NZ PM not planning to discuss Cook Islands UN membership

Transcript

The New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, is not planning on having another discussion on UN membership with the Cook Islands Prime Minister, Henry Puna.

A spokesperson for Mr Key says New Zealand is not in a position to support Cook Islands membership of the UN under the Cooks Islands' current constitutional status.

But the Cook Islands government says it's already a member of a number of UN specialised agencies, and UN membership is the next logical step.

Leilani Momoisea reports.

The Cook Islands secretary of Foreign Affairs, Myra Patai, says the government is seeking United Nations membership because it feels it can add value to the debate that takes place at the UN. Myra Patai says there are a number of issues of national importance at the UN table, like fisheries and marine resources, that the Cook Islands would like to add its voice to.

MYRA PATAI: I think we enrich the debate by bringing our own voices to the table. We have the experiences that will allow us to shape the debate a bit more intimately than New Zealand. Also we have evolved to the point where we are capable, and we already are conducting our own foreign policy separate to New Zealand.

She says independence has never been on the table in terms of the Cook Islands UN aspirations, and there is  nothing about having your own and separate citizenship in the criteria for joining the UN. But a spokesperson for the Cook Islands opposition, James Beer, says it's very clear that the United Nations charter deals with sovereign countries, and the Cook Islands is not a sovereign country.

JAMES BEER: The fear that most Cook Islanders have is that the relationship between the Cook Islands and New Zealand, and having New Zealand citizenship and passports, are extremely relevant to the lifestyles and the peace of mind for all Cook Islanders. And our feeling is that this action, this unilateral action that's being taken by the Prime Minister, is putting that relationship at risk.

A statement from a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, John Key, says if the Cook Islands wants UN membership, the constitutional relationship, including the current shared citizenship will need to change. It says New Zealand is open to reviewing its relationship with the Cook Islands, if the Cook Islands wants to do so, though New Zealand is not seeking a change. But Myra Patai says the Cook Islands government feels that citizenship is not part of the discussion, and they don't understand why it should form part of the discussion.

MYRA PATAI: We already sit on some of these organisations as two separate members. So for example, New Zealand has its own seat at the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, as does the Cook Islands. Sometimes we have common views on certain agenda items, and sometimes we have different views. So I think it's already happening in those organisations. Why not the UN?

The former leader of the opposition, and a former Foreign Affairs Minister, Wilkie Rasmussen, says New Zealand needs to treat the Cook Islands more seriously on the international stage. He says Mr Key should review New Zealand's position on tying the issue of citizenship and UN membership together.

WILKIE RASMUSSEN: I think New Zealand needs to be open minded and should not continue the kind of over-bearing threat of Cook Islanders losing their citizenship.

The Cook Islands Prime Minister, Henry Puna, has said he plans to continue talks on United Nations membership with John Key when Mr Key visits Rarotonga in August. But a spokesperson for Prime Minister John Key says while Mr Key is looking forward to his next conversation with Prime Minister Puna, he is not planning another discussion on UN membership with him.