More Top Stories
Tupapa Panthers grand final victory
19 May 2025
$12.9m approved for solar battery project, NZ confirms
12 March 2025
Crown Law Office on track for record number of lawyers
12 March 2025
‘Nothing to worry about’: Prime Minister Brown on China agreement
16 February 2025
‘Serious questions’: Opposition challenges China partnership
15 February 2025
No debt in China deal
8 February 2025
‘Paedophile’ gets 13 years in prison
22 January 2025
Thomas Wynne: Where were our leaders while children suffered?
25 January 2025
$541.7m tourism earnings
25 January 2025
Police need numbers and bigger budget
9 December 2024
Niki Rattle: A call for stronger human rights protections
10 December 2024
Solid and Hazardous Waste Bill referred to Parliament committee
10 December 2024
DPM defends CIIC finance and travel policies
6 December 2024
CIIC directors seek $350,000 in damages over defamatory claims
21 October 2024
Man found guilty of rape, burglary
24 September 2024
Concerns over Minister’s role in inmate work releases: PAC
5 October 2024
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Opinion
Thomas Wynne: Why a Rā‘ui must be meaningful consultation
In recent weeks, the Cook Islands declared a rā‘ui toroa — a national whale sanctuary — expanding protection across vast swathes of our moana and Ocean, Thomas Wynne writes.
Te Ipukarea Society: The ocean is our life
As Oceans Week draws to a close, we celebrate that nearly 40 countries are now calling for a moratorium on Deep-sea Mining (DSM).
Letter: Superfund restrictions questioned
Dear Editor, I want to talk about the Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund. I am 63-year-old Cook Islands pensioner.
Letter: Cannabis research
With the announcement in the Cook Islands News that a freight hike is set to drive up Cook Islands prices possibly by 30 per cent, there has never been a better time to legalise the personal cultivation of medicinal pakalolo by patients in order to treat their illnesses and save them heaps of money.
Letter: Booze tax
So, Police are “investigating” alleged after hours liquor sales at the Golf Club? Why waste ink and newsprint on telling the sober public of this allegation?
Letter: Custody in drink driving cases
Dear Editor, I write in response to a social media post on 9 June 2025 by the Cook Islands Police Service, noting that five individuals were taken off the road and remanded into prison for failing breathalyser tests.
Letter: A call for cultural protocols to protect our traditional titles
Kia Orana Editor, As Cook Islands Māori, our traditional leadership system—consisting of Ariki, Mataiapo, and Rangatira titles—is not just a cultural institution; it is the foundation of our identity, unity, and genealogical history.
Te Tuhi Kelly: Root causes of our underperformance
Te Tuhi Kelly, Leader of the Progressive Party states, I'm on a roll as a friend of mine said recently, the pacemaker you have, certainly hasn't stopped the mouth from opening.
Letter: Religious freedom
I am a hard core local proud atheist. With this failed Christian Nation attempt, we as a nation are lucky, we dodged a bullet, and we should all be grateful to all the people that recognised a Christian nation is a mistake, they stood up and spoke out to say no.
Letter: Mosquito threat at hospital
Dear Editor, This morning (yesterday) my wife and I journeyed up the hill to the hospital for a blood test.
Ruta Mave: What’s in a name: Colonial surnames and Cook Islands identity
Men want to leave something behind, they think having children means leaving a legacy, instead they are often an extension of their ego,” writes Ruta Mave.
Letter: Climate change
It would appear that Zeenia Dastur of the Green Climate Fund lives on a different island, perhaps planet, than most of us.
Letter: Seabed mining talkfest- ‘A waste of public money’
Dear Editor, The 11 people that travelled to Australia to promote a one-sided and biased consultation for the development of seabed mining may have cost Cook Islands taxpayers over $80,000. Probably the only person in the group, who knows and has a fair bit of knowledge of what the positive and negative implications, significances and destructions are, of seabed mining, is John Parianos.
Thomas Wynne: Qualities of a true leader
According to an Auckland Star article published on 26 May 1911, Makea Takau, died at midnight on the 1st of May 1911, aged 72, surrounded by loved ones and family.
Te Ipukarea Society: Snap and track- A photo friendly way to follow turtles
To help protect the ocean and its marine life, Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) recently teamed up with GROW Aitutaki to teach local youth about marine conservation through a turtle tracking project.
Letter: Conflicts of interest?
Does anyone hold oversight, in regards to Government department leadership, because there are some really obvious conflicts of interest happening at the moment.
Letter: Hey Govt, help us help you!’
Dear Editor, It was interesting to read the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation that Police get a subsidy so they can reduce their power bill. No, they shouldn't; that’s what it costs.
Te Tuhi Kelly: Moving from a model of aid
Dear Editor, Once again, the Cook Islands has gone cap in hand to its traditional partners for economic support. (Cook Islands waits on traditional partners as China shows interest, Cook Islands News, May 31, 2025)
Letter: Russian shadow fleet stigma
Dear Editor, I worry that a minor contributor to the Cook Islands economy is going to precipitate a major collapse of tourism in the Cook Islands. Tourism is fickle. SARS, MERS, Covid, Letters of Guarantee, sub-prime mortgages, Dengue and the Wine Box have all collapsed our tourism economy by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Letter: Protection orders
Budget for one-week national party – $4.1 million. Budget for one-year for Police - $7.58 million.
Pet Talk: Spotting the signs of arthritis in dogs
Arthritis, a common ailment among aging humans, also plagues our beloved canine companions.
Letter: Minimum wage
Dear Editor, The increase to the weekly wage expense will always be passed on to the customer.