A Cook Islands environmentalist says it is clear that the director of the Marae Moana marine reserve was sacked, despite government denials.
Jacqui Evans, who has won international recognition for her environmental work, lost her job last month.
This week the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Ben Ponia, in statement, said the government chose not renew Ms Evans' contract so it could replace her with someone more attuned to working with grassroots communities and agencies like its Seabed Mining authority.
But environmentalist Kelvin Passfield, who spoke to Don Wiseman, rejected that.
Jacqui Evans recievs the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize
