More Top Stories
Cook Islands passport proposal
6 January 2025
Top cop position advertised
7 December 2024
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
Cook Islands has its first mosque
14 November 2024
CI Muslim opens up about her faith and journey
16 November 2024
RAC to address mosque legality
19 November 2024
I don’t expect much change: PM Brown on US Elections
6 November 2024
Fifth weekly Sydney flight to Rarotonga announced
23 October 2024
CIIC directors seek $350,000 in damages over defamatory claims
21 October 2024
Man found guilty of rape, burglary
24 September 2024
Tenants face water bill burden
8 October 2024
Concerns over Minister’s role in inmate work releases: PAC
5 October 2024
Tourism contribution set to surpass half-billion dollar mark
25 September 2024
Parliament Clerk sparks outrage over deep sea mining statement
23 September 2024
Deep sea dilemma: Cook Islanders weigh the cost of mineral riches
21 September 2024
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
Cook Islands deep sea mining poll sparks controversy
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Rising seas, rising costs: Climate impacts on Cook Islands economy
2 September 2024
Inflation eases but concerns remain
31 August 2024
Prime Minister defends $659,000 MPs travel bill
23 August 2024
Taxpayers foot $659,000 bill for MPs travel and allowance
22 August 2024
Corruption report exposes ‘bribe and sexual favours’
17 January 2023
PM Brown eager to hand over Forum chair role to Tonga
13 August 2024
Challenging ‘rape culture’
8 July 2024
Articles by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne
Thomas Wynne: The many faces of fatherhood
Saturday 31 August 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Our Papa, our fathers, our Metua, Pops, or simply Dad – as we celebrate Father’s Day, the word “father” evokes a mixture of feelings and memories about the roles they have played in our families and lives, whether present, absent, or just passing through, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: What is lawful is not always what is right
Saturday 24 August 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Travel for government is an absolute necessity, that much is true, but it should never be treated as a blank cheque, without public scrutiny and a scrutiny balanced against the many pressing priorities a community faces, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Preserving our Māori identity
Saturday 17 August 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
An older brother is always an older brother, no matter where they live or in what country they reside, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Embracing protest and disagreement
Saturday 10 August 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
In our ever-connected world, it’s easy to find ourselves nestled within the warm embrace of those who share our views, beliefs and convictions. This comfort, while reassuring, can also become a prison — a self-imposed echo chamber where dissenting voices are drowned out, shunned, even publicly ridiculed, and the richness of diverse perspectives is lost, Thomas Tarurongo Wynne writes.
Thomas Wynne: Celebrating our heritage
Saturday 3 August 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Nothing is more important to identity and a sense of who one is than being able to celebrate who you are, what you are, and your special place in the world, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: The hidden scars of our community
Saturday 27 July 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Just over 30 per cent of all those who identified as Pacific islanders to the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care in Aotearoa identified as Cook Islanders, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Who is a patriot?
Saturday 20 July 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
What is a patriot? Is it simply a green, red, blue, or gold flag waved, anthems sung, or a political position or party held high like the only hope of a country being great or even great again? Thomas Tarurongo Wynne writes.
Thomas Wynne: Rethinking the national flag for the future
Saturday 13 July 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
As our 60th anniversary approaches next year as a self-governing country, flags serve as powerful emblems of nationalism and identity. They represent a nation’s values, history and aspirations, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Tu Tangata: Our identity
Saturday 6 July 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
As a country, and as Iti Tangata, this week is significant as it heralds two very important events. These events capture the essence and Tu tangata of who we are as a people, who we were, who we want to maintain, and who we hope to become in the future, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Why Matariki makes more sense than Santa Claus
Saturday 29 June 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
As Aotearoa celebrates Matariki, the Māori New Year, it gives us time to reflect on how we too could add a day to our year that celebrates our Māori worldview, those of our tūpuna, and the vast expanse of ocean they navigated and the knowledge they carried with them, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Punching well above our weight?
Saturday 22 June 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
I often think, when I have said, and when we say of ourselves that we are ‘punching well above our weight’, what is the measure of that success and why is it us who sing our own song about ourselves? Thomas Tarurongo Wynne writes.
Tapu versus Noa: Finding balance between tradition and progress
Saturday 15 June 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
What is Tapu, sacred or restricted in use and by whom, and what is Noa or free to be utilised by anyone, be they male or female? How do we make something Tapu and then lift that Tapu to make it Noa or free again? Thomas Tarurongo Wynne writes.
Thomas Wynne: Pacific voyaging, more than metaphor
Saturday 8 June 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
Two thousand four hundred (2400) miles of excellence, 2400 miles of precision and 2400 miles of discipline and strength, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: The people of the land and ocean
Saturday 1 June 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Land – nothing is more contentious, beautiful, divisive, or unifying than land. Our caretaking of land has been thousands of years in the making as we moved from Moana or ocean, to land, to ocean, and back to land again, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: He who holds the pen holds the power
Saturday 25 May 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Across the globe, people have had enough of corruption, enough of nepotism, enough of the rule of might by certain families, certain names and political economic and cultural privilege above all others, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: The price of leadership
Saturday 18 May 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Anyone who has worked with leaders has, at some stage, met head on the challenge of conflicting values, voice, or worldview with their own, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Protecting our digital taro patch
Saturday 11 May 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Our digital taro patches, our everyday phones and devices, which we use to share photos, communicate with each other, and establish an online presence, are like sitting in the window of CITC in Avarua or a shop, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Tradition versus equality
Saturday 4 May 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
The issue of whether women should remain silent in church, or in traditional settings regarding leading Pe’e, and the Bible’s stance on slavery are contentious topics that have sparked debates for centuries including our own community this week, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Remembering the price of our freedom
Saturday 27 April 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
As we gathered like many did around commonwealth countries, in squares and parade grounds, memorials to the dead and wounded, we remember also that freedom is paid by someone, somewhere and sometime – it is never for free, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Crypto Bill- A deep dive into murky waters?
Saturday 20 April 2024 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
It is reasonable that today so many Cook Islanders are asking questions around the process that got the Tainted Cryptocurrency Recovery Bill into Parliament and currently before a Select Committee, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
