Green MP slams poll on citizenship rights, calls for recognition of Cook Islands-NZ long history

Teanau Tuiono, a Green Party MP from the Cook Islands, has criticised a recent poll showing that most New Zealanders oppose Cook Islanders’ automatic citizenship rights, including access to healthcare and education, if their government acts contrary to New Zealand's foreign policy.

Tuiono says the poll, commissioned by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, overlooks the deep historical ties and contributions of Cook Islanders to Aotearoa.

“It also fails to acknowledge the contributions that Cook Islanders have made to New Zealand,” Tuiono tells PMN News.

He emphasised the historical context, recalling the sacrifices of the 500 soldiers who fought as part of the New Zealand ANZAC forces during World War I, highlighting the “price of citizenship”.

The poll conducted by Curia Market Research found that 60.5 per cent of respondents opposed Cook Islanders maintaining automatic access to citizenship rights if foreign policy diverged or if consultation ceased.

Among all respondents, only 30 per cent supported maintaining these entitlements, while 46 per cent opposed them and 24 per cent remained undecided.

The Taxpayers' Union was founded among conservative figures, and is often regarded as a right-wing pressure group. Photo/TU Facebook

The poll follows a recent decision by New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters, to pause $18.2 million in development assistance planned for the Cook Islands for the 2025/2026 financial year.

This includes $10 million for core sectors like health, education, and infrastructure, which has now been frozen due to a lack of consultation with New Zealand after an agreement was reached between the Cook Islands and China earlier this year.

Prime Minister Mark Brown of the Cook Islands says New Zealand’s decision to pause development aid is patronising and detrimental to the country’s most vulnerable citizens.

In a ministerial statement to Parliament on Thursday (Cook Islands time), Brown confirmed that “Pausing the support to core sectors disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable citizens.

"It also disrupts long-term planning and the sustainability of vital public services.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters. Photo/PMN News/Joseph Safiti

He says the relationship between the Cook Islands and New Zealand should be defined by partnership, not paternalism.

Brown adds that unilateral decisions to suspend core sector support reflect a patronising approach inconsistent with a modern partnership.”

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour acknowledged the recent tensions but reaffirmed the importance of the long-standing relationship between the two nations.

"There's been a bit of a bump in the road lately, but that has been worked through between our Prime Minister, our Foreign Minister, and their government," Seymour says.

"I believe in the long term, New Zealand needs the Cooks, the Cooks need New Zealand, and when we're going to get each other, it would be, I think, premature to start pulling out withdrawals of long-held and cherished rights of citizenship and entry between the two countries.”

Tuiono also voiced concerns about diplomatic tensions and the paused funding from New Zealand, labelling the move as "incredibly high-handed”.

Watch David Seymour react to the poll results below.

He stressed the need for transparent dialogue both within the Cook Islands and between the two countries.

“I think it's really important for people to really understand the history, to understand the history between Aotearoa and the Cook Islands.

“It's such an important history and it's important to make sure that we make those when we make comments around what's happening in the Cooks, in the context of the political situation that we find ourselves in, that is the foundation of our understanding.”