Just a day after returning from China, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown will face protestors outside parliament this morning as local residents demand more transparency.
New Zealand said it had not been properly consulted over the agreements Brown has signed with China — and that goes against the Cook Islands’ constitutional relationship with Aotearoa.
This comes hard on the heels of the Cook Islands wanting its own passport — and only putting the idea on the back burner “for the moment” after a public outcry.
Facing the biggest test since taking leadership in 2020, Brown returned to a carefully staged welcome from the ui ariki (traditional leaders), religious advisory council and cabinet ministers in the VIP arrival area. Afterwards, he held a press conference, although 1News was barred from attending.
Outside he told 1News Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver he didn’t want to talk “in case you do another hatchet job on me”. 1News broke the story about New Zealand’s reaction to both the passport plan and the beefing up of the relationship with China.
In the press conference, he told Cook Islands Television, Cook Islands News and Radio New Zealand that the trip to China had been “tremendous”. He said the Cook Islands had been given a grant of around $4 million (US$2.29 million) which is likely to go into renewable energy.
Brown said the areas they discussed with China include upgrading “a lot of our infrastructure facilities in the outer islands” and “looking at tourism as a potential avenue as well — there are over 250,000 Chinese tourists who visit New Zealand each year, but virtually none of them get to go to the pacific to enjoy as part of their tourism experience”.
Brown told the journalists he was sure once he explains in parliament, he “will overcome some of the concerns that have been raised and the speculation that has been rife, particularly through the New Zealand media, about the purpose of this trip to China”.
He said the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China would be made public shortly, and while he hadn’t spoken to or shared it with the New Zealand Government yet, he was certain they would be reassured that it would benefit the Cook Islands.
However, 1News understands there are concerns over a number of Memorandum of Understandings that have been signed with China, and there has been no detailed release of what is in those.
A motion of no confidence has been filed against Brown and his cabinet, but there will be a delay in hearing it because of parliamentary procedure.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Brown is confident he can handle the motion of no confidence and welcomes the public protest that will be held outside Parliament House this morning.
Participants of the march are expected to be in front of Parliament at 10.45am before the first Parliament Sitting for the year convenes at 1pm.
Protesters, led by Opposition MP and Cook Islands United Party leader Teariki Heather, will rally against the Government’s abandoned Cook Islands passport proposal and the recent Joint Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030 agreement with China.
