tepaki lobbies publicly for bill

NEWS

 

Property developer Tim Tepaki has started lobbying publicly as criticism builds in the Cook Islands over his Unit Titles Bill.

A 15 minute "Tepaki Group public relations" advertorial was shown shortly before tonight's CITC and Wattyl Local News on CITV.

In a voice-over in Maori, the Tepaki Group advertorial explains advantages of the Unit Titles bill.

This includes how the bill would allow hotel and other developments to go ahead without landowners losing rights to their land.

A few minutes later, in the CITV news, Justice minister Tupou Faireka confirms the bill will not be debated during the current session of Parliament, as reported on Avaiki Nius last night.

"We will be holding a select committee meeting to get the views of the public, how they view the bill, whether they support it and what effect it might have on the future of the country."

Faireka says the current session of parliament will set the terms of reference for the select committee to look at.

He did not say what those terms of reference would be.

However Faireka expressed support for the bill.

"If a leasee decides to build five units on a piece of land he can sublet or sell it to anyone to recover any money he has spent."

Landowners would also benefit, he says, including from any Tepaki Group deal.

"One per cent of every unit that has been sold by Tepaki Group will go to Pa," he told Cook Islands Television, referring to landowner Pa Ariki.

Faireka said parliament would next sit in June, two to three months from now.

"That might be the time to pass it then." 

agency: tahiti economy steady, outlook negative

NEWS

French Polynesia is keeping steady on an A minus ranking from leading credit rating agency Standard and Poors.

As a territory of France, Tahiti “profits from the support of the French Republic.”

But economic outlook looks increasingly “negative” to agency analysts.

“Polynesia sees costs growing, exposure to the airline company Air Tahiti Nui increasing, and always significant requirements in infrastructure.”

Analysts say they have worries for the future, according to a report on Agence Tahitienne de Presse.

“Prospects remain negative.”

Standard and Poors say their decision to post a negative outlook follows “the result of the elections and arrival of a government whose precise policies are still unknown.”

France gives about US$1.4 billion to French Polynesia every year in an economy just over US$4 billion.

 

 

tahiti cancer group put to "sleep"

NEWS

by jason brown

 

A cancer group in French Polynesia has been put to “sleep” because of a lack of community support and funding from government.

Polynesian Cancer Association president André Kaiser said he was “sickened” by the lack of public support.

Only 15 people out of 600 active members turned up to an annual general meeting to elect new office bearers.

“There are office bearers we never saw,” Kaiser told Agence de Tahitienne de Presse.

In the past, most of the work got done by a voluntary secretary.

But each day the challenge gets harder. Kaiser set up the Polynesian Cancer Society in 2001 after his wife died.

“There are 500 to 600 new diagnosed cases of cancer each year in the territory, with 250 deaths and 2,500 people who live permanently with the disease,” says Kaiser.

“These figures are enormous.”

Kaiser took a dim view of news that the new government would set up a special cancer center.

“At the level we are at as a national organisation, we are the only one committee which does not receive assistance from the authorities.

“There is no support from local government. There is total indifference.”

Lack of official funding was especially hurtful because societies like his so often end up doing the work of the authorities, he said.

“It is the indifference that kills me. I would like to pass this society into the hands of someone else but there is no one to take the changeover.”

Even though the group is being shut down he said the work would continue for many cancer patients.

BACKGROUND

Some cancer groups in Tahiti are divided by causes of the disease.

Some say high rates of cancer come from a western lifestyle including too much smoking and drinking.

Other say that France itself has one of the highest rates of smoking and drinking in the world but much lower cancer rates than French Polynesia.

They want government to take a much closer look at the links between cancer and three decades of nuclear testing – including in the atmosphere.

no pay for chief of staff

NEWS

by jason brown

editor avaiki nius agency

 

Chief of Staff at the Office of the Prime Minister Denise Rairi is under attack from multiplie quarters as she juggles head of ministry and disaster relief responsibilities.

Audit officers are said to be looking into her performance at the OPM.

Rairi is also said to be under examination from her time at as a former finance officer at the ministry of Health.

Sources outside government backed up reports from Sunday's Cook Islands Times about the audit investigation.

"What they didn't say was that the chief of staff hasn't been paid because her appointment isn't official," said a business source.

Heads of ministry positions are supposed to be advertised under laws governing the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, as well as the Public Service Commission.

New Public Service Commissioner Joe Caffrey is said to be "refusing to budge" on the payments.

