Opinion

Forum Opinion: Pacific needs powerful voice against superpower dominance

The Pacific Islands Forum chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown, is emerging as one of the more powerful Pacific leaders’ voices in projecting the region’s concerns and priorities to the world, writes Dr Shailendra Bahadur Singh.

Letter: Where are the women at the Pacific Islands Forum Leadership?

Dear Editor, The leadership line up in the Cook Islands News Pacific Islands Forum Supplement on Saturday and again at the opening of the Forum yesterday was a sad gender affair. PM Fiame Naomi Mata’afa of Samoa was the only woman leader.

Kata: $100 ticket

Ruta Mave: Pacific Islands Forum: A lot of talk, but will any action follow?

You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all the people all of the time. This is not who we are, we have history of it but we are not all like it. Some of us are honest, hardworking people who care about our people and some of us are politicians, writes Ruta Mave.

Letter: Who owns Rarotonga’s roads?

Dear Editor, My opinion article in the Cook Islands News of 21.10.23 called for community consultation on horseshoe roads, and has so far generated a considerable number of comments.

Kata: Forum traffic

Pardon for Papa Arapati - We now begin to unravel the many layers of guilt

Forgiveness does not change what was done, or alter the deeds of the past, rather, forgiveness or a pardon alters the future and makes it larger than what it was before, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.

Kata: Foreign travel

Letter: A dog and pony show

The KR’s Prerogative of Mercy and Pardon for Papa Arapati, signed and sealed to be a done deal before the eyes of the southern hemisphere focus on the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting, is certainly a historic event.

Letters: MPs travel: ‘Abusing the system’

Dear Editor, In only three months, MPs have spent 98 per cent or $246,347.03 of the annual $250,000 budget for MPs travel. Election promises by all parties shows that they would cut back on overseas travel, especially after the downturn in the economy from Covid. No, it was the opposite.

Kata: Land Clerks

Letter: Medicinal cannabis importation

Dear Editor, A letter written to the Cook Islands News on 30-10-23, erringly declared it was against the law to import any form of marijuana product into the nation, including non-psychoactive CBD products.

Our disaster management needs to do more for diverse voices

After watching the fast-developing Cyclone Lola over Vanuatu before the cyclone season starts, whether we are prepared as a nation to protect our most vulnerable in a disaster has been on my mind, writes Merita Tuari’i.

Letter: Water meters are essential for saving water and protecting our communities

All meter systems have a sole and singular reason and purpose whether in an air, sea, rail and road automobiles; electrical, electronic, solar, wind, hydro, oil, petrol, battery driven and so forth. Even our personal mobiles, computers, satellites and so forth all measure speed, safety levels, balance and all needed control for security and lifesaving precautionary measures. Without them, all equipment or machineries will head for disaster.

Letter: Giving credit where it’s due

Dear Editor, As one of the original complainants about noisy bike mufflers, and dangerous/stunch riders, let me publicly commend the Akava for their very strong response to closing down the noisy/dangerous bike riding hoons who have been terrorising our roads for far too long.

Pet Talk: Fur-ever grateful for the support

Less than three weeks until I finish at Te Are Manu (TAM) and as always when something is about to end, my mind drifts to what has happened, what was then, and what is now. And how lucky I have been, writes Dr Michael Baer, the outgoing Te Are Manu Vet Clinic medical director.

Kata: Electric car

Kata: Tapaitau

Letter: ‘Times have changed, so should you’

Dear Editor, Tina (Browne) and Selena (Napa), if you think what was said or done 30 years ago is relevant now, back then the Demos were against the road proposal so you should be too.

Letter: MPs travel details

Dear Editor, I read with interest the travel details of our Government MPs. Would it be possible to ask that the powers that be, not lump all the expenditure into one pot. If some of this travel is by invitation i.e. sponsorship for the fares and accommodation, it is not very transparent when its treated as a tiopu.