By Al Williams, Cook Islands News
Rarotonga Airport. Photo: Airport Authority Cook Islands
Te Tuhi Kelly, leader of the Progressive Party of the Cook Islands, has now been joined by Cook Islands businessman Mike Pero in pushing for calendar changes.
"The Cook Islands' greatest trading partner is New Zealand but we only have a working week of three days where both are aligned," Pero told Cook Islands News.
"This means inefficiencies and inconveniences at both ends. Some locals on the island having to attend matters, meetings and conversations on Sunday here.
"At the other end of the week Friday here is Saturday in New Zealand and Australia, so again a challenge and a fiscal cost."
Pero wants to push the country a day forward to align with New Zealand and Australia, saying it would be a marketing opportunity for tourism, making the Cook Islands "the first place in the world to see the new day, ahead of Samoa and New Zealand".
"I've tried to see any downside in aligning the Cooks with New Zealand and Australia but I cannot.
"I am suggesting the day goes forward and the time of the day here in Rarotonga remains unchanged, making the Cook Islands the first place in the world to see the new day, ahead of Samoa, ahead of New Zealand.
"This privilege, of being first in the world, I am sure would be a marketing opportunity for Cook Island Tourism; I welcome further comments from others both here and New Zealand, and in particular the properties, tourism and the airlines."
Kelly launched his bid for calendar changes during the Covid-19 pandemic when he raised the question, "Why don't we do what Samoa did in 2011 and align our international date line and time zone so that it coincides with New Zealand?"
"What do we do to encourage local investment, foreign investment and encourage locals into exporting value added and niche goods to a New Zealand populace who are starved for produce that their forebears used to get from the Cook Islands?
"For a start we are hamstrung by a business week that sees us trading three-days a week with New Zealand and others," Kelly said.
"How has this come about, because we are on the wrong side of the dateline and our time zone means that a Sunday here is Monday in New Zealand and our Friday is their Saturday.
"Effectively we are trading Tuesday to Thursday which is three days of the week and losing out on the other two days because of our dateline and time zone."
Kelly acknowledged there would be considerable work to address the challenge of changing the international dateline and time zone to match and improve our trading receipts with our major trading destination of New Zealand.
"This is an ongoing discussion that needs to be had."
However, the financial benefits were obvious.
Pero concurred, adding, beyond commerce, the tourist from New Zealand and Australia, typically between 10 and 40 per cent of guests, were having booking issues, not understanding they were crossing the dateline.
"If there was a change, I guess it could happen any time of the year once Parliament decides to proceed, and if it does happen, I'd suggest a mid-year date to change the calendars, and not January 1 when everyone is on holiday here and abroad."
- This story was first published by Cook Islands News.