Pacific

Cooks MP delivers resignation to speaker's office

10:34 am on 18 August 2003

The government of the Cook Islands may face another by-election only a week after voting was completed in the Rua'au seat caused by the death of MP, Maria Heather.

One of the three members of Aituatki has resigned in protest over what he says is an insultingly low budget allocation.

Opposition MP, Teina Bishop, who announced his intention to resign late last month, has now handed in his resignation to the Speaker of Parliament.

Aitutaki is the second busiest island in the Cooks after the capital, Rarotonga.

But it is only getting one point five million US dollars from a budget of just under 51 million US dollars, or about three per cent of the budget for ten per cent of the population.

Attention is now focussed on Speaker, Sir Pupuke Robati, to see if he will accept the resignation and declare the seat vacant.