"He's waiting for instructions from cabinet."

Contractors are also complaining about being told they have to "volunteer" for reconstruction projects in Pukapuka.

"She wouldn't even come to the phone," said one contractor.

"I was told there is plenty of money for projects but she's telling people they have to volunteer."

 

 

today's headlines

Cook Islands Times

Disaster management to face audit A balancing act that pleases no one Trade deficit worsens, but exports up Tepaki to landowners: 'hold on to your land' Centre users to take rubbish home Aitutaki power supply in crisis Problem can be fixed says Te Apong chairman Agriculture recovery should be sooner than predicted says Mataio Big drop in people leaving Cooks Arorangi lettuces unaffected by cyclones PM opts for simple living

> Cook Islands Times stories are updated on the Cook Islands Herald website > www.ciherald.co.ck every Wednesday.

flosse group defies president

Members of a state security group at the centre of a judicial inquiry in French Polynesia briefly defied new president Oscar Temaru this week.

Staff at the headquarters of Groupement d'intervention de Polynésie – the Polynesian Intervention Group – refused entry to Temaru for five hours on Friday.

Staff also refused comment to local media.

But former head Léonard Puputauki told Agence Tahitienne de Presse that the new boss, Robert Maker, “isn’t capable of running the GIP.”

“He’s not up to the job and furthermore he’s always spoken poorly about the GIP. That’s why the employees decided to not let him enter. It doesn’t concern the president, but only Robert Maker.”

Puputauki said the situation had nothing to do with his having been relieved of his position.

The problem is staff do not want to work for “those who’ve spit on the GIP”.

ATP contacted Puputauki “on holiday” in China.

Staff opened the gates to Temaru when he returned a few hours later with three other cabinet ministers, but without Maker.

Earlier, Temaru claimed that former president Gaston Flosse was behind the defiance shown by staff.

He accused Flosse of “political manipulation” and a “wish to destabilise the government”.

“It’s not up to them to dictate the law”.

In January a senior GIP official was fined 400,000 French Pacific Francs – about US$4,000 - for refusing entry to a labour inspector on an outer island project.

Details about the project were kept under wraps for a long time.

After media inquiries, the former government admitted it was a private luxury resort for officials from France and Tahiti.

Promoted as a rapid response team to national emergencies, but more commonly seen providing crowd control and cleaning services around Papeete based events, the GIP have also been accused of acting as thugs for former president Gaston Flosse.

Most serious of the accusations against them is the alleged murder of an investigative journalist by GIP staff in 1997.

A former staff member told police he overhead colleagues boasting about drowning former Les Nouvelles editor Jean Pascal Couraud in deep waters off Tahiti.

Vetea Guilloux kept his allegations secret for years before telling a cabinet minister in last year’s four-month-old Oscar Temaru government.

The minister was also a pastor in Guilloux’s church, the Seventh Day Adventists.

Details of the allegation were passed on to Couraud’s family who lodged a complaint with police.

The case had been closed years earlier as an apparent suicide after a note was said to have been found.

Family members told supporters through their website that they were not commenting further on the judicial inquiry into GIP and the murder allegations until more investigations were complete.

Meanwhile, Maker told Tahiti media he was unaware of what staff had against him.

He described the situation as “appalling”.

Temaru gave Maker the job of reorganising the GIP.

Maker said that means changing its image.

“We want to remove this image of the GIP as a militia surrounding a camp and one person,” he said referring to Flosse.

“I think that of the 1,000 employees, there’s only a small handful who are very close to Mr. Puputauki. The great majority just want to work.”

new president of "polynesia"

Media in French Polynesia are adapting rapidly to new administrative cultures.

Agence Tahitienne de Presse, for example, has dropped the "French" from its presidential coverage within days of new pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru being sworn in.

They now refer to him as the President of Polynesia – “Le président de la Polynésie Oscar Temaru” – rather than as the President of French Polynesia as former leader Gaston Flosse was previously quoted.

Across the French-English language divide, however, the new politically correct designation may not meet with universal acceptance.

Other countries and territories in Polynesia – such as Hawaii, Rapa Nui, Aotearoa, Samoa, Niue, Tonga and the Cook Islands – may be surprised to learn they have a new and singular president.

tahiti broadcast news not always fair

French Polynesia’s Upper Council on Audio-Visual broadcasting has ruled for and against claims of bias by two of the territory’s biggest stations.

