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Parliament’s 12 sitting days sufficient for business: Clerk
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Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
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Cook Islands deep sea mining poll sparks controversy
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Corruption report exposes ‘bribe and sexual favours’
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Diaspora dismayed over lack of Te Maeva Nui livestream
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Everyone is a winner, says Culture
7 August 2024
Local women outshine global peers in business leadership
8 August 2024
Housing crisis hits tourism industry
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MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
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Challenging ‘rape culture’
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Articles by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne
OPINION: The reality of the matter
Saturday 13 November 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
Vaccination will mean less chance of hospitalisation and this is clear from statistics here in New Zealand and globally but in the end, we must be prepared for the reality that we will face when we open up on January 13.
Check your attitude
Saturday 6 November 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Its not often Tata Crocombe (resort owner) and I have agreed but I found his latest opinion piece in the Cook Islands News sobering and thoughtful with some clear statements on where our country is at and what we need to do now, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
A celebration of the arrival of the Gospel
Saturday 23 October 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
As the arrival of John Williams and Papehia on Aitutaki in 1821 launches the 200 years celebrations of the Gospel arriving to the Cook Islands, is it a good time to look at the change that this Gospel brought not just to the spiritual lives of those who were confronted by its message but also the political, social and cultural upheaval it left in its wake and continues to do up until this day.
Exercising fairness when addressing key land issues
Saturday 16 October 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
Greed is as much a problem as is absentee landowners and those that have profited much from turning their kainga into a cash register. If we want to address absentee landowners, and we should, we should also address this issue of land banking and greed at the same time.
Preparing our hearts and minds for Covid
Saturday 9 October 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
We must learn to live with this virus, like we do with the hurricane season, and equip and prepare our health response and our bodies, but more our hearts and minds because it is there we will truly win this battle, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Having the power to lift
Saturday 2 October 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
The pa’ata is a powerful, modern and traditional Cook Islands symbol for us all and clearly demonstrates that power is actually in our hands, and sits on our shoulders.
THOMAS TARURONGO WYNNE: Years to build, seconds to break, a lifetime to repair
Saturday 18 September 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
Be it Covid-19 or the need to vaccinate, or the exploration of our seabed and the minerals on its floor as announced by the government this week – it’s not a question of good science or quality research, this is instead a question of trust.
THOMAS TARURONGO WYNNE: Having the wisdom to find common ground
Saturday 11 September 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Nothing at the moment can be more emotionally charged than our personal decisions and feelings around Covid-19, vaccination, vax passports, and our faith and trust in government and institutions, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Thomas Wynne: Separating the layers that bind us
Saturday 4 September 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
Anyone involved with politics in the Cook Islands knows how critical that first role is because anyone wanting to form a government in the Cook Islands has to have met with the Queen’s Representative first with a list of names and show a clear majority, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
THOMAS WYNNE: Separation of power
Saturday 28 August 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
Simply put, be it our church and state, or mataiapo and ariki, the separation between the two needs careful examination and understood not just by what we see today but also by what time has recorded for us to examine, critique and to reason. writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
OPINION: The three-legged stool
Saturday 21 August 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
The strength of our three pillars – our government, our Church and our traditional leaders – and how they interact with our lives affects everyone who calls themselves a Cook Islands Maori, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
OPINION: Our children deserve better
Saturday 14 August 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
We are asking our teachers to give from the very little they have left, and simply, they deserve better wages and working conditions because our children deserve better, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
New Zealand's resistance to our statehood
Saturday 7 August 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
As we celebrate our journey to statehood, let us be clear on the journey brave Cook Islanders took, and the resistance they faced, as well as the role of Maori and trade unions who supported us to where we are today, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Our people are our greatest resource
Saturday 31 July 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
It saddens me that we are forced to look to foreign workers to fill our current labour shortage when maybe we could fill that with our own people, even if it were for three or six month contracts.
Discovering your life’s purpose
Friday 23 July 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
The fruit of purpose is a fruit we can all eat from, unlike the fruit of self service and self-promotion which is bitter and rotten to the core, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Connecting with our culture
Friday 16 July 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
It’s hard to describe in words but yesterday’s investiture of Ngamaru Tupuna Ariki on Enuamanu signifies a time of transition, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
OPINION: Religion and culture
Saturday 10 July 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
We have things more to fear than Tangaroa and I would suggest that as Jesus said, the love of money is the core, the essence, and the root of evil – that is what we should be turning back from, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
OPINION: Leading the way in vaccine rollout
Friday 2 July 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Opinion
As many of us Cook Islanders watch from a distance the vaccine roll out from Rarotonga to Akatokomanava to now Nukuroa, the mighty arrow, the work of the Ministry of Health must be applauded as they protect our very vulnerable population from this global pandemic, especially as more people look to visit or simply return home.
OPINION: We’re worrying about dogs, trees and pareu wear?
Friday 25 June 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
In a time when the world is fighting a global pandemic, the real world dilemma questions in Raro are cutting down trees, and too many dogs, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
OPINION: The power of Parliament
Friday 18 June 2021 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Editorials, Opinion
When a Parliament sits at the convenience of its Government, or the Opposition spends its question time praising the government, or when Members of the Parliament can hold a full-time job and also collect a Parliamentary salary, or when success is measured by the announcement that they can now wear pareu on a Friday and a flower in their hair, what does that say about us who elect them, let alone the health of our 56 year old democracy? By Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.