A MFAT spokesperson says if Mark Brown wishes to run a foreign and defence policy without the need to consult, then he should "call a referendum on independence from NZ".

The breakdown in relations points to the extremely sharp geopolitical tensions in the Pacific created by the advanced US-led ...

The money is part of NZ$200 million directed to the Cook Islands by New Zealand over the past three years as part of an almost 60-year-old free association compact. The links demand consultation ...

New Zealand's latest action was an “entirely avoidable consequence of Cook Islands’ strategic flirtations with China,” said Mihai Sora, analyst with the Australia-based thinktank Lowy Institute.

News of the 18.2 million New Zealand dollar ($11 million) funding halt only emerged when a Cook Islands news outlet saw its brief mention in a government budget document.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The Cook Islands lie halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii and are made up of 15 islands and atolls spread over 700 square miles (1.9 million square kilometres) The country ...

New Zealand's latest action was an “entirely avoidable consequence of Cook Islands’ strategic flirtations with China,” said Mihai Sora, analyst with the Australia-based thinktank Lowy Institute.

New Zealand's latest action was an “entirely avoidable consequence of Cook Islands’ strategic flirtations with China,” said Mihai Sora, analyst with the Australia-based thinktank Lowy Institute.

Since 1965, the Cook Islands has been a country in free association with New Zealand. Its citizens have New Zealand passports and all the perks of that – access to New Zealand's healthcare and ...