History
The first Europeans to visit the islands were members of a British expedition, led by Capt. James Cook (after whom the islands are named), in 1773. The Cook Islands were proclaimed a British protectorate in 1888, and a part of New Zealand in 1901.
On 5 August 1965 the Cook Islands became a self-governing Territory in free association with New Zealand. The people are New Zealand citizens. Sir Albert Henry, leader of the Cook Islands Party (CIP), was elected Premier in 1965 and re-elected in 1971, 1974 and March 1978. However, in July 1978, following an inquiry into alleged electoral malpractice, the Chief Justice disallowed votes cast in the elections to the Legislative Assembly (later renamed Parliament) by Cook Islands expatriates who had been flown from New Zealand, with their fares paid from public funds. The amended ballot gave a majority to the Democratic Party (DP), and its leader, Dr (later Sir) Thomas Davis, was sworn in as Premier by the Chief Justice. In August 1979 Sir Albert Henry was convicted of conspiracy to defraud, and was formally stripped of his knighthood.
In May 1981 the Cook Islands' Constitution was amended to increase the membership of Parliament from 22 to 24, and to extend the parliamentary term from four to five years.
In March 1983 Sir Thomas Davis lost power to the CIP, under Geoffrey (later Sir Geoffrey) Henry, cousin of the former Premier. However, with one seat already subject to re-election, Henry's majority of three was reduced by the death of one CIP member of Parliament and the transfer of allegiance to the DP by another. Henry resigned in August, and a general election in November returned the DP to power under Davis. In August
1984 Davis announced wide-ranging government changes, with three of the seven posts going to members of the CIP, to form a coalition Government, with Henry as Deputy Prime Minister. In mid-1985, however, Davis dismissed Henry, who had endorsed an unsuccessful motion expressing 'no confidence' in the Government, and Henry's supporters withdrew from the coalition. Henry's successor as Deputy Prime Minister was Dr Terepai Maoate, one of four CIP members who continued to support the Davis Government, in defiance of the CIP central committee.
Davis was forced to resign as Prime Minister in July 1987, after a parliamentary motion expressing 'no confidence' in his administration was approved. He was succeeded by Dr Pupuke Robati, a member of the Cabinet and a leading figure in the DP. Geoffrey Henry again became Prime Minister following a general election victory for the CIP in January 1989. The defection in mid-1990 of a member of Parliament, from the DP to the CIP provided the CIP with 15 seats in Parliament and thus the minimum two-thirds' majority support necessary to amend the Constitution. In August 1991 a constitutional amendment was approved to increase the number of members of Parliament to 25, and at an election to the newly-created seat a CIP candidate was successful. The amendment also provided for an increase in the number of cabinet members from seven to nine (including the Prime Minister).
At a general election in March 1994 the CIP increased its majority, winning 20 seats in Parliament; the DP secured three seats and the Alliance Party (established in 1992 by Norman George, the former DP parliamentary whip, who had been expelled from the party following a dispute over spending) two. Davis, who failed to win a seat, subsequently resigned as leader of the DP. A referendum held simultaneously revealed that a majority of the electorate favoured retaining the current name (69.8% of voters), national anthem (80.2%) and flag (48.5 %) of the Cook Islands. (At subsequent by-elections the CIP lost two seats and the DP and Alliance Party each gained one seat.)
A financial scandal was narrowly averted following reports that during 1994 the Government had issued loan guarantees for foreign companies worth more than $NZ l,200 m. (the island’s total revenue for 1994/95 was estimated at $NZ 50 m.). An investigatigation into the affair by the New Zealand Reserve Bank found that the Government had not been guilty of fraud, but rather had been coerced into the activity by unscrupulous foreign business interests. However, the affair led many investors to remove their funds from the islands, provoking a financial crisis which resulted in Henry's decision in mid-1995 to withdraw the Cook Islands dollar from circulation, and to implement a programme of retrenchment measures. The crisis deepened during 1995 as new allegations emerged and Henry's Goverment was severely criticized by New Zealand for failing to cooperate with an official inquiry into accusations of fraud and tax evasion involving several New Zealand companies. Henry maintained that the islands' bank secrecy laws prevented the disclosure of Information relating to financial transactions. The situation deteriorated further when it was revealed that the Government had defaulted on a debt of some US $100 m. to an Italian bank. In response to pressure from New Zealand, and in an attempt to restore a degree of financial stability to the islands, Henry (whose management of the crisis had been questioned both by his own party and by the Opposition) announced a severe restructuring programme in April 1996. The measures included a 50% reduction in the pay of public sector workers, the closure of almost all diplomatic missions overseas, a 60 % reduction in the number of government departments and ministries, and the privatization of the majority of government-owned authorities. A marked increase in 1995/96 in the emigration rate and a decline in the number of Cook Islanders returning to the islands following a period of residency overseas attributed to the austere economic conditions created by the financial crisis.
In August 1997 Parliament approved the Outer Islands Local Government Act, providing for a new budgetary System to allocate funds for projects in the outer islands and for increased powers for local authorities, with the aim of reducing significantly central government administration of the outer islands. As part of the plan, three new government bodies were elected in April 1998.
Henry's administration continued to attract controversy, with the announcement in December 1997 of the closure of the Ministry of Public Works, Survey, Housing, Water Supply and Environment Services for exceeding its budget. The minister responsible, Tihina Tom Marsters, resigned in protest at the closure, which resulted in the loss of more than 100 public servants' jobs, problems with the supply of utilities (particularly water) and the suspension of several development projects.
In November 1997 the northern Cook Islands were devastated by Cyclone Martin, which killed at least eight people and destroyed virtually all crops and infrastructure. The islands' important black pearl industry suffered severe losses as a result of extensive damage on Manihiki Atoll.
