Administrative Centre: Avarua
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Introduction The Cook Islands group is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South Pacific. Low coral atolls are found in the north, and hilly volcanic islands in the south. It is a self-governing free state in association with New Zealand, which means Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship and enjoy the right of free access to New Zealand. Cook Islands has been named by the OECD as a harmful tax haven and has made a commitment to implement anti-money laundering measures.
Issues
History Historians believe the islands that now form Cook Islands were settled by people from what is now Tahiti in about 1200 AD. Spain's Alvaro de Mendana was the first European to make contact with the archipelago in 1596, and Britain's Captain James Cook explored much of the island group during expeditions in 1773 and 1777. Reverend John Williams arrived from the London Missionary Society in 1821. Cook Islanders embraced the teachings of the London missionaries and today 70 per cent of the local population still belong to the Cook Islands' Christian Church. The missionaries focused their efforts on Raratonga, leaving the other islands under the leadership of individual tribal chiefs - ariki - who maintained their traditional culture and religion. To prevent French expansion in the Pacific, the British declared a protectorate on the islands in 1888. A newly independent New Zealand annexed the territory in 1901; it became self-governing in association with New Zealand on August 4 1965. The Cook Islands' first prime minister, Sir Albert Henry, led the territory from 1965 to 1978, when he was removed from power after a judicial enquiry into vote rigging. Almost a decade of unstable political coalitions followed, until 1989 when Sir Albert's cousin, Geoffrey Henry, became prime minister. Cook Islands experienced a major financial crisis in the mid 1990s, mainly due to a large public service and excessive spending in the previous decade. In 1996 the government introduced measures to revive the economy, which included a massive cut in the number of public servants. This near collapse of the country's economy triggered widespread emigration, mainly to Australia and New Zealand. In 2000 the Cook Islands' offshore finance business came under threat when the OECD named the country as a harmful tax haven. The finance watchdog gave the Cooks six months to agree to a timetable of tax reforms. In May 2002 Cook Islands made a commitment to the OECD to transparency and effective exchange of information. The country promised to implement anti-money laundering measures and in February 2005 it was removed from the list. Political turmoil in 2006 led to the governor-general intervening, dissolving parliament and calling snap elections. It followed a by-election in July 2006, which led to a situation whereby both parties claimed to have the numbers to be in government. The Democratic Party, which was governing before the snap election, was victorious. Government Cook Islands is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. Under the 1965 constitution, the Cook Islands government has full responsibility for internal affairs but New Zealand assumes responsibilities for external affairs and defence. Cook Islanders are citizens of both Cook Islands and New Zealand and can migrate freely to New Zealand and Australia. Cook Islands has a parliament of 25 members popularly elected for five years. The government is based on the Westminster system with a prime minister chosen by the majority party in parliament. The prime minister in turn appoints a cabinet of six ministers. The House of Ariki - the hereditary chiefs - which represents all the islands, plays a consultative role in traditional maters such as customs and land tenure. Economy Cook Islands relies heavily on New Zealand for financial support and economic survival. This is because of its isolation, dispersal of islands, lack of agricultural land and declining population. Tourism is the largest contributor to the economy. The government is hoping to earn more money by developing its marine resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which measures almost two million square kilometres. Growth is expected in the issuing of fishing licences to foreign vessels; black pearl farming; and the exploitation of deep sea mineral deposits. The economy is boosted by remittances from large Cook Islands' communities in Australia and New Zealand. |
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