In a press release, Le Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel said that campaign coverage by RFO and Tahiti Nui Television was fair between 7^th January to 4^th February 2005 in the lead up to by-elections.

Council members make monthly comment on news coverage and will do so for by-elections held on Sunday 13^th February around the same time in April.

Between those dates, Tahiti Press Agency reports that council members said that RFO and Tahiti Nui Television both complied with principles of equity and balance when interviewing politicians.

“On the other hand, in the area of news not related to elections, total speaking time allotted during this time for politicians on TNTV favours the government of French Polynesia,” said CSA members.

Their ruling follows similar comments in February for news from December to January.

CSA members said they were asking the station to “rebalance allocation of speaking time related to non-electoral news as quickly as possible.”

 

tahiti ariki propose council

NEWS

 

Royal families from throughout French Polynesia are proposing a statutory body of their own.

“Our prime objective is the reunification of the royal families of the five archipelagoes that make up French Polynesia,” Joinville Pomare told Agency Tahiti Press over the weekend after organizing a meeting of 30 traditional leaders.

 

sunrise o'oa

TODAY A new day dawns on Rarotonga's east coast.

today's headlines

COOK IS NEWS Tuesday 15 March 2005

:: Two years to stand on own feet - Pukapuka GR

Pukapuka and Nassau may have to rely on government and donor help for food and provisions for at least the next two years, according to the government representative on Pukapuka. :: Lack of fuel stalls UN assessors United Nations assessors will return to Samoa this Thursday without visiting Pukapuka and Nassau due to the non-availability of fuel on the island for any flight this week. :: Nikao school prefects invested The line-up of prefects for Nikao Maori primary school invested with their badges at a special assembly yesterday morning. :: Depression causes heavy rain on Raro A convergence zone as well as a tropical depression in the area is causing havoc with the weather in Rarotonga. :: Budget stalls on Civil List Parliament hit a snag during debate over the supplementary budget yesterday, with the leader of the opposition Dr Terepai Maoate, moving a motion that money earmarked for the Civil List go towards relief efforts in Pukapuka and Nassau. :: government spending not damaging economy The five cyclones that affected the Cook Islands in February and March and the recent supplementary budget has given rise to debate about economic management, according to Paul McGuire, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance and Economic Management :: Official Information Bill finished The drafting of the Official Information Bill is completed and ready to be submitted to cabinet for approval. :: Tahitian Princess due on Thursday The sight of a passenger cruise liner off Avarua should be one of many more to come in the near future. :: Arorangi donate goods to Pukapuka Pupils and staff at Arorangi primary school will pass on items donated to them, to Pukapuka high school, following cyclone Percy. :: More interest in nursing needed Health secretary Vaine Teokotai says new student nurses have not yet been selected for this year's intake which was to begin this month. :: Manihiki keen to attend celebrations Manihiki's new MP Henry Puna says that the island is ready to take part in this year's 40th Constitution celebrations. :: Training for Pacific Blue handlers Air Rarotonga has been appointed ground handlers for the Pacific Blue carrier which begins flights into Rarotonga this week. www.cookislandsnews.com updates Wednesdays.

roadblock rarotonga style

FLASHBACK
By the time cyclone number four, Percy, swung its way around Rarotonga, things were getting fairly casual in the roadblock department.
Some took to greeting each other with "mere uriia!"

temaru and polynesia

Euphoria is still high in French Polynesia after a change of government. Avaiki Nius will track changes in the Maohi territory over coming weeks.

cook islands government (back) online

COMMENT Cook Islands Government Online Back in cyberspace! That's the status of the government website after disappearing from view briefly last week. Viewers linking to the site were greeted with an announcement from the host company saying access had been "removed." Now the site is back. And this time it has more than just two MPs on it, several months after general elections. Along with Prime Minister Jim Marurai and fellow Norman George supporter Peri Vaevae Pare, there is now also featured Deputy Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Henry, Piho Rua, Tupou Faireka and Tom Marsters. However, the details are a bit sketchy with employment being listed as "to come." Goes to show government is not entirely unconcerned with public image.

