New Zealand Opposes Cook Islands' Plan for Separate Passport
The Facts
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters stressed on Sunday that his country would not support a separate passport and citizenship for Cook Islands nationals under their current constitutional relationship.
The statement further said that in order to access such mechanisms — only available to sovereign nations — the people of Cook Islands would have to vote to break with New Zealand and become fully independent in a referendum.
The Spin
Narrative A
Cook Islanders — not their politicians — must be free to decide whether to have their own passport or to maintain their special relationship with New Zealand, knowing that one of these paths can be chosen as they are mutually exclusive. And when they are able to do so, they must understand that their choice may have unintended consequences.
Narrative B
Authorities in New Zealand have sought to create a tempest in a teapot over this request, promoting the notion that a Cook Islands passport would only be possible if the self-governing state were to put an end to its free association with New Zealand. Cook Islanders may rest assured that changing this constitutional relationship is no option.
