Cost of living, water tariffs, mining on Cook Islanders' minds ahead of election
Cost of living, water tariffs, and mining are on Cook Islanders' minds ahead of this week's election.
The Cook Islands is preparing for its general election this week, with voters concerned about the cost of living. Prime Minister Mark Brown emphasizes consolidating economic growth and improving welfare payments to address rising costs. The Democratic Party's Tina Browne promises to eliminate water tariffs, while the United Party's Teariki Heather advocates for free water.
The Progressive Party's Te Tuhi Kelly supports user pays for water infrastructure. The debate over seabed mining is also heating up, with Heather pushing for a referendum on the matter. Browne and Kelly agree that the people should decide on seabed mining, but Kelly expresses skepticism due to insufficient scientific data. The Cook Islands' relationship with New Zealand continues to be a contentious issue.
Written by urgent.news from RNZ Pacific's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
