker 2: money would have been used for health, education and tourism.
Speaker 2: The Cook Islands. Prime Minister Mark Brown slammed the move
Speaker 2: hot saying holding millions in sect to support us patronizing
Speaker 2: and doesn't align with our part partnership arrangements. And he
Speaker 2: says they're committed to addressing this urgently. That's probably up
Speaker 2: for a bit of debate to discuss that cook we
Speaker 2: have from the Cook Island tourism development. We have Terry
Speaker 2: Carr joining us. How let's see, I just need to
Speaker 2: push the right button, Terry Hello. Sure. What was the
Speaker 2: reaction to this locally?
Speaker 3: The reaction was taken as with mister Peters with holding
Speaker 3: the aid solely their Mark Brown fault. So much of
Speaker 3: what's happened this year has not been disclosed to the people,
Speaker 3: as Cook Islands has not been disclosed to the New
Speaker 3: Zealand government and so it came as no surprise really
Speaker 3: that mister Peters took the steps he needed to do
Speaker 3: to pull mister Brown back into line. And I think
Speaker 3: that's what most of it were seeing on the ground here. Yeah,
Speaker 3: is that? Yeah? It you know, it's a situation we
Speaker 3: find ourselves and right now actions are one man, How.
Speaker 2: Important was this money?
Speaker 3: The money is important. All age that comes from New
Speaker 3: Zealand is very important because it does support services in
Speaker 3: the community in the country. But at the same time,
Speaker 3: I think it's more important this year for mister Brown
Speaker 3: and his government and that it's election year next year,
Speaker 3: so that aid would have been news. I'm sure in
Speaker 3: situations where it would, you know, it would be seen
Speaker 3: that the government was doing what it should be doing
Speaker 3: and therefore reflected and reinstating them in government next year.
Speaker 3: So really, really critical, I would say at this point
Speaker 3: in time is.
Speaker 2: The So I get the vibe that the major concern
Speaker 2: it's not maybe so much with the money, but it
Speaker 2: is in the way Mark Brown's going about business and
Speaker 2: arguably cozying up with China to the expense of its relationship.
Speaker 3: With New Zealand absolutely, and I think what New Zealanders
Speaker 3: need to understand is that the Cook Islands has a
Speaker 3: long history with New Zealand since nineteen oh one. We've
Speaker 3: been part of the realm of New Zealand in nineteen
Speaker 3: sixty five. We have a constitution in place, and under
Speaker 3: that constitution we have internal self government. We also have
Speaker 3: New Zealand in charge of defense and foreign affairs. It's
Speaker 3: in our constitution and mister Peters has alerted mister Brown
Speaker 3: that there was been any change in status. You need
Speaker 3: to go back to the people of the Cook Island
Speaker 3: and sleeper referendum, and that hasn't been done. And so
Speaker 3: until that's done, we're not a sovereign nation. We can't
Speaker 3: be going out there making deals and unknown deals which
Speaker 3: could harm us. It could harm New Zealand. We are
Speaker 3: in New Zealand citizens and so I think from our perspective,
Speaker 3: we're really pleasing. Let mister Peters is stepped in.
Speaker 2: What about Mark Brown? Is he giving any signs that
Speaker 2: there's going to be I don't know. Some healing of
Speaker 2: the relationships one thing to talk about it, but it
Speaker 2: doesn't seem like they're having a constant dialogue him and
Speaker 2: Winston does it.
Speaker 3: No, it doesn't. And I think the problem with mister
Speaker 3: Brown's government, with the government we have in place at
Speaker 3: the moment, is that, you know, there's a lack of
Speaker 3: brain power. Mister Brown is really the brains behind the
Speaker 3: whole thing. So any decision making of a serious nature
Speaker 3: is made by one man. So all the China deals
Speaker 3: are made by him. The passport situation arose because he decided,
Speaker 3: you know, that we should go our own way and
Speaker 3: have a secret passport with an understanding that you know,
Speaker 3: the relationship with New Zealand means you can't do that.