tepaki lobbies publicly for bill

NEWS

Property developer Tim Tepaki has started lobbying publicly as criticism builds in the Cook Islands over his Unit Titles Bill. A 15 minute "Tepaki Group public relations" advertorial was shown shortly before tonight's CITC and Wattyl Local News on CITV. In a voice-over in Maori, the Tepaki Group advertorial explains advantages of the Unit Titles bill. This includes how the bill would allow hotel and other developments to go ahead without landowners losing rights to their land. A few minutes later, in the CITV news, Justice minister Tupou Faireka confirms the bill will not be debated during the current session of Parliament, as reported on Avaiki Nius last night. "We will be holding a select committee meeting to get the views of the public, how they view the bill, whether they support it and what effect it might have on the future of the country." Faireka says the current session of parliament will set the terms of reference for the select committee to look at. He did not say what those terms of reference would be. However Faireka expressed support for the bill. "If a leasee decides to build five units on a piece of land he can sublet or sell it to anyone to recover any money he has spent." Landowners would also benefit, he says, including from any Tepaki Group deal. "One per cent of every unit that has been sold by Tepaki Group will go to Pa," he told Cook Islands Television, referring to landowner Pa Ariki. Faireka said parliament would next sit in June, two to three months from now. "That might be the time to pass it then."

stop the press!

NEWS Cook Islands News :: Fund launched for cyclone damaged houses Up to $200,000 will be available to assist families whose homes suffered damage during the recent cyclones. :: Conflict of interest in CIIC payment - audit The Audit Office has highlighted a number of serious anomalies in the way a particular transaction was made, which involved the former chairman of the Cook Islands Investment Corporation board. :: Endeavour stops off at Avatiu Hundreds of residents queued yesterday to explore on board the Endeavour, a replica of one of Captain Cook's famous ships, which was anchored at Avatiu harbour. :: Vaka council nominations open today With the Rarotonga vaka council elections being held on 7 April, election administrator John Henry says people are encouraged to register to be an elector even if they don't plan on voting. :: New Sunday afternoon Air NZ flight this month Air New Zealand's new schedule will start at the end of the month, with 16 flights expected to fly into Rarotonga each week in the period up to September. :: Commonwealth Day today Millions of people around the world will be celebrating Commonwealth Day this week. While some would have celebrated yesterday, we in the Cook Islands will mark the day today, Monday 14 March. :: Concrete work goes into church roof Work continues on the roof of the Titikaveka CICC church as part of the ongoing renovations to the building which dates back to the mid-1800s. :: Pukapuka/Nassau at centre of debate The deputy prime minister and finance minister Sir Geoffrey Henry, and the leader of the opposition Dr Terepai Maoate, were at each other's throats over the Pukapuka issue in parliament last Friday morning. Dr Maoate said he believed that disaster management minister Peri Vaevae Pare - who is currently overseas - has overlooked the urgency of the needs of Pukapuka and Nassau, and that $480,000 appropriated for cyclone relief to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management has already been spent on Rarotonga.

Cook Islands News is updated Wednesdays, Cook Islands time.

today's headlines

:: Cook Islands Times

:: Disaster management to face audit
:: A balancing act that pleases no one
:: Trade deficit worsens, but exports up
:: Tepaki to landowners: 'hold on to your land'
:: Centre users to take rubbish home
:: Aitutaki power supply in crisis
:: Problem can be fixed says Te Aponga chairman
:: Agriculture recovery should be sooner than predicted says Mataio
:: Big drop in people leaving Cooks
:: Arorangi lettuces unaffected by cyclones
:: PM opts for simple living

:: Cook Islands Times stories are updated on the Cook Islands Herald website www.ciherald.co.ck every Wednesday.

