Cooks Philatelic Bureau still welcome to Govt

Press, 12 August 1978, Page 3

Cooks Philatelic Bureau still welcome to Govt

PA Wellington Ihe new Premier of the Cook Islands (Dr Torr Davis) said yesterdav that the millionaire American entrepreneur, Finbar Kenny, the man who forwarded the SO.3M in stamp sales monet, that was used to finance flvv<«er fares for the Coolt Islands elections, will not be banned from further business in the Cooks. Mr Kenny funds the Cook Islands Philatelic Bureau for the Government. In the bribery trial which resulted in the overthrow of Sir Albert Henrv. evidence was given that an advance on stamp sales sent to the nureau by Mr Kennv was used by Sir Albert to fund the charter flights of his supporters. Dr Davis said in Wellington yesterday: -I have no reason at this stage to find Mr Finbar Kenny in any situation that was blameworthy. The document ation is very clear tht he was not involved in the nefarious things that took place and I have no reason at all to blame him for anything.” Profits from the Philatelic Bureau, shared with the American entrepreneur, return a substantial sum to the Cook Islands Treasury. Dr Davis said that the Cooks faced serious economic problems. They had a trade deficit of more than SI2M and an export-import ratio of 1:7.

i! Greater importance had to - be placed on the private sec- * tor to bring the Cook Is- . lands economy out of the , mire, said Dr Davis. : On secondary' industry developments, Dr Davis ' indicated that he would c look for improved attitudes : from New Zea'and so that small labour-intensive items (could be assembled in the ; I Cooks, for example, and '(exported to New Zealand (Without facing prohibitive ((duties. ,| One of the problems of J the Pacific was that Mela-

nesia was advancing more > rapidly than Polynesia, i which created problems for! the Cook Islands, Tonga and Samoa, among others. Dr Davis said that one reason for this was that advancement in Polynesia was : often based on inherited privilege, while in Melanesia it was based on who was best. New Zealand now ap- ! peared to have a broader view towards development aid for the Cook Islands, Dr Davis said after a meeting ' with the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon).

I He said that the two leaders had not talked specific- ; ally about financial aid for the Cook Islands. “We don’t need any more aid — just use what we have got more effectively,” j said Dr Davis. But help might be needed j from the private industrial! sector in New Zealand, he said. Dr Davis said that the islands needed assistance to develop but wanted as little as possible, as the Cook Is-j ‘lands should be self-reliant.