Tenth
victim
NOUMEA – A 75-year-old woman has died in New Caledonia of dengue fever, the tenth victim in the French territory’s latest outbreak of the disease. The woman from Poindimié died on Tuesday night after being admitted to hospital last Thursday. Also in recent days a six-month-old baby died of the mosquito-borne disease in Mont Dore. The New Caledonian Government has urged people to be vigilant about protecting themselves against mosquitoes and destroying potential breeding sites.
ERD
Act
RAROTONGA – Cook Islands secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Tepaeru Herrmann, acknowledges the immigration legislative framework that governs immigration operations requires updating.
The Entry, Residence and Departure (ERD) Act 1971-72 is 40 years old and, Ms Herrmann says: “It was written in a time when we were not the economy or society we are now.”
In an interview conducted immediately after an appearance before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee regarding work permit costs for caregivers, Ms Herrmann said the context in which the immigration service now needed to operate was significantly different to that when the ERD Act came into force in the 1970s.
Foreign
fees
RAROTONGA – Cook Islands Foreign Affairs and Immigration officials were summoned to Parliament last week to explain the fees foreign workers are required to pay.
Public Accounts Committee chairman Mona Ioane said members of the public were not happy with the increase in fees and wanted to know why the ministry arrived at them.
But Foreign Affairs and Immigration secretary, Tepaeru Herrmann, said the fees were determined by an executive council order with the current fees set in 2008.
The Cook Islands News reported her saying that one would assume such a determination by executive council would have been preceded by consultations with relevant stakeholders at that time.
Fashion
twist
A Tongan woman is pushing the boundaries of Tongan fashion by taking traditional Tongan garments and adding a contemporary twist to the items.
During the day, you can find the rising Tongan fashion designer Mele Tamanilo working in IT for the Ministry of Justice.
But outside working hours, the Auckland-based owner of Kanumez designs different types of kiekie, using non-traditional material to decorate the waist garment.
The kiekie is traditionally made out of plant fibres from pandanus, hibiscus and coconut.