flosse security group defies president

Saturday Mar 12, 2005Members of a state security group at the centre of a judicial inquiry in French Polynesia briefly defied new president Oscar Temaru this week. Staff at the headquarters of Groupement d'intervention de Polynésie - the Polynesian Intervention Group - refused entry to Temaru for five hours on Friday. Staff also refused comment to local media. But former head Léonard Puputauki told Agence Tahitienne de Presse that the new boss, Robert Maker, "isn't capable of running the GIP." "He's not up to the job and furthermore he's always spoken poorly about the GIP. That's why the employees decided to not let him enter. It doesn't concern the president, but only Robert Maker." Puputauki said the situation had nothing to do with his sacked from his position. The problem is staff do not want to work for "those who have spit on the GIP". ATP contacted Puputauki "on holiday" in China. Staff opened the gates to Temaru when he returned a few hours later with three other cabinet ministers, but without Maker. Earlier, Temaru claimed that former president Gaston Flosse was behind the defiance shown by staff. He accused Flosse of "political manipulation" and a "wish to destabilise the government". "It's not up to them to dictate the law". In January a senior GIP official was fined 400,000 French Pacific Francs - about US$4,000 - for refusing entry to a labour inspector on an outer island project. Details about the project were kept under wraps for a long time. After media inquiries, the former government admitted it was a private luxury resort for officials from France and Tahiti. Promoted as a rapid response team to national emergencies, but more commonly seen providing crowd control and cleaning services around Papeete based events, the GIP have also been accused of acting as thugs for former president Gaston Flosse. Most serious of the accusations against them is the alleged murder of an investigative journalist by GIP staff in 1997. A former staff member told police he overhead colleagues boasting about drowning former Les Nouvelles editor Jean Pascal Couraud in deep waters off Tahiti. Vetea Guilloux kept his allegations secret for years before telling a cabinet minister in last year's four-month-old Oscar Temaru government. The minister was also a pastor in Guilloux's church, the Seventh Day Adventists. Details of the allegation were passed on to Couraud's family who lodged a complaint with police. The case had been closed years earlier as an apparent suicide after a note was said to have been found. Family members recently told supporters through their website that they were not commenting further on the judicial inquiry into GIP and the murder allegations until more investigations were complete. Meanwhile, Maker told Tahiti media he was unaware of what staff had against him. He described the situation as "appalling". Temaru gave Maker the job of reorganising the GIP. Maker said that means changing its image. "We want to remove this image of the GIP as a militia surrounding a camp and one person," he said referring to Flosse. "I think that of the 1,000 employees, there's only a small handful who are very close to Mr. Puputauki. The great majority just want to work."

tepaki group dismisses questions as "lazy"

Tepaki Group staff have fobbed off media inquiries describing them as "lazy" and a "timewaster." Rarotonga based Tepaki Group representative William Framhein today said that "Tepaki is in Rarotonga." "I suggest you do your research more thoroughly, so watch out for details in local news papers," he told Avaiki Nius Agency. Questions sent to Tepaki Group in New Zealand were forwarded by staff in Wellington to Framhein in Rarotonga with comments attached. "Timewaster who's too lazy to do his research has questions (see below)," said Wellington staff. "Good for a laugh." Framhein forwarded the head office comments and his own to Avaiki Nius Agency but did not provide any answers. Questions were as follows. 1. Hilton and Hilton world wide websites make no mention of the Cook Islands. Can you give me contact information for people you have been discussing these projects with? 2. How firm is the interest from Hilton? 3. Have you any comments on recent troubles with the Investors Forum? 4. Tepaki Group has been talking about the Vaimaanga and other hotel developments in the Cooks for over a decade now. How many projects has the group actually completed? 5. What do you say to critics that your group is just trying to talk up the project with no money of its own to contribute?

crown law did not draft new bill

Solicitor General Janet Maki is distancing her office from the Unit Titles Bill.

She says Crown Law has nothing to do with it.

"I cannot divulge to you the advice I have given to Cabinet but I will say that the Bill was not drafted by Crown Law or under the auspices of Crown Law."

The bill was tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

Maki says the bill "was instigated and drafted by the legal advisors to Mr. Tim Tepaki."

The Unit Titles Bill is apparently designed to allow Tepaki to sell off rooms from his proposed development one-by-one.

However early concerns have emerged already from some landowners worried about the effect of the planned law on their rights.

One asks what happens when a lease runs out but the landowner cannot afford to buy the permanently placed building on top of it?

Wellington based property developer and investment broker Tim Tepaki contracted former solicitor general John McFadzien to write the new legislation.

Maki says the bill will go to Select Committee hearings and that members of the public with any concerns should contact Parliament.

"The best thing is, pick up a copy of the bill from Parliament because its going to a select committee and members of the public are invited to make submissions on it."

She could not comment on her advice to government.

"As I've explained on a number of occasions in the past, as the legal advisor to Govt, I cannot provide you with legal advice which is basically what you are asking for in your email.

"Furthermore, I cannot divulge to you the advice I have given to Cabinet but I will say that the Bill was not drafted by Crown Law or under the auspices of Crown Law but was instigated and drafted by the legal advisors to Mr. Tim Tepaki.

"As you will note from the Cook Is News coverage of the in camera session, the Bill was explained to Parliament by Tim Tepaki, John McFadzien and Tim Arnold as legal advisor to Pa Ariki - not Crown Law."
In camera means behind closed doors, held in secret from the public.

