A Cook Islands politician says public pressure is mounting for its Government to mend its rift with New Zealand. 

The Foreign Minister has paused almost $30 million dollars in funding. 

Winston Peters says Prime Minister Mark Brown didn't properly consult New Zealand before signing a strategic deal with China in February.

Cook Islands opposition leader Tina Browne says she can't understand why Brown isn't listening.

"We've got an interim Foreign Affairs Secretary, and it sounds like, supposedly, negotiations that were supposed to be happening with New Zealand may not have happened."

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• NZ pauses Cook Islands funding over China deal stoush citing ‘gap in understanding’