Opinion

Parties first, broken promises

Wednesday 24 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Political parties always put themselves first and the Cook Islands Party has broken their promise again. They promised earlier not to hold up necessary funding in government. Now they are screaming that the present Cabinet is failing the people of Aitutaki. The CIP don’t care about Aitutaki, all they care about is forcing […]

Our minority govt is akin to Fiji

Wednesday 24 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Good to see that Finance Minister Wilkie Rasmussen is back in touch again after being ‘out of touch’ for over a week. Pity though that rather than addressing the important issues which I raised last week, he has concentrated on perverting the essence of my statements and thrown in some cheap personal comments […]

Quit the hypocrisy!

Wednesday 24 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Sir Terepai Maoate has the gall to blame good honest people Doesn’t he know that he was the cause of all the problems the current government is facing? Has the man got a conscience? He drove hard for government to buy Toa. Instead he hauled in a huge debt and lots of costly […]

Good on Wilkie for exposing rotten deal

Wednesday 24 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, If it is true what finance minister Wilkie Rasmussen explained on CITV earlier in the week in regards of how much this country’s really owes TOA petroleum, then good on him and this government for exposing the full story on the fuel farm debacle. The tax paying citizens of this country have every […]

An attempt at reform

Wednesday 24 March 2010 | Published in Smoke Signals

“It’s interesting that the PM in his letter of August 29 was trying to begin the process of political reform within the Demo Party, but it was obviously shot down by the Maoate/Tongia faction,” a smoke signaller writes. “Also interesting that the MPs refuse to answer any questions about reform, in fact they refuse to […]

Kata - March 24, 2010

Wednesday 24 March 2010 | Published in Kata

'We will win our seats back'

Tuesday 23 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Your paper has an almost daily letter writer with a mission to discredit me, the prime minister and fellow cabinet ministers. For his information, both Jim and I will win our seats handsomely irrespective of whether we are in government as ministers or not. So will our colleagues. His comments that I was […]

PM has the mandate

Tuesday 23 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Sir, What makes the CIP think that it can govern? It lost the elections and it does not hold the majority mandate. It was rejected outright by most of the constituencies. Its leader Henry Puna, an MP then was embarrassingly thrown out. For him to claim that Jim Marurai’s government has no mandate is […]

PA-systems overused

Tuesday 23 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear editor, Last week I went to watch four impressive premier-grade rugby league teams battle it out in the local footy competition. Played on Friday afternoon at Ngatangiia, the first match was between the high flying Ngatangiia Sea Eagles against the snarling Titikaveka Bulldogs. In the second premier-grade match played at Avatiu on Saturday afternoon, […]

Tourism needs fixing, fast

Tuesday 23 March 2010 | Published in Smoke Signals

Something is very wrong in the relationship between the chairman and board of Cook Islands Tourism with those employed at the tourism office. Especially when the chief executive John Dean resigned early and returned to Australia, followed by two very talented Cook Islanders over the weekend, reportedly throwing in the towel: acting CEO Glenda Tuaine […]

Kata - March 23, 2010

Tuesday 23 March 2010 | Published in Kata

Govt not dictating to Aitutaki: minister

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Sir, Aitutaki should never be a political football. Unfortunately, it has become so. However here are some basic facts and I hope it will make the public understand: 1.Rarotonga (presumably, the central government operation based in Rarotonga) is not dictating to Aitutaki. A day after the cyclone struck, the government began working with Aitutaki. […]

Thank you minister

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear editor Kia orana, I am writing to offer my apology for the incorrect news that was printed in Monday’s newspaper dated 8 March 2010. It’s a mistake made on my part because I didn’t really check – it’s the T & M Heather of Arorangi that came to mind first thing. So the correct […]

Aitutaki's building code

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller writes: “Before Aitutaki mayor Tai Herman makes too much noise about interference from the capital island, perhaps he can explain how it is that no one has enforced the building code in Aitutaki during his tenure? Most of the buildings damaged or destroyed were built ‘island-style’ without regard to codes or good […]

Let Aitutaki benefit

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, We cannot but share the frustration of Aitutaki in the way their cyclone recovery has been taken over by a bureaucracy based in Rarotonga. Consider that Aitutaki has direct shipping from New Zealand and Rarotonga and it has good communications with mobile phone coverage and the internet. Aitutakians are certainly no less intelligent […]

Kata - March 22, 2010

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Kata

CIP silent on 'excessive' spending until now

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, For the last 10 years, the CIP leadership has been silent while Maoate-led governments step-by-step blew out the budget. In 1999, only 1300 government jobs had survived the reform while presently there are close to 2000. The CIP should have objected to every staff addition because the 1996 reform demonstrated that 1300 persons […]

Political power for self-gain

Monday 22 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, It concerns me greatly that the prime minister of this country is calling for the public to support political reform when it is clear as daylight that his stitched-up government goes directly against the grain of what people recognise as good governance and political stability. Don’t preach what you cannot practice prime minister […]

Parties being self-righteous

Saturday 20 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

The political parties calling the PM “self-serving” are like the pot calling the kettle black, a smoke signaller says. “CIPs and Demos pretending to be holier-than-thou are a hilarious exercise in hypocrisy. They, self-serving? Never! There must have been 8000 persons less 19 on Rarotonga laughing at that headline. One friend said, “Maybe the parties […]

'An old sailor' greeting

Saturday 20 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, As a Silver Surfer (old age pensioner) I came across your Cook Islands News website and it brought back many memories. I was in the Royal Navy in the 1950s and I served on HMS Warrior we had the good fortune to come to Rarotonga in 1956. The welcome we got from the […]