This practice was previously limited to legislation in the highly secretive offshore finance industry but has become increasingly common in other areas as well. 

Says Maki, "I suggest you try contacting the Secretary of Justice Terry Hagan or Finance Secretary Kevin Carr to provide some insight on the bill from the 'Govt advisers' perspective who may be able to give you more info given that they are not under the same lawyer-client privilege restrictions that I am."

Lawyers are restricted from publicly discussing the affairs of their clients.

hilton dropped from hotel talk

Long term talk appears to have been dropped about Hilton being signed on as managers of the Tim Tepaki developed Vaimaanga site.

No mention is made of Hilton on Tepaki's business site.

Hilton sites do not list any dealings with Tepaki or his reported financers, the 2,000 member Investors Forum.

In fact there is no mention of the Investors Forum on Tepaki's site either.

Or vice versa.

Avaiki Nius Agency has sent questions to the three groups and will post any responses if and when they come in.

 

update: hotel group gets bad press

Investors Forum critic Neil Jenman is away.

His assistant Ann Martin did not want to comment on why his "ethics in real estate" education business is not recognised by the Real Estate Institute of Australia.

 

tahiti broadcast news not always fair

French Polynesia’s Upper Council on Audio-Visual broadcasting has ruled for and against claims of bias by two of the territory’s biggest stations.

In a press release, Le Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel said that campaign coverage by RFO and Tahiti Nui Television was fair between 7^th January to 4^th February 2005 in the lead up to by-elections.

Council members make monthly comment on news coverage and will do so for by-elections held on Sunday 13^th February around the same time in April.

Between those dates, Tahiti Press Agency reports that council members said that RFO and Tahiti Nui Television both complied with principles of equity and balance when interviewing politicians.

“On the other hand, in the area of news not related to elections, total speaking time allotted during this time for politicians on TNTV favours the government of French Polynesia,” said CSA members.

Their ruling follows similar comments in February for news from December to January.

CSA members said they were asking the station to “rebalance allocation of speaking time related to non-electoral news as quickly as possible.”

 

hotel group gets bad press

No reaction in Rarotonga yet to news reports in New Zealand quoting investors unhappy with the way the group said to be funding two major hotel projects in the Cook Islands is being run. In a report headlined �Knives out at Investors Forum� on 6 February 2005, the Sunday Star Times reported complaints from anonymous backers. 'At least one project turned into a nightmare,' said one. 'We feel that once we signed up we were treated pretty shabbily as customers.' Reports of problems at the Forum have not been picked up locally. Instead, government appears to be charging ahead with law changes to help put a deal in place to finish the long-stalled Vaimaanga project, formerly known as the �Sheraton� or �Italian� hotel. On Thursday, government tabled the �Unit Titles Bill,� a new law designed to allow ownership of buildings separate from land. A picture of project developer Tim Tepaki at what became an in camera or closed doors session appeared on the front page of daily Cook Islands News. Tepaki was pictured seated between former Solicitor General John McFadzien, now in private practice drafting legislation, and another lawyer, Tim Arnold, representing landowner Pa Ariki. Concerns are being raised about the proposed law and what effect this will have on landowner rights. Tepaki has long sought to develop the property, with public comments dating back ten years or more. His latest attempt involves backing from the Investors Forum. Reports of complaints at the Investors Forum join a long history of developers who fell into problems while talking up the Vaimaanga site. Investors Forum was set up after Dan McEwan, a property developer since the 60�s, returned from Australia in 2000. At the time, the New Zealand property market was booming. In what the Sunday Star Times describes as a series of “slick” seminars, McEwan began attracting what became more than 2000 private investors to the Forum. “Many millions” were invested by the Forum into about NZ$400 million in properties around New Zealand, according to the paper. Some disillusioned investors are not the only ones soured by events. Property-related professionals contacted by the Sunday Star-Times also questioned a company governance model exposing small investors to risks usually shouldered by professional developers. They also question a property development scheme that relies on valuation increases for capital gain. "That's fine in the market we have seen over the past few years, but what about in future?" one asked in the Sunday Star Times. News reports prompted background digging. Last year, Investors Forum was dismissed as being promoted by “spruikers” in reports from a self-proclaimed real estate ethics watchdog in Australia, Jenman. A “spruiker” is Australian slang for a noisy salesman, with Jenman advertising itself as an educational and awareness organisation. In a report headlined, “Old spruikers present new seminars,” the company’s chief executive Neil Jenman warned against advice from McEwan. “With New Zealand apartments predicted to crash and Kiwis shunning them, perhaps it is clever to target Australians,” said Jenman. He quoted an email from Australian promoters of the Investors Group as claiming that, “Anyone who is serious about creating wealth via property needs to attend this event. Hosted by Dan McEwan of the successful New Zealand company Investors Forum. Dan has acquired $1.37 billion of developments under construction. A clever man – would you say??” Jenman attacked McEwan’s Australian promoters as “cronies” from other get-rich schemes. Clients approached by McEwans promoters were the same as those already fleeced by another “spruiker” Henry Kaye, said Jenman. Kaye “raked” in A$60 million in the financial year to July 2003 through his National Investment Institute, a body investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for “misleading and deceptive advertising.” Jenman reports that Grant Luke, one of Kaye’s former NII “consultants” was signing up loans just days before the institute closed its doors. Luke went on to promote other property development schemes through a new company called Wealth Networks Pty Ltd, including the Investors Forum. Quoted by the Sunday Star Times, McEwan defended the performance of his company. "Early on, we may have let a few less sophisticated investors slip through that we shouldn't have," he said. McEwan went on to talk up other projects including a $100 million development of the Waiwera hotpools into an international spa, and, the Vaimaanga resort. "We are working on ways in which we can de-risk that project," McEwan said about the resort. Some investors are now complaining those ways include unloading most of the risk on them.

