Seymour’s letter to the police was an effort to alter the course of justice and does put him in an untenable position now. Where is the media witch hunt that would occur if he was a coloured female?
Perhaps PM Mark Brown is financially motivated here? Mr Brown owns one of the Cook Islands' two large construction firm, which could then be excluded from bidding on NZ-financed contracts due to potential conflict-of-interest issues. Perhaps MFAT might consider options for allowing contracting in such small markets, rather than driving small Pacific Island countries into the warm welcome of the CCP, with all that entails (corruption, prostitution, drugs, etc).
⁉️ Strange that you "recommend" reading the article on Guy Williams/Seymour at Waitangi, when it got strong backlash all over the place... (not least from me 😱) On the theme of media being out of touch or acting as stenographers for the likes of Seymour et al, I contribute to The Spinoff for a different experience - so far mainly happy, but a bit of introspection is needed around this side of "journalism" 🤷
Visit a Pacific country which has opted for closer relations with the the PRC. In addition, debt burdens soar (Good luck getting hold of any agreements - they're secret).
An important starting point in any discussion about the Cook Islands are they are a NZ colony in everything but name, if we deny them self determination is that not deeply hypocritical
No they are not. They are in ‘free association’ & could be independent if they chose - but would really struggle to survive on their own. There are a number of islands in the Caribbean in a similar relationship with UK.
The UK is hardly a model we should follow. Not really a “free” association, if we get to boss them around. Maybe Luxon should he inspired to take a long overdue visit to China, after all, they are only our biggest export market by some way.
The Australian Deputy Prime Minister was also unable to meet the Kiribati President but accepted the offer instead to meet the Deputy President unlike our Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Australian DPM made no public fuss about this again unlike Minister Peters. On this occasion at least Australia has shown far more finesse in its dealings with the region that have we.
Seymour’s letter to the police was an effort to alter the course of justice and does put him in an untenable position now. Where is the media witch hunt that would occur if he was a coloured female?
Perhaps PM Mark Brown is financially motivated here? Mr Brown owns one of the Cook Islands' two large construction firm, which could then be excluded from bidding on NZ-financed contracts due to potential conflict-of-interest issues. Perhaps MFAT might consider options for allowing contracting in such small markets, rather than driving small Pacific Island countries into the warm welcome of the CCP, with all that entails (corruption, prostitution, drugs, etc).
⁉️ Strange that you "recommend" reading the article on Guy Williams/Seymour at Waitangi, when it got strong backlash all over the place... (not least from me 😱) On the theme of media being out of touch or acting as stenographers for the likes of Seymour et al, I contribute to The Spinoff for a different experience - so far mainly happy, but a bit of introspection is needed around this side of "journalism" 🤷
What the devil are you suggesting, prostitution, drugs corruption, where’s your evidence?
Visit a Pacific country which has opted for closer relations with the the PRC. In addition, debt burdens soar (Good luck getting hold of any agreements - they're secret).
An important starting point in any discussion about the Cook Islands are they are a NZ colony in everything but name, if we deny them self determination is that not deeply hypocritical
No they are not. They are in ‘free association’ & could be independent if they chose - but would really struggle to survive on their own. There are a number of islands in the Caribbean in a similar relationship with UK.
The UK is hardly a model we should follow. Not really a “free” association, if we get to boss them around. Maybe Luxon should he inspired to take a long overdue visit to China, after all, they are only our biggest export market by some way.
The Australian Deputy Prime Minister was also unable to meet the Kiribati President but accepted the offer instead to meet the Deputy President unlike our Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Australian DPM made no public fuss about this again unlike Minister Peters. On this occasion at least Australia has shown far more finesse in its dealings with the region that have we.
Paul Sinclair
Poor Winston first it was the young Maori woman MP now a Cook Island leader treating him with ignore