More Top Stories
Charlie-Puna admits to café visit, loses prison privileges
10 September 2024
Browne calls for investigation into prison work release programme
11 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
11 months jail for man caught smuggling 1.176kg of cannabis
13 August 2024
Helmet safety concerns raised amid enforcement challenges
2 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
STI cases on the rise
2 September 2024
Accused rapist admits to 47 charges, suppression lifted
31 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
Diaspora dismayed over lack of Te Maeva Nui livestream
8 August 2024
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
27 July 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Tapaitau appeal dismissed
17 July 2024
Challenging ‘rape culture’
8 July 2024
TB cases detected
1 June 2024
National
Major upgrade completed at National Sports Arena
The National Sports Arena, Cook Islands’ key indoor sports facility at Tereora, has undergone a significant upgrade to improve its ability to host both local and international events.
Justice minister inspects prison
The new minister of justice says he’s making the prison a top priority. Api Piho has hit the ground running, touring the Arorangi prison last Monday, a day before he officially started, with secretary of justice Mark Short. With 10 escapes last year, he said the correction facility needed to be urgently addressed. “To be […]
More money missing
The audit office has acknowledged that there is more money unaccounted for, following a review into unidentified payments made by the Cook Islands Sports & National Olympic Committee in 2008-09. After reading the report which was tabled in parliament late last year, the Cook Islands Rugby Union’s chief executive Ben Koteka complained to the audit […]
Talks start on new trade agreement
Consultations have begun in the Cook Islands for a new regional trade agreement. The Cook Islands are signatories, along with 14 other Forum Island countries, to Pacer (Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations) Plus, following the 40th Forum leaders meeting in October last year where it was agreed negotiations would start. At that time, forum […]
Mail delays explained
Dear Editor, Several of us on Aitutaki just received Christmas cards that had been mailed from our respective countries over a month ago. It seems pretty obvious that a mail bag sat somewhere in a corner in the post office in Rarotonga and someone finally decided to process it. It has nothing to do with […]
We have to reform
Dear Editor, With all the political reforms being proposed, there remains lots of confusion. Probably some concepts are not yet well explained. For example, many people have difficulty dealing with the concept of constituency seats versus national seats. Simply put, a constituency seat is the traditional way of voting where you have choice of voting […]
Gang of 19 not required
Dear Editor Our political system is not even a Westminster system (as in behind the old Iron Curtain). Our politicians have carefully and intentionally taken us back to where 20% of the countries voters work for the government in one way or another. They are all hostage to the political bullies who threaten their employment […]
New reporter traces roots
It’s a new reporter for the New Year at Cook Islands News. Rachel Reeves joins the editorial team after making the move from Los Angeles, California, to Rarotonga. Despite her accent, she has strong Cook Islands roots through her grandmother Pauline Napa, owner of the Kiikii Motel. Her father, Anthony Napa, is a former Tereora […]
System flawed – election won't fix it
The political system of the Cook Islands encourages corruption, according to leading political scientist and Cook Islander Dr. Jon Jonassen. And it may not simply be an election which fixes it. “There are many capable politicians in both major political parties but it is difficult to maintain a national objective when the system itself encourages […]
Parties object to seabed job ad
The huge progress that’s been made in the last three years towards seeing the people of this country reaping benefits from our vast seabed manganese resource could be well on the way to being destroyed if the wrong person is appointed to head the seabed mining authority. In a historical sitting of parliament late last […]
Vaka bound for Aitutaki
Pictured at right is the president of the Araura Oe Vaka Association and Aitutaki MP Junior Maoate (far right) with workers packing a container with 10 vaka bound for the island. Maoate said the V6 and V1 canoes will be distributed to the two existing clubs – Aitutaki Oe Vaka and Te Mana O Utataki […]
NCEA national results out soon
Hundreds of teens are keen to get their exam results this week as they prepare to go back to college or on to tertiary studies and work. The ministry of education plans to have the overall national results statistics for 2009 and the comparison with previous years out within the week. This information shows whether […]
Prison team back on the rugby field
Boredom will reduce for some Arorangi prison inmates as officials push to get young offenders into sport as part of their rehabilitation programme. A team of 12 inmates – 11 male and one female – took to the Avatiu field on Wednesday for the touch rugby mixed division muster. Arorangi prison superintendent Metuatini Tangaroa says […]
New airport terminal nears completion
Passengers could be using the departure area in the new airport terminal by the middle of next month. Hawkins project manager Russell Smith says the toilet areas are complete, all the framework for the roof is up, and there are still some finishing touches needed on the two VIP lounges. Windows and doors are being […]
Cabinet embraces reform
Cabinet ministers are being briefed on political reform proposals in the build-up to the newly promised referendum. On Tuesday prime minister Jim Marurai announced a referendum will be run on the issue this year and stated that he needs public to support to press ahead with changing the political system. Yesterday political reform advocates Tata […]
Smiley gets stuck in
New cabinet minister William ‘Smiley’ Heather is vowing to tackle basic infrastructure such as water supply and roads head-on this year. As he settles into his new office in Nikao, the minister for infrastructure and planning (MOIP) has already been filling his days with briefings from the ministry’s secretary Taukea Raui and is planning a […]
Cabinet of 5 not serving national interest claims George
Opposition MP Norman George claims the new five-member cabinet should be called ‘the save Jimmy’s job’ government. “Or is it a ‘SOJ – Save Our Jobs government’ – for a temporary period of six months that is…” snipes George. The MP has also accused Marurai of ‘latching on to political reform to cushion his overstaying […]
Police continue blitz
Investigations are continuing into the cases of the six men arrested during what police are calling Operation Muri. Operation Muri is the code name for the raids of Tuesday and Wednesday in which six young males were charged with a range of offences involving drugs, burglary and theft. Of the six offenders targeted during the […]
Walk the talk: Bishop
Aitutaki MP Teina Bishop (above) says he called on three of the current ministers to take three months without pay, because he has been down a similar path. With three ministers resigning just before Christmas and five now in the new cabinet, Bishop says there are now eight ministers who are on the government payroll, […]
PM to release legal opinion
Prime minister Jim Marurai says he will soon release the six-page legal opinion received from NZ constitutional lawyer Dr Alex Frame that will prove that his cabinet is abiding by the Constitution. The legal opinion was prompted by the now rejected petition by 19 MPs to the Queen’s Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin to call parliament […]
Cyclone story was mistaken
Last week’s report on a cyclone in the Cook Islands was wrong, the Fiji Meteorological Service confirms. Director Rajendra Prasad said the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited (FBCL) website misquoted him as saying a tropical cyclone had developed in the southern Cooks. The mistaken report was picked up by internet search engine Google in their alerts […]
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