Cook Islander Helena Keenan-Williams is calling for greater transparency and genuine consultation over the government’s controversial seabed mining plans.
Speaking from Sydney following a last-minute public meeting with Prime Minister Mark Brown, Keenan-Williams says many Cook Islanders in Australia are confused and concerned about the future.
“I was only made aware of the event two days before it even happened, which was just astonishing to me,” she told PMN.
“The presentation was overcrowded with people selling a point. I felt like I was in a car sales gimmick.”
The Sydney meeting with the 11-member delegation was held at the Belmore Bowling and Recreation Club last week.
Keenan-Williams, who works for the Australian government, says the speakers lacked scientific or academic expertise.
“The hosting of it all was just in shambles… I had very little time to prepare notes or ask the right questions,” she said.
“I want to be shown this is what we’re doing, this is how, and this is our contingency plan.
“The seabed authority or the group of professionals that presented to us weren’t specialists [or] environmentalists. The group was made up of bishops and the everyday Cook Islander.”