Opinion

Genealogy claims rejected

Saturday 14 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, In answer to Yolande Brownes letter of April 10, you said that you have seen words twinked out and wording changed or written over. We did not work in the land court registry for you to point fingers at the whole Te Pa Atua Kino family. For your information, Makea Te Pa Atua […]

Id be very careful

Saturday 14 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I would be very careful if I was Norman George relying on NZ Parliamentary rules. The system relies on members applying for leave from their party whips because of the pairing system. It also requires members who absent themselves from the House to seek leave from the speaker. In the past NZ MPs […]

Scrap the purse seine fishing idea

Saturday 14 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Those like Tongareva MP Wilkie Rasmussen who oppose any form of purse seine fishing in our waters should be commended. Similar to the outlawed drift net fishing, purse seine fishing is extremely destructive. Sweeping up every living sea creature in its path tuna, sharks, turtles, birds, other fish species this type of fishing […]

Baa baa islands

Saturday 14 May 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

Unless Im mistaken, those fluffy animals look very much like a ewe and her lambs looking across a windswept, treeless coastline, thousands of kilometres from our tropical beaches. A great photo, but will it entice people to visit the Cook Islands? The Travelzoo advert appeared on the home page of the Los Angeles Times website […]

Kata - May 14, 2011

Saturday 14 May 2011 | Published in Kata

Kata - May 13, 2011

Friday 13 May 2011 | Published in Kata

Kata - May 12, 2011

Thursday 12 May 2011 | Published in Kata

For the record

Thursday 12 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Your reporter Rosie Mains must be from another planet. At no time did I say that I refused to attend Parliament on the 17th of February because I was left out of Cabinet. When I did not bother to correct it the first time your newspaper published this fiction, I ignored it hoping […]

$840k fine for fish trucking

Thursday 12 May 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

The debate over allowing exploratory licences for purse seining in our waters isnt going to go away any time soon and one of our readers thought a news article about a recent court case in New Zealand which followed almost two years of investigations was very topical to the issue of making sure fishing companies […]

The sticky question of Web suppression

Wednesday 11 May 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

The New Zealand media is running articles about the arrest of 13 people here on drugs charges, with varying degrees of detail. On Sunday night a ONE News reporter named one of the accused on the evening news with the relevant part of the 6pm broadcast shown only to viewers in New Zealand and blocked […]

Kata - May 11, 2011

Wednesday 11 May 2011 | Published in Kata

Justice must not be cruel

Wednesday 11 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I am responding to the letter Justice must be served published on Tuesday, May 10. Well, whoever you are it seems like you dont have any children. Yes justice must be served but not in a cruel way, my dear. As mothers we must be strong, clever and have the strength to fight […]

Competition possibility worth investigating

Wednesday 11 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Id just like to make a few comments regarding the article Affordable Telecom plans to offer more published on Saturday, May 7. I think Mr Jules Maher touched on an important point about the size of the population of the Cook Islands being too small to support competition and to some degree this […]

Purse seine fishing foolish and devastating

Wednesday 11 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I write to say that I, as the Member of Parliament for Tongareva (Penrhyn,) and the island oppose the Governments plans to explore the possibility of purse seine fishing in the Cook Islands. If this goes ahead it will be a most foolish exercise and will have the most devastating effect on our […]

Kata - May 10, 2011

Tuesday 10 May 2011 | Published in Kata

Ports contract was questioned weeks ago

Tuesday 10 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, May I write in regard to the Smoke Signal that yesterday suggested that action could have been taken earlier regarding the low level of local involvement in the port contract. In fact, some weeks ago before the contractor was present on the island, I met with members of the Cabinet on this very […]

Justice must be served

Tuesday 10 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I am responding to the letter Mothers incarceration a mockery published on Monday, May 9. I cannot come to any agreement by the kind of thinking of Yvonnes so-called closely knit family in regards to what she has done to her employer. My sympathy goes out to Mr Smith whose business had suffered […]

Its a vendetta: Sholan Ivaiti

Tuesday 10 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I wish to respond to the release of an article in your paper on Friday May 6 relating to my appointment as the Financial Secretary. First point I wish to outline is that the review of employment matters or processes is the job of the Office of the Public Service Commission, not the […]

Tims cowering

Monday 9 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I refer to recent letters and smoke signals. First, let me acknowledge that, blinded by the outrageous references to boiler in your rag, I did make an inaccurate reference to the RMS Maitai as SS… I have been cowering in my office, flailing myself with a damp cloth, awaiting a visit from Don […]

Not his fault

Monday 9 May 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, We have to give Norman George some credit, its not his fault that the CIP took him in as member for Atiu, they all know what George is like and yet they still accepted him into their fold. George is just a great tactician and a good teller of stories just like any […]