Opinion

Kata - August 28, 2012

Tuesday 28 August 2012 | Published in Kata

Kia orana cobber, nice to meet you

Tuesday 28 August 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

”This may be a wonderful opportunity for Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard to make the acquaintance of the Aussie expats resident in the Cook Islands,“ a smoke signaller writes, ”an opportunity which regrettably the Australian High Commissioner from Wellington did not take on his recent visit here. One would have thought that looking out for […]

Motorcade madness, mayhem coming

Monday 27 August 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

”This cavalcade business is way over the top,“ writes a smoke signaller. ”Who gives this lot the right to break the law and speed through town dangerously? The whole thing is overly obtrusive and sometimes pathetic when you look in the VIP cars and see one or two passengers. Saturday night’s effort, all for the […]

Cops, jobs, security, Fiji, CISNOC...

Monday 27 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, With all the recent cases opening up about the police it’s an embarrassment to the commissioner who should just hand in his resignation or the prime minister if he ever shows any initiative should terminate him on the spot. Example: the same as what was done to Mark Short shortly after CIP took […]

Kata - August 27, 2012

Monday 27 August 2012 | Published in Kata

Feeling second class

Saturday 25 August 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller observes: ”Frenzied activities on the roads, putting in tiger eyes on the centre line, painting white lines down the middle, grooming, brushing and cleaning…all this just to impress the Forum delegates. Then there’s the new police cars, wow, and we all thought that the police had nothing left in their Budget as […]

Raro cures winter blues

Saturday 25 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, We are just back from what has been our 9th trip to Rarotonga. We had our first visit in 1996 and we love to visit you all and we always have a wonderful lazy relaxing time. We live way down the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand in The Catlins and […]

Standards too low, training too short

Saturday 25 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, For a former police officer to imply the problem of theft by police is due to poor leadership is both a lie and (pardon the pun) a cop out (Aug 20). All police officers are adults, and as adults they are responsible for their own actions. Long before the proverbial hit the fan, […]

Kata - August 25, 2012

Saturday 25 August 2012 | Published in Kata

Thank God

Thursday 23 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, After waiting patiently for six months for the road works to repair our road (top part), I decided to do it myself to avoid more accidents. It shows you either the government haven’t got the resources or they don’t give a damn about the aronga rikiriki (small people) of our country. Thank God […]

Arataki matakukore

Thursday 23 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Kia Orana e Tama, Te ngakau parau ite kiteanga ite karape e te pakari o te upoko arataki atupaka o te au akava i tana i rave ite kimikimi anga ite au angaanga taravake a tona aronga angaanga e pera tei opukina ia mai no te okooko e te kai maruana. Teia ta tatou i […]

Kata - August 23, 2012

Thursday 23 August 2012 | Published in Kata

Dogs never so bad

Thursday 23 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, In regard to G. Brown’s (NZ) letter (Wed 15), we too have been coming to Rarotonga for many years – like 16 or 17 and we absolutely agree with everything he says. The dog problem has never been so bad or so terrifying. Does Rarotonga want tourists or are these savage dogs trained […]

PSC denies 'earmarking' of Aitutaki job

Thursday 23 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

The public service commissioner says the accusations against his office printed in a letter to the editor yesterday are based on ”unfounded speculation“. An Aitutaki person who wrote a letter under a nom de plume alleged that a position in the Aitutaki department of internal affairs was being ”earmarked“ for Kaiti Paiti, the daughter of […]

Minerals trip to China not a 'junket'

Thursday 23 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I sent you a private email on Monday regarding problems I saw with Monday’s CINews article (21/8/12) on my report on the recent minerals seminar. It has been two days now with no explanation or apology and therefore this public ‘Letter to the Editor’ is now necessary. Whilst I am grateful that my […]

Public still paying for joyrides

Wednesday 22 August 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

”A couple of months ago,“ a smoke signaller writes, ”the Public Service Commissioner came down hard on public servants misusing motor vehicles. Well, all that talk has done nothing, commissioner. The same practice of the misuse of motor vehicles is going on within government. Public funds paying for free fuel for these joy riders is […]

Kata - August 22, 2012

Wednesday 22 August 2012 | Published in Kata

Why the big secret over fishing licences?

Wednesday 22 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I write about the response in your newspaper by the Secretary of Marine Resources Ben Ponia to your OIA questions about fishing licences. Once again this guy continues to avoid and not provide answers to questions rightfully being asked by the public and government watchdogs. I believe the agreements which are signed with […]

Good luck Bill Framhein: The Lost Tribe

Wednesday 22 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, As spokesman for our Lost Tribe, I will follow the case of Bill Framhein (CINews Monday August 20) with great interest. We applaud Auckland councillor Mike Lee’s lobbying on Bill’s behalf. Mr Lee has quite correctly pointed out – as we have also tried to emphasise for nearly 20 years – that this […]

Clarifications

Tuesday 21 August 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Just a few clarifications to two articles which have appeared over the past week. 1) Regarding Friday August 17’s article reference to the late Peto Nicholas being a member of the team which beat the Italian national rugby side, that game was played in 1980 – not in 1981. 2) Re the article […]