NZ challenges Cook Islands leader to independence vote after China comments

New Zealand has called on Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown to test the views of the Cook Islands people and hold a referendum on independence from New Zealand following his latest defence of agreements with China.

New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this comment in response to PM Brown's recent statement defending the nation's new strategic partnership with China, as he cited the need for diverse international partners to fund a $650 million infrastructure plan.

Speaking at the opening of the Pa Enua Governance Forum on Monday local time, Brown said that if NZ cannot help fund their proposed infrastructure plan, then the country "will go somewhere else and look for that help".

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs told Cook Islands News that these comments are the latest in a long line of public statements by Brown over the past year that "have badly mischaracterised the New Zealand Government's approach to our foreign policy and our relationship with the Cook Islands".

"With each mischaracterisation of the New Zealand approach, Prime Minister Brown makes it harder to restore trust in the New Zealand-Cook Islands relationship."

The spokesperson said that it has been clear to New Zealand for some time that Brown, "bristles at the constraints placed on him by the Cook Islands' free association relationship with New Zealand, and that he wishes for the Cook Islands to be completely free of those constraints".

"If Prime Minister Brown wishes to run a foreign and defence policy without the need to consult New Zealand, and in contravention of New Zealand interests, then he ought to respect the Cook Islands people enough to test their views and call a referendum on independence from New Zealand.

"New Zealand has always made clear that should the Cook Islands people wish to become independent of New Zealand, then we would support them in their wish. For its part, the New Zealand Government deeply values the free association model and its cherished relationship with the Cook Islands people."

A spokesperson for the Office of the Cook Islands PM (Wednesday NZT) defended the comments PM Brown made on Monday.

"The Prime Minister's remarks at the Pa Enua Governance Forum reflected a conversation with island leaders about the delivery of infrastructure and development outcomes. They were not a statement on foreign policy, and should not be read as a departure from the Cook Islands' long-standing relationship with New Zealand," the spokesperson said.

"The Government remains committed to its constitutional relationship with New Zealand and to the constructive engagement currently underway between our two countries.

"We have no further comment to make."

On Monday (Tuesday NZT), PM Brown addressed the need for Cook Islands to have diverse international partners to fund a multi-million-dollar infrastructure plan that New Zealand alone cannot support, despite NZ's concerns and paused funding.

He said that the country's national infrastructure investment plan costs $650m for infrastructural work across the country, including buildings, transportation, and so on.

"New Zealand can't afford to give us that amount of money…we have to develop our partnerships with other larger countries to get the support we need to meet our infrastructure needs," Brown said.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, left, Cook Islands Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Tukaka Ama, China's Premier Li Qiang, and China's Minister of Natural Resources Guan Zhiou. Photo/Cook Islands Office of the Prime Minister

"Let me set the record straight about the reality of life, we need to build our infrastructure, we need to improve our standards in the Pa Enua, me kare rauka mai ta te Nuti Reni (if we can't get help from New Zealand), we will go somewhere else and look for that help, and that's what we've been doing."

New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said: "For 60 years, it has delivered a great deal for the development of the Cook Islands and its people. Indeed, the living standards in the Cook Islands are a testament to the free association model's success."

"New Zealand looks forward to celebrating 60 years of free association on 4 August with the Cook Islands people, both in Rarotonga via the visit of Her Excellency the Governor-General and at events in New Zealand."

Opposition MP and Cook Islands United Party leader Teariki Heather, who disagrees with a referendum for independence, says, "We should never forget the hand that has fed us all these years."

Heather said that if PM Brown were to demand independence, he would organise a rally and protest against it, adding that Brown "should resign as Prime Minister of this country".

-This article was first published by Cook Islands News.