Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to media after Cook Islands funding pause

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to media on the second day of his trip to China. It comes hours after it became public New Zealand paused nearly $20m of core sector support funding for the Cook Islands, after its government signed...

New Zealand halts millions of funds to Cook Islands over its China ties

Freeze emerges as NZ's leader visits China News of the 18.2 million New Zealand dollar ($11 million) funding halt Thursday only emerged when a Cook Islands news outlet saw its brief mention in a government budget document. It's likely to prove...

Explainer: Why has New Zealand paused funding to the Cook Islands over China deal?

The diplomatic row between the Cook Islands and New Zealand has come to a head. Photo: RNZ Pacific New Zealand has paused $18.2 million in development assistance funding to the Cook Islands after its government signed partnership agreements with...

New Zealand halts millions of dollars in aid to Cook Islands over deals struck with China

New Zealand has halted millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands over the “breadth and content” of agreements the smaller Pacific nation made with China, officials from the New Zealand foreign minister’s office has said. New Zealand,...

New Zealand halts Cook Islands funding over China row

By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand announced on Thursday it was suspending NZ$18.2 million ($10.97 million) in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to...

NZ halt to Cook Islands funding kept quiet for two weeks

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone New Zealand has paused its core sector support funding for the Cook Islands after its government signed partnership agreements with China earlier this year, Winston Peters' office says. The Foreign Minister on...

NZ pauses nearly $20m in funding to Cook Islands after China agreements

New Zealand has paused nearly $20 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands over its recent dealings with China. New Zealand raised concerns in February, after Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown travelled to China, prior to signing...

Celebrating Cook Islands youth through film

Many of the Cook Islands short films emerged from the Through Our Lens programme (2018–2019), a collaboration supported by the New Zealand High Commission and delivered in partnership with UNESCO, Motone Productions, The Maoriland Film Trust and...

NZ pauses funding to Cook Islands after China agreements

New Zealand has paused funding to the Cook Islands over its recent dealings with China. New Zealand raised concerns in February, after Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown travelled to China, prior to signing its Comprehensive Strategic...

New Zealand halts Cook Islands funding in stoush over China

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone New Zealand has paused its core sector support funding for the Cook Islands after its government signed partnership agreements with China earlier this year, Winston Peters' office says. It comes as Prime Minister...

Parliamentary rules clash over Cook Islands National Awards Bill

Opposition leader Tina Browne. LOSIRENE LACANIVALU / 2561620 Te Tango Raumaire o Avaiki: Cook Islands National Awards Bill 2025 is currently in Parliament and due for a second reading with a Certificate of Urgency. If passed the Act will establish...

New Zealand has suspended millions in funding to the Cook Islands over its growing China ties

Relations between the smaller Pacific island nations and their regional backers Australia and New Zealand have stumbled in recent years as Beijing vies to increase its sway in the region. The latest move by New Zealand was striking because it...

Tensions rise as New Zealand freezes millions of dollars in aid to Cook Islands over China deals

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China could win from Cook Islands-New Zealand spat

The Huddle: Was it a mistake for New Zealand to pull funding for the Cook Islands?

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland councillor Maurice Williamson and Wellbeing Economy Alliance director Gareth Hughes joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Farmers are up in arms over new changes to the FBT that...

Te Pāti Māori Stands With The Cook Islands

Te Pāti Māori is calling out the deep hypocrisy of a government that insists on sovereign trade relationships while denying them to our Pacific whanaunga. While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is in China forging trade agreements with Māori...

Hawaii Coast Guard crew wraps up enforcement mission in Cook Islands

1/2 Swipe or click to see more AUSTIN WILEY / U.S. COAST GUARD / JUNE 7 A 26-foot over-the-horizon small boat carrying Coast Guard crew, two Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources fisheries officers and a translator from the U.S. Marine Corps...

Decades of climate uncertainty: Cook Islands grower speaks

After more than 30 years of farming on her Takuvaine plantation, Jean Tekura Mason says climate change has disrupted everything she understood about farming. “I’ve been a planter, gardener for over 30 years basically and what I’ve noticed over...

New Zealand pauses Cook Islands funding over China deal stoush

By Adam Pearse Deputy Political Editor·NZ Herald· 18 Jun, 2025 07:51 PM2 mins to read Subscribe to listen Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.Subscribe now ‌ Save Share Share this article Copy...

New Zealand has suspended millions in funding to the Cook Islands over its growing China ties