Opinion
Letter: What are we celebrating?
Tuesday 31 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
Dear Editor, In January 2024, a year ago now, on a beach at Mauke, two older teenaged girls kicked and bashed a younger teenaged girl with intellectual disabilities, while the third girl (friend of the other two) filmed it and put it on the internet.
Ruta Mave: Passport plan leaves Cook Islands vulnerable and isolated
Monday 30 December 2024 | Written by Ruta Tangiiau Mave | Published in Opinion
Prime Minister Mark Brown’s passport proposal presents as more personal than from the people. He sounds like a spoilt teenager who has graduated from his ‘L’ plate to a full driver’s licence, declaring to his parents that he is all grown up now, and wants to be independent, writes Ruta Mave.
Letter: Leave the Blackrock Preschool where it is!
Monday 30 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Opinion
Dear Editor, Kia Orana. Why is CIIC (Cook Islands Investment Corporation) evicting Apii Potiki from their really fit for purpose premises where they have been for so long, and moving them to House #52 on the corner of the main road?
Letter: Focusing on ‘growth’ in 2025
Monday 30 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
Dear Editor Good on the Prime Minister for focusing on “growth” in 2025. May this writer humbly suggest that the government begins with truly aggressive growth in the number of vehicles on our uncrowded and under-utilised roads?
Thomas Wynne: Leave the ancient mountain where it is
Saturday 28 December 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
For this current government to potentially threaten our ability to hold a New Zealand passport is a concern not just to those at home but to all of us who hold this passport and have akapapa or genealogical ties back to our beautiful Ipukarea, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
TIS: Deep sea mining threatens our ocean and our way of life
Saturday 28 December 2024 | Written by Te Ipukarea Society | Published in Opinion
Today’s article is contributed by Te Ipukarea Society president, and Ocean Ancestors advocate, June Hosking, currently living in Mauke.
Letter: Passport and stamp
Tuesday 24 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
Dear Editor, If the passport is primarily about identity, here’s an idea that avoids political and emotional upheaval: run a competition to design a new Cook Islands heritage immigration stamp.
Letter: Cultural and sports passport?
Tuesday 24 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
Dear Editor, Do we really need to be insulted any further? I am now sick and tired of Prime Minister Mark Brown’s continuous arrogance. (New Zealand rejects Cook Islands passport plan, Cook Islands News, December 23, 2024)
PM Mark Brown’s Christmas message: A time for reflection and joy
Tuesday 24 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Opinion
Kia Orana tatou katoatoa e te iti tangata tapu na Te Atua.
Christmas message from Opposition leader Tina Browne: Unity and hope
Tuesday 24 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Opinion
Kia orana tatou katoatoa ite aroa rahi e te humaria o to tatou Atu. Koia i akatae mai ia tatou ki teia openga mataiti.
Ruta Mave: A call for peace and justice this Christmas
Monday 23 December 2024 | Written by Ruta Tangiiau Mave | Published in Opinion
It is the eve of Christmas eve, where shopping for last minute Santa presents, food and drinks intensity is creeping to stratospheric proportions, writes Ruta Mave.
Letter: Passport proposal
Monday 23 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
Dear Editor, It was with disbelief that most New Zealanders watched on the evening Television 1 News, Sunday night (NZ time), the story about your Prime Minister, Mark Brown, intention to make a break from New Zealand.
Letter: Cook Islands passport - personal ambition or national interest?
Monday 23 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
Dear Editor, Here’s my observation of this focus on the Cook Islands Passport, designed I might add, to draw attention away from seabed mining.
Virtues in Paradise: The best present you can give
Saturday 21 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Opinion, Virtues in Paradise
Christmas is nearly here, and there is so much to do – preparing for visiting family, finding gifts for the children, serving the church, writes Linda Kavelin-Popov.
Coconut trees, too much of a good thing
Saturday 21 December 2024 | Written by Te Ipukarea Society | Published in Opinion
Coconut trees are often called the ‘Tree of Life’ in the Cook Islands and other Pacific islands because every part of the tree is useful. But too many coconut trees can be a problem.
Thomas Wynne: Recognising the signs of spiritual manipulation
Saturday 21 December 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
Should any religion be free to travel like a vine as it pleases? Or should we learn to discern between something that bears good fruit and something that chokes, kills, and destroys? Thomas Tarurongo Wynne writes.
Church Talk: The 2024 festive season and what it truly means
Friday 20 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Opinion
The festive season is a time of celebration, family gatherings, and joy. For many in the Cook Islands, this period is about reconnecting with loved ones, sharing meals, and participating in cultural and spiritual traditions, writes Pastor Eric Toleafoa from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Pet Talk: Keeping your pets cool and comfortable this summer Christmas
Wednesday 18 December 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Opinion, Pet Talk
The holiday season is a time of joy, family, and festivity, but for pet owners, it can bring unique challenges, writes Dr Rose Hasegawa, medical director Te Are Manu Vet Clinic.
Te Tuhi Kelly: Religion raises its ugly side again
Tuesday 17 December 2024 | Written by Te Tuhi Kelly | Published in Opinion
As we are all aware, the Government has set up a select committee and have asked for public submissions on a proposal to make the Cook Islands an exclusive Christian nation, writes Te Tuhi Kelly, leader of the Progressive Party.
Ruta Mave: The ‘hypocrisy’ of a Christian state
Monday 16 December 2024 | Written by Ruta Tangiiau Mave | Published in Opinion
Hypocrisy is alive and well in the unofficial Christian state of Crook Islands, writes Ruta Mave.