Speaker 3: So it's yeah, it's up to mister Brown to kind
Speaker 3: of eat humble Pire would say, because I think the
Speaker 3: people at the Cook Islands value this relationship we have
Speaker 3: with New Zealand. They're like our backstop. They are there
Speaker 3: when we need them when our government goes off the rails.
Speaker 3: At least under our constitution, you know there's a backstop
Speaker 3: where New Zealand can step in and say in that
Speaker 3: there are things you need to do before you even
Speaker 3: talk about sovereignty and being able to go around the
Speaker 3: world and make deals.
Speaker 2: It's just a case of waiting for the next election,
Speaker 2: for the people to have their say, or the other
Speaker 2: things that he's that Brown might respond to.
Speaker 3: I think it's imperative. I think in today's newspaper he's
Speaker 3: urged by the opposition party to go and talk to
Speaker 3: mister Peters. But I think until the full extent of
Speaker 3: what you know, the contract or the duralty signed with
Speaker 3: China actually exposed, how how they will affect you know,
Speaker 3: the relationship, the foreign affairs relationship with defense relationships. I
Speaker 3: just feel that mister Brown needs to do a whole
Speaker 3: lot of disclosing of what's actually on the table, and
Speaker 3: the people at the Cook Islands need to know as
Speaker 3: well and make informed decisions. You know that if there
Speaker 3: is a referendum, the Cork Islanders need to know that
Speaker 3: they in danger of losing their passport. They're in danger
Speaker 3: of losing you know, these are free entry into New
Speaker 3: Zealand health services that they have access to. So I
Speaker 3: think the biggest disappointments and a lot of us on
Speaker 3: the ground here is that mister Brown's actions simply alerted
Speaker 3: the whole public of New Zealand that the Cook Islands
Speaker 3: is receding taxpayer money from New Zealand and not valuing it,
Speaker 3: so it's very disappointing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, how's, by the way, your president of Cork, Colin's
Speaker 2: Tourism Council, how tourism going, Because New Zealanders love going
Speaker 2: to the Cook Islands. So how's everything shaping up at
Speaker 2: the moment for you guys? People spending money where you'd
Speaker 2: like them to.
Speaker 3: You know, New Zealand tourists have been our best supporters
Speaker 3: since we opened after COVID and now be joined by
Speaker 3: our Australians and North America coming through, but the New
Speaker 3: Zealanders coming over had been They're on the ground and
Speaker 3: they like to know what's happening on the ground. So
Speaker 3: last week there was a lot of questions about what's
Speaker 3: going on. And I think New Zealanders that do come
Speaker 3: here as tourists see the real Cook Islands. They see
Speaker 3: how the people on the ground are feeling, whereas in
Speaker 3: New Zealand. New Zealanders probably wouldn't have that same feeling,
Speaker 3: but they understand that these are decisions made by the
Speaker 3: Prime Minister and it's impacting all of us without us
Speaker 3: actually having a choice about it right now. But yeah,
Speaker 3: they've been absolutely wonderful.
Speaker 2: Thanks Hey, Terry, we really appreciate your time staff known
Speaker 2: for your comments on the situation that as a Terry Carr,
Speaker 2: President of the Cook Islands Tourism Council. Yeah, fascinating comments.
Speaker 2: Actually not pulling out punches there at all? Was she
Speaker 2: on Mark Brown? They're not happy with him over there.
Speaker 2: So watch the space. We'll be doing some e one
Speaker 2: hundred eighty ten to eighty talk back your thoughts, so
Speaker 2: you can add a comment on the Cook Islands. But
Speaker 2: I imagine in terms of the big piece of news
Speaker 2: of course, as America attacking a round in those three
Speaker 2: nuclear facilities. My my indview with Jeffrey Miller there, which
Speaker 2: was it didn't make me feel particularly relaxed about the situation.
Speaker 2: But what's your thing? What's your response? Do you think
Speaker 2: the States have done the right thing? Or are you
Speaker 2: as concerned as Jeffrey is that it was madness? Basically
Speaker 2: sums it up. It is twenty four minutes to four
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