Letters to the Editor
Thursday 16: SMOKE SIGNAL - Worth a beating
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
A signaller believes this quote, from Bill Bryson’s book ‘Shakespeare’ published in 2007, is especially interesting in view of the new Cook Islands tobacco laws: ”Tobacco, introduced to London the year after Shakespeare’s birth, was a luxury at first but soon gained such widespread popularity that by the end of the century there were no […]
Wednesday 22: SMOKE SIGNALS - Two out of three ain't bad
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
After reading the secretary of ministry of infrastructure & planning’s comments last week, that MOIP workers need at least three consecutive fine days to complete work on the Maire Nui Drive, one smart alec reckons that if it rains one day out of three – as it has for the past few weeks — then […]
Wednesday 22: Spraying reslin has us all fooled again
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, You report that public health sees reslin spraying as a “last resort”. It is no such thing. It is instead an admission of failure to combat the dengue mosquito through the only effective method – elimination of breeding sites. Spraying alongside the road with an insecticide that must hit a mosquito to work […]
Wednesday 22: Talking church or what
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Some people are so heavenly minded, they are of no earthly good! Their contributions in ‘Church talk’ implies that everything is in order – but the front page says – nothing is working. Is there really any ‘good news’ in the midst of these ‘lullabies’ besides filling in space allocated for church talk? […]
Wednesday 22: Taking the good with the bad on holiday
Wednesday 22 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, We have just returned from our trip to beautiful Rarotonga. We have visited there 12 times. This trip we stayed on Rarotonga for six weeks from February until late March. This time I noticed that I had left very important medicine at home, and one that because of its limited usage, I feared […]
Saturday 11: Imagine $1.2m in road works
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I do not know how other tax-paying citizens of this country feel, but it is outrageous that this government can fork out $1.2 million for the construction of a one-off synthetic track for the national stadium in preparation for the Pacific Mini Games, a two-week regional sporting event. That’s right, a whopping $1.2 […]
Saturday 11: Critical shortage of medics in Aitutaki
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, There is a critical shortage of medical staff on Aitutaki. Although I have retired from public service, I am still observant of anomalies within our island’s essential (medical/health) services and this is serious for the people of any outer-island, especially as we have experienced a recent type A influenza epidemic, which could have […]
Wednesday 15: How much longer for road works?
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Speaking to a few tourists at the Punanga Nui last Saturday, a few of them raised concern about the congestion along the shopping centre in the middle of town. At one stage a couple were shouted at while entering the newly sealed road without a no entry sign. When is the Maire Nui […]
Wednesday 15: Stop daydreams, stop globetrotting
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, It took me a while to make up my mind whether or not to comment about encouraging our people overseas to return home. The issue was discussed by Minister McCully and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. If I can remember rightly, the same issue was raised by the DPM. That was […]
Wednesday 15: It's too easy to get day licence
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Drink driving sentences are a joke. One of the recent court reports published in the Cook Islands News contained a long list of cases where the defendants were found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. All age groups were represented. What concerns me is that approximately 90% were granted day licences […]
Wednesday 15: Lagoon at risk, don't make it worse
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Teina Rongo offers perspective on the proposed coral removal in Muri lagoon Dear Editor, After reading the article on the proposed coral relocation in Muri lagoon, as a marine biologist and concerned Cook Islander, I’d like to offer some perspective on this issue. Generally, Environment Impact Assessments (EIAs) tend to have less weight in the […]
Saturday 11: New fishing licences bad for conservation
Wednesday 15 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, In 1883, Thomas Huxley, an English biologist and a strong advocate of Darwin, believed that marine resources were inexhaustible and that man could never do anything that would impact fish populations. Fast forward to modern day and we discover that he was wrong. Today, 90 percent of our large fish populations have been […]
Tuesday 7: SMOKE SIGNAL- We sell our souls but can't go solar
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
The drawings for the new airport terminal buildings don’t seem to show the north facing roofs covered every square metre in photovoltaic panels, observes a signaler, who writes: Surely we are not going into a building from the past? We sell our souls to the Tiger of the East for millions of dollars to put […]
Tuesday 7: More trips by MPs, and more spending
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, There appears to be no real financial planning by the DPM and Sholan on this massive $50 million loan from China. On top of this, another $20 million seems to be given as extra under a grant. Government has not shown just how much our road and water repairs will cost, but at […]
Tuesday 7: Pukapuka decision outrageous
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, Although not of Pukapukan descent, I am 100% supportive of the justified stance taken by the president of the Pukapukan community in Rarotonga, Mr Makirere Poila, and his group, in regards to the proposed European Union funded cyclone shelter project for Pukapuka island. In view of the obvious simplicity of such a project, […]
Tuesday 7: Lack of tourists is too important
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I would like to reply to two recent letters to the paper criticising the suggestion that the $3m stimulus package should be put into tourism. They have other opinions and fair enough. I would like to comment on each of the points in these two letters – not to be smart but to […]
Monday 6: Issue fishing licences carefully
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I would like to voice my concern at the issuing of fishing licenses to foreign countries. All I ask is that it is done with the greatest of care, thought and with careful restrictions put in place. Some of these countries have depleted their own fish stocks and will do the same to […]
Saturday 4: Sports awards a bit of a joke
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I just have to write in about the sports awards. The awards seem like they’re turning into a bit of a joke. In some cases you only had two nominees.Not sure if that’s because some codes couldn’t be bothered, or if 2008 was a non-event year. Congratulations to the Dearloves, but I do […]
Friday 3: There's room for 2
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I write in reference to Helen Greig’s story in Thursday’s paper ‘Forum Line reviews shipping situation’. The long list of problems associated with shipping will continue, unless there is an urgent review of the current shipping act. The country needs a shipping service that is independent and transparent. Independent in that NO importer […]
Friday 3: Businesses need stimulus more than tourism
Wednesday 8 April 2009 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I am surprised no complaints about the ‘stimulus package’ are coming from the struggling businesses. The only complaints seem to be coming from the obviously well off. So I will stand up and say, I find the possibility of the $3 million business assistance possibly going to tourism disconcerting. The small businesses make […]