A reported increase in the number of Russian nationals opening accounts in the Cook Islands led to allegations in early 1999 that the islands' 'offshore' financial centre was being used extensively by criminal organizations for ‘laundering’ the proceeds of their activities. The claims were vigorously denied by officials in the sector. However, the naming of the islands in a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in June 2000 as one of a number of countries that had .'failed to co-operate' in regional efforts to combat ‘money-laundering’ led to increased international-pressure on the Government to implement stricter controls over its 'offshore' financial centre. Consequently, legislation was approved in August of that year providing for the creation of the Money Laundering Authority and the introduction of new regulations aimed at reducing criminal activity in the sector. In early 2001, however, the Government announced that it would not be able to meet the July 2001 deadline for the implementation of the reforms recommended in the report and therefore was liable to face international sanctions. In April 1999 Chief Justice Sir Peter Quilliam ruled as unconstitutional an electoral amendment, submitted by the ruling CIP, to ban any electoral activity, including the formation of political parties. The amendment was contested by the DAP and NAP, which claimed that it contravened fundamental human rights and freedoms.
At the legislative elections on 16 June 1999 the CIP won 11 of the 25 seats in Parliament, the Democratic Alliance Party (DAP, formerly the Democratic Party) 10 seats, and the New Alliance Party (NAP, formerly the Alliance Party) four seats. Sir Geoffrey Henry of the CIP was reappointed Prime Minister and formed a Cabinet, following the establishment of a political coalition with the NAP; the leader of the NAP, Norman George, became Deputy Prime Minister. However, three members of the CIP subsequently left the party to form a coalition with the DAP in protest at the alliance with the NAP, and at the end of July Henry resigned and was replaced by a 'rebel' CIP member, Joe Williams. Williams was confirmed as the new Prime Minister by 13 yotes to 12 in a vote of confidence by the Parliament. Williams' appointment provoked a public protest in Rarotonga, exacerbated by general discontent at the nomination of a Prime Minister whose parliamentary constituency was outside the Cook Islands. Electors also voted in a referendum on wether the parliamentary term should be reduced from five years to four. The shorter term was favoured by 63% of voters, and thus narrowly failed to receive the support of the two-thirds’ majority required to amend the Constitution. The result of the contest for the Pukapuka seat, which had been won by former Prime Minister Inatio Akaruru by just one vote, was challenged by the DAP. The matter was taken to the Court of Appeal; which subsequently declared the result invalid, stripping the Government of its one-seat majority. A by-election was held in late September to decide the Pukapuka seat, however the result was again said to be invalid and a further by-election was scheduled. The Government became a minority administration in mid-October when the Prime Minister dismissed his deputy, Norman George, along with the Minister of Education, following their defection to the Opposition. Despite the appointment of three new ministers, Williams failed to regain a majority in Parliament. In November Williams resigned, shortly before a vote of 'no confidence' was to be tabled against him by Dr Terepai Maoate, the leader of the opposition DAP. Maoate won the vote by 14 votes to 11 and was appointed Prime Minister, forming a new coalition Government with the NAP. He subsequently appointed Norman George to the post of Deputy Prime Minister.
The issue of emigration became the focus of attention again in late 2000 when it was announced that some 1,400 residents had left the islands during that year (compared with 641 in the previous year). This resulted in a reduction in the estimated population of the islands to 14,300 (the lowest level in more than 50 years) and prompted the Government to initiate campaigns in Australia and New Zealand to encourage former citizens to return to the Cook Islands. Private sector businesses, many of which had experienced difficulties in recruiting workers in sufficient numbers, were also involved in the campaign to attract islanders back to their homeland.
In early 2000 the islands of Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga and Manihiki expressed their desire to become fully devolved and to take sole control over areas such as administration, public expenditure and justice. In response, the Government pledged gradually to phase out the Ministry of Outer Islands Development, as well as the post of Government Representative s in the outer islands.
In August 1985 eight members of the South Pacific Forum (subsequently restyled the Pacific Islands Forum) including the Cook Islands, signed a treaty on Rarotonga, designating a 'nuclear-free' zone in the South Pacific. The treaty imposed a ban on the manufacture, testing, storage and use of nuclear weapons, and the dumping of nuclear waste, in the region..
In January 1986, following the rift between New Zealand and the USA in respect of the ANZUS security arrangements (see p. 316), President Davis declared the Cook Islands a neutral country, because he considered that New Zealand (which has control over the islands' defence and foreign policy) was no longer in a position to defend the islands. The proclamation of neutrality meant that the Cook Islands would not enter into a military relationship with any foreign power, and, in particular, would prohibit visits by US warships. Visits by US naval vessels were allowed to resume by Henry's Government. In October 1991 the Cook Islands signed a treaty of friendship and co-operation with France, covering economic deyelopment, trade and surveillance of the islands' EEZ. The establishment of closer relations with France was widely regarded as an expression of the Cook Islands' Government's dissatisfaction with existing arrangements with New Zealand. However, relations deteriorated considerably when the French Government resumed its Programme of nuclear-weapons testing at Mururoa Atoll in September 1995. Henry was fiercely critical of the decision and dispatched a vaka (traditional voyaging canoe) with a crew of Cook Islands' traditional warriors to protest near the test site. The tests were concluded in January 1996. Full diplomatic relations with France were established in early 2000. Mean-while, the islands established diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level with the People's Republic of China in July 1997. In November 1998 Henry made an official visit to China, during which the two countries signed a bilateral trade agreement and each conferred the Status of'most favoured nation on the other. Henry stated that the move constituted a further attempt by his Government to reduce the islands' dependence on New Zealand.
More about history: http://www.ck