Letters to the Editor
Tax will hit the wealthy, not the poor
Thursday 14 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, May I throw in my pennys worth on the current controversy about Minister Mark Browns 15 percent tax on interest on savings? It seems to me that 15 percent tax on interest on deposits is not much, only 0.75 percent for deposits earning, say, 5 percent interest. It also seems to me that […]
Opportunity to make money being ignored
Thursday 14 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, With all this talk about taxing the poor peoples savings in an unthinking bid to get more money, maybe the Government should try looking in another direction. There is work being done at Avatiu harbour that the EIA says is going to produce: 150,000 cub mtrs of dredged coral sand and rubble (with […]
Tourism industry deserves better
Thursday 14 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I write regarding the tourism awards speakers. I will be interested as to what the Rugby World Cup Chief executive might speak on and contribute to Cook Islands Tourism given that his RWC is budgeted to lose around forty million New Zealand taxpayers dollars and growing daily. The International Rugby Board holds total […]
Locals are hard workers
Wednesday 13 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, My mother would talk at length when we were children about how hard they worked as growers and owners of crops and plantations. They would work from early in the morning till sometimes late in the evening. Despite them moving to New Zealand as many did they continued with this same work ethic […]
Rarotonga is comparatively safe
Wednesday 13 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I am a regular reader of your online edition and enjoy the varied news and events in paradise. I am however concerned about the amount of publicity theft and burglary gets. Theft is a problem in the Cook Islands no doubt and there is no silver bullet to mend that. I suspect the […]
Quote taken out of context
Wednesday 13 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, My argument in Parliament during the Budget was that the vote item for the Maeva Nui Celebrations was too much. So for your newspapers article Budget approval begins yesterday to say that I said that at least $1 million should be provided for the celebrations took the whole point of my argument out […]
We must move on phosphates
Wednesday 13 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor Reading James Beers comments on phosphate soaps Stop buying phosphate soaps, published Friday July 8, they cannot be closer to the truth. This is something many of our people now know through the various environment programmes promoting how we, the people of the Cook Islands, can help protect our environment, in this instant […]
Sir Apenera applauded by New Zealand
Tuesday 12 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
The Governor-General of New Zealand has recognised the late Sir Apenera Short as a close and valued friend of New Zealand. Governor-General Anand Satyanand sent a letter to Queens Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin on June 17, shortly after the late Sir Apenera passed away in his Muri home. Sir Apeneras family subsequently obtained a copy […]
Opportunity for Rakahanga in tuna
Tuesday 12 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor I read the report on the MP for Rakahanga saying there is no opportunity for people on Rakahanga. Rakahanga is on the edge of a large tuna resource and Rakahangans know large schools of tuna regularly pass close to their island. Foreigners have to sail thousands of miles across oceans in large fishing […]
Planned tax a can of worms
Tuesday 12 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, The CIPs 15 per cent tax on interest is a can of worms waiting to spill out. This Mark Brown tax has all the hallmarks of a doomed fiscal policy gone terribly wrong. It wasnt in the CIP manifesto and wasnt even discussed at the Economic Summit. Mark Brown admits that this new […]
Rarotonga becoming a no-go zone?
Monday 11 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Its just sad to read about all the burglaries and breakins that are happening on Rarotonga especially at tourist accommodations. Actually, Im bringing two disabled adults who have saved for this trip for a visit during Constitution Week in a couple of weeks. I would hate our visit to be spoilt by such […]
Burglary news shocking
Monday 11 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I am so shocked to read about the amount of burglaries happening in Rarotonga, especially to tourists. I grew up in Rarotonga for the first 14 years of my life before moving to New Zealand and I have never read so many stories about burglaries in one go. Our people must be struggling […]
Whats going on with the games?
Monday 11 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor I write in regards to the South Pacific (SPG) and Pacific Games (PG) sagas of eligibility. It is sad to see (as it was for the Pacific Games in Rarotonga in 2009) that some of our athletes were unable to represent their country due to the new charter that was decided upon in […]
Outward migration a grave threat
Saturday 9 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Unquestionably the biggest threat this small nation faces is the continued loss of its people through outward migration. If the trend continues at the current pace, the countrys local indigenous population will probably all but have vanished to Australia and New Zealand within a generation span, and probably replaced by peoples of NZ, […]
Aitutaki Hospital burns toxic waste
Saturday 9 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I must say that when it comes to our health, we tend to rely on our health system to help us but what puzzles me is the fact that, they seem to have no knowledge of toxic waste being burnt in a residential area. I am referring to the Aitutaki Hospital who openly […]
Stop buying phosphate soaps
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Manea Foods and a few other grocery and drygoods importers recently received a polite note from Mata Hetland of the Muri Environment Care Team wondering why Rarotonga stores still sell wash powders that contain phosphates. Matas concern is, of course, that phosphates can create all kinds of problems with our lagoons. Behind Matas […]
Its hopelessly impractical
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, The last minute measure of the proposed withholding tax on interest has not been thought through fully. Most borrowers from the banks make monthly payments of fixed amounts. The bank applies part of the payment to interest and part to principal repayment. The interest rate doesnt change but the interest amount changes every […]
Tax proposal will implode
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, The proposed new tax of 15% by MFEM on the peoples hard earned savings is not the right way to go. It is penalising people who have built some hard earned savings over the many years and discouraging them and others from saving. Surely MFEM is not that desperate to advise the Minister […]
A bad idea
Thursday 7 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Like many pensioners here I rely on the interest on my savings with the bank to supplement my $92.30 a week government pension and now the government is proposing to take 15% of that interest. That means a pretty big paycut for my family. This month my electricity bill will rise by about […]
Quick fix tax will not be good
Thursday 7 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I write to express my view on the proposed 15% tax on peoples savings as reported in your paper dated July 6. I wish to make a humble plea to the CIP Government to do the right thing and the very thing they are proposing as a plan to improve Government revenue by […]
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