Drunk driving needs to be taken very seriously, even more so when innocent people are involved.

Not only does it affect the injured, it has a profound impact on their entire family both physically, mentally and monetary. Especially if the injured is the sole provider for their family.

- Mark Rere, (Facebook)

The message will never get through if the justice system goes easy on these individuals. I feel for the men and women of our police force who are continuously trying to educate our people. For those who ignore this and cause injury to an innocent person is just not right.

- Michael William, (Facebook)

Beyond the physical value of sport

It is absolutely imperative that sport and physical activity in all its guises is supported, promoted and accessible to all. Let’s hope governments agree, as at times it’s hard to convince them to invest in something that may not instantly show a monetary return.

- Adrian Hopwood (Facebook)

How do you align healthy living with the excessive eating at kaikai, how do you align healthy living with those charged with looking after your health in advanced stages of obesity, how do you change the PC language which calls obese people “big”, how do you change those lifestyles where land is cleared of all fruit trees and turned into modern living, and supermarket processed food and takeouts is the go-to, convenience foods is a pandemic and the young ones don't, can't or won't cook nutritious meals. This is a complex challenge that requires a whole of life, whole of community, whole of village, whole of island and whole of Govt approach. You have to want to do it. Throwing money and energy at the bottom of the cliff and waiting for the ambulance is what we are doing. Yes, people will say we have to start somewhere and guess what? We have been doing that for decades and the outcome is the more we advocate change, the more we stay the same. Experts come and go, people’s CV’s and academic quals are founded on our inability to lead healthy lives. Yes, sports is, about all those things mentioned in this post, but by itself it is just one cog in a gearbox of cogs that are all promoting, developing, creating and moving on their own vaka in different directions. People write about it, including myself and we still carry on our destructive ways. The Govt needs to be involved but by itself, it will fail and hence needs the whole community to be involved. Motivation, incentivising, benefits and or consequences of following a lifestyle that is a burden on the health system. You are what you eat you are what you are and there is both a cost and a benefit of following this style of living. Guess what, it will never happen, why? The economy is driven on the back of catering to and providing an addictive lifestyle of excessive and selfish and self-aggrandisement lifestyles and hence little pockets of a minuscule percentage of the population will take the necessary steps. The rest will not.

- Te Tuhi Kelly (Facebook)

Would love to see the mental aspect of sport to be looked at here in the Cooks. Mental toughness, strategic thinking is just as valuable as the physical aspect.

- Kathy Numanga Wearing (Facebook)