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Cook Islands opposition calls for national pause on seabed mining

Cook Islands opposition calls for national pause on seabed mining

RNZ News3 days ago

By
Talaia Mika
, Cook Islands News
Cook Islands opposition leader Tina Browne
Photo:
Cook Islands News
Cook Islands opposition leader Tina Browne is calling for a "national pause" on the Cook Islands' deep sea mining ambitions, warning that the country is risking its oceanic heritage and identity by charging ahead with a decision that could have irreversible consequences.
Browne made the comment following the meeting of Pacific leaders in Nice, France, a gathering also attended by Prime Minister Mark Brown, who led a Cook Islands delegation to the third United Nations Ocean Conference.
The Opposition leader questioned the government's commitment to responsible development, contrasting it with the passionate pleas from neighbouring Pacific countries calling for moratoriums and marine protection.
"Like many across our country and Te Moana Nui o Kiva, I was deeply moved listening to our Pacific leaders speak in France this week," Browne said.
"Tuvalu's President pleaded for help in the face of rising seas swallowing his nation. The Solomon Islands called for a moratorium on seabed mining. Tahiti invoked its cultural heritage to place a rā'ui-a traditional protection-over a vast section of its ocean territory.
"They spoke with heart and with courage. They reminded us that while we may be small islands, we are vast ocean nations-and that with that vastness comes a duty to protect it."
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While leaders across the region are urging caution and conservation, Browne says the Cook Islands government is "forging ahead with plans to mine the deep seabed beneath our waters," describing the approach as one that is "moving quickly and quietly on something that could change our ocean forever."
The Prime Minister and his delegation had earlier joined world leaders in Monaco for the Blue Economy and Finance Forum before heading to Nice, where they reaffirmed the Cook Islands' push to become a global leader in seabed mining.
Mark Brown defended the country's stance on deep sea mineral exploration, highlighting the regulatory frameworks being developed and the potential economic benefits for the nation.
But Browne said while she is not opposed to economic development, it must not come at the expense of the country's identity or values.
"I want to be clear: I am not against development. I understand our need to grow our economy and reduce our reliance on others. But development must be responsible, inclusive, and not compromise the very foundation of who we are. And in the Cook Islands, the ocean is not just territory-it is genealogy, spirituality, and life."
Citing recent feedback from young Cook Islanders during a seabed mining consultation in Australia, Browne raised concerns over intergenerational justice and the lack of youth involvement in decision-making.
"Several young Cook Islanders expressed frustration at a recent seabed mining consultation in Australia. They said the room was full of older people and felt left out, ignored in a process that would most affect their future," she said.
"If our youth-the very people we say we are doing this for-feel excluded, then we must ask ourselves whether this process is fair or even just."
Browne said true leadership is knowing when to pause, listen, and bring the nation along with the decision-making process.
"We are often proud to say we are leaders in the Pacific. However, leadership is not always about being first. Sometimes, it's about knowing when to stop and listen-when to join the chorus, not go solo."
She has urged the government to put a national pause on the seabed mining rollout, and to commit to meaningful dialogue with the people of the Cook Islands.
"I am calling for a national pause - a moment to step back and reflect together as a country," she said.
"Let us open up proper space for dialogue-not just behind closed doors or technical briefings, but real conversations in our villages, churches, and homes. Let us hear from our vaka navigators, our reef fishermen, and our grandmothers, who understand the tides better than any textbook."
"Let us ask: Do we truly know the risks? Do we have a mandate from our people? And is this the legacy we want to leave behind?"
Browne concluded with a plea to put wisdom before ambition: "We still have time to make the right decision, not rushed or pressured, but one that honours our identity, the ocean, and our place in the Pacific. Let's lead with wisdom, not just ambition."
-This article was first published by
Cook Islands News
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Former New Zealand PM Helen Clark blames Cook Islands for creating a crisis
Former New Zealand PM Helen Clark blames Cook Islands for creating a crisis

RNZ News

timea day ago

  • RNZ News

Former New Zealand PM Helen Clark blames Cook Islands for creating a crisis

Helen Clark, middle, says Cook Islands caused a crisis for itself by not consulting Wellington before signing a deal with China. Photo: RNZ Pacific Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark believes the Cook Islands, a realm of New Zealand, caused a crisis for itself by not consulting Wellington before signing a deal with China. The New Zealand government has paused more than $18 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands after the latter failed to provide satisfactory answers to Aotearoa's questions about its partnership agreement with Beijing. The Cook Islands is in free association with New Zealand and governs its own affairs. But New Zealand provides assistance with foreign affairs (upon request), disaster relief, and defence. The 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration signed between the two nations requires them to consult each other on defence and security, which Winston Peters said had not been honoured. Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown both have a difference of opinion on the level of consultation required between the two nations on such matters. "There is no way that the 2001 declaration envisaged that Cook Islands would enter into a strategic partnership with a great power behind New Zealand's back," Clark told RNZ Pacific on Thursday. Clark was a signatory of the 2001 agreement with the Cook Islands as New Zealand prime minister at the time. "It is the Cook Islands government's actions which have created this crisis," she said. "The urgent need now is for face-to-face dialogue at a high level to mend the NZ-CI relationship." Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has downplayed the pause in funding to the Cook Islands during his second day of his trip to China. Brown told parliament on Thursday (Wednesday, Cook Islands time) that his government knew the funding cut was coming. He also suggested a double standard , pointing out that New Zealand has entered also deals with China that the Cook Islands was not "privy to or being consulted on". Prime Minister Mark Brown and China's Ambassador to the Pacific Qian Bo last year. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Lydia Lewis A Pacific law expert says that, while New Zealand has every right to withhold its aid to the Cook Islands, the way it is going about it will not endear it to Pacific nations. Auckland University of Tchnology (AUT) senior law lecturer and a former Pacific Islands Forum advisor Sione Tekiteki told RNZ Pacific that for Aotearoa to keep highlighting that it is "a Pacific country and yet posture like the United States gives mixed messages". "Obviously, Pacific nations in true Pacific fashion will not say much, but they are indeed thinking it," Tekiteki said. Since day dot there has been a misunderstanding on what the 2001 agreement legally required New Zealand and Cook Islands to consult on, and the word consultation has become somewhat of a sticking point. The latest statement from the Cook Islands government confirms it is still a discrepancy both sides want to hash out. "There has been a breakdown and difference in the interpretation of the consultation requirements committed to by the two governments in the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration," the Ministry for Foreign Affiars and Immigration (MFAI) said. "An issue that the Cook Islands is determined to address as a matter of urgency". A Cook Island resident Jackie Tuara says she would rather be in agreements with countries that have democratic policies than with China Photo: Caleb Fotheringham Tekiteki said that, unlike a treaty, the 2001 declaration was not "legally binding" per se but serves more to express the intentions, principles and commitments of the parties to work together in "recognition of the close traditional, cultural and social ties that have existed between the two countries for many hundreds of years". He said the declaration made it explicitly clear that Cook Islands had full conduct of its foreign affairs, capacity to enter treaties and international agreements in its own right and full competence of its defence and security. However, he added that there was a commitment of the parties to "consult regularly". This, for Clark, the New Zealand leader who signed the all-important agreement more than two decades ago, this is where Brown misstepped. Clark previously labelled the Cook Islands-China deal as 'clandestine' which has "damaged" its relationship with New Zealand. RNZ Pacific contacted the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment but was advised by the MFAI secretary that they are not currently accommodating interviews.

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