More Top Stories
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
ICI explains road works delay in front of old Sheraton site
10 August 2024
Housing crisis hits tourism industry
27 July 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Challenging ‘rape culture’
8 July 2024
Articles by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne
Thomas Wynne: What’s in a vote?
Saturday 14 October 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
By the time this editorial goes to print, we will know the outcome of the New Zealand General Election, and that outcome will have been determined by hundreds, if not thousands of voters, who also live and reside in the Cook Islands and overseas, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Te Maeva Nui NZ: A showcase and celebration of our uniqueness
Saturday 30 September 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
More than 1400 performers participated in the world’s largest Cook Islands event in Auckland this weekend as tens of thousands made their way through the gates of the Trust Arena to celebrate who we are, our culture, our Reo and each other, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Head of State Residence - A building that speaks of who we are
Sunday 24 September 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Tarai, is to build or to carve, to use a chisel to carve out something especially, but not exclusively, when we build vaka, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Saturday 16 September 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
We should not dismiss the fact that a South Korean religious cult, who have embedded themselves into the Fijian community and business sector are on the ground, speaking to people of influence and in the Cook Islands.
Thomas Wynne: The darkest and longest shadow . . .
Saturday 9 September 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Watch a movie like Moana Roa, or any movie prior to the 1960s in the Cook Islands, and what a stark contrast it is, of our people before the proliferation of a western diet, and just how fit, lean and active we were.
Thomas Wynne: E toto, e kiko e ivi, the blood that runs in our veins, our heart, and in our bones
Saturday 2 September 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Shame, on you, those are the words I heard across the table, when I missed a conversation in Māori, that generally I can do ok in. Thomas Wynne writes.
Thomas Wynne: We thank you
Saturday 26 August 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
On the 29th of January 2014, newly elected Member of Parliament for Christchurch East, the Honourable Munokoa Poto Williams, daughter of Nahora and Maryan Williams (nee Masters) stood up in Parliament delivering her maiden speech. By Thomas Wynne
Thomas Wynne: The vaka of language revitalisation
Saturday 19 August 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Ei’ia to matou Tu Oe? Where are our navigators? Because, kare o te Vaka to'ie'ie Tu Oe – A drifting Vaka has no navigator, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Free association with New Zealand has never been free
Saturday 5 August 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
As we celebrated 58 years as a country, on the 4th of August 1965, we, like so many other countries reflect on that journey to statehood and the challenges ahead for our country today, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Tarurongo Wynne: The prophecy of Uia- Who are the heathens?
Saturday 29 July 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
The word heathen is a word which conjures up thoughts of darkness and savagery, people living and interacting in a way that is primitive, without science, philosophy, understanding or self-worth, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: ‘Broken vessels’: Gospel messengers to Cook Islands
Saturday 22 July 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Although much has been said by historians in this paper on the missionising of the Cook Islands, the missionaries’ journals and writings paint a picture much broader and more challenging than the compliant and instantly converted narrative we are often told, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Meitaki ranuinui e kia manuia
Saturday 8 July 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Features, Memory Lane, Weekend
“Just as the sea is an open and ever flowing reality, so should our oceanic identity transcend all forms of insularity, to become one that is openly searching, inventive, and welcoming.”
Thomas Wynne: How do we treat strangers in our land?
Saturday 1 July 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
As a son of migrant parents, and having endured the time we now know as the Dawn Raids, I have always been cognizant of the racism we felt as a community of migrant workers, and the children of migrant workers, into a country that at first welcomed us with open arms and then, closed that door again with Pacific people still being deported in New Zealand in the middle of the night, writes Thomas Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: We walk in two worlds
Saturday 24 June 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
‘E rua oku, takai’anga vaevae i teia nei ao’ is a phrase often thrown around by many of us that walk in te ao Maori and te ao Papa’a, but how true is it, questions Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Tarurongo Wynne: We belong to the land
Saturday 17 June 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Our connection to the land is all that keeps us from the ravages of a secular, commodified, and consumerist world beyond the safety of our reefs, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Tarurongo Wynne : We must hold on tight to them as part of our identity
Saturday 10 June 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
When we as Cook Islanders stand as uriurianga, or as our Aotearoa Maori pepeha, we have so many similar identifiers such as our Maunga, our ava, our Tapere, Ngati or Iwi, our marae, our Vaka and our matakeinanga or Kopu Tangata, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Tarurongo Wynne : Occupation right issue
Saturday 3 June 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Outward migration and depopulation are not new for us as our people have been doing this since the 1940s though it has become ever more present in the Pa Enua, in Ngaputoru and Rarotonga since the arrival and departure of Covid-19, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Tarurongo Wynne: Where there is a demand there is a supply
Saturday 27 May 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Alcohol use and abuse in the cultural fabric of who we are as Cook Islanders is concerning, and its use as a medicine to numb the pain of many of our social ills, inner pain and heartache says more about ourselves then maybe we realise, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Tarurongo Wynne : No place like home
Saturday 20 May 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Good advice and good counsel, along with lines of accountability, are critical if we are to have good management and good governance – be it our spiritual life, our government or our own lives and families, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Public money must be treated with respect and accountability
Saturday 13 May 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, famously said, “A nation's budget is a reflection of its priorities and values.” He emphasised that government spending reveals the true intentions and concerns of a nation’s government.