Cooks opposition election focus on outer islands plight

The Cook Islands Democratic Party is planning to use the June election to highlight the plight of the country's outer islands.

The Cooks Government announced the election will be held on June 14th, surprising the opposition, which had expected it to pass the Budget first.

The parliamentary leader for the opposition Democratic party, Smiley Heather, said if services are not maintained on the outer islands, like providing doctors and transport, then the inhabitants might as well be taken off.

He said any effort has to be made to create economic development.

"We need to create some sort of business for people to go and develop or utilise their way of maybe planting or fishing or whatever, but getting them working in businesses to develop and to retain the people on each island."