draft for national development commission

COMMENT

If this news agency were to propose a way of kick-starting reform, it would look something like this:

draft overview proposing a new non-state actor, the NDC

National Development Commission

as a registered society and, or, a statutory body of the Cook Islands.

March 2005

> background Civil society is evolving worldwide from long standing institutions in public and private sectors.

> status Associations and other Non-State Actors in civil society are attaining equality with older institutions, including Government.

> example One example is the equal footing enjoyed by NSA representatives with Government members on GFATM, the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

> premise Cook Islanders may similarly benefit from a body that reflects and responds to these evolving world trends.

> proposal A National Development Commission is proposed. Initially as a registered society, NDC could potentially partner with government and develop into a statutorily recognised body.

> precedent Precedent for an NDC has been set. A commission as proposed here would build on foundations laid down by previous public administrators. NDC also builds on historically established, short-term, issue-based coalitions of civil societies. Some reference has also been set by manifesto in political party.

> functions Primary functions for an NDC include providing scrutiny for public and private sector development. Such scrutiny reflects the importance placed on monitoring as seen in 1998 surveys conducted by the Political Review Commission.

> mechanisms Interest groups meeting monthly in council e.g. tourism, environment, media; to discuss common issues, set national and industry priorities. Quarterly updates provide constant impetus towards annual commission reviews.

> outcomes Evolution from public sector directed development priorities towards greater sector equality in governance processes.

> effectiveness Possibly zero as yet another non-state actor. Potentially high as an agency for governance input from civil society. Disengaging from political processes including historic and periodic formulation and dissolution may allow NDC to achieve and maintain effective societal mana through independent comment, lobbying and influence on governance issues.

> governance Operations of the NDC could serve as testing ground for governance concepts promoted for public and private sectors. Transparency, accountability, contestability, freedom of information, regulation, consultation and cooperation are all governance values needing real world research and development.

> strategic profile NDC would be ideal for encouraging modern management concepts of perpetual evolution. Recognises status of NSA executives as the elected representatives of societal groups.

> sustainability Membership open to all registered societies. Entirely voluntary with funding from all sectors. Mixture of permanent and issue-based councils.

> implementation Questions and answers concerning proposal for NDC raised and circulated among initial focus group. Working committee self-appointed. Draft parameters established. Formal invitations extended to all non-state actors. Constitutional aims and objectives discussed, drafted, consulted, amended and approved. Government approached for partnership and statutory recognition. Permanent cycle of recommendation, implementation and review begins.

> promotion All NDC hearings open to public. NDC members would be among the first points of contact for news media on wide ranging issues. Funding could be sourced for training NDC members towards agreed goals, and, building capacity among civil societies towards governance input.

> conclusion Good governance on issues of public concern most frequently occurs during events of high scrutiny, debate and consensus. By establishing an NDC, civil society could formalise and dramatically improve frequency of such events.

Comments welcome.