Scientist pleads for aid for Cooks

Press, 3 May 1977, Page 10

Scientist pleads for aid for Cooks

Neglect by the New Zealand Government will leave Cook Islanders in a desperate economic plight when the Raro factor.’ closes m August, according to a scientist who has spent a lot of time in the islands. Unless something is done, the Islanders will be forced to emigrate to New Zealand — where the Government does not want them — or revert to subsistence living, says Dr Jeanne Perrv, a psychologist at the University of Canterburv. Dr Perrv. who has worked on and off the islands for the last six vears, savs that the Cooks could have a verv bright future if fostered, and he extremely useful to New Zealand. She is particularly worried about Manga 1a Island, which has the “greatest agricultural potential in the South Pacific.” It could supptv New’ Zealand with out-of-season crops cheaply, and would also save the overseas funds soent importing such iroduce from, California, she savs. “Mangaia Islanders' economic conditions are bad now,; but will be desperate when I the Raro factorv. owned by Greggs, closes in August.” according to Dr Perry. “Apart from money sent bv relatives in New Zealand, their onlv income is pineapples grown for the factory on Rarotonga, and this has lost monev ever’ vear since it started in 1950. Incredibly, the Islanders didn’t know they lost money every year,” she said. The pineapple growers got no return for their work, and even the money sent by relatives m New Zealand was diminishing because of economic conditions there. The growers annually lost 1 between 20 and 40 per cent of their crop between loading '■ the boat at Mangaia and the factory on Rarotonga, which* more taan took the profits. Often, the fruit was dumoed into the sea if it was rough, or if the boat could not wait or could not be. loaded. In 1975. for example.

3.423.5101 b fruit was sent 1 out. but the facton- acknow- i lodged only 2,620,7311 b. In. I January, 140 cartons were 1 dumped into the sea because < the sea was too rough for 1 them to be loaded. The average Mangaian i planter’s income was $520. i Last year five planters made ' over $3OOO, and one made S5OOO, but his expenses were ' $4600 so he was giving it up : and coming to New Zealand.:: Other problems w-ere lack'l of equipment, and the under- 1 ' staffing in the agricultural I office, so that many pine- j apples could not be spraved i and were downgraded. The': equipment problem was eased,: bv a new $30,000 Cook I ’ Islands Government grant, i but this would not solve the loss of pineapples, she said. 1 “The Deputy Prime Minis-1 ter (Mr Taiboys) visited the' Islands, but ignored the the outer islands and their poten- i tial. He got involved only in ; local politics,” said Dr Perry. I Instead the New Zealand Government built an airstrip. I costing about SIOM. “for* purely military reasons, be-i cause it was scared of the i Russian build-up.” She said that if the Government did nothing, the: Islanders would be forced: to emigrate to New Zealand; to survive, although they did not want to. for they were* penniless when they came." The alternative was to go; back to eating taro and pigs,: forgetting the rest of the, world. New Zealand did not want: Islanders to immigrate but' did nothing to avoid it, she; said. One solution would be to; build a canning factory on; Mangaia. as had been suggested by the island’s chief administrative officer, Mr; Ngametua Kareroa. The United Nations had al-; ready been approached but; no replv had been given. The New Zealand Government; and the United Nations should combine in this ven-! ture. Dr Perry said. The other solution would; *. be to improve transport so! that the island could supply;

New Zealand with out-of-season crops—apples, kiwi fruit, coffee, vanilla, nutmeg, tobacco, kumara, yams. taro, oranges. bananas, gooseberries and many others. At present only one trading ship called at the outer islands, and it did not go to Mangaia. “Economic and agricultural; experts would have to be sent out to help get this under way, but this should 'have been done 27 years ago,: iwhen they began growing pineapples/’ she said. Dr Perry also criticised the i lack of medication on the island. There were Fiji-; , trained medical workers there, but no medicine. So Islanders had to rely on Maori medicine, or witchdoctors. “They are at least entitled, to medicine, surely. The air strip will help—before, if; anyone was seriously injured 1 ior ill they just. died.” she ; said.