Opinion

Letter: PM’s priorities amid rising crime 

Dear Editor,

Letter: Rarotonga’s Good Samaritans

Dear Editor, As a first time visitor to Rarotonga, primarily for the Round Raro 31km event, my wife and I have been having a superb time, appreciating your island’s natural beauty and meeting many engaging locals.

Ruta Mave: ‘This is a joke not justice’

Back in the day when discipline meant something and if you were disobedient, cruel or lying you were punished with the use of physical force like the wooden spoon, hair brush, or Dad’s belt or hand so that you would remember it and choose not to do it again – or else, writes Ruta Mave.

Kata: Inmates hired by families

Te Ipukarea Society: Rat free Takutea on its way: Stage 1 of eradication project successfully concluded

Stage one of the Takutea Rat Eradication Project has successfully concluded, with the field team arriving back in Atiu and Rarotonga aboard the Marumaru Atua last Saturday morning.

Thomas Wynne: Be a good ancestor

We are more than just warriors, we are data collectors too. We all have that person in our family who is the data collector – generally a genealogy data collector, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.

Kata: Fake customs and traditions

Letter: The menace of fake customs in Cook Islands

The Cook Islands, with its rich cultural heritage and pristine natural beauty, has long been a beacon for tourists and researchers alike. However, in recent times, the islands have been plagued by a disturbing trend: the proliferation of fake customs and traditions.

Letter: Parliament calendar: 42 days pledged,12 delivered

Dear Editor, I must thank Mr. Moekaa for his recent reminder that our Parliament continues to dazzle us with its efficiency – or lack thereof – despite its ever-generous budget allocation and the ambitious calendar of sitting days it adopted with such gusto last year … the calendar that was supposed to keep Parliament glued to their seats for 42 days in 2024. I’m sure the MPs had every intention of working those days … until, well, they didn’t.

Kata: Parliament session

Letter: Constitution Amendment Bill

I’m sure that Leader of the Opposition Tina Browne in her observations of Niue’s recent referendum was being sarcastic, when she said: “Sadly the article does not give reasons why more than double the voters voted against increasing the term of Parliament.”

Letter: Only in the Cook Islands

Dear Editor, On Monday, September 16, after starting at 1pm, Parliament adjourned around 1.27pm to allow MPs to attend the opening of the netball U20 qualifiers. Maybe you should ask your MP whether s/he attended the opening.

Letter: ‘It’s time we listened to the science’

I write with a heavy heart, disappointed by the narrow-mindedness I see in some of my fellow Cook Islanders when it comes to seabed minerals exploration.

Letter: SBMA ‘losing control’

I would like to speak as an environmentally concerned Cook Islander, hearing concerns raised by Dr Teina Rongo on Temu Okotai’s radio show yesterday morning (Monday).

Letter: Deep sea treasure or trouble?

Dear Editor, Ocean Ancestors is a home-grown collective deeply rooted in our communities. We’re NGOs, businesses and individuals united by a shared passion for protecting the ocean ... together raising the concerns of our people as the demand for resources, including deep sea minerals, overwhelms.

Kata: Metallic nodules

Letter: ‘Trust in God, not money’

Dear Editor, I see in various forms of media, including Letters to the Editor and the Ocean Ancestors Facebook page, discussions and arguments that refer to the Bible.

Kata: Seabed minerals conference

Letter: Nodules: ‘Our underwater Amazon’

I thank Ms Alex (Herman) for her reply to my previous letter regarding DSM (Deep Sea Mining) or SBM (Sea Bed Mining) which is what some are hoping to do in our EEZ.

Letter: Water reform: One bite at a time

Dear Editor, Changing the To Tatou Vai Act 2021 must be a priority for our MPs.