Prime Minister Hon. Mark Brown has returned from Tongareva, where he led a visit to the island on 22 September with the United States Ambassador to the Cook Islands, His Excellency Jared Novelly, and the New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Her Excellency Catherine Graham, to meet the community face to face and progress plans for a safe and reliable wharf at Omoka.
It was the first time the three partners had been on the island together since the announcement of their intention to work on the wharf at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau in August. The Prime Minister said the purpose of the visit was for the people of Tongareva to hear about the project in person.
The delegation was welcomed to Omoka with a traditional warrior’s chant, drums and floral garlands, and a guard of honour by the students of Tongareva School. At the formal programme that followed, the Prime Minister, the Ambassador and the High Commissioner each spoke to the community about what the project means to them.
“Coming to Tongareva to sit with our people, and to bring our partners with me, was the right way to begin this project,” said Prime Minister Mark Brown. “Our community deserved to hear about this work in person. We have listened, we have walked the site together, and now the careful work begins, with the people of Tongareva at the heart of every decision.”
Ambassador Novelly spoke of the deep and personal history between the United States and Tongareva, recalling that United States personnel built the island’s original wharf and airfield during the Second World War, and that his own grandfather and great uncle had served in the Pacific as American servicemen.
“The friendship between the United States and Tongareva runs deep, and for me it is personal,” said United States Ambassador Jared Novelly. “The wharf and airfield our servicemen built here all those years ago still serve this community today, and we are proud to help build again for the people of Tongareva, and to support the Cook Islands to look after its own waters. This will take a few years, but our commitment is for the long term.”
The High Commissioner set out the process ahead, explaining that a feasibility study would take place first to determine the scope of the project before any construction begins, and that it would be the community’s opportunity to help shape the design of the wharf.
“This visit is the start of careful, considered work,” said New Zealand High Commissioner Catherine Graham. “The feasibility study comes first, to shape the scope and the design, and it will be the community’s opportunity to have its say. New Zealand is proud to stand with the Cook Islands and the people of Tongareva, and to support a project the Cook Islands has made its own priority.”
Following the formal programme, the delegation visited the current landing and the proposed wharf site. Seeing the harbour first-hand underlined the scale of the need and made clear that improvements to the wharf and the infrastructure around it would be transformational for Tongareva.
The response from the community was overwhelmingly positive. The people of Tongareva welcomed the visit of the delegation led by the Prime Minister, and said they look forward to the feasibility study getting underway and to their voices being heard throughout the process. The people of Tongareva will take part in that work, in the planning, the jobs and the decisions, with Cook Islands hands at every stage.
