Over 200 people have arrived from Auckland this week.
They will help ease the strain on the horticulture industry.
Michael Somare was known as the father of the nation.
Doctors and community health workers call South Auckland the front line in the fight against the virus and say many locals are very anxious.
Video from the last day of the team's stay at a Sydney hotel showed members of the squad singing from their balconies.
Buttabean Motivation foodbank staff said yesterday's report was "skewed" and didn't capture the extent of hardship amid the pandemic.
The 82-year-old served as the nation's first Prime Minister from 1975 to 1980.
Urgent plans are being laid to save the industry, previously worth around $300 million a year.
Smaller grassroots businesses have had to diversify to capture the local market.
The government is providing support to 350 businesses on the tourist starved islands.
Questions remained about whether Pacific nations have the infrastructure to receive Covid-19 vaccines.
Fears remain about the virus getting in through a travel bubble.
Barbara Dreaver discovered the economic wounds in the Cook Islands are critically deep.
“Child poverty isn’t just a brown issue, or a left or right issue, a political issue as such. It’s a national issue,” report co-author Ronji Tanielu said.
The airline plans to take bookings for flights to the Cook Islands from March.
New Zealanders are still advised to take precautions in coastal zones for the rest of today.
It's not a good day to take your dog for a walk on the beach, says Civil Defence's Roger Ball.
The states are angry their candidate was overlooked, against the spirit of a gentlemen's agreement.
Barbara Dreaver has her latest news round-up from the Pacific region, including a spot of good news during a deadly weather event.
Tonga says it has limited quarantine facilities and could only repatriate 248 people every three weeks.
“Immigration were quite threatening in terms of what would happen if they carried on to New Zealand,” NZ Cruise Association's chief executive said.
Polyfest will mark its 45th anniversary this year after being cancelled last year due to Covid-19.
A 23-year-old sailor is in hospital and being monitored for symptoms after returning from Italy on a repatriation flight.
1 NEWS’ Barbara Dreaver has her first Pacific news roundup for 2021, including the best from social media.
Auckland International Airport welcomed passengers from Rarotonga this morning.
One family was reunited with their beloved children for the first time in 10 months.
Starting today, residents of the Pacific nation can travel to New Zealand without quarantining.
Arrivals from the Cook Islands won't have to complete a 14-day stay in managed isolation.
1 NEWS understands hundreds of over-stayers have been caught up in the scheme including people stuck in New Zealand because of border closures.
Before going back to the Cook Islands, they would need to take a Covid test and have a negative result within 96 